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Friday, August 08, 2008
John Hawkins :: Townhall.com Columnist
Barack Obama: Uppity or Arrogant?
by John Hawkins
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"I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions." -- Barack Obama

Liberals are almost always insufferably arrogant. It sort of goes with the territory. After all, if you believe that we have to throw religious customs, hundreds of years' worth of societal traditions, and the parts of the Constitution you disagree with into the wastebasket based primarily on your "feeling" that they're antiquated or no longer necessary, then you almost certainly must have an ego the size of a small planet.

That brings us to Barack Obama, who, even amongst liberals, is notorious for being full-of-himself. Conservatives who have pointed this out have been recently accused, rather uncreatively I might add, of calling Obama "uppity."

The whole idea and concept of a black man being "uppity" or acting above his station by doing things white people do...didn't that go out in like the fifties? I was born in the seventies, grew up in the heart of the deep South, in small town North Carolina, and I don't ever recall someone referring to a black man as "uppity." Not to say that there weren't racists in that town (There were) or that no one ever thinks like that anymore (There probably are still a few Robert Byrds out there), but if the Democrats have to reach that far into obscurity to try to keep people from talking about Obama's arrogance, then they must really believe that Obama's tendency to turn his nose up at the Hoi-Polloi is a weak point. Incidentally, they're right -- it is.

The American people don't like snobbish political hacks with delusions of grandeur, like Obama, and the more they get to know him, the less they will like him personally.

Granted, it must be pretty heady stuff for Obama to have teenage girls fainting while he speaks and 200,000 Germans chanting his name. Of course, the average rock star has had those same sort of experiences and most of them are still grounded enough to avoid saying something as conceited as, "We are the ones we've been waiting for." On the other hand, Obama would make a great rock star, wouldn’t he? He'd probably be one of those rappers who repeats his own name 50 times in a three minute long song.

It's that kind of arrogance that makes lines like this one just seem to naturally roll off his tongue,

"You got into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

That quote is a window into Barack Obama's world. There are the enlightened few, like Barack Obama, and then there are the "little people" who are bitter and cling to "guns," "religion," or "anti-immigrant sentiment" because their primitive brains have left them frustrated and unable to see the big picture. The "bitter people" need a man like Barack Obama in the White House, a Harvard grad who enjoys arugula and basking in the limelight in Europe, to make the decisions for them that tragically, they're just not learned enough to make on their own.

The deep irony here is that many of the frustrated "bitter" people that Obama peers down on from on high are just as qualified to be President of the United States as he is. Obama has never served in the military, in the House, or as a governor. He has never run a business, was just elected to the Senate in 2004, and has had exactly one hard-fought political victory in his entire career (against Hillary Clinton). So, who would be more qualified to be President: Obama or, let's say, a guy who served a couple of tours in the military, got out, started his own successful small business, and has served a couple of terms on his local city council? I have few doubts that the city councilman would be far more in touch with the real world and more competent to lead the country than someone who was so haughty and dare I say, messianic that he proclaimed,

I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.

This guy has never run a business, run a state, or served in the military, but he's going to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet? There are people locked away in rubber rooms, drooling on the floor and talking to tiny pink elves, who are less delusional than Obama.

......And that is ultimately the problem with having a President who combines limited experience with towering arrogance. Putting Barack Obama in charge of the United States would be like making a cocky high school class President the new CEO of Wal-Mart. Not only would he not know what to do, he wouldn't know what not to do, or even that he doesn't know the difference.

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John Hawkins is a professional blogger who runs Right Wing News, Linkiest, and Viral Footage.
 
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Choices.
Those are the only two choices for any successful, outspoken black man in America who dares to challenge the status quo.

I think you people will enjoy all this name calling for the next four years.

Goat
And just what "successful" black man would that be? Tell me again the successful accomplishments of Barack Obama. Outspoken? Yes. A record of success? Not so much.

THAT's the problem. A black man with a record of true accomplishments could easily be elected. Barack? Uh-uh.

Yeah, yeah. I know the polls are neck and neck right now. But there will never be a President Barack Obama, and it doesn't have a dang thing to do his color.

Arrogance is not a scarce commodity
John,
Your editorial is full of hyper-partisan arrogance masked as cynacism. I agree with 'My pet goat' that you will be dealing with an Obama presidency and I hope you can rise above whining to challenge "conservatives" who have completely abandoned that ideology for corruption the last 8 years. Turn your ascerbic rhetoric there.


Case in point: Just yesterday ...
a reporter surmised how BHO might act in a particular situation, and Barack said, "Don't put words in my mouth." But it is A-OK for Barack to surmise what the Republicans are going to do (they're going to try to scare you ... say I have a funny name ... and, oh by the way, ...) This is not putting words in people's mouths? Words, by the way, that have yet to be spoken by the accused. What's good for the goose ...

Obama and Business
Great article! Though there is plenty to discuss about Obama, what I find most ridiculous is his anti-business sentiments. He's never run a business, as you point out, but he thinks he can suddenly run a giant corporation like ExxonMobil? Delusional? Yep.

