Edwards Smacks Obama As "Kumbaya" Candidate

Edwards presents not only an ideological challenge to Clintonism but a tactical one as well. Describing the difference between him and Hillary, he said, simply, "She is the status quo and I am change." Edwards, who was the first candidate this year to present a detailed universal-health-care proposal, argued that Clinton learned the wrong lesson from her policy defeat. "For me, the lesson of the Clinton health-care experience is you can't compromise and negotiate with these people who stand between us and change--insurance companies, drug companies, lobbyists. I think she's got just the opposite conclusion. Or, at least, the way she responds seems to be an opposite conclusion: that the way to bring about change is you have to work with these people." He went on, "That's what we saw happen in the nineteen-nineties. And I think now we're going to have to actually take them on in a serious way, with the backing of the American people, and beat them."

Edwards dismisses Obama's argument that more consensus is needed in Washington. The difference between them, Edwards told me, is the difference between "Kumbaya" and "saying, 'This is a battle. It's a fight.' " When I asked whether he's a populist, he lifted a riff from his stump speech: "If it means you're willing to stand up for ordinary people, the kind of people that I grew up with, against very powerful, entrenched interests, then yes, I am a populist."

Read the full article.

Comments

[MissFortunate]

His comment has NOTHING to do with race people.

Ironic usage
Though the song was originally associated with unity and closeness, it is now often referenced sarcastically to connote a blandly pious and naively optimistic view of the world and human nature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbaya

[wijg]

Thanks MissFortunate, sometimes I think we're our own worst enemy.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

"you can't compromise and negotiate with these people"

Right.

Say it again.

[readyforchange]

You CAN'T compromise and negotiate with these people. The Repubs have run over the Dems for years. It's going to take some backbone to make changes. A taste of their own medicine.

[wijg]

...Edwards dismisses Obama’s argument that more consensus is needed in Washington. The difference between them, Edwards told me, is the difference between “Kumbaya” and “saying, ‘This is a battle. It’s a fight.’ ”

Edwards DID NOT smack Obama as the "kumbaya candidate.­" The song "kumbaya" is associated with harmony. Edwards is saying we cannot work reasonably (or in harmony, as Obama suggested) with this administration or the GOP, but it is a battle, a fight. Stop taking these comments OUT OF CONTEXT! Democrats need to work TOGETHER to get our country back on track.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Fault the Dems for being a group that quibbles over "kumbaya," the Repukes are still crowing, "Crime By All."

[emjay1954]

Can we PLEASE deal with the substance of Edwards's charges rather than the name of some song? The fact of the matter is, from the very beginning Obama has advocated for a false consensus. Edwards was right. It IS a fight. Whether Edwards is the best one to lead us, I'm not sure. But the pretense "let's all just get along" is a bankrupt strategy.

[AeneasAnnai]

John Edwards is clearly in a very desperate situation he would be lucky to even have Obama respond to this nonsense.

Obama 08

[frankifrost]

Hey Aeneas,
The world is dying and you're playing PC.
Won't you ever learn from past mistakes?
There is no dealing with these people; forget consensus with the enemy.
They must be removed from the process.

[Chocolate2008]

Edwards really needs to be careful with his Jim Crow comments. White men from South who are Democrats, really need to steer away from comments that expose them as a Racist considering the History of the Democratic Party being the party that started Jim Crow and the Ku Klux Klan in the South. Edwards already has no support from Blacks and Latinos so he needs to watch his mouth. He can't win the Primary with Old Racist White DIXICRAT Males from the South.

Edwards better watch his friggin mouth.

[JonathanTroy]

My informal poll of African Americans in North and South Carolina (about twenty friends and coworkers) tells me that they have a fairly high opinion of Edwards. Just sayin'.

[Chocolate2008]

Right.

[MissFortunate]

You do realize that it was used in the ironic sense that maybe we can't just all get along, that we have to fight for what believe is right, for everyong. It has nothing to do with RACE.

[liberaldemdave]

Nice try, Chocolate.

Your attempt to tie White Democrats to the KKK is really disingenuous and I'm really offended by your crass generalization.

White Democrats have about as much to do with the KKK as the Republican Party has the right to continue to call itself "The Party of Lincoln".

Let's leave race out of this because it's not relevant in this case.

[readyforchange]

These comments about "kumbaya" being a racial slur are absurd. I remember singing that song at summer camp when I was a child.

I have to say these politicians are criticized no matter WHAT they say. I'm no fan of politicians, but I sure wouldn't want to run for office. It's a no-win proposition.

I'm tired of all this political correctness anyway. It paralyzes us, and is phony. People should be able to express their opinions without scrutinizing every word.

[Chocolate2008]

I'm A Democrat and you don't have a CLUE about the History of this party. It wasn't created in 1965.

[bethinCary]

unifying=kumbaya?

Call it what you will, it's fine by me.

