Whole Wide World Wants Obama
Putting yesterday's Pennsylvania primary in the correct perspective: Obama is the one who "closed" his deal by narrowing the big margin Hillary had going into the state. Hillary blew half her point lead. She lost even if she won. Even Republican caricature Bill Bennett applauded Hillary on her campaign -- which she ran like a Republican, he said on CNN. The Democratic commentators let that one go by without comment. What was up with them? Isn't this the ultimate insult, or is it a badge of honor for Leibercrat (thank you, Bob Cesca) Clinton?
Bennett gave Hillary high marks on her fear-provoking, mean-spirited campaign of making non-issues important and lies sound like truth for those who don't "get" that she's using the famous Republican inspired M.O. to throw a net over her citizen prey. This worked for George Bush, and we all know how it's been to live with the tragic results of that. Bennett's comment should be a veil of shame for Mrs. Clinton, though she wears it like a blushing bride. Maybe she'll go out and shoot a duck to celebrate, or down some shots with her good ole Northern boys. After that, they could head out to a Whiffenpoof sing-a-long.
The world is watching this election with great interest. I live in Paris, which is an extremely diverse culture as well as a crossroads for Europe and other continents. Everyone I talk to -- without exception -- says they are excited about Obama being elected president of the United States. That he would make a huge difference in how the world sees us and in our reputation. No one mentions Hillary. Most people don't even understand how she has as much support as she does, given that the bulk of her governmental experience is having been a First Lady--in Arkansas and then The White House -- for a total of 20 years. People from our Turkish tailor to an English actress friend bring the subject up, and are baffled.
Before you start saying that you don't care what anyone from any other country thinks, remember that this is exactly the attitude of George W. and VP Dick. This is the attitude of insular Americans who have shut down their hearts, their optimism, their experience, and their brains and let our country go down the tubes. They harm our country far more than they could ever help. This nationalist attitude has a bit of a fascist feel.
Check out The World Wants Obama Coalition. People from around the globe have submitted videos to say how they feel. For example,
Khaya from South Africa gives a very careful view of America's strengths and weakness, concluding that if it elects Barack Obama it will send the message to the world "that America has its mojo back:"
Beth Arnold lives and writes in Paris. You can see more of her work at www.betharnold.com.
Read more reactions from Huffington Post bloggers to the Pennsylvania Primary results
Follow Beth Arnold on Twitter: www.twitter.com/BethArnold
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Pennsylvania is like a third world country. It is economically depressed and mired in the past. The fact that they voted for Clinton has more to do with Bill than Hillary. These die hard Dems know the brand name Clinton as the glory days and know little about Obama. They cling to whatever negative available to rationalize a vote from a position of fear. This primary also has to do with despair and hopelessness. When I ask my Pennsylvania friends who is voting for Hillary there is not even a peep. What this reflects is the Democratic closed primary in PA only represents a minority of views. Most of my friends would vote Obama but are registered Republicans. The Democratic party is no friend to professionals and small business owners in PA. McCain is promising four more years and it doesn't take a genius to see that was not such a good plan. Bush guilt is hard felt among the educated and the enlightened Repugs and Independents who are now much more likely to support Obama than McCain. This primary means exactly what it says about registered Democrats in PA but does not reflect the state in the General election.
Bill has the credibility of a fruit fly and an even smaller IQ. His sense of self importance is equalled only by the Clintons. Coincidence?
Isn't that exactly it. How the media worm has turned. Of course it's fair to say Hillary had a win. But isn't the issue that she didn't win anywhere big enough. And isn't the question, then, why can't Hillary bump him off? They've thrown the sink and the fridge at him and yet he still closed the big gap in Pa enough so she can't pick him off. THAT's the story but is that what the media is fixed on? No! Why? Ratings perhaps. Or just their cycle of beating up on one and then turning on another. It's Obama's turn. Don't look to the media for truth, for accurate info, for anything that matters. They are ratings driven and are mostly corporate lackies. Thank God for the internet.
We out in the WORLD will take Obama anyday.
Compare him the other choices.
George W. Bush - whom most Americans ridicule , who is UNdiplomatic and starter a failing war in Iraq.
John McCain - who wants to carry on Bush's legacy for 4 more years.
Hillary and Bill Clinton....Who believe that it is their God given right to regain the White House.
The WORLD has not forgotten the Clinton scandals of the 90's, nor have we forgotten Rwanda and how Bill Clinton refused to acknowledge the genocide in that country.......A marked different from his interest in Bosnia .
Hillary received the poetic justice she deserved when it was actually the BOSNIA fairy tale which exposed her for the LIAR she is.......SNIPER FIRE....HAH!!!!!