How about just wrong
I assume Barack Obama is sincere. Does he have an ego--well yeah sure. But any major public figure does. You do not rise to that level without an ego to drive you. I also assume he is mostly honest. Maybe not completely with himself, but who is?

My problem with Barack Obama is he is mostly wrong. His judgement is wrong. His policies are wrong. It is really that simple.

Arrogant, Articulate and Uppity
My Pet Goat, it is not BHO's challenge to the "status quo" that labeled him. Intelligent debates on all topics of interest to the nation are (have always been) welcome. Mr. O treats his listening audience as if there isn't an ounce of brain matter worth addressing. He uses some clever phrasing,gets laughs, then goes on to deride the very people whose confidence he is trying to gain. "Uppity" is an old fashion word - true - but it has been used in literature for decades to describe social climbers, important wannabe's. The 19th century novelist William Thackeray enjoyed using it to describe protagonists who eventually "got their come-uppance." His characters, by the way, were white, high bred societal types - with the occasional nuevo-riche. So, maybe it's a good thing for Mr. BHO to be criticized in this manner. Perhaps he will stop, take a long look at himself. Personally, I am of the impression that Mr. O doesn't think he needs improvement.
The fact remains, he is arrogant and uppity, but also articulate - which makes him a dangerous demagogue.

The egotist we've been waiting for
Pretty good article with some nfty quotes.

As I have often said, however, Lenin had no governmental experience. Lenin took over Russia with 121 henchmem and set up a totalitarian system it took 70 years to bring down.

Obama may not be capable of ruling, but he sure is capable of misruling. Like all bolsheviks.

silly
The truth surely hurts , good article

Now he calls us ignorant as well.....
...because we laugh at his lame-brained inflate your tires theory. I guess since I did not go to Harvard or private schools, ahh jus ain't learnd enuff to preciate HIS wisdom.

Sam,
BS IT, MS MOT, PhD MIS

point made
I believe the point was made clear by Obama himself. It is all documented in his speeches,right? Uppity seems to be ok to say as long as you say it about someone of any other race! A Lot of people also use snooty,snobbish,look down their nose,. Democrats want to keep this about race instead of admitting that their man isn't ready. Stay in school awhile, pay attention,learn somethings,come back in 10 years and we will see. Oh wait..it's only 4 isn't?!


Lisa in ALA

High School Kid as CEO
That is my impression exactly. These are the kids who during the dotcom bubble spent all the money they raised on setting up really nifty offices and stocking the cafeteria with Fair Trade Coffee and never even thought about product.

Whoever in the Puppeteer Brigade chose him is going to turn up missing on election day.

Bela

CRACKER? THE SOUTH?

How judgemental of you.

How do you know what the author said.
I hear n***** out of rappers more than anyone else.

Bela
Wow. You accuse Mr. Hawkins of being a racist while prove yourself to be one. Gotta love left wing stupidity.

Rather uppity of you.

My Pet Goat
There are many successful outspoken black men who make other choices. Bill Cosby, William Rasberry, Clarence Thomas, Thomas Sowell, Jim Brown, Martin Luther King come to mind, as well as some black acqaintences of mine you wouldn't know.

Arrogance widespread - and required
In order to run for president a certain amount of arrogance is required. Can I do the biggest job in the world? Yes I can. To think that that requires some swagger and arrogance, and Bush, MCain, Clinton, Romney etc etc have it in spades, as well as Obama. You can't win it without some swagger... so I'm not sure what Hawkins is complaining about. And as far as some people on this thread calling into question Obama's business experience - well, I'm not sure McCain has much either, but I suppose he is at least more prepared to admit his ignorance. The main problem Hawkins has is that, well, Americans DO like Barack Obama, no matter how much it puzzles the bottom-feeders at Townhall. He is consistantly ahead of McCain in the polls (one poll out of how many puts McCain ahead??) and has raised more money than any politician in history. McCain's problem is that Obama is too popular. Hawkins is afraid to accept reality. Probably thinks he's got an NBA body-type as well...

All Democrat Politicians Are Arrogant
Democrats have the audacity to think that if you don't agree with them you are somehow a lesser American than they are..They tell us this everyday in everything they say and do.
They have a very high opinion of themselves and thier attitude of arrogance will bring them down..no one likes selfish arrogant people.
They call it Confidence, I call it Arrogance.
Confident people do not hide who they are.

Obama is the essence of arrogance
and he is uppity as well, as is his elitist , arrogant, uppity, America hating wife. However, the only reason he can afford to be all that is because of the Liberal, biased, Socialist-minded, evil Media. They have told him that he is hot sh!t on a stick and he believes it! The more they pander to him, hold him up, and glorify him, the bigger his head gets. So, although he is an unqualified, unproven, nobody who did nothing in the one short year he actually sat in the Senate seat because he has been campaigning for the most of it while getting paid, and has no plan for any issue on the books, I abhore the aggogant as*hole and hope Mc Cain buries him. But I also blame the Media as much as I do him, and think people should stop taking every word from their mouths as gospel, when if fact, most of it is filthy, prejudiced lies.

