"Hey, Mr. Tamborine Man" (Reply)

CDonian Writes: Finally, I wouldn't quickly generalize re:, or identify with, W.Va. I've worked there and have known some fine W.Va. folks, but it's a 1955 time-warp. Like swaths of Pa. and Ohio, it's not just blue-collar; it's a whole 'nother world, whose values you'd surely find alien-to-upsetting. I didn't expect more than 50 W.Va Dems to vote for a black candidate. If Obama were white, Hillary probably would have lost due to gender. And, as Bill Clinton griped on Monday: Though W.Va. is majority Dem., it went solidly for Bush in '00 and '04 (as did Ohio).

Reply: I have never been to West Virginia, but I have spent time in probably the most "lilly white" (and most conservative "red") state in the country: Utah.

Utah, in fact, went for Bush more than any other state in the union.

I found the people in Salt Lake City, to be caring, kind, friendly and refined. The main Animal Control shelter (strays only) puts our New York City AC shelters to shame. One does not find hundreds of abandoned, skinny pitbulls in Utah shelters, for example. A huge sign mounted on the SLC "stray" shelter, runs down the top ten reasons people MUST spay neuter pets! No such wall mounted signs in NYC pounds.

It seems real easy for people in big, liberal cities to deride those whose traditions and values are different from ours.

West Virginia? Ah, just a bunch of uneducated, tabacco chewing, toothless, red neck wahoo bigots! Who cares what they think? That seems to be how you just portrayed them.

But, not to worry. "The Daily Show" depicted them the same way last night. It seems Jon Stewart (a person I usually admire) and company picked out the two most mentally challenged voters in all America to portray the typical Hillary Clinton (or West Virginia) supporter.

Thanks, guys.

Well, have all the laughs and jollies you want -- for now.

Roll out John Edwards on the red carpet in front of all the cheering crowds in Michigan (a state in which the Obama folks successfully blocked a revote) to show how Barack Obama is going to "win" all those Southern red neck wahoos in November!

John Edwards and Barack Obama: What a team!

Ah, it all brought up such fond memories of the debates in which they both beat up on Hillary Clinton, ad nauseum.

How perfect the timing for this "event" last night! -- Right after Obama's 41 point loss to Hillary in West Virginia the day before.

Nevermind that Edwards was all over the networks last week saying how he wasn't ready to endorse anyone at the moment.

Nah, both he and Obama had to wait for the perfect moment to dig the knife in!

It has now become very apparent how Barack Obama deals with those "uncomfortable" moments when either his weaknesses or past associations are exposed or he has taken a big hit in one of the primaries:

Make a grand speech that sends "shivers" up some pundits' legs or roll out some closely guarded "Superdelegate" or Democratic "star" to absorb or take the heat off of all the questions that NEED to be asked!

When clips of Reverend Wright shouting, "God Damned America" or "US KKK" were all over the media? Roll out Bill Richardson! Make an "inspiring" speech!

Problem solved!

Questions on how to resolve the Florida and Michigan debacles in which voters went to polls, but their votes don't count?

Let's not do a revote. Let's not count the votes. Let's do a grand rally in Michican and call out the dogs sporting flashy smiles, $400.00 haircuts and living in grand mansions to talk about "poverty." (Where, by the way, was Elizabeth Edwards last night?)

What "back room deals" brought this endorsement about at just the right moment? John Edwards for Attorney General? V.P? Payment of all his campaign debts?

Barack Obama -- He's all about "New" politics and "change!"

Yea, right. Ha, ha.

Now, you may think I am some "Clinton" lover, who, like you campaigned and fundraised for Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996.

Not true.

I voted for Bill in 1992, but not 1996.

Why?

Because I had "feelings" and concerns that Bill's compulsive penchant for skirt chasing could open up possibility for "blackmail" -- something I felt potentially dangerous for the security of our country.

Well, Bill wasn't blackmailed, but of course, his penchant for skirt chasing almost brought down the Presidency.

My "feelings" about Barack Obama?

A demagogue who knows how to use other ambitious people for his own ends and agendas from Reverend Wright to Bill Richardson to John Edwards.

What is Barack Obama's (real) "agenda?"

That, I don't know.

But, I do know last night's shenanigans, did, for certain, decide my vote in the November election.

He's old, stubborn and "temperamental."

But, John McCain's got my vote for the November election (assuming Barack is the nominee).

No, I don't agree with McCain on many or even most policies.

But, in the end, the vote comes down to character issues and TRUST.

And I don't like what I see in Barack Obama on these key questions. -- Not at all.

So yes, for now enjoy the laughs and jollies at Hillary's expense. Revel in Obama's grand speeches and promises. Have fun belittling those tabacco chewing, gun toting, bible thumping, "1955 time warp" bigots from West Virginia.

But, come November, we will see who has the last laugh in all this.

And if I am wrong and Barack Obama manages to hypnotize an entire country into blindly following his pide piper flute?

"Hey, Mr. Tamborine Man, play a song for me!"

Well, I may actually start praying again. -- PCA

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This entry has 1 comments: (Add your own)

#1 Comment from cdonian
5/16/08 3:50 AM | Permalink

Sigh ... and just FYI ...
(1) I'm not a sneering elitist. I was partly raised in the South; have lived/worked in five Southern states (and others), and had both blue- and white-collar jobs; and have had friends and kin all over, including Utah and W. Virginia. My opinion is based on experience and facts.

(2) W. Virginia can’t possibly be compared to Utah (or to Vermont, which is just as "white"). Utah is better off than most of the U.S.; W. Va. is the reverse.
- Utah rates #9 in income; W.Va. is #49 (just ahead of Misissippi!).
- W.Va. rates #9 in poverty; Utah is #40.
- 27% of Utahns are college grads, compared to just 15% of W. Virginians (and 25% of the U.S.).
- W. Va.’s population is older than the U.S. median; it also has nearly twice Utah’s percentage of over-65s.
This doesn’t mean that youth + college = nirvana. It means that W. Va. is poor, doesn’t retain its young people, depends on one industry, and has trouble creating alternatives ... since it lacks a flexible workforce, is geographically insular and difficult, and (unlike Utah) lacks location/recreation pluses that attract outsiders.
It’s *not* Utah!

(3) McCain is “anti” all that Hillary supports: He’d let states ban all abortions. His health plan seems designed mostly to protect insurers. He’d push NAFTA/Iraq, and appoint more strict-constructionist judges, to further favor business and limit civil liberties as we know (or knew) them. (The Sup. Court’s "strict" crew recently gutted the right to sue for job-pay sex discrimination.) It's Bush Multiplied.
Anyone who supports this never could have backed Hillary, unless they ignored all that she ever said, or never *cared* what she said.
And trust and integrity (being true to one’s values code) don’t stand alone: Those values may vary. McCain has the integrity to firmly support all that Hillary opposes; we can trust him to act accordingly. I wouldn’t applaud this, just as I wouldn’t volunteer to be mugged.

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"Hey, Mr. Tamborine Man" (Reply)