Barry vs. Bubba

[MadBurgerMaker]

Bill is way cooler than Barack.

[sbr]

It's like pornography.  Sometimes you just know that a certain argument, characterization, or description has originally been devised somewhere deep in the bowels of political strategist, and almost overnight becomes repeated all over the place. 

So you don't think there was any sort of messianic tone to the buzz around Obama during his 2008 campaign?  Believe it or not, I didn't mean anything partisan in saying what I said about that.  Just making an observation that Obama seemed to be a better campaigner than Bill Clinton.

I didn't see it and the only time I have ever heard it mentioned is by the right and others who have always been very anti-Obama.  That said I try not to follow this kind of stuff on a daily basis.

[CountDeMoney]

So you don't think there was any sort of messianic tone to the buzz around Obama during his 2008 campaign?  Believe it or not, I didn't mean anything partisan in saying what I said about that.  Just making an observation that Obama seemed to be a better campaigner than Bill Clinton.

I didn't see it and the only time I have ever heard it mentioned is by the right and others who have always been very anti-Obama.  That said I try not to follow this kind of stuff on a daily basis.

There was a buzz; it was the "oh wow we could actually have a black President, neato" buzz, which, quite frankly, could be misinterpreted by racist righties as "messianic" compared to their hasn't-been-cool-since-2000 nominee and his psycho illiterate girlfriend running mate.

[garbon]

There totally was messianic buzz as the super negro that could save us from the long darkness of Bush (which also including McCain even though he wasn't Bush).

[Crazy_Ivan80]

And of course Obama actually convinced a majority of voters to vote for him.

Well he does score points for promising to do a bunch of things that he not only did not do, not too unexpected, but immediately went out and did exactly the opposite...which was suprising even for a politician.

we have that happen all the time here

[grumbler]

There totally was messianic buzz as the super negro that could save us from the long darkness of Bush (which also including McCain even though he wasn't Bush).

That was just in your tribe, though.  In the real world, I didn't see it.

Both of Reagan's campaigns were messianic, but that was probably before your time.  Obama's campaign had genuine enthusiasm behind it, so I suppose that, looking through certain glasses, and lacking any memory of genuinely enthusiastic campaigns, some young Republicans may have seen the campaign as messianic.  Anyone with perspective could tell that person that it wasn't, though, except maybe by comparison to the stiff, negative campaigns of Gore, Bush, Lurch, and McCain.

[garbon]

There totally was messianic buzz as the super negro that could save us from the long darkness of Bush (which also including McCain even though he wasn't Bush).

That was just in your tribe, though.  In the real world, I didn't see it.

I guess if my tribe consisted of liberals in San Fransisco.

[garbon]

There totally was messianic buzz as the super negro that could save us from the long darkness of Bush (which also including McCain even though he wasn't Bush).

That was just in your tribe, though.  In the real world, I didn't see it.

I guess if my tribe consisted of liberals in San Fransisco.

/I think you might be taking what derspeiss said differently. It wasn't that Obama's campaign posited him as a messiah but rather the buzz from his supporters on the ground.

And then was mocked here: http://www.theonion.com/video/obama-win-causes-obsessive-supporters-to-realize-h,14287/

[grumbler]

I guess if my tribe consisted of liberals in San Fransisco.

/I think you might be taking what derspeiss said differently. It wasn't that Obama's campaign posited him as a messiah but rather the buzz from his supporters on the ground.

And then was mocked here: http://www.theonion.com/video/obama-win-causes-obsessive-supporters-to-realize-h,14287/

Responding to your own posts, now? 

I disagree that the fact that the Onion isn't funny any more because of Obama.

If the possession of a whackjob fringe of supporters makes Obama messianic, then even the Shrub was messianic.  Kinda ruins the concept of words having actual meaning, though.

[garbon]

Whatever you say, dear.

[Eddie Teach]

Eh, I think it was widespread enough that Obama himself cracked jokes about comparisons between himself and Superman and Jesus.

[Sheilbh]

I don't think it was just whackjobs to be fair.  I don't think Obama was that messianic and his campaign style didn't seem too out of the ordinary.  I actually think his rhetoric was also far more about 'we' as in this movement/campaign/us whatever - which doesn't seem messianic. 

What was unusual was the excitement of the Democrats at ending the Bush era.  In addition to that they had two genuinely superb candidates duking it out to finish it who would likely be the first black or the first female President, but regardless a historic figure.

With Obama in particular I think it was stronger because a lot of people projected onto him, which was perhaps because he was a bit of a blank slate.  I think many Republicans did something similar with Palin as it happens.

Blair was messianic, on his election, he opened his victory speech with the line 'a new dawn has broken, has it not'.  That's even got Biblical cadence

[CountDeMoney]

There totally was messianic buzz as the super negro that could save us from the long darkness of Bush (which also including McCain even though he wasn't Bush).

That was just in your tribe, though.  In the real world, I didn't see it.

Both of Reagan's campaigns were messianic, but that was probably before your time.

Yes, they were.  Reagan '84 was a lot of fun as far as campaigns go, actually.

[CountDeMoney]

If anybody's on the left was messianic recently, it was Gore 2000;  the only real economic populist, but his dire economic warnings sound too much like "we've-had-it-too-good-and-we're-not-going to-take-it-anymore!" to certain ears.

[Admiral Yi]

If anybody's on the left was messianic recently, it was Gore 2000;  the only real economic populist, but his dire economic warnings sound too much like "we've-had-it-too-good-and-we're-not-going to-take-it-anymore!" to certain ears.

WTF? 

Al Gore was a champion of market solutions to global warming.  Edwards was the economic populist.  Free college for everyone!