Perhaps Senator Obama is arrogant
I don't see any more arrogance in him than other politicians to be honest. His meteoric rise has left him with less experience than the other candidates in the field--but his policy positions as President will not differ much with a Sen. Dodd or Clinton. The major difference between them and him is the charisma.

Senator Obama has a quality that inspires. He will lead us to more peace and prosperity than Senator McCain. And he will heal racial division in our country and inspire blacks. Many young black men who grow up with Obama family in the White House will be less inclined to accept the defeatist and destructive rhetoric of the MTV and BET world-view--that racism denies opportunity.


Brain vs Brawn
The essence of excessive intellectual behavior is arrogance and the essence of excessive anti-intellectual behavior is folksy bullyism. Either extreme is the shoulder of the road that is the United States.

It is bumpy, not for driving, and slower than staying within the boundaries of honorable behavior. It's no wonder Congress can't get anything done---it has become a crack house for political junkies still looking for the holy grail of making the other party submit to their party's will.

Negotiating for the last concession never worked in business and it is now proven not to work in a democratic assembly. Bi-partisanship is the only solution. Anything else is mental masturbation---thinking your ideas alone will birth effective legislation without the help of the other party.

Senator Obama at Harvard
First off, he did not indicate that he's bi-racial on his Harvard application.

(All this arrogant talk is silliness. Why? Because even if Senator Obama is arrogant, he won't have the messianic President Bush belief that the all-powerful, knowing, and good creator and sustainer of the universe choose him to be President. Arrogance anyone? Delusion anyone?)

Secondly, his confidence or arrogance--however you see it--at least has its origin in his ability. Can you imagine the arrogance he encountered at Harvard from the rich kids who received only coddling and privilege their whole lives, grandfathered in, and just expect to get whatever they want---because they always have! Imagine that sense of entitlement and the arrogance it engenders. Privilege gives rise to an inflated and artificial belief in one's abilities.


Why won't He Just Stay in his Place?
I know it's surprising and upsetting for some of you to see a black guy have the "audacity" to seriously engage in presidential politics. Who does he think he is? I know that many of you would much rather see him shining your shoes instead of acting as Commander in Chief. Anything outside of a menial tasks is considered "uppidity". Regardless of what the real facts may be. Anyone that doesn't tap dance to your hillbilly tunes is "arrogant".

How dare this guy, who happens to be black, think that the American dream is for him too? His story is just like any other elitist. His dad left. His mom was on welfare. He comes out of college, turns down every high-paying job, works in poor neighborhoods and struggles to make ends meet. He wasn't able to pay off his student loans until 3 YEARS AGO after his book sold well...and now he's considered uppidity because he has the b***s to run for President??? Yeah, right. Sounds uppidity to me.


BO arrogant shines brightly
The spin is in! The MSM loves BO and they keep painting him in glowing terms while millions of average Americans see his light as rather dim. His standard is duplicitous and his actions deplorable.

"Don't put words in my mouth" is laughable since he changes his words more often than John Kerry flip-flopped and at the same time the high and mighty king Barack loves to put words in other peoples mouths and then he acts like it is absolutely true. This shouldn't surprise anyone since BO obviously learned to hear and speak like his previous Pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Wright and BO can speak out of "both sides of their mouths" and then selectively waver about what they really mean. Since their meaning is always at their discretion, no one should ever question them or hold them accountable.

BO is arrogant. His comments about us bitter Americans who cling to our guns, religion, or antipathy is and was arrogant. His comments about people who oppose illegal immigration or the rotten trade-agreements created by him and his horrid colleagues in the House and Senate is and was arrogant. His choice to not visit our wounded soldiers because he couldn't make it a "political commercial" promoting the "compassionate and wise" Barack is and was arrogant.

His refusal to back drilling for oil and building nuclear power plants and oil refineries while we develop and build alternate energy resources for the future is and was arrogant. His inflate your tires suggestion and tune your cars might have been a good idea but most modern, computerized cars don't need tune ups like in the "good old days" and over-inflating tires can cause problems plus most people I know already keep their tires inflated properly so the results would not be as inflated as the preposterously inflated and arrogant presumption that BO made.

His arrogance is what made me decide to vote for his opponent. "Just say no to BO."

Obama is a clueless twit
Having listened to the Great Orator I have to say that I'm not very impressed. Obama is 46 years old and still displays the ultra naive idealism of a Junior year College student. For the life of me I cannot see what is so special about this guy. The Obama has no real accomplishments, background or practical experience that he can point to, that qualifies him to be the President of this Country. Are we electing an American Idol Candidate to run this country? Please America, stop take a deep breathe and engage your brain, this is serious business here. Obama, "The Messiah", "The Anointed one", "The One" will be a disaster worse than Hurricane Katrina if elected...

Oh-Bama!
"There are people locked away in rubber rooms, drooling on the floor and talking to tiny pink elves, who are less delusional than Obama."

So funny! So true. I reviewed his book "Dreams from my Father," and I got to use the word "jejune," which doesn't happen often.

