Media watchers have been asking themselves since Barack Obama became the front-runner to win the Democrat nomination for president when the press will turn against him and start treating the junior senator from Illinois like a candidate instead of a rock star. The worm might have turned on Sunday's "This Week," when, as my colleague Brad Wilmouth reported, Cokie Roberts actually used the feminist card to trash Obama for Hillary's sake.
Almost as tasty, about three minutes later, a discussion about how Obama is beatable as the Democrat candidate began with Cokie saying (video available here, relevant section begins at minute 12:30):
I mean, you look at these numbers, and you still see lots of landmines, not in necessarily, in the nomination, but in the general election. I mean, you start looking at young voters, are they going to show up? Probably not. They never have before. By the time November comes, they'll be tired. They'll have heard it all. You look at Independents, they're the least likely people to vote. I mean, you have all these groups that are not necessarily going to show up...You wonder if the enthusiasm is going to hold through November.
This led to a discussion about Michelle Obama's comments earlier in the week, and an extended conversation about problems that her husband is going to have in the general election if he wins the nomination.
In particular, host George Stephanopoulos talked about Obama's vulnerabilities:
Number one, that he comes off as someone that is a little aloof, not someone that really cares about people in his bones. And secondly, that he will be accused of being a reflexive liberal despite all this talk about him being a bipartisan healer.
George Stephanopoulos, while the cameras were rolling, actually called someone a liberal? Are you kidding me?
Oddly, that mightn't have been as shocking as Ron Brownstein's response (LA Times):
Among kind of a blue-collar America where experience counts more, where national security may count somewhat more in a traditional way that Republicans kind of play it, you can, you can imagine an opportunity for John McCain to win in particular a lot of the white, waitress moms that Bush won in 2004 around security issues who have not voted for Obama in this campaign. And, that is, you could see, for example, an Obama who could be a very strong candidate in Virginia, a Colorado, an affluent state, but have a lot of trouble in some of these interior states that are economically troubled.
Stephanopoulos agreed: "The Reagan Democrats who have gone to Clinton go back to McCain."
So did Roberts: "I think that's right."
Is this a foreshadowing of things to come when and if Obama wins the nomination? Only time will tell.
—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters.
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I agree with the assessment
February 24, 2008 - 17:30 ET by bigtimerI agree with the assessment about this show, I watched it this morning too...what really grabbed me and there were quite a few statements that were already pointed out here... is when George used the word "aloof"regarding Obama...I have said before his arrogance is showing more and more as the election for the primaries nears the 4th....if he keeps this up, which btw I think he will be told to knock it off... I feel it may still show through anyway...he will lose...
Arrogance...plus proudly displaying arrogance will do you in every time...if this does happen, I will for once be glad of the work from the oooohing and ahhhing coming from the msm.
It is a long and winding road until Nov. who knows what may happen yet on down the path.
As a quick aside...Georgie has been in the bag for Hill for a long long time too, of course that is part of the reason he got the job he has now...I do keep that in mind, sure seems Cokie is in the same bag too...she sees past Obama's sweet nothings, but Hillary isn't much better, she just hasn't an ounce of sweetness in her when she shrieks...er I mean talks...
It was a very interesting round table.
I agree, bt...his arrogance
February 24, 2008 - 18:07 ET by motherbeltI agree, bt...his arrogance was much more apparent in the debate the other night. It's as if he knows he's got HRC beat and is now patronizing her. It's as if he's lecturing her: Now, Hillary, you know that's not what the country wants, we should be "lifting the country up" (whatever that means).
And his wife is just like Her Royal Clintoness, in the haughty department. I simply can NOT picture her as First Lady.
As for being a "reflexive liberal" as Stephanopoulos said, in just three years in the Senate, Obama has gone from being rated 16th in liberalism to first ! National Journal
Hi mb... Could not agree
February 24, 2008 - 18:17 ET by bigtimerHi mb...
Could not agree more with you regarding Michelle...as you know...we are going to get two for the price of one...again...if the leftists have their way.
I am also including his victory speeches too mb, he is getting more and more arrogant but none of his lemmings in the crowd or the msm for that matter are really even registering let alone retaining what the words this man is saying for his vision for this country/world is...I cannot believe how stupid people are...what fools.
Pure socialism folks..through and through.
Arrogance?
February 25, 2008 - 02:05 ET by jefflebowskiArrogance, like in Juan McPain? He knows what's best for us all and I feel so much better about it. /s
Arrrogant? Aloof?
