Obama Is Right: Words Matter When You Want Your Opponent to Leave the Race
AOL News reports this:
Despite calls for his rival to drop out of their tight race for the Democratic nomination, Barack Obama said Saturday, "My attitude is that Senator Clinton can run as long as she wants."
Note the tepid and dismissive "Senator Clinton can run as long as she wants." In one carefully chosen short phrase, Barack Obama uses a verb form that bestows his permission, as if she needs it, while at the same time subtly belittling her because she is staying in the race. Both of these rhetorical techniques aim to diminish one's opponent while seeming to be gallant and awarding oneself the cloak of the putative front runner who can afford to be generous.
But is he the front runner?
Within the same AOL news article is a straw poll asking who readers would vote for. Click on the map and you see that Clinton wins over Obama 52%-48%. To be sure it is an unreliable self-selected poll. Possibly Hillary's numbers are inflated by other people like me who never before voted in those straw polls but who are so insulted by the Obama-supporting pundits and politicians incessantly hammering their "she should quit" nail that we have taken to clicking for Clinton every chance we get. Even the Wall Street Journal has acknowledged the blatant sexism and rampant bias.
On the other hand, the facts are that national polls show the two candidates still volleying back and forth. It made sense for the other candidates to end their campaigns -- Dodd and Biden at low double digits in the polls, and even John Edwards whose contributions were drying up after too many third-place showings in the early primaries and caucuses. But remind me again, why is it that Clinton should quit but Obama should stay in the race when their delegate count is separated by just 133 and Clinton keeps winning the big states the Democrats must have in November to capture the White House?
Perhaps Obama should live up to his gallantry, throw down his cloak Sir Walter Raleigh-esque so the lady can walk over the latest mud slung against her, and into the nomination gracefully. After all, she is the elder, she is the senior of the two senators, she was in this race first, and she has an enormous constituency. In all other aspects of life, the etiquette would be to let her go first.
Or perhaps Obama's statement was merely words after all.
Follow Gloria Feldt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Heartfeldt
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Obama has been denegrating in his oratory from the get go! I have been amazed at the accalaides he continues to get. I have heard Evangelical, Revival and Transient emotional speakers for decades, with some not even achieving a High School Diploma. I have attended sales seminars and training from some of the best, including Dale Carnegie, and heard many other prominent sales motivational speakers. Within all of these experiences the oratorical skills that Obama has tried to learn and pick up on (the purpose of which of his well planned and coordinated jobs in Chicago) and Obama isn't even in the top 100. However, when subprime mortgages are sold with no money down, no employment verification, and no income verification loans to people that know there isn't a chance in H**l they will ever afford the true payment, much less when the "makeup" interest payment resets/kicks in, it really is should not be surprisng that so many are buying his slick presentation. Elitists are giving him a pass and are always going to go for a softie pseudo- intellectual because they have always considered themselves the only ones "quailified" to "manage" societies at large. Unfortunatley, the Elitists always end up having to rely on the Fascists Supremists to do their bidding for them when their social engineering in the world just don't work out so well (just pick any of the colonial/imperielist intervensions anywhere in the world the USA has tried to "manage" regimes and "change").
I, too, winced when I read that Obama said, "She can continue to run if she wants to..." -- as if he were in a position to give her PERMISSION to run. This is so chauvinistic and insulting. I fear that most people don't detect his condescention in that statement, but rather think he is being gallant to her. She is a strong opponent and would be foolist to drop out now -- given the unfairness of the DNC in relation to the Florida and Michigan votes. Furthermore, the caucus sham, as demonstrated by what happened in Texas, shows that Obama does not win the popular vote. Go Hillary! You are the best candidate for Hcange -- I mean Change!
I agree with you 100%. I couldn't believe Obama's contemptuous, thinly veiled insult...but I've come to expect this from His Hopeness and remember in N.H. or Iowa when he said to her, when she was actually being warm and nice to him (I saw it live on TV) and even touched his arm saying..."Oooo, Barack, you do think I'm likeable?!".... He recoiled by looking at her like he could slug her saying: "Yes. I think you're likeable ENOUGH, Hillary!" It was obvious and it was intentionally CRUEL. Since then, I've lost all hope for that arrogant media darling. His core values of being post-racist and a 'unity' candidate are being demolished now (Uncle Jerry's porn pulpit) and his heavy-weight proxies from the Ole Boys Club are twisting arms left and right! Thanks, that was exactly how I felt and I think Glioria's aritcle was right on target! It's about time! And they should listen to John McCain who said "HILLARY I HAVE NO DOUBT WILL MAKE A GOOD PRESIDENT" -- in Baghdad, interviewed with Hillary-Meet the Press 2005. Good judgment for the old senator! And DNC Chair Howie Dean said: 'I THIK HILLARY WILL BE A GREAT PRESIDENT"!......that about sums it up, eh? It ain't over til the whistle blows...And the Bully-boys are getting impatient it seems..