ARNE, PACKRAT, DON-COS, STICKY, OTHERS,

Gore, Kerry, Obama. In that order. Nice group.

Pulling defeat from the jaws of victory! That's their special thing. Between the "too smart for their own good Obama staff" and the radical left such as Bela, My Pet Goat, Wright, Ayers, Ludacris and a cast of thousands from Hollywood, the Democrats WILL figure out a way not to win. That's good!

The country will be saved from a radical, left-wing administration. That's even better!

king lib
Actually, this article sums up everything one needs to know about Obama to not vote for him. Will you deny the empty platitudes that this megalomaniac spews out of his beak on a daily basis? Give me one substantive idea he has come up with(that's not marxist).

It's pretty easy to poo-poo every article on this website, but please please please give examples as to how this man can actually lead this country. Please tell me how he is qualified.

We conservatives need not "come up" with anything else. Your party will do itself in once again with it's anti-Americanism.

The Audacity of Arrogance
Obama is arrogant. So is McCain, Bush, Clinton, Olympic athletes--anyone who is selling themselves to the public is arrogant. If they are not, kiss it off; they lose. Imagine standing before the world, as Obama and McCain do daily, and feel the stress of making the people like you, want you. If one does not have absolute confidence in themselves to the point of arrogance, they will be booed off the stage. Try standing before a class of 8th graders without arrogance. If you escape with your clothes on, you will be lucky. We need arrogance in a president. He must face the arrogance of other world leaders and come out on top, or our country will be poorly represented. Thank goodness Obama is arrogant. McCain could use a little more. Right now I don't see McCain leading at all because most of the time he's milk-toast. I seriously doubt McCain could whip a crippled ant with a baseball bat much less lead the United States. The old man needs some guts, but of course at his age his guts are probably causing bowel problems. Oh, BTW, if you haven't detected it already, I'm a flaming liberal. Have a nice day.

Obama is already the President..
in his own mind.

There has never been a canidate for president that has traveled overseas to talk to foreign heads of countries.

There have never been a canidate that has set up committees before they have become Pres.

Everything that BHO does these days points to his already being Pres.

"Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18

"Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility." Proverbe 18:12

Obama will fall.

So many people in here call Obama articulite. Without his writter speaches and telleprompter he is nothing. When canidates are on talk shows, most of the time they are given the question before hand, so they can prepare their answers. Why do you think he does not want to debate. He doesn't want to show the true Obama who has not any written answers.

If he gets Pres., will his writter follow him around from country to country tell everyone he cannot answer there questions without his t.p.?

Obama's politics
All Americans need to read at least one of the books that outlines Obama's 20 years in Chicago's political machine as an active player to see and realize that the changes he is proclaiming would lead us back into the socilistic era where Uncle Sam would provide for every need, and all we need to do is let him form the policy, and heaven's gates would open for all of us!! Wow! When will we get our heads out of the sand and wake up to realities?

Racial pejorative
So Mr. Hawkins and his stupidity are still here at Townhall. I sincerely expect Townhall to pull David Dukes out as one of their next columnists.

Mr. Hawkins could have EASILY written his entire column and tried to make all of the same points without using the racially charged uppity. Which he then goes on to say isn't really a racial pejorative because . . .

Well, Mr. Hawkins, if that wasn't your intention, there are a whole lot of other words in the English language that you could have used.

No wonder your biggest audience is here.

Wow
First of all, Mr. Hawkins intentionally left out part of the quote above where Obama said it's not about me. Why so dishonest John?

You Republicans are making fools of yourselves. You people don't think. All you do is regurgitate talkingpoints you've heard from right wing spin monkeys.

From Paul Krugman's column today:

"...the debate on energy policy has helped me find the words for something I’ve been thinking about for a while. Republicans, once hailed as the “party of ideas,” have become the party of stupid.

Now, I don’t mean that G.O.P. politicians are, on average, any dumber than their Democratic counterparts. And I certainly don’t mean to question the often frightening smarts of Republican political operatives.

What I mean, instead, is that know-nothingism — the insistence that there are simple, brute-force, instant-gratification answers to every problem, and that there’s something effeminate and weak about anyone who suggests otherwise — has become the core of Republican policy and political strategy. The party’s de facto slogan has become: “Real men don’t think things through.”

Krugman absolutely nailed it.

The right wing spin monkeys even have you rubes believing that it's a bad thing when an American politician is loved and admired by one of our allies. You folks will swallow anything they dish out without even thinking. Obama was right, you people really do take pride in being ignorant.

I'm sure I won't be able to post any more after this. Somehow I seem to get blocked out of posting after I say something the censors don't like.

So, Phylo out.

1st Affirmative Action Prez?
Remember the first time you had sufficient grownup experience to recognize someone who qualified for govt.-favored affirmative action consideration but were in a position clearly WAY beyond their real-world skills?

Instinctively annoying to some … or most. But gratifying to good compassionate progressives, right?