February 24, 2008 - 17:42 ET by BourbeauOne can't deny that Obama has demonstrated both recently, but the original practiioner of that was none other than Hillary Clinton. If I'm not mistaken, just days before Iowa, Hillary arrogantly declared her nomination as "inevitable". Well, you don't get any more arrogant than that, and she's now paying the price. The reason why Obama has reached this threshhold is that Clinton ran a disastrous campaign - their Super Tuesday & It's Done strategy was an unmitigated failure. And because of that he has a bounce in his step, he just may be a tad arrogant. The MSM should stick to reporting rather than ringing their hands hoping he screws up enough to lose.
Well let's consider the
February 24, 2008 - 17:57 ET by MidAmericaWell let's consider the clinton's, algore, kerry, carter, pelosi, reid, schumer, kennedy, murtha, durbin,.... I don't see OB's arrogance as something that sets himself apart from his fellow travelers.
Zing!
February 24, 2008 - 18:00 ET by heldmywOhhh! Good shot!
But any one of them will tell you that what you suppose is arrogance, is really nothing but 'nuance'.
It just smells, looks, and feels like arrogance.
I pointed out these eastern liberals are all racists before
February 24, 2008 - 18:10 ET by Lame CherryI pointed this out before how the northeast from Ohio east is all racist white liberals worse than the south. New Hampshire and Mass should ring a bell.
These liberals absolutely take it personal when a black man beats a white candidate. Why on earth do you think Clarence Thomas nuked Metzenbaum of Ohio and Kennedy of Mass on the "high tech lynching"........he knew instinctively what this group of Letterman racists is all about.
Steph and Coke were simply allowing their racial scab to be picked off.........sure they tolerate Jocelyn Elders because she is a retard to fit the stereotype and let Vernon Jordan come in and shuffle around for massah Bill, but these racists are really fuming over Obama taking his place at the table as an equal.
I will predict something right now to watch:
The biggest enemies of Barak Obama are going to be the eastern patricians like Steph and Coke. They are already whispering what the cartel is staging in, "Chairman Howard Dean IF Barak Obama MIGHT BE INDICTED, IF a sex scandal comes out, WOULD it be possible that PERHAPS someone like pastey white guy Al Gore might come in and save the party from blacks and the nation from McCain?"
If the cartel gets Obama booted on charges, I hope John McCain goes to him and invites him to a cabinet post if Obama can bring in the black vote. I blogged from the start that Obama is a fake, but I would rather have him our fake and convince blacks to vote GOP so they could really gain power in their lives than just leave the arisen one to hang out with Scooter Libby in prison.
As Howard Hughs said, now is the time to start planning how to work this to our advantage.
Obama's worst enemies are his own racist party.........let the GOP be Obama's best refuge.
*HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS
Just delicious Noel, totally
February 24, 2008 - 18:21 ET by Gary P JacksonJust delicious Noel, totally delicious!
The MSM will show some
February 24, 2008 - 21:00 ET by JerryThe MSM will show some level of objectivity when it is one liberal vs. another liberal, and may even throw the old "liberal" label out. But once the democrat candidate has been determined, all blemishes and criticism will disappear and you will never hear the word "liberal" again.
Right now they are concerned that the chosen one may not be as electable as the blind followers have led them to believe, and rightly so. I think the dirty little secret, is that there is a large core of democrat voters who will be unwilling to vote for a black.
When asked if he went to war with Iraq to derail the impeachment vote: “I don’t think any serious person would believe that any President would do such a thing." - President Clinton (Dec 1998).
Adding Cokie Roberts to the
February 25, 2008 - 12:17 ET by dscottAdding Cokie Roberts to the list, consorting with Georgie boy, a Clinton pet? I can't think of a better reason why you shouldn't be on the Clinton MSM Operatives List:
But thanks for giving pointers on defeating Obama in the general election. We will keep this in mind... It seems if the Clintons can't have the nomination or the POTUS position, then no Democrat can! Why else would Clinton's MSM operatives publicly trumpet Obama's weaknesses? Note, that not one real point of discussion on policy differences between the two Dems, it's just a popularity contest. They are a vindictive bunch, aren't they? It doesn't get much better than this. LOL
Lord Sidious / Darth Vader 2008 Long Live the Empire! Come to the Dark Side, it is your Destiny.