"Kumbaya' is a much more noble goal for the world than warmongering and divisiveness.
Prosperity is not "the bottom line" as the capitalistic Beltway crowd would like the world to think-based on thier own greed, egos, and power.
Prosperity and peace come when you respect other people/other countries/your own people/your own laws.
The egos, the realization of what's important in life, the focus, the willingness to stand up to adversity are what's necessary on an individual basis to achieve thiose goals. don't wait for someone to "lead" you-find it on your own.

[MissFortunate]

This has to do with politics within Washington not to do with Foreign relations. Both Obama and Edwards have been clear that negotiating is the first line of attack for any foreign relations policy.

This has to do with a sense that to get things done in Washington we have to cosy up to Republicans and work with them. It seems we've been doing that for the past six years and it hasn't helped much, has it? People keep asking Democrats to grow a spine and Edwards says he's willing to fight. I don't see a problem with that at all.

[FeelinGroovy]

The term "Kumbaya" is often used in the business world to denote 'let's make nice'. It has nothing to do with race. Just like the 'come to Jesus' meeting with the marketing dept. has nothing to do with religion. It means we know we're going to be sold on this new idea, whatever it is. I think Edwards' use of Kumbaya was in reference to Obama's view that the democrats should make nice with the GOP which is not going to work, as he says.

[JonathanTroy]

After reading everyone's comments, I thought yours was the best. Though "Kumbaya" is a Gullah spiritual (Carolinian Edwards should have known this), it has lost all racial connotation for me. I think of Beavis & Butthead's hippie teacher when I hear the song, even though I was weaned on folk music.

Edwards point was on target, and not a "macaca moment" at all. Now, if he calls Obama "Sambo" or "Stepin Fetchit" I'll be worried.

[seawolf77]

Kumbaya racist? Get a life.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Well, since we're parsing...

From my experiences, I understand "Come to Jesus" to mean a sit-down meeting for hard truths, or being taken to the woodshed, possibly with some semblance of confession and forgiveness, NOT something to do with a sales pitch.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=come+to+jesus&defid=774619

[FeelinGroovy]

Perhaps you're correct, "reason" however, you seem to have missed my point and are now going down a rat hole (rat hole = off topic). I was simply stating my experience.

[ctbutte]

Silky Pony will say anything to get some media attention away from Shillary and Half Black

[RichardD]

There is nothing wrong with "Kumbaya" when it is used by the people who should be using it - like public school teachers and camp counselors; but for God's sake, keep it away from those smarmy politicians running for office.

[mongus]

Could this be Edward's MACACA moment? What was he thinking?

I hope he will be 'man enough' and apologize to Obama and to his own supporters. I don't think those loyal to him want to be a part of THAT kind of a campaign.

If he did not mean it to be a 'poor taste' remark, Edwards should come out and say just that.

[accountability]

he wasn't thinking, It just isn't something you would think about in a sense. Kumbaya has been used by all kinds of groups for a long time, it would be easy to not make the connection right away.
It was a stupid slip.

Hopefully it will slide away.

or he will apologize.
I really don't see Edwards as racist. Petulant maybe, but not racist.

[milo9]

Kumbaya is short hand for a naive hippie worldview. And Obama's theme of bringing the sides together is a kumbaya theme.
It's not going to happen, the people who control the levers still have broadcast media, and the drive for power at all costs. It's difficult to believe that at this stage they will be willing to join hands and sing "Kumbaya".

I too am a boomer and learned "Kumbaya" in my youth as YMCA camp counselor, in my mind it has nothing to do with rascism and if Obama demands some kind of apology it will backfire.
It seems that long after our Constitution is gone we'll still be mired in race.

[daniel155]

Obama has taken the space that Edwards occupied in his 2004 campaign. Clinton is the candidate of experience and Obama is the fresh face.

This leaves Edwards in no man's land. He is far less experienced than Clinton and is hardly a new face like he was in 2004. He has no Senate accomplishments to cite and he has been constantly running since 2004 so he is a known commodity.

His political operatives have been trying to cast him as the candidate of specifics but it has hardly gotten past "see my website for my detailed plan on (fill in the blank)" status.

In the last quarter Clinton raisied four times as much as Edwards and Obama raised about two-and-one half times as much. The funding statistics are roughly equivelanet to the poll numbers for each candidate.

It is hard to see what Edwards can do in the next four months to turn this thing around.

[SeanGardner]

"Clinton is the candidate of experience and Obama is the fresh face."

Wow, you think so? I guess that's what Hillary's handler's would like most to believe, but when I read the current GQ article on Obama, I was struck by these words:

“Even on the much hyped question of experience, Clinton, Edwards, and Obama are roughly equal, each having no more than a decade of legislative experience and no executive experience. Given the historic opportunity of an electorate desperate for change and disinclined to elect another Republican president, the Democratic contest is really about who will be the most transformational president. Obama’s case is that to change anything in America, we have to begin by changing our politics, and he offers the kind of campaign he’s running as evidence that he means it”.

What in the hell is she SO MUCH MORE EXPERIENCED than Obama in? I would like to know.

