Obama supporters, are you guys freaking out?

[democrattotheend]

Maybe I am overreacting but I am afraid Obama's little slip up about his grandmother being a "typical white person" (he should have added "of her generation") is going to be the nail in the coffin. Am I overreacting?

[ulysses]

1. yes, I think you're overreacting.

Give it a week.

[JorgeTheGood]

2. one thing for sure ...

his supporters had better take that shovel away or he's gonna dig a hole all the way to oblivion.

[stellanoir]

3. Yes you are overreacting

Anyone who's ever been embarrassed over a relative's whacky statements during a Holiday dinner can totally relate.

[Faygo Kid]

4. Yes. And drop the coffin analogies.

This has churned up some insanely ugly stuff. I don't disagree that he might better have said "of his generation," but Hannity, Beck, et al are just a tiny bit short of calling for something we don't want to see happen.

[AllentownJake]

5. Yes and No

The media is out to destroy Obama. If Clinton was in Obama's situation they would be out to destroy her. Our only prayer is that First all democrats realize what's going on and fight back against this. Second we join together around who ever the nominee is and stop this nonsense that is destroying our party.

If we don't we are doomed in November.

[Bonobo]

6. No offense intended. But you may not be old enough to see this in context, so let me say:

It is no big deal.

It is a blip.

The media is the one freaking out because they have no more control.

The Obama campaign.movement is a freight train picking up speed and heading into unknown territory.

The Powers That Be do NOT LIKE "unknown territory". They like "known territory". So they are trying to reassert control. But they have none.

They have been underestimating the intelligence of the American people for too long and they are about to learn that we are not stupid bulls to be led around by our noses forever.

This is an entirely unprecedented election. No predictions could possibly be accurate.

Chill out and watch. I have lost enough elections to know that this one is different.

People have had it and the pendulum is coming right back at us.

[moobu2]

7. No, you’re not overreacting at all

Obama is unelectable.

[democrattotheend]

15. You're a Clinton supporter

You have said he's unelectable before this comment, haven't you?

[Radio_Lady]

51. I thought the speech was commendable. However, I don't think Obama can win on this racist stuff.

Oddly enough, I am agreeing with Lars Larson, one of the most right-wing commentators in the U.S.

This is not a usual stance for me, a liberal, left-leaning 68 year old woman radio talk show host since 1971.

"Typical" white person... I see people on the street and I am often frightened. I used to carry Mace but it's been ruled illegal on airplanes.

[polichick]

8. Relax - he meant typical in the sense of NOT being racist...

No worries; this had to be discussed and now is a good time.

[democrattotheend]

10. I know what he meant

But I also fear it will be taken out of context and the media will destroy him with it.

[polichick]

21. Don't worry - have faith & get involved with the campaign...

...if you're not already. What's happening on the ground is almost magical ~ people don't care what the msm is doing.

[democrattotheend]

22. Leaving for Philly within the hour

Will be there all weekend. But I'm feeling really demoralized.

[polichick]

27. You'll feel a lot better when you get here - THANKS for helping! :)

[boobooday]

9. I've probably called my grandma a typical white person

And I'm white.

I know exactly what he is talking about. It's a generational thing.

[K Gardner]

11. My wonderful mother was a "typical white person". I knew exactly what he meant. Not worried.

[NEDem]

12. Nope, Relax

[sniffa]

13. I believe the sky is falling

But I'm not panicking about Obama.

[TheDoorbellRang]

14. Yes

Calm down, please. It'll be fine.

[JorgeTheGood]

16. The big tip-off by the Obama supporters

is how lightly they are taking this ...

apparently, they really don't care if Obama gets elected ... only that he gets nominated.

IOW -- anti-hillary.

[DevonRex]

17. Yeah. Pretty much.

I don't think it's a slip up at all.

[americanstranger]

18. Nope, not freaking out..

And yes, you're over-reacting.

The media guns will swing back on to Mrs. Clinton before long.

- as

[Dogmudgeon]

19. Those who live by the gotcha, die by the gotcha.

There are no exceptions to that rule.

Not even for Team Obama.

--p!

[Greyskye]

20. No. See this newly released poll:

And it's even a Fox poll LOL.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5179018

[AllentownJake]

28. Was that before

The biggest radio sports show in Philadelphia on the drive home hour spent its entire program bashing Obama for the remark? Not political show. Not Rush. SPORTS show. The show most white males listen to on their commute home from work.