The USA fought the British for independence in order to get away from being ruled by a MONARCHY, but what has happened.............. BUSH, then CLINTON, then BUSH and now the possibility of ANOTHER CLINTON?.......Looks like a MONARCHY to me.
We in the WORLD all loved Bill and Hillary and defended ALL of their indiscretions and scandals.......But we now see the Clintons for who they truly are........THEY DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO WIN AND DO NOT CARE WHO OR WHAT THEY HURT IN THE PROCESS........IT'S ALL ABOUT THEM
THE WORLD NEEDS OBAMA........WE WANT PEACE NOT WAR.........WE WANT TO SEE THE USA RETURN TO DECENCY AND HIGH MORALS..........WE WANT THE PRE- BUSH AND PRE-CLINTON USA BACK.
VOTE OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May God bless you and Sen. Obama. You just said it all..Thank you
Hillary is the incumbent and should have been winning with greater numbers. She had nearly the entire political machine in PA working for her. Hillary should be worried that it is she who has not been able to put away Obama a freshman senator from Illinois.
Really people, Hillary has the "head of the democratic party former President Clinton," and nearly all of the democratic party establishment and old line funders supporting her as well as the likes of Rupert Murdoch and Richard Mellon Scaife supporting her. As for spending Hillary has folks spending through 527's for her. The real question that as the "most experienced candidate and as the candidate who has been working the scene for 35 years and planning this run for president as far back as 1996:
WHY HASN'T SEN. CLINTON CLOSED THE DEAL AND BEEN ABLE TO PUT THE CONTEST TO AN END? Why is it that a mere freshman senator from Illinois is doing so well in a fight against the Clintons?
Obama is being criticized for not being tough. Supporting his definition of "winning" - namely, narrowing the margins - reinforces the portrayal of him as nuanced and soft, and of his followers as squishy.
A win by one point is a win. That is all he had to do - to win by one point. And for all the money that his machine threw at the election, he failed to do so. Winning is black and white, unfortunately. Look ahead, but don't try to spin this for him. It hurts him.
There is no spin to knowing that Obama is our prayer to end the war and bring peace to a way tired America.. Enough Bush/McCain war..
Enough Clinton lies
Wake up America. We need Obama and I will pray for all of you who are too blind and to stuck on Hillary to see that. Just stop and think for a minute.. What do we really need. Is it someone who really has no experince but being a first lady and a folder of lies?
Do we need a 72 year old man who gives everything to to rich, wants to keep the war going, and will keep letting American jobs be shiped away?
Or do we need a leader who sees the need to change. Who wants to end the war and keep our jobs here? Please use your minds when you vote. Think about what is best for our country..
Obama 08
"A win by one point is a win"
True enough.
But then one wonders how can Hillary claim she is now winning this primary? Obama has an insurmountable lead (and by well more than "one point") in both pledged delegates as well as the eligible popular vote. But because of her twisted math - counting FL and MI, not counting caucuses, discounting various states' votes, etc, she thinks she's somehow ahead. Winning IS black and white, but Hillary is working in shades of pixelated gray.
I absolutely concede that Obama lost PA, although I do believe that there is something to be said for him in narrowing the margin from 25% to 10% - Clinton won, but in the face of some very hard backsliding. Losing 15% in two weeks isn't exactly the upward momentum or "tide is turning" that she is trying to very erroneously lay claim to.
It depend on what you are counting and when. The game was over after Texas if you’re counting delegates. But look at US, we're still playing it to the final end with promises to take it to the convention.
Delusional, yes.
Can you believe she can go in public with straight face? It's got to be a mental condition.
Caught in many lies and act like nothing happened.
She campaigned against the Columbian trade deal while Bill and Penn championed it and made plenty of money and she acts like noting happen. She should be in Hollywood. They make mega-millions per year and the only thing that is real is the money.
Let’s see her do a remake of 'Cereal Killer.' Starring Hillary after her Oscar winning performance in Peter Pan' as the alligator who ate all the kids in Never-Never Land. Now she will go on to her next role in The Three Bears’ where she plays Goldilocks who claimed the house under squatter’s rights and kicked the bears out.
Hillary will paint the sky with sniper gun fire and tell you it's raining.
The problem is that you will always find Americans who have the "who cares what the rest of the world thinks" attitude. It's a very narrow-minded and Pat Buchanan-like view of the world. The fact is that we need each other. No country can go it alone. At some point, we're going to need to turn to our allies for help and thanks to Bush, no one really likes us. Electing Obama President will send a clear message that the era of Bush is over and that Americans want a second chance. We want to prove to the rest of the world we're not the arrogant, narrow-minded hypocrites you think we are. If we're going to address things like global warming, we're going to need the help of other nations and a leader who can work with other leaders, not push them away like Bush has.