Please don't take this the wrong way BHO, but it's becoming more obvious to many who are actually paying attention that your "service" in the Illinois legislature may have already maxed out your best fit. Perhaps it's time to go back home and do whatever it is you're best qualified for. Because this scam about trying to lead this great nation isn't it.

Ciao all.

David Gergen,
that paragon of loyalty, used the term "uppity" in a discussion of whether The One was arrogant. He said that he had been raised in the South, and the term for an African-American who had achieved beyond white people's expectations was "uppity."

It was Gergen's clever way of placing the word in play, since "arrogant" was sticking like glue, and couldn't really be batted away or turned against speakers as a racist term.

Despite its historical use by Wm. Thackery to describe white, rich people it had settled into a pejorative against blacks many decades ago.

Now when a Republican refers to BHO as arrogant, the Democrat can come back with, "Oh, you mean he's .... up-p-pity? Hmmm?" and pound the racist angle.

Snooty, stuck up, conceited -- good old grammar school descriptive terms -- might have to be substituted for the more adult "arrogant" which might hereafter trigger the "uppity" response.


immunity from criticism
First of all, Mr. Hawkins intentionally left out part of the quote above where Obama said it's not about me. Why so dishonest John?[comment by Phylo]

Whether Obama paid lip service to a disclaimer, he was still making the contention that this extraordinary moment in time was tied to having him at the helm. I am curious about why you think it makes a substantive difference that he claimed it was not all about him.

In fact, to use your twisted logic, why so dishonest, Phylo????

Further, Kerry exhibited many of the same traits. No one had a problem defining him as arrogant. Calling everyone a racist who criticizes a black man says far more about your view of BO as inferior on some levels than it does about those who truly feel he is arrogant. In America today, it is perfectly alright to criticise a black man...really, it is.

Now, whether it is a fatal flaw for a politician to be arrogant is certainly debatable [I would contend that it is par for the course] BUT whether BO IS arrogant doesn't seem particularly debatable.



Right to the point
Well written. You couple Barack's arrogance with his ties to Communists and terrorists, he's not right for America.

We used to reward
service to this country by the act of nominating someone to be President.
Washington in the revolution, Jefferson for the Declaration, Madison for the Constitution, Ike for winning WW2.
In McCain we have a genuine American hero descended from a family who fought this nations battles back to the revolution.
A man who shed blood for this nation and all of it's citizen's and has a resume' not seen since Ike.

Someone please tell me just what the hell does obama bring to the table?
Where is his experience and service?
His great story?

He's the product of a radical hippie mother and an African muslim and he organized who, for whom and for what purpose?????

That's it folks, nothing more, except pie-in the-sky ideas all of which have been disputed by history in every place they have ever been tried.

Nobody with a resume'that thin gets to where he is today without owing somebody big-time, the question is, just who owns him and what will the payback be?




Phylo

Al Franken, is that you? Did you ever wonder why all the groups people dislike the most are chalk full of liberals? Unions, Hollywood, Trial Lawyers, etc. The tired ideas come from people that think they know better than we do. I paid more money in taxes last year than you probably make in five, yet I'm told I need to pay more for your Welfare State. I don't need talking points, I just need to feel that I'm protected by people that want to take away my hard earned money for nothing more than fairness. Liberals are all about identity politics, and thumb there noses at the people that produce. They're praying they can keep enough people angry, downtrodden and dependent long enough to have a massive voting block, more than those that earn their keep. Since when did Americans villify those that chose to make a better life for themselves? Barack would rather have equality than Liberty, and that is not what made this country great. Infact, it would be it's down fall. Thank God there are enough people in this country that won't allow that to happen. If anyone is worried that this fool will actually be our next President, don't, he hasn't got a prayer. Liberals achilles heel is arrogance. They're followers, not thinkers. Independent voters don't like elitists telling them who they are, and what to do. Small business owners, the life blood of this country, would never vote for a man that would put equality before a profit. Tie Pelosi and Obama together, and it will be a landslide GOP win, and not only for the POTUS.

DCR
One look at BHO’s life and you can see he was not raised as a black man, and when he decided it was time to integrate into the black community he chose the culture of black Marxist theology, this was not a stretch,he was already a Marxist before he arrived (like attracts like)

R.A.M. 8/8 @ 9:12 am
"Why Won't He Just Stay in his Place?"
You are right, R.A.M. Why doesn't he? In addition to other things, displaying a faux presidential seal given to yourself stating, "VAE PUTO DEUS FIO", which means in Latin, Alas! I think I'm becoming a god." is more than arrogant, haughty, uppity. It's way beyond the stars. Usually, when people go through humbling situations as you said Obama did, they learn humility and that keeps them grounded. Obama's past didn't seem to humble him. I have gone through more things than what I've heard him go through. My father died when I was 8, leaving my mother with many kids of various ages, even a 1 yr old. My mother did what she could to take care of us. We had no grandparents to send us to nice schools and our school books were torn, used, and years outdated. When I see how far God has brought me, I thank him everyday for his blessings; it is definitely a contrast. The fundamental lessions learned, keep me grounded. I welcomed my stimulus check and gave a portion to the poor as I have done for decades with my income. Michelle Obama, on the other hand, critized the $600, saying that she could only buy a $6oo pair of earrings or something. Well, if she could've at least given that money to "Feed the Children" or somewhere, it could have helped buy a lot of rice and beans. Obama is doing this to himself. This is not about denying a Black man, this is about an arrogant Black man who is trying to be the god of the world and we won't let him.

wow.... barack's been exposed
WOW, Did you ever see through Barack...I think delusional arrogant people are dangerous when they have power over the people...I thoroughly enjoyed your article... It was the unvarnished truth about Barack..thank God for those among us who are not afraid to tell it as it really is..