Listen, we got a problem. I'm all for keeping the faith but we got a serious problem here in PA and we need some MAJOR damage control.

[democrattotheend]

38. Argh, that's what I was afraid of

G-d damnit! It's hard not to feel really demoralized right now

[AllentownJake]

40. It was Awful

The guy never ever talks politics. I've been listening to him for years. He spent the whole hour doing nothing but playing the clip trashing Obama, over and over again. He must have played it 10 times in the hour I was in the car driving home.

[Greyskye]

41. You're worried about the effect of a sports show?

I think that you're overstating their market segment. Most white males? I really doubt that.

I don't know when this show you're talking about took place, but this poll was conducted by telephone March 18-19, 2008

[AllentownJake]

44. Sports Show

The highest rated sports show for the drive home. Most people in Philly commute in and out of the city. For 3 hours today HRC campaign and John McCain got a free commercial from the host...

[NEDem]

46. Highest rated sports show

so what they were talking to a couple thousand people. At most. Relax

[Greyskye]

47. "highest rated" vs. "most white males"

Just because it's "The highest rated sports show for the drive home", does NOT mean that "most white males" are listening to it. It simply means it has more listeners than the other drivetime sports shows.

People are spending their commute times in other ways as well. Listening to music, listening to news, picking their noses, cursing at other drivers, shaving...

I've never listened to a sports show while driving in my entire life. Not that that means anything; I just thought I'd throw it out there. :)

[AllentownJake]

55. I hope your right

That's all I got to say.

I love Obama. I'm volunteering for the campaign up here...

I also know my area of PA and after the Geraldine thing...this isn't going to play well with the undecideds.

[Greyskye]

63. Here, check this out:

Here are some pertinent stats from the most recent poll I mentioned upthread. Check out the Independent voters:
By the way, when was that sports show broadcast that you are talking about? This poll was conducted on the 18th and 19th (this past Tuesday and Wednesday)



Does this help ease your mind? :shrug:

[nonconformist]

66. Do you think that one radio sports program is the only media outlet talking about this?

Or will be talking about it in the days and week to come?

It's an indicator of what's coming. You'd have to be someone who completely avoids the news and everything politics not to hear about this in the next few days I would imagine.

[Greyskye]

68. This subthread was talking about one radio sports show

And yes, I think that you Hillary supporters are making a mountain out of a molehill with regard to this, and will attempt to keep this in the spotlight as long as you possibly can.

Negative campaigns suck.

[nonconformist]

67. Delete - Dupe nt

[slinkerwink]

23. no

[shayes51]

24. I would not call it a little slip.

It's much bigger. What if Hillary had said "a typical black person........."?

[democrattotheend]

30. I said OBAMA supporters

There are 5 threads among Clinton supporters attacking this.

[Life Long Dem]

25. No. Doesn't what she said mean she didn't look at Obama the same way as racist could.

Could anybody else see this?

[CreekDog]

26. Everybody has to buy into the narrative for that

people aren't buying like they used to.

and by the way: if that ends a campaign, then nobody can win, ever because everybody makes mistakes.

[Nitrogenica]

29. Be a little more confident in Barack Obama. He's a brilliant man.

[sudopod]

31. Yes

Yes you are. :p

[Adelante]

32. Definitely not freaking out

If I said my grandmother was a typical white woman, which she was, nobody would think twice about it. You have to keep in mind that there are posters here who are trying to FREAK YOU OUT.

[democrattotheend]

33. MSM is talking about it

That's what's freaking me out.

[Yael]

36. Turn the teevee off.

They will talk about anything to have something to talk about.

[Yael]

34. Freaking out? Hardly.

It was clear what he meant. No worries.

[goletian]

35. overreacting. its no mystery that fear of blacks is typical among whites...

this is well known. this is nothing new. most minorities are the same way toward blacks, shoot, even some blacks fear blacks on the street. this is just overreaction, just like pointing the finger at obama for wrights comments (which are not bigoted) is an overreaction.

[malik flavors]

37. The slip up came at a pretty bad time, but just give it a little time. Watch Larry King tonite.

[Radio_Lady]

62. I'll watch Larry King tonight on Pacific Time, but Obama has put himself in a box.

He will not easily get out of it.