In fact, Bill CLinton uttered these famous words in 1992:

"I believe experience counts, but it's not everything. Values, judgment and my record...a­lso should count for something.­..we have to change this country...­insanity [is] just doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result...W­e have got to have the courage to change...W­e need a new approach. The same old experience is not relevant..­.And you can have the right kind of experience and the wrong kind of experience­..."

So using the BILL CLINTON MODEL, you can see why Obama is ready to be sworn in. WISDOM. VALUES. JUDGMENT. EXPERIENCE.

Go Barack!





Judgment. Values. Wisdom. Experience. Obama has it all. Can't wait 'til he is sworn in.

[SeanGardner]

"In the last quarter Clinton raisied four times as much as Edwards and Obama raised about two-and-one half times as much."

Really? Link the official numbers so we all can see. The fundraising numbers you cite DON'T EXIST.

Here is the truth: Obama raised more than Hillary, so Hillary's take couldn't be "four times as much as Edwards".

Last quarter:
Obama $32.5 million

Hillary $27 million

And the only reason Hillary barely has more money in the bank than Obama is because she transferred nearly $10 million from her Senate campaign to her presidential campaign.

And don't look now, but Obama just might shatter the quarter fundraising record for presidential candidates, which is currently held by George Bush ($35.5 from the 2nd quarter of 2003). He came within $3 million of that last quarter.

This is not an attack on any candidate. Edwards, Obama, and Clinton are great candidates. But Obama came out ahead in fundraising. That's a fact.

[daniel155]

Edwards raised about $8.5 in the second quarter so you are technically right. Clinton third quarter fundraising is a little less than four times as much as Edwards. But if you combine Obama and Clinton fundraising that means Edwards will be outspent by the combination of the two by a ratio of approximately seven to one.

Bill Richardson is also nipping at Edwards' heels too because Richardson raised about $6.2 million. Total fundraising for Edwards is about $22 million and the figure for Richardson is $13 million

So even if Edwards comes up with a message it will get drowned out particularly since his third quarter fund raising could be as low as five million dollars.

It seems a pretty tall order for Edwards to turn this thing around in four months.

These figures are not exact but they are close. I am citing them from memory from a Washington Post article in "The Trail" section. The exact figures are readily available from a variety of sources.

[spoonflipper]

Cripes. I think calling Edwards a "cracker" because he called Obama a Kumbaya candidate is way overboard. It's just an American cliche, it's got nothing to do with Obama's race. Beyond that, I tend to agree. I think Obama's overly compromising. I don't see why we have to bend over backwards (like we've been doing) to please the GOP that's been royally screwing the country for the last 7 years. It's gonna be a bloody uphill battle as it is, just getting things back to the status quo.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

I stand by my "crack."

Racism is a subtle thing.

-- Signed,
a Donkey Honkey

[frankifrost]

HERE HERE!!!

[jungpatawan]

I don't think Edwards is a racist, but "Kumbaya" is what some classifications refer to as an "old Negro Spiritual" - a little bit of a mis-riff for Johnny Carolina.

Also, isn't Kumbaya a GOOD thing from the left's standpoint?

"Someone's fighting Lord, Kumbaya...­"
"Someone's dying Lord, Kumbaya...­"

Seem's we need a little more "Kumbaya" and a little less "Onwards Christian Soldiers" in our national hymnal.

JP

[jungpatawan]

Or is that "Edwards' Christian Soldiers?"

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

I'm hardly PC, but "kumbaya" when refering to Obama?

Fasten your seatbelts.

Edwards may have just redefined himself as a benevolent cracker.

[citizenofmars]

He's from North Carolina after all. Doesn't take more than a clear code word to garner a LOT of undecided votes among the Stars & Bars crowd.

[mongus]

Very sad to see that Edwards has decided to attack Obama. That tells me quite a bit about him. I voted for him in '04, but not this time.

He has already trashed hillary, and from my perspective, that's fine. But, to go after Barack with that kind of a remark?

I guess when all else fails, you do what you have to do. I can't wait to hear his next 'poor taste' comment.

Good luck in getting votes.

[UkieOlie]

So, you're saying people from North Carolina are crackers?

[JonathanTroy]

The Stars & Bars crowd will not be voting for Edwards even if he flies the St. Andrews Cross and whistles Dixie while driving the General Lee.

Of course, that's the kind of behavior we would expect from Fred Thompson, who will get their votes.

[OhPlease2007]

Lets not be hasty in playing that 'reverse racism card', 'if' in fact that is what you are doing; do TWO wrongs make a right???

Are you actually aware that the term 'Kumbaya' has different references in modern day culture?

For example:

"In the 2006 film Blood Diamond, Leonardo DiCaprio said "Kum Ba Ya" to Jennifer Connelly in an attempt to mock her for her naive view of the world affair."

- Wikipedia

The truth is, is that John Edwards IS a 'good man' and a 'decent leader', who WILL make a GREAT president in our nation.

And for all of you that live in transparent glass houses, please do not throw your stones; thanks!

John Edwards - THE Peoples President in 2008!