Which is the sexist statement?
"My attitude is that Senator Clinton can run as long as she wants."
or
"Perhaps Obama should live up to his gallantry, throw down his cloak Sir Walter Raleigh-esque so the lady can walk over the latest mud slung against her, and into the nomination gracefully."
I know my mother and wife would be incensed to think that a man should forfeit a legitimate contest out of gallantry or ettiquette.
By the same token, Bobby Riggs should have laid down his racket after his second set against Billie Jean King, saying "Gallantry and ettiquette demand that I allow you to win. Let me hold the net down for you so you may cross it with dignity."
"Ladies First" should be reserved for the RMS Titanic, not the Democratic nomination. People will start mentioning the two in the same breath soon enough, if Ms. Feldt's sense of gender entitlement continues to drive the Clinton campaign.
No, I don't think Gloria was literally suggesting this, but, rather, it was an ironical commentary on her part. She did mention that there were other qualities of this candidate that she found superior to Obama's. Ladies first is purely ironical commentary; but I agree it may have been misleading somewhat....nothing to do with gender entitlement as she backs up her position elsewhere in her column. That was just a frill and was probably trying to make an antithetical to 'feminist' principles statement to 'lighten' up...I guess the key thing is that she's against stopping the race before they wave the flag, blow the whistle, till the 'fat lady sings'...etc. But I agree with Gloria that Sen. Obama was snarky and arrogantly presumptious in his idiosyncratic way that we all know and some of us are not so enamoured with!...thx...
It is clearly apparent that your main reason for voting for Hilary is the fact that she is a woman!!! The most obvious thing about her is that she is calculating, manupilative and not trustworthy which has been her biggest problem, not the fact that she is a woman. I was a strong supporter until I realize that she is willing to destroy anything in her way to get what she wants and if you are looking at this entire campaign, she has been the most negative whenver she is behind. Word of advice to women, just because she is a woman does not mean that she will work to get women in a better place, I would be the farm that she will do more harm to women's right because she is SELFISH and she places herself above all other women.
Wow...the Hillary supporters have been reduced to this...how freakin' sad...Is there a single person (besides Ms. Feldt) who didn't grasp the delicious irony here?
So let me get this straight...Ms. Feltd (a self-described feminist), is now suggesting that the front runner "live up to his gallantry" and drop out of the race because Hillary is older, and she called "dibbs" before he did. On one hand, she blasts Obama for some fictitious verbal slight (because he used a verb form which allegedly implied that he was giving her permission to stay in the race) and then at the end suggests that he should "...let her go first" which would seem to constitute an admission that Hillary indeed needs his permission. CLASSIC!!!
She was arguing that if he were to be consistent with his false "gallantry" as was revealed by his statement, "She can run if she wants to," he would need to continue to be gallant by respecting Clinton's seniority, etc. But as we all know, he is full of contradictions and really doesn't know why he says what he says. He is full of hot air. Just like he said that it would be "punishing" his daughters to force them to give birth if they got pregnant under less than ideal circumstances...
Hillary Clinton is the elder, is the senior of the two senators, was the first in the race, and does have an enormous constituency. But what you forgot to say is that she is UNIQUELY QUALIFIED to be president, having served an eight-year presidential apprenticeship in addition to her seven-plus years in the U.S. Senate.
Barack said '"My attitude is Senator Clinton can run as long as she wants,". 'can' means 'able'. 'may', which he did not use, implies permission. Your very premise is in question.
Sorry, but Obama has run a better campaign, hands down. He has tried to stay above the dirty politics unlike the Clintons. I think they showed their true colors. Americans are sick of that kind of politics.
Thanks Hillary, but no thanks.
The reason Hillary is clearing losing this race has little or nothing to do with sexism. It has to do with nepotism, incompetence and dishonesty.
Hillary Clinton lies, blatantly, very often about things that matter. She appears to believe herself entitled to the presidency simply because she was the wife of a second-caliber Democratic president. Her one and only significant attempt at policy during the Clinton presidency, health care reform, was a complete failure, due in no small part to her arrogance and penchant for secrecy.