Beth, Thank you. It is obvious from the first 14 post that most Americans suffer from tunnel vision. We are only 5% of the world's population and yet we think the world revolves around us. We have no idea that this election is not only our election. The president of the United States is not called the leader of the free world for nothing. But this inward thinking of Americans is helping to flush this nation straight down the toilet. But what the hell do we care. We think we are invincible. The Bush and Clinton families are not interested in democracy, they want a dynasty. That is what ihis election is all about. Billary wants back in the White House at all cost. God, history is going to judge us for this shit. It ain't gonna be pretty.
Mrs. Arnold: No real American gives cr#p what the French want or think. Becoming a socialist country is the last thing this country needs. The French yell for Obama, we should run in the opposite direction.
How sad
True Blue - No true American would say something as arrogant and absent minded as that. This is a globally connected world we live in. I find it sadly ironic that you can make statements like that when a slight hit to any of the major international economies forces the US economy into parol. We are all connected whether you like it or not. Grow up and open you eyes. As a citizen of the US, it is people like you that make me ashamed of my country at times.
Your ashamed of your country, what a surprise.We are connected , but that doesn't equate to we have to care what they think.We are the givers and stabilizers of the world. No country gives more than we do. Add up the aid given by our government, along with the charity given thru religion and compare to the rest of the world.Why do you think we buy crap from China, Mexico etc. These countries would fall apart without it. Many people would have no income and resort to turning their anger towards the government.There isn't enough space to explain in better detail, I'm not sure you would get it anyway.
Wow, I really feel sorry for you. I'd love to see how you, or the rest of us in America, would function without the rest of the world.
America is one country in a global community. We export little to no goods. We are continually falling behind the rest of the world in education, health, and GDP. We rely heavily upon, and consume the lion's share of, the rest of the world's food, oil, and other natural resources. We are heavily funded, and therefore completely dependent upon and essentially owned by foreign countries and banks (particulary China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia). Bush had put us deep into everyone's pocket and Hillary, bought and paid for as she is, will continue this practice.
We better care what the rest of the world thinks, because they are the ones feed, clothing, heating, and housing us through our disasterous consumption and borrowing practices. The world OWNS us. So you would do well to educate yourself and begin to vote with your brain as opposed to your flag-waving rhetoric and xenophobia.
Thank-you for making my point about liberals. "The world OWNS us" What a clueless clown. They do own you but not the true Americans in this country, and never will.By the way, we can make our own clothes,grow our own food and find ways to heat our homes.Also China and India are close to passing us by in the consumption of natural resources.They will not ruin their economy or starve their people just to satisfy what you want, get a clue.
True Blue
I have to wonder just where you think you actually came from? Do you think that your ancestors are all from America? I'm pretty sure if you got yourself a geneologist, you might just be surprised to find that you have some of that "undesirable" French blood in you. There is no place in this country for bigots of any kind. Every single person person in America, barring the Native Americans came here by boat at their roots. You personally did not do one darn thing to earn your precious American status. That was done by the blood of your forefathers and how dare you think that what the rest of the world thinks doesn't matter. We ARE the rest of the world. And Barack Obama is what this country should be the most proud about. Get off your high horse and don't ever try to tell anybody what a REAL American gives a crap about because you have no idea.
Deejax-You are exactly what's wrong with being a liberal bafoon.You must think that since the French think Obama would be good for America, you should think that way also.What a dope."We are the rest of the world" what a stupid statement. We are not the rest of the world, we are The United States Of America. I know you hate your country, but I don't and will fight with my life to preserve our traditions,heritage and way of life. You missed my point, which was we shouldn't follow the French in becoming a socialistic nation.The simple fact that you let other countries influence your voting habits tells me that you are indeed not a real American, just a liberal that thinks we are the bad people and all others are rightous.P.S. My ancestors were German and I have no alliegence to the German flag or any other.
Obama "closed" the deal last night?!?
Gee, I think we in the real world call that wishul thinking. Or just simple denial.
Then how can Hillary win??? She cant catch up in terms of vote or delegates.
Unless Hillary can win 71% of the remaining unpledged delegates, (and she hasn't exceeded 60% in any state yet), then yes, the deal is "closed"
We occupy three worlds: the Media Mind Warp World, the World on Paper, and the Real World.