Content of Character is the issue
Why do those who support Obama want to make this about race? What are they hiding about his character? If his presidency will truly unite the country, why are we talking race?

We should be focusing on the issues; his voting record, the unfulfilled pledge he made to Hillary Clinton, not visiting our wounded, his plan for change, what is his plan? We need substance not empty rhetoric.





ruth
All one has to do is look at Nancy Pelosi and see what Obama will turn out to be like.


Arrogance is the least of it
Hawkins nailed Obama's arrogance.

But the really scarey thing is that Obamas politics are even scarier. Obama's policies are the equivalent of a dewey-eyed teenager....a mad one, with gattling gun.

Why would someone so blessed by his country seek to destroy all the traditiions and systems that made his own rise to prominance possible? It's mind-blowing.

MassMindedChange
The fact that liberals believe obomunist message is his own truly baffles me. His message is taken right from Marx; change, change, change, if he wasn’t so well dressed I’d swear he was a homeless person.

His ability to attract the masses should not be considered as something positive to the INDIVIDUAL person. The bigger the crowd the more meaningless the individual becomes.


Cindy
The race issue is all they have, nothing else.

The deal is that there are many blacks who will not vote for BO. Are they racist?? Or, are they not voting for him because he has a white side to him. If that's the case then the libs would call them racist.

Ever remember the kids on the playground. When arguements broke out, names started flying when one started loosing. The libs are no different than schoolyard kids.

dogjudge
David Gergen plopped the word "uppity" into the mix last week. It has done what he planned:

Now when "arrogant" is used by any conservative
the libs can pounce and say they mean "uppity."

Heaven help the writer who then actually uses uppity in an article, even if only to point out that it's a pejorative that was racist word.

Saying The One has hubris is probably too far over the heads of those of us educated in the public schools since about 1960.

Sheepele
No offence to sheep, but Obomunists slogan should be “Change ewes can believe in”

Arrogant
wiktionary.org defines arrogant thus:

"Having excessive pride in oneself"

Synonyms are:

complacent
conceited
condescending
disdainful
haughty
high-minded
narcissistic
overbearing
presumptuous
proud
vain

I would say this fits both Obama And Pelosi to a tee.

Uppity
From yourdictionary.com

"inclined to be haughty, arrogant, snobbish, etc."

Still fits

To all of you who think ..
there are other politicians whose chutzpah matches BHO's, please list former candidates who [1] suggested they could lower sea levels, [2] designed their own presidential seal, [3] announced, "To know me is to love me," [4] embroidered "President of the United States" on an ostentatious chair in their candidate plane, [5] suggested he can successfully negotiate with world leaders who have repeatedly ignored everyone else who has tried. Sorry, folks, BHO has established a new definition for arrogance. If nothing else, this all proves the importance of life experience.

Tom
(I guess I shouldn't know the definition of "hubris" since I was educated in the US after 1960.)

In fact, if we go back to the ancient Greek speakers, hubris had a more specific meaning which included an affront to the Gods. What could be more full of hubris than President Bush's claim that the all-powerful, knowing, and good creator and sustainer of the universe--God-- choose him to be President? That usage is closer to the original.

Oh, Hans
You wrote: 'No offence to sheep, but Obomunists slogan should be “Change ewes can believe in”'

I LOVE IT! that is just priceless!! where do I get the bumper sticker??

Aren't All Politicians "uppity"?
And when did any politician stop being "full of him/herself??? They are all alike in that regard. And your comment about "uppity" just shows your youth. That term is being used in political ads made not for just younger voters but also for people born prior to the 60's. The "older generation" who fully understand "uppity" as a code word.

I suppose
DCR that you think Dipsy Doyle is a great governor instead of what he really is, a double dealing CROOK. And David Obey is the essence of charm. I guess you just love the HIGH taxes in this state, the high gas taxes and the extra low beer taxes. You picked the correct candidate to support your hubris.

Seawolfe #17 Good questions..who or what groups
are kicking back $ under the table? whose the
Goldfinger, there's only one extra wealthy
Nazi collaborator so devoid of humanity he
helped as a teenager to turn in fellow jews.
Take a guess. Add that to groups that are
sympathetic to his cousing Odinga, add a few more nefarious shady characters and BINGO
we's got us a Candy date.