The sexism I see in this primary, as seems to be the case with the author of this article, comes from a group of women - who so blindly want a woman president they disregard her profound and obvious flaws.
You and all of your ilk are making the most assumption of all in assuming that the race (and democracy) is about the candidates rather than the voters. It is the majority of Democratic voters who have expressed their preference for Obama over Clinton. In fact a more representative (compared to the bogus straw poll you cite) Gallup poll released today shows Obama has a 10 point edge over Clinton. It would be an assault on democracy for Obama to deny those voters in an effort to appear "gallant."
By the way, from where I sit the gallantry that you want the male candidate to exhibit toward the female candidate looks alot like a call for the Black guy to step aside because he somehow hasn't earned this (even though the majority of voters beg to differ) in favor of another white nominee. And as far as I'm concerned, that's the kind of gallantry we all can do without.
i know it's getting hard to come up with compelling arguments when your candidate is behind in delegates, votes, and states, but come on! Please if you're going to continue to shill for Hillary, try not to embarrass her and yourself in the process.
Double standard here? HRC has not shown Obama nearly the respect nor courtesy that he has shown her. Moreover, but for her gender, the MSM would have stopped covering her long ago. Finally, if the tables were reversed, do any of us have any doubt that she would be ridiculing him endlessly? If this is all you can find to complain about, this campaign indeed is in death throes.
This is one of the most Hillaryous posts I've seen on the Huff. So because Hillary is older and was there first, she should have the nomination. Too bad Strom Thurmun has passed over into the land of old racists. Otherwise, by your logic the Republicans could match him up against the reigning old head in the Democratic party and the senate-- Robert Byrd.
As for your displeasure at the way that he expressed his lack of opposition to Hillary staying in the race. Remember when she said that "as far as I know" he's not a Muslim? Exactly why should he emphatically assert his rival's right to stay in the race? In particular why should he serve as her champion when it is apparent that she has moved from a realistic chance to win into someone who is intent on doing the Republicans' work for them by tearing down the likely nominee of the Democratic party.
Finally, it always amazes me when the Clinton camp asserts that Obamas supporters are KoolAid drinkers who cannot see their candidate clearly. It seems to me that it is the Clintonites who see Obama as some sort of Jesus figure who should demonstrate an endless store of forgiveness and infinite willingness to turn the other cheek no matter how vilely he is attacked. Isn't that expectation a bit unrealistic?
Asking Hillary to end this race is premature when there are a dozen states needing to vote. However it's totally not premature to ask her to step down when she's throwing everything besides the kitchen sink, including used toilet tissue.
Gloria, I wonder if you 'feldt' this sort of rage when Hillary was giving the FRONT RUNNER permission to step into the Vice President role?
"Perhaps Obama should live up to his gallantry, throw down his cloak Sir Walter Raleigh-esque so the lady can walk over the latest mud slung against her, and into the nomination gracefully. After all, she is the elder, she is the senior of the two senators, she was in this race first, and she has an enormous constituency. In all other aspects of life, the etiquette would be to let her go first."
Entitlement much?
While I'm used to the myriad double standards coming from Sen. Clinton's campaign, it strikes my funny bone every time a "quasi-journalist" sees no problem in the candidate he/she supports saying something akin to "although I'm in second place, my first-place-ranking opponent would make a great vice president, because he's less qualified than i." That tone seems even more condescending, because for many of us if screams of "he's being uppity if he thinks he can best yours truly." Read into it what you will, but neither Sen. Obama nor Sen. Clinton should have a free ride to the nomination simply because of gender/race identifiers. The parsing on the part of Sen. Clinton's supporters borders on ridiculous -- especially when they're so quick to dismiss her similar "offenses." They're giving feminists a bad name (and justifying some statements by chauvinistic pigs, to an extent).
When a campaign needs arguments like this, it's on the skids.
A note to all the people who keep bringing up the fact that Clinton has won states such as California and New York, thus showing that she is the candidate who has the best chance of winning in November: These states have almost always gone democratic in presidential elections. So if Obama is the democrat running in November, he will likely win those states as well. It is a hollow argument, and shows a lack of understanding of national politics.
AGREED!
Thank you for bringing up this point. It seems to be the Clinton campaign's main argument that she has won the most important states. What the media and everyone else has not called her out on is that those states would go Democratic with either candidate! The states that Obama has won thus far are much more valuable at this point.
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