Got to be good looking
'cause he's so hard to see
Come together right now
Over me—The Beatles, "Come Together" (1969) [YouTube]
Bob Herbert just doesn't get it. As Noel Sheppard has noted, in his NYT column today Herbert accuses Barack Obama of "lurching right when it suits him, and . . . zigging with the kind of reckless abandon that’s guaranteed to cause disillusion, if not whiplash." The NY Times columnist goes on to condemn the candidate for "pandering to evangelicals;" agreeing with Justices Scalia and Thomas on a "barbaric" interpretation of the 8th Amendment; and playing a "dangerous game" with his "shifts and panders."
No, no, no, Bob! That's not what's happening at all. Obama isn't flip-flopping. He's simply fulfilling his pledge to bring us together. What makes Herbert's obtuseness all the more infuriating is that enlightenment was just a stroll down the corridor away, to the office of Gail Collins. Herbert's fellow Times columnist explained what is really going on during her appearance today on Morning Joe.
View video here.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: What's your take on Barack Obama flip-flopping, whether it's abortion or Iraq or these other issues. Is he flip-flopping, or is he just pragmatic?
GAIL COLLINS: You know, I don't quite get this. I mean, I sat through all those speeches that he made before he got the nomination in which he said that he was going to bring the country together. We're going to have red states and blue states, we're all going to get together and work together as one group. Now I don't know where everybody thought this coming together was going to be, but I don't think left field was going to be the place that everybody was going to come together. He was saying this all along. It's just that he said it in such a neat way.
SCARBOROUGH: So unlike Bob Herbert or E.J. Dionne, or others, you're not especially, you're not wringing your hands.
COLLINS: No. It seems to me he's doing exactly what, if you paid attention, he said he was going to do.
Yes, it's the public's fault for not paying attention. Collins echoes Obama in this, who just yesterday complained that those who accuse him of flip-flopping "apparently haven’t been listening to me."
Just one thing continues to trouble me, though I'm sure Collins will soon clear it up. If Obama really intended to bring us together somewhere other than in left field, why didn't he make that clear before he wrapped up the Dem nomination? While he still needed to appeal to his party's left-wing base, why did he rack up the most liberal voting record in the Senate, threaten to unilaterally abrogate NAFTA, pledge to get us out of Iraq in 16 months no matter what the generals said, assert that the DC gun ban was constitutional, and promise to filibuster telcom immunity under FISA?
What didn't Barack Obama let liberal Dems know from day one that he wasn't with them? Why is this meeting in center field only happening now? It's almost enough to make a guy suspect cynical pandering's going on. But thanks to Gail, of course we know better.
Note: John Lennon wrote "Come Together" as a campaign song for LSD-maven Timothy Leary, who in 1969 was seeking to run for governor of California against Ronald Reagan. "Come together, join the party," was Leary's campaign slogan.
—Mark Finkelstein is a NewsBusters contributing editor and host of Right Angle. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net.
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how on earth...
July 9, 2008 - 12:14 ET by i was just thinkingcan this clown "bring us together"?!?!? He simply does not hold core values and beliefs that are shared by one-and-all. When he zigs to the right to try and pick up votes there, he alienates the left. When he zags back to the left, he alienates the right. There is simply no way possible that Barack Obama can unite this country.
All he proves is that P.T. Barnum was right.
I work overseas and travel quite extensively. I have driven a car in the UK (and other places that drive on the "wrong" side of the road). It is an easy adjustment to make - driving on the opposite side - as long as the road is clear and the path smooth. I was always told, however, that the danger is in an emergency situation - the reflex reaction in an emergency is to revert to what you have been taught to do. That's when most of the accidents occur. Obama may be veering to the other side of the road for now, but when push comes to shove, in the emergency situation, he WILL revert to his core, leftist beliefs.
To quote one of my favorites... "of course that's my opinion, I could be wrong".
Bringing together
July 9, 2008 - 23:22 ET by ToddonCapeCodWhat we need to remember is that for the Democrats, "bringing us together" means Republicans and conservatives have to give up some or all of their core beliefs and principles, and join up and agree with the Democrats and liberals.