Delle Thank you, I was wondering what that meant, I was unable to decipher it from the picture I saw.
you've gone through God's annealing furnace in you life, it's tough isn't it. I'm still going though it, still in the cupelle but the dross is draining..my childhood was blessed..my husband and my tests came later in our lives.
Perish the thought that Progressives would make a sacrificial gift of THEIR own money, whatever
are you thinking?

Eileen
Who you refering to as young??

Not one politican has even come close to the way Obama or Pelosi feel about themselves or looked down with contempt on those beneath them.

Bill Clinton was full of himself, but never to this extent of looking at all people as though we are just backwards hicks.

Yes, I know that some Obamanite will put Bush in this, but still there is no comparison to Obama. He has already by his actions declared himself Pres. No other past Pres. has done this.

Oh, by the way I'm 60.

Obama supporters? Time to assume
the position!

On your knees Obamies of all races and religions.

It is time for your daily call to worhsip your lord and master - SWAMIE-OBAMIE!

So get the H*** off TH, bow before your autographed photo of Obamie, and recite your sacred incantations:

Yes we can!(stolen from Hugo Chavez)
Yes we can!(stolen from Hugo Chavez)
Yes we can!(stolen from Hugo Chavez)

Now click your heels three times and say:

Obamie's the ONE (because OPRAH said so)
Obamie's the ONE (because OPRAH said so)
Obamie's the ONE (because OPRAH said so)

and then your favorite mantra of all:

Anyone against Obama is a racist...
Anyone against Obama is a racist...
Anyone against Obama is a racist...

There! Feel better?

Your Swamie-Obamie hears you because he is all hearing .... I mean have you seen the ears on this guy?

Geez! Is that a racist comment?

It probably is to the ZOMBIE-OBAMIES!

Why is Obama arrogant?
Can someone please explain this meme to me so I can productively participate and spread the word?

He is arrogant for running for President?

He is arrogant because a bunch of Germans cheered him on?

He is arrogant because a few people fainted in the crowd (apparently, people did this for Clinton and JFK too)?

Or is he arrogant because we keep saying he's arrogant? Bush is not short on confidence- why is this a problem with Obama? I read John's article twice to get to the bottom of this. I then re-read this section, "On the other hand, Obama would make a great rock star, wouldn’t he? He'd probably be one of those rappers who repeats his own name 50 times in a three minute long song."

Obama like one of those 'rappers'?? Sorry John, but I think you let the cat out of the bag on that one. You should have stuck to coded language and examples.

The rappers that bug us so much and whose wealth seems more offensive than lets say a country singer's? Clearly, not "one of us". Now it all makes much more sense.

B.H.O
Yes,yes BHO will I am sure return us all to glory days of F.D.R,L.B.J,Carter and Clinton.Return with us now to those glorious days of yesteryear.One of our great leaders gave away half of world to good ol'e Uncle Joe.Another great liberal icon let Walter Cronkite lose a war for us.IslamoNazis?American hostages in our own embassy?Oh yes The Great Peanut Mr.Carter.And how can I forget The Great Fornicator,B.J Clinton,who made us all wonder if we knew what sex is.BHO seems to me to be worst of all these failed liberals combined into one slick package.They shall not pass!

Yo jagrmeister721
It is painfully obvious that despite your claim that you read this article twice you didn't read it at all. Either that or you just didn't want to get it like most Obamites. I doubt that John's intent was to convert people, like you, that already have been sucked into Pied Piper Obama's music and are swaying with the tune. Rather I suspect that he was trying to reach people that haven't really decided if this guy is at all what he claims to be (he's not). Obama is arrogant for believing that he can change this country to make things better for large groups of people. The last person able to accomplish something like that was FDR and he had the Depression to help him with that change. What Obama might be able to do to RUIN this country is frightening and that is why THIS Democrat isn't voting for him this fall.

Economist with a Liberal Portfolio
Phylo is out to lunch again.

Krugman, a former employee of Enron, by the way, has been shown up as a fool so many times I lost count. There used to be a regular column on the National Review website rebutting all of Krugman's assertions, especially dealing with economics. I guess they gave it up, realizing an old fool, especially a liberal economist, is a hopeless fool, condemned to repeating his economic inanities for the rest of his life.

Uppity Is As Uppity Does
Lots of people are uppity. It has nothing to do with their color.

This is the latest, greatest attempt to quiet the people who are saying that Obama is elitist, that Obama is arrogant, acts superior to those around him, and that Obama is out of touch with Average Joe and Josephine. By claiming that we are calling Obama "uppity" is a racist statement.

Obama has been acting and talking as though he is the Messiah; the media has done their very best to create that image of him. Now they're complaining because they placed him way, way too high on the pedestal.

I think all this "racist" business is finally going to backfire on the Obama campaign. Those of us who are fed up with being called a "racist" everytime we disagree with (yet another) one of Obama's policies aren't going to be guilted into voting for Obama simply because he is black. Blackness is irrelevant to our criteria for voting for POTUS. We want policies that are actually GOOD for America, and we see that Obama's policies are all BAD, VERY BAD for America. Secondly, we expect to be able to TRUST our POTUS.