Just to refresh your memory, I wondered last night what would have happened if Obama had told Rev. Wright in the 20 years he was affiliated with him -- that Wright was way off base. Obama might have been wise to seek another pastor and church.

As far as a rabbi giving ideas to my children -- we took our girls out of Hebrew school because their mother had died and they didn't want to go. One day, that rabbi (who married us) called our home and told them they were "going to Hell" because they would not attend school.

Guess what? We never went back to that temple.

PM me and I'll give you the name of the guy -- who is an author and big deal in San Francisco at present.

[Radio_Lady]

64. DU dupe... buggy... sorry...

[redqueen]

39. No, I'm not freaking out. Yes, you're overreacting.

:)

[Upton]

42. Maybe

but that was one boneheaded comment.

[PoliticalAmazon]

43. Overreacting? Not quite. Just more firmly resolved than ever...

The only thing this whole situation is creating for me is a more firm resolution to NEVER vote for her, and to do my best to make sure her political career is over for good.

[AllentownJake]

45. THIS ISN'T CLINTON

This is a GOP tactic to divide us so McCain can neatly sweep us up. Clinton will take advantage of it but she has a media hit coming her way as soon as they are done dismantling Obama.

DIVIDE and CONQUER and we are falling for it.

[nonconformist]

69. What the hell does Hillary have to do with what Obama said?

He got himself into this mess, all on his own.

[littlebit]

48. Maybe

I don't like to talk bad about my fellow southerners but it won't play well in NC. All Clinton has to do is play that clip over and over.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

49. Huh? nt

[Mooney]

50. Yes, you're overreacting.

Calm down. Seriously.

I think you're letting all the "It's over" talk get to you. If Obama is the sort of person whose entire candidacy will collapse after a slump in the polls and a gaffe, then he was no good anyway.

[cooolandrew]

52. People with a critical mind shold understand what he meant.

[cooolandrew]

56. Stay positive stay enthusiastic turn off MSM except olberman...

Tune in to these instead novamradio.com headonradionetwork.com

[cooolandrew]

57. Stay positive stay enthusiastic turn off MSM except olberman...

Tune in to these instead novamradio.com headonradionetwork.com

[cooolandrew]

58. Stay positive stay enthusiastic turn off MSM except olberman...

Tune in to these instead novamradio.com headonradionetwork.com

[cooolandrew]

59. Stay positive stay enthusiastic turn off MSM except olberman...

Tune in to these instead novamradio.com headonradionetwork.com

[backscatter712]

53. No. Obama's truly at his greatest when he faces adversity.

He's one of those guys that keeps cool under pressure, rethinks his tactics when they aren't working, and comes back in ways you never expect.

He lost New Hampshire, and everyone thought Hillary had clinched it, but after that, he got close in Nevada, getting a technical delegate victory, then won S. Carolina to really get his momentum going, and then blew Hillary's doors off on Super Tuesday.

Then he got hit with the Wright swiftboating. Most other candidates would have buckled and broke under that sort of pressure, but Obama took that pressure, and came back with literally the greatest speech ever delivered since Martin Luther King Jr. said "I have a dream."

And this "slip-up" about his grandmother just has no legs. Go back, read the transcript of his speech, and you'll know what he really meant.

Stay cool. Stay calm. Obama and Axelrod have got us this far. They've slayed Rovian dragons that no other politician dare face. We'll make it.

[nonconformist]

54. I'll tell you the truth here.

I'm not an Obama supporter, but I almost feel sorry for him over this. It was a very stupid gaffe to make at a critical time when he couldn't afford to have one.

Now, I'm willing to even give him the benefit of the doubt, and assume he worded this in a bad way, and didn't mean it like it came across.

I know many on DU will see it that way, and give him a pass on it.

But the issue is, how will in play across the country? How will the media treat this?

Truth? It's not going to play well at ALL. Expect the right wing to be all over this. Expect to hear this soundbite on the news... and even in political ads, should he still get the nomination.

This IS damaging, and it certainly doesn't help since he's been on damage control for days over this Wright thing already.

[Oleladylib]

61. It is bad." .Typical white person of her generation."

Come on ...that's a double hittin' slam..and this whole 48 hour- talk of race that he has focused on has come to a sudden news cycle nightmare for him.

