Odumbo?
Regardless of Barack Obama’s merits as a presidential candidate, I can’t help but notice that the right really wants to attack him, but hasn’t quite figured out how.
There’s ample room for criticism of Obama and his likely presidential ambitions — his inexperience is obviously at the top of the list — but his limited tenure and brief political career have left his conservative critics in a bit of a jam. It’s not enough to simply criticize Obama for being untested, which is a mild smear at best, so the right is left grasping at straws. Seeing what they’ve come up with is almost amusing.
Larry Kudlow, for example, criticized Obama for embracing Democratic Party policies, including support for raising the minimum wage and opposition to Social Security privatization and drilling in ANWR. Similarly, Fred Barnes went after Obama for holding traditionally liberal policy views. This is hardly fodder for a smear campaign.
Leave it to Rush Limbaugh to think outside the box.
RUSH: Obama up in New Hampshire being treated like a god making a speech. Now, apparently before he made the speech, Maureen Dowd had written something about his big ears. Obama, after the speech, made a beeline for Maureen Dowd who was in the audience to tell her that he didn’t appreciate her writing about his big ears. Now, there’s a lot of noise here and it’s very muddy. I’ll translate it for you, but here’s how it sounded.
OBAMA: Talk about my ears. So I just want to put you on notice, I’m very sensitive about — what I told them was I was teased relentlessly when I was a kid about my big ears.
DOWD: We’re just trying to toughen you up.
RUSH: “We’re just trying to toughen you up.” Here is what Barack Obama said. “Talk about my ears. So I just want to put you on notice, I’m very sensitive about — what I told them was I was teased relentlessly when I was a kid about my big ears.” Now, there are many aspects of this, folks, that we need to delve into and explore. For one thing, I mean you know me, if the guy’s sensitive about his big ears, we need to give him a new name, like Dumbo. But that doesn’t quite get it. How about Barack Obama Hussein Odumbo.
That’s what it’s come to. “Barack Obama Hussein Odumbo.” Wow.
I suppose it’s worth adding that Limbaugh’s cohorts are hardly cleverer in their attacks.
Sen. Barack Obama’s office is responding to charges from former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay that the Illinois Democrat is attempting to conceal his liberal views and that his record in the Senate is comparable to that of a “Marxist Leftist.”
DeLay is also urging conservative bloggers to begin digging into Obama’s past.
A spokesperson for the senator says voters want to “move beyond” Delay’s “name-calling.”
Peter LaBarbera, an anti-gay activist, meanwhile, decided to attack Obama because his Christian denomination isn’t conservative enough.
Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC) denomination and attends Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, according to UCC News.
“The United Church of Christ has now merged with the largest gay church in the world, called the Cathedral of Hope, in Texas,” LaBarbera notes. “And so they’re welcoming in churches that are embracing homosexuality, so they’ve become one of the most liberal denominations in the country.”
How counter-intuitive — a right-winger attacking a Democrat for going to church.
I’m sure GOP attack dogs will dig up plenty of dirt on Obama, and if they don’t, they’ll make stuff up. But in the meantime, we’re left with a progressive, church-going Democrat with big ears. C’mon, right-wing machine, what kind of smear-job is this?
“Odumbo” is the hook. The rest of Limbaugh’s riff is that Obama is too sensitive about his ears, and therefore too sensitive to win a nomination fight (or to be president).
Trust me, this stuff will be cumulative — see also Maureen Dowd citing another pundit’s “Obambi” in reference to that land deal. It all adds up to “too green to be president.” And it’ll work.
Not only is an attempt to smear Obama based on inexperience a bit tame, it is also hard for the wingers because their last candidate had even less experience.
But this making fun of physical characteristics is a bit juvenile, even if it does come from a radio blowhard. Nonetheless, because it is a Friday afternoon, I propose to reply in kind. He is hereafter Rush Limpbough.
Frankly, given the results in November I am inclined to think there is a good chance this stuff backfires and makes the Rethugs even less popular. If that is even possible.
The right-wingers are just nibbling around the edges. When it comes to torpedoing Obama, they’ll just pull out the race card. And—that’s why Harold Ford’s defeat makes me skeptical of the viability of an Obama presidential run. Yes, racism is like cockroaches; it’s hard to exterminate.
Obama has big ears? I hadn’t noticed, he’s got such a beautiful smile and gorgeous eyes.
Limpbough (love that one, zeitgeist) is so juvenile (OK, how about we just call him an a*s). Back to the playground, Rush.
Hmm, that’s strange coming from the same guy who decried that the book “Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot” was insensitive now calling a guy with big ears, dumbo? I remember that Rush also lost weight after the publication of Big Fat Idiot.
The very same guy who wanted people NOT to make fun of his fat ass, drug addiction or his limp dick. Yup, that RUSH LIMPBAUGH.
Remember,Rush, drug addicted, limp dicked fatasses in glass muumuus shouldn’t throw stones.
Obama looks fine, big ears or not.