It's never the other way around for them. And that is why Obama will NEVER bring everyone together.
I believe you're thinking about this
July 9, 2008 - 12:34 ET by fonzie2178the wrong way. Perhaps they mean by his inability to take a stand and defend his beliefs, and proclivity to pandering to whatever crowd he speaks to no matter how they vote, he is bringing us all together to vote AGAINST him. You know, kinda like John Effin Kerry? (Insert "misunderstood joke" about the military here)
"Green, the new Red."
Any shelter
July 9, 2008 - 12:35 ET by 10ksnookerWhen the place is on fire.
Well he's tangling and tying
July 9, 2008 - 12:41 ET by Chris NormanWell he's tangling and tying himself into knots "bringing us all together". He's gonna look like a fishing net by the time he's done.
McNotObama '08
Back To Sleep
July 9, 2008 - 12:52 ET by CellaThis woman is the most boring, tiresome person I have seen. Why would anyone have her on a talk show?
Someone better help Obama if this listless, dull person is the type of champion he has.
Just another example of an
July 9, 2008 - 13:02 ET by d1carterJust another example of an old hippie in the media. Gail may be "one toke over the line"...
SCREENCAP
July 9, 2008 - 13:05 ET by the strugglerIsn't that the dude from The Monkees?
Be grateful, they spared us
July 9, 2008 - 23:51 ET by fitzfongBe grateful, they spared us this time. Usually when Gail Collins is covered on Newsbusters, they post a picture of her flashing a smile for the camera...a delightful shade of off-taupe.
"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." -Ronald Reagan
fitzfong.blogspot.com
Right
July 9, 2008 - 13:15 ET by forestIf only I were smart enough, and had been paying better attention, I may have realized that "bring the country together" really meant "flip flop on all the issues".
He was saying this all along
July 9, 2008 - 13:36 ET by allamericangirlIt's just that he said it in such a neat way. After she said this she cackled and let out a long whooooooh noise like a love sick schoolgirl.
This explains it, she sat through all his speeches and has developed a special ability to truly understand when listening to the "neat way" Obama says things. This seems to be a common phenomena among the Obama disciples. They are happy to hear whatever he says they heard.
To us regular people it looks like he is changing his positions. I am so thankful to Gale that she is able to enlighten me or I might have continued to believe what my own ears and eyes were telling me. FLIP FLOP
"Liberalism is a mental disorder" -Michael Savage
aag, In the picture, she
July 9, 2008 - 13:47 ET by Chris Normanaag,
In the picture, she does have that smug, serene look of a true believer - you know, that "you can't de-program me!" look.
McNotObama '08
Chris, she looks to me
July 9, 2008 - 13:54 ET by bassndudeChris, she looks to me like she has been smoking the good stuff. Kinda like a hippie in drag..
Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!
To be considered "in drag",
July 9, 2008 - 14:16 ET by Chris NormanTo be considered "in drag", aren't you supposed to look like a wom- er, never mind. :)
McNotObama '08
In the picture
July 9, 2008 - 14:05 ET by allamericangirlYour right Chris she looks like she is in another space and time another zone perhaps the twilight zone. :-)
"Liberalism is a mental disorder" -Michael Savage
You can just hear her
July 9, 2008 - 14:18 ET by Chris NormanYou can just hear her saying, "O Great Obama has all the answers" - and actually, he does - he can answer the same question in an infinite number of ways. :)
McNotObama '08
Chris, not to be picky, but
July 9, 2008 - 14:33 ET by bassndudeChris, not to be picky, but should not that be....he can respond to the same question in an infinite number of ways. After all, to answer would infer a correct response. :-)
Save a SeAL, club a liberal!!
Wow. I feel like Mrs. Hunt
July 9, 2008 - 17:30 ET by Chris NormanWow. I feel like Mrs. Hunt just whacked my desk with her pointer. Still, I don't know if the word "answer" necessarily implies correctness. After all, haven't you ever heard the game show line, "That's an incorrect answer."? :)
McNotObama '08
It's almost like Obama is trying to
July 9, 2008 - 14:09 ET by fonzie2178talk his supporters into drinking the grape kool-aid, isn't it? It seems like most of them are about ready to do it, too. At least the ones they plaster all over the news...