[Kahuna]

60. If it makes you wince (like it made me wince), that could be your first clue.

:scared:

[AllentownJake]

Kool Aid

We need to not drink the Kool Aid. Don't ignore the past week it's not going away. Its not. Its out there. When we talk to people either for the next few weeks in PA or accross the country in November there are going to be questions.

We all know Obama isn't what he is being potrayed so we better find a way other than ignoring it or one speach to fight this.

[elizm]

65. Over-reatcing....Support of Obama has surged around me...

With not only Hillary supporters deciding to rally behind him, but also Republicans coming over because of his speech on Tuesday. So there you go...

[stillcool]

70. The media is...

I wonder how many shows they can do on this one?

[BigBearJohn]

71. Racial prejudice: pre-formed personal opinions about individuals on the basis of their race

"... .. The point I was making was not that my grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn't. But she is a typical white person who, uh, if she sees somebody on the street that she doesn't know there's a reaction that's been been bred into our experiences that don't go away and that sometimes come out in the wrong way and that's just the nature of race in our society. We have to break through it..." - Senator Barack Obama

Can you imagine if Hillary Clinton said someone was a "typical black person?"

Seriously, Barack Obama basically called all white people racist. You know, because when us typical white folk walk down the street and see an African American coming our way we run to the other side of the road.

Is this guy kidding? Back in the late 1970s, early 1980s, I lived on 95th and Columbus in New York City; long before it went chique. I took a subway from 42nd Street to get home after working on Broadway late at night. I walked home from the subway alone. I rode with African Americans, walked down the street past midnight in an area that wasn't near safe, with African Americans walking beside me and behind me. I'm a whitey white Scots-Irish broad and I was never afraid of an African American coming towards me, and never once crossed the street.

In an update, Obama's spokesperson elaborated, but it didn't help:

UPDATE: We gave the Obama campaign a chance to respond to this post. "Barack Obama said specifically that he didn't believe his grandmother harbored any racial animosity, but that her fears were understandable and typical of those often shared by her generation," said Obama's PA spokesman Sean Smith, who added that Grandma is 86-years-old. He might have meant that specifically, but that isn't what he said, especially as he spoke of his grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, in the present tense. ... ..
It's becoming more apparent why Senator Obama didn't leave Rev. Wright's church, as well as continued his relationship with him. The truth is that racism works both ways and some of us blue collar folks don't appreciate being called racist by someone who has his own problems with race he is obviously in denial about.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taylor-marsh/obama-grandmother-typic_b_92601.html

[RBInMaine]

72. Oh c'mon, let's not parse every syllable here. Just chill out.

[CitizenLeft]

73. I hate to reference him again, but David Gergen said tonight...

...in effect, that we've got to stop parsing everything Obama says - and anyone says, especially about race - to death.

[Blomst]

75. Good CNN Discussion

I was also impressed with Gergen's and Bernstein's remarks on CNN tonight. Bernstein called on CNN to spearhead some honest discussion on race and not nitpick through each statement that Obama has made on race. I was relieved to see the balanced discussion, also Bernstein's remarks about the kitchen sink strategy and how super delegates are getting worried about the Clinton negative campaigning. It sounded like Andersen Cooper intended to go quite negative on Obama due to the grandmother remark, but was stopped by Gergen, Berstein and the other commentator whose name I do not remember.

[CitizenLeft]

76. I saw it that way too.

In fact, last Friday night, Anderson was about to go full negative on the Wright speeches when Gergen stopped him cold, and - wait for it, though you might've seen it - even Tony Perkins didn't go ballistic either. I can't remember who the 3rd commentator was, but Anderson got nowhere with the outrage.

And let me just add, as a disclaimer, that I do NOT think Anderson is racist... I read his heart-wrenching articles about Rwanda, where he spent a lot of time during that horrific tragedy, and let's not forget his sincere and genuine outrage about Katrina - he would NOT shut up about it, to his credit, and was really emotional about it. So, I don't know why he keeps going there with the Wright thing, but it's not because he's racist.

[CitizenLeft]

74. whoopsie! - duplicate

...sorry!

[BeyondGeography]

77. The more people hear he has a white grandmother, the better

That said, Obama knows he screwed up. Larry King threw that phrase at him tonight and he winced, before he talked about how much he loved his grandmother, among other things.

"Typical white person," trades on a stereotype, which shows that even Obama can step in it when talking about race. He'll never use that phrase again.