Folks like Peter LaBarbera should take note that with the way evangelical ministers are coming out of the closet these days, they shoud all be considered gay churches until proven otherwise, Dobson included.
As for Rush mocking another person’s appearance? Bwaaaaaahahahaha! He not only needs a lot of Viagra to have sex, he needs a bag over his head as well.
I think Steve M. is right to focus on the word “sensitive.”
As Stephen Ducat pointed out in his excellent 2004 book, “The Wimp Factor: Gender Gaps, Holy Wars, and the Politics of Anxious Masculinity,” the main way the right-wing propagandists attack male Democratic candidates and politicians is by suggesting that they are too feminine to be strong leaders. (You can find a good interview with Ducat at http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/20343.)
There’s no doubt that the word “sensitive” is one of the code words the right-wing smear merchants use to mean “feminine.”
IIRC, during the 2004 presidential campaign, John Kerry said something about wanting to fight the so-called War On Terror in a smarter and “more sensitive” way. Big Dick Cheney then jumped all over that comment, repeatedly mocking it in a way that made Kerry seem like a girlie-man who didn’t have the balls to effectively fight back the terrorists and keep us all safe.
Just a week or two ago, George Will wrote a column in which he described Obama as “elegant” and compared Obama to Fred Astaire. That seemed to me to be a very obvious attempt to feminize Obama. The visual image that comes to mind is Obama wearing a black tux, white gloves, and shiny black shoes, holding a black top hat in one hand and a white cane in the other, tap dancing up a storm with a slight smile on his face. That’s not exactly a macho image.
By pointing out that Obama attends a church that “embraces” openly gay men, this LaBarbera clown is suggesting, I think, in an indirect way, the possibility that Obama himself might be gay. Here, the visual image that LaBarbera almost certainly means to invoke is Obama standing chest to chest with, and tightly embracing, some modern-day Paul Lynde.
Of course the right-wing attack dogs aren’t just one-trick ponies (to mix metaphors). They can do much more than suggest a male Dem is feminine. They can accuse a Dem of being, say, stupid or corrupt or traitorous. But I really do think their main trick is to suggest a male Dem is feminine. Ducat’s book convinced me of that.
That Rush is a classy guy. And clever!
(cue heaving sounds)
Pundit: Oooh, what big ears you have, Obama.
Obama: All the better to listen to voters with.
Unlike those on the Reich who are so cocksure they already know everything Gawd wants them to know, or the Bush Crime Family which doesn’t give a damn what the “little people” want, Democrats do listen to voters. That’s why they’re winning.
That’s what it’s come to. “Barack Obama Hussein Odumbo.” Wow.
Well, the first draft of the routine had Limbaugh calling Obama “J’onn J’onzz”, but that was too subtle for his audience.
How counter-intuitive — a right-winger attacking a Democrat for going to church.
LOL, didn’t polls after the “don’t give Kerry communion!” flap show no change in approval levels, only in the level of people who knew he was a practicing Catholic?
The Republicans are sounding quite a bit like a cranky, pathetic minority party lately.
Well, the first draft of the routine had Limbaugh calling Obama “J’onn J’onzz”, but that was too subtle for his audience.
Too subtle for me too, unless you meant T’Challa?
I believe J’onn J’onzz was also known as the Martian Manhunter in the DC comics universe. Maybe Cyrus’ referencing the fact that he thinks Obama looks like that character?? Peronally, I don’t see it.
Honestly, I think Obama has some of the same facial structure as Abraham Lincoln.
http://unconquerablegladness.blogspot.com/2006/12/obama-odds.html
Kudlow, Limbaugh, Delay. A trio of angry losers.
I believe J’onn J’onzz was also known as the Martian Manhunter in the DC comics universe. Maybe Cyrus’ referencing the fact that he thinks Obama looks like that character?? Peronally, I don’t see it.
Alf, then? “Barack Obama Hussein Odumbo” is pretty obviously just an attempt to be weird, or rather to make Obama sound weird. Weird, different, bizarre, un-American, alien. I figured that you couldn’t get any more alien than an actual Martian.
I realized what this reminded me of:
Marge: So what was it like at the Flanders’ house?
Homer: Yeah, gimme all the dirt.
Lisa: Let’s see. Dirt….dirt…well, there wasn’t really much dirt.
[pause]
Bart: There was a bunch of old paint cans in the garage, though.
[long pause]
Homer: Old painty-can Ned!!!
[the family laughs long and hard]
Without the laughter, though.
Pundit: Oooh, what big ears you have, Obama.
Obama: All the better to listen to voters with. — Ed Stephan, @9
Precisely. That was my first thought too, on hearing that Obama has big ears. (haven’t noticed it myself, but allI’ve ever seen are phortos).
Bush, OTOH… Show me *one* cartoon of him where his ears aren’t twice the size of his head. And they’re still not big enough to have caught the roar of Nov 7. Obviously, it’s not the size of the ears that counts, but of the box between them.