"Green, the new Red."
Hitler brought the Jews
July 9, 2008 - 13:45 ET by SemperrightHitler brought the Jews together, the ones he could find anyway.
BO will bring all us gun totin, righties together too.
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference.
The MARINES don't have that problem."
President Ronald Reagan - 1985
This is hilarious
July 9, 2008 - 14:44 ET by mvfreemanhttp://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/
That would be hilarious....
July 9, 2008 - 15:11 ET by motherbeltif it weren't so true.
Shoot 'em all; let God sort 'em out! - Marge Simpson
When they say "us" they only mean liberals
July 9, 2008 - 16:17 ET by szampI can't see how he is going to bring all of us together. He is going to unite all communist groups like AlQaeda united a bunch of terrorist groups. I imagine the name will be something like AlLiba.
If I disagree with all his ideas, how is he going to bring me together? Reeducation camp? Is he going to force me to take one of those pills to keep me drowsy all the time?
I've about had all of the
July 9, 2008 - 16:53 ET by ConservativeRexI've about had all of the crap out of Obami I can stand. Now, this idiot is telling American parents that their kids need to learn to speak Spanish!
We can not afford this shuckster within a mile of the White House!
Coming together
July 9, 2008 - 23:09 ET by weirdoneObama doesn’t flip flop or lie; he is, according to Mara Liasson PBS reporter, “Just Very Flexible.” Since he believes in nothing and everything we should all be able to “come together right now” and support him. I find it hard to believe that the country that has spent my entire lifetime opposing Marxism is in danger of electing this Marxist Flim Flam Man to the Presidency of the United States. I can only attribute this to the fact that the liberals have, over the last 60 years, entrenched themselves in the media and the educational system and have discarded education in favor of indoctrination and replaced information with propaganda. Obama himself is living proof of this thesis; and those who support him like lemmings are about to lead us over the cliff.
weirdone, I agree. Government "education" has killed us.
July 9, 2008 - 23:15 ET by R D HelmOh, and welcome to NewsBusters.
The truth is insensitive. - Neal Boortz
That's right...he doesn't
July 10, 2008 - 00:16 ET by motherbeltThat's right...he doesn't flip-flop. He "rewords," he "clarifies," he uses "nuance," he "refines."
Shoot 'em all; let God sort 'em out! - Marge Simpson
...let's don't forget
July 10, 2008 - 00:26 ET by bigtimer...let's don't forget recalibrate...
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Obama couldn't bring marbles together in a colander.
July 9, 2008 - 23:54 ET by R D HelmThe truth is insensitive. - Neal Boortz
LOL RD... ....that's
July 9, 2008 - 23:58 ET by bigtimerLOL RD...
....that's a good one!
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
OBAMA: NEVER ANSWERED THE "ENGLISH" QUESTION
July 10, 2008 - 09:22 ET by reelman46OBAMA: NEVER ANSWERED “ENGLISH” QUESTION
July 9:
Once again, like nailing jello to a wall, BHO was all over the park
when explaining an issue. He avoided answering the central ISSUE
directly…”Do you support English only as a national policy for
business-gov-ment”? That was the core of it but he rambled,
topic-shifted, lectured (ye backward USA) and never did anything except
once again leaving voters in a fog of “maybe he meant”.
In a country where slang, rap lingo, half sentences, the “like” virus,
half words, ebonics, text message terms and lingual “diversity worship”
he avoided clarity, he avoided a simple response. Maybe Mr. Fantasy is
part of the problem. Ask him most anything and he has 3 positions a
week with nuances.
Spit it out… do you have a backbone? Do you have a core of beliefs to
show voters? Yes, he does. Its far left socialist from his voting
record. Can’t have that get out so we have this constant fuzzy baloney.
What a wimp. No wonder thug dictators want him to win and have said so.
What they understand from him they like. At least they seem to
understand. Wait until the debates. We will all need translators for
Senator Ink Blot. Not good.
Doug Schexnayder, Ph.D. (theconservativecrawfish)