In the Media Mind Warp World (where most Americans seem to live) Clinton has turned the tables on Obama, now has a viable candidacy, and voters care about issues like flag pins. In this world, the Media has a vested economic interest in sustaining the longest, most-drawn-out election campaign possible because the news audience goes way down in Spring and Summer (as does TV audience generally) and the MSM is trying to milk this story for all it can.
In the World on Paper, states are neither won nor lost. Pledged delegates are allocated according to clearly defined rules. This is the world of Obama. He is built his campaign on a strategy plan for succeeding in the World on Paper; he gamed the rules and maximized his success in the World on Paper.
In the Real World, motives are not what they appear: Clinton knows she cannot become the nominee, but she is lining herself up for a 2012 comeback. The harder Obama falls right now, the greater her chances of becoming successful in 2012. A McCain presidency will be terrible, and give us 4 more years of GOP, and the Democrats will be practically guaranteed the 2012 presidency. And after Obama's failed candidacy (with a few pushes, trips, kicks by Clinton to move the process along), she will be poised as "the one you should have nominated in '08".
"...and the Democrats will be practically guaranteed the 2012 presidency." Like we were virtually guaranteed to win in '08? And that's assuming the Democratic party lasts that long if it manages to blow this one.
The last thing Obama's camp needs to spread is that other countries (read: France) want him to win.
That is a deal breaker for the American people.
Obama needs to look *very* American! Remember what happened to Frenchy Kerry?
Considering that we are extremely unpopular that is actually a good thing.
I am half French. My mother is from there. I am so sick of my family being put down because of where we come from.
I am proud of my family in France. My cousins and aunts and uncles.
I am proud to be french.
The french are greatly mischaracterized as effete and snotty. They are mostly country people and small town people who are not very different from people here.
O yes, why there is plenty of time?
One in five voters in PA said race is a factor in their vote. One in five said gender.
So there is time for people to grow up and realize we are all human first and race and gender are details.
When they said it was a factor, did they say it was a negative or positive?
I mean were women saying gender was a factor?
And African Americans said race was a factor?
If that were the case, that would be great.
It would mean that 80 percent of the people were taking things into consideration other than two details that the candidates have no control over.
1 in 5 said gender was a factor, 72 percent of those who did voted for Clinton.
1 in 5 said race was a factor 60 percent of those who did voted for Clinton.
If seen in a larger perspective (the whole cosmos), Obama has already delivered the gift he came to give. That is, he has changed the political conversation, ignitied passion and hope in the young, stated brother's keeper values, demonstrated emotional maturity, candor, social friendliness even to adversaries, firm resolve and an impeccable work ethic.
Obama has already defined the future our heart's desire and told us we need to do it. So I want such a president, yes I do, and if I had to vote for Clinton to protect myself from John McCain's backers, I would. In fact, my little campaign now is that Friends don't let Friends vote for John McCain, read Cliff Schecter's book, five stars on Amazon, if you don't want to buy it, just read the last chapter at your bookstore. Friends don't let friends vote for John McCain.
Meanwhile, now I suggest to Sen. Obama that he have his campaign schedule allow hiim two overnights a week at home. His family is rejuvenative to him and whether or not he wins this thing, that needs to be his first priority. If he cannot do that, he needs to bring everyone with him on the bus. This has gone on too long and it is too depleting. He needs three-day weekends every week.
He is so loved and for the people who don't know him or like him yet, relax. There's time.
Yes, I agree on the nights at home and rejuvenation. And an excellent post too!
So Americans should forget what they think and form their opinions based upon the view of what 'the world' believes is best for America. I find it ironic that you believe France is more diverse and welcoming, yet it is this same France that wants to keep the native language 'pure' from corruption from other languages.
I am not anti-France, anti-USA, or any other country but we should let the citizens of those countries decide for themselves. Part of the reason the US has sour relations with Russia is because neither government respected this. The US openly supported pro-western platforms in Georgia and Ukraine, as well as the nationalist movement in Kosovo. Russia openly opposed. Hence the cool relations.
Let people think for themselves already.
Oh, we wouldn't want to taint the 'pure' American opinions with anything outside of the USA, would we?
If there was ever a bloc of xenophobic European-hating voters, they're in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Sad but true. I know a few Bible thumping nut-jobs, who believe (via Fox News) that France is trying to infiltrate our society with socialism, wine-drinking, and Sharia Law (because any country that didn't join hands with us in invading Iraq, *must* be Islamo-fascist).
A lot of western pa is made up of turn of the century european immigrants proud of their american citizenship and their ancestry.
References?
Wow he closed the margin with six weeks of advertising outspending HC 2 to 1, a conservative estimate.
I think both campaigns are delusional.
How the hell did this happen.
It is easy to scapegoat Hillary
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