People who take Flush seriously wouldn’t vote for Obama if he single-handedly captured bin Laden, found a cure for cancer and created a device that allowed them to drive their giant assed F-150s for days on just a spoonful of sugar.
The other radicals are going after him for (shock, horror) voting like a Democrat. Uh…right.
Delay (R-Club Fed) is going to look pretty damn stupid when he winds up in the slammer so who pays attention to him? The only way for Radical Right to play the “race card” is to go all out and say Look! He’s black (or mixed) don’t vote for him! Unlike Ford, he’s married and has a couple of kids so the party animal smear will only work for those who wouldn’t vote for him any way.
I think he might be the one to pull down the “big tent” and ruin Das Base’s aspirations to power, just by existing. The RRWs will act so deranged as they try to discredit him it will further repulse moderate and true conservative Reps. Any candidate that tries to pander to the RRW’s will fall to a case of guilt by association. Bye-bye McCain!
Limbaugh has no business talking about anyone else’s ears: http://carpathian_bronze.tripod.com/implant.jpg
It really burns me to see such deliberate bullying, but I guess Obama will need to learn not to reveal the things that hurt and it’s good to learn what it will be like early.
He can still choose not to run, with a fair chance of receiving some kind of cabinet post (or the vp slot) in a Democratic administration. He’s young and can wait.
I think that they will end up relying heavily on racism and an attempt to tie Obama racially to extremist Muslims. It’s thought that worked with Harold Ford, a commercial playing on racist fears also helped bring down Dukakis — the Republicans never let a sense of honor, fair play, or what’s good for America stand in the way of their agenda.
Okay, wait a minute, I think I know the answer:
“Well, you know what they say about men who have big ears…..”
of course the “build em up to tear em down” meme machine (ask Dr. Dean for details) is in high gear. Flipping through news channels this afternoon, one of then - either Fox or MSNBC - had a bunch o talking heads over the chyron “Is Obama Tough Enough?”
I would like to think that someone who refuses to give in to the nastiness and continually appeals to our better angels would do well. then again, John Edwards was neither nominated nor elected President.
I think someone should shoot Limbaugh in the face.
It’s almost comical, watching Lush Rimball try to find ways to “hurt” this guy. And as for looks, a big dumb primate like d’LOSER!LOSER!LOSER! ought to just shut his Texas primate mouth. Obama doesn’t look like he’s been quaffing bug spray for a couple of decades—and he hasn’t an iota of stain on him. LaBarbieDoll, by the way, needs to climb back into his cheap, Chick-tract burrow. The “fear factor” has been played far too often by these knotheads; they’ve desensitized the electorate, and the sun is slowly setting on their dreams of a “Neo-Theo-Xeno” coalition.
Another thing that’s counterintuitive: A grossly overweight Republican with graying hair and gray skin comparing a young, thin Democrat to an elephant.
Rush Limbaugh is a big, fat idiot.
I got yer Obama hit piece right here. Someone forwarded me this one just yesterday:
www.usavoice.org/Article.cfm?ID=3622&C=Crime&T=Obama%20Corruption%20Scandal
As far as “Hussein” goes, Obama would hardly be the first president to be mocked for his middle name. H.L. Mencken routinely taunted Warren G. Harding by calling him “Gamaliel.”
The White House has already seen its share of Milhouses, Birchards, and the infamous “S.” Not to mention Stephen G. Cleveland, who went by his middle name, “Grover.” Not a choice I would’ve made, no sir.
I think the electorate has already shown it’s tired of schoolyard taunts passing for political discourse. By 2008, with Iraq in god-knows-what condition of meltdown and a Democratic Congress once again showing how government works when grownups are in charge, making fun of Obama’s ears and name will only show that the GOP continues to be devoid of honor and intellect.
#22: Catherine has it half solved:
“Well, you know what they say about men who have big ears…
…they listen carefully to voters.”
you know what they say about guys with big ears…….
they need big hats.
Catherine cracked me up. Dan, you’re a whiz, you should be in the war room.
As for Limpawwww, he’ll drum it till they lose the Big Ear voters. Then it’ll be back to open racism.
“But this making fun of physical characteristics is a bit juvenile,”–zeitgeist
Right, because Liberals would never make fun of how George Bush looks, ever. They are mature.
I resent Comment 7 by “Moron” (he chose the name, I didn’t!) that comparing Mr. Obama to Fred Astaire is to feminize the candidate.
I’ll agree that Astaire does not project a “macho” image, but he is hardly feminine, even in formal attire. Anyone truly familiar with Astaire’s movie persona (and personal life, for that matter) knows that he was a powerful masculine force romanticized by female fans to such an extent that most women since his career began have fantasized about dancing with him. I get so tired of this idea that a slender gentleman type is somehow not as manly as the hunk type!
I won’t make a comment about big ears. Just curious. Did Karl Marx have big ears? I believe if he did not, that is the only thing he does not have in common with this Obama person.