Uppity Obama supporters? Time to assume
the position!

On your knees Obamies of all races and religions.

It is time for your daily call to worhsip your lord and master - SWAMIE-OBAMIE!

So get the H*** off TH! Quickly! BOW before your autographed photo of Obamie, and RECITE your sacred incantations:

YES WE CAN!(stolen from Cesar Chavez)

Now click your heels three times and say:

OBAMIE'S THE ONE!(OPRAH said THAT)

and then your favorite mantra of all:

ANYONE AGAINST OBAMIE IS A RACIST...

There! Feel better?

Your Swamie-Obamie HEARS you because he is ALL HEARING.... I mean have you seen the BIG ears on this guy?

Geez! Is that a racist comment?

It probably is to the UPPITY ZOMBIE-OBAMIES!

Oceans Rise
I love that line!.

One of the great myths the Dems believe is that oceans are rising due to AGW - since 1900.

Yet, the book Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1500 Years states that the docks at ancient Rome during Julius Caesar's day are now underwater.

I didn't believe it until I did a search on google maps for it using the satellite mode. The port town is now named O-s-t-i-a, and you can clearly see the ancient docks parallel to the current shore. Underwater. By several feet.

By the way, Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C.

How about it, Libs? Global warming is caused by what, exactly? And Obama is going to stop this how, exactly?

Come again? Don't sputter, speak up!

-- Roger E. Sowell

ArmyWifeAggie88
Thanks just came to mind, haven't seen the sticker, althought it needs to be produced in mass.

Thanks for what you do, I just retired from the Army 18 mo ago.

Oboma: "Change ewes can believe in"

A bad strategy
This whole "Obama is arrogant/uppity" is a bad strategy for the Reps. IMO there are very few voters who are offended by a black pol displaying a bit of arrogance; nothing Obama has said/done is any different than any white pol.

The Reps ought to instead focus on Obama being completely out of touch with white rural america. His "cling" commments are a perfect example of this; Obama truly does NOT understand how rural whites think, what they value and believe in. This has less to do with Obama's race than the fact that he's a far Left big city intellectual.

How about both...
If there is anything that this election should have taught us, it is that all words which were previoulsy thought of a racial "buzz-words" should be allowed to be said by anyone of any race and that includes the "N" word.

Why?

Because it is not freedom of speech when rap artists can call eachother and everyone else the "N" word all day long, but a white person can NEVER say the word without severe consequences including exile and job loss.

I work with a lot of black people and all day long I hear them calling eachother the "N" word. It is disgusting! And yet no white person on the job would ever dare to use the "N" word.

Why? Why can blacks say it and whites can't?

So why do we have to choose between 'uppity" which I suppose has racial connotations and "arrogant" which is a safer word in describing Obama,because Obama is both!

Take a look at the dictionay.com definitons for uppity:

1. affecting an attitude of inflated self-esteem; haughty; snobbish.
2. rebelliously self-assertive; not inclined to be tractable or deferential.
3. Taking liberties or assuming airs beyond one's station; presumptuous
4. presumptuously arrogant

and notice this definition:

1880, from up; originally used by blacks of other blacks felt to be too self-assertive (first recorded use is in "Uncle Remus"). The parallel British variant uppish (1678) originally meant "lavish;" the sense of "conceited, arrogant" being first recorded 1734.

I see nothing in the word uppity which cannot be applied to anyone of any race.

And since Obama seems to have a conceited arrogance, he is both uppity and arrogant.

They both mean the same thing, but since uppity has some kind of racial connotation we (white folk) aren't supposed to use it - just like the "N" word.

Well either we all get to say it, or none of us get to say it. That's called FREEDOM of SPEECH!

OK
>Obama is arrogant for believing that he can change this country to make things better for large groups of people.

You have to be kidding me.

Uppity or Arrogant?
I'm a fan of the Britcoms on public television.One of my favorites is "Keeping Up Appearences"in which the lead character,Hyacinth Bucket(pronounced bouquet)as a middle class housewife with aspirations to be upper class.As such she is both uppity and arrogant,which leads to hilarity as she gets her come uppance when she is exposed as a wannabe.I had several aunts and uncleswho I considered "uppity"They all started out as farmers,but through marrying well and getting certain breaks in life they were able to rise above their beginnings.They were able to have nearly the best of things,to travel and such,but they were never arrogant,because it would have exposed their simple beginnings.Arrogance is a negative character flaw and anyone can be arrogant,rich or poor.Most of us remember our school days,at least I do.The arrogance of the rich kids over the poor ones,of the bigger ones over the smaller ones,the city kids over the rural kids and such.They all had a self belief that wealth,size or social standing made them superior,and would be quite vicious to those who thought otherwise.I had the advantage of being relatively educationally advanced,being a lower middle class farm boy because I've always been a voracious reader,and it use to upset the class elites to no end.For all their advantages of wealth,and standing,I was ahead of them,and I wasn't uppity or arrogant about it.So,Obama isn't "uppity"since he all ready come from wealth,he is just dangerously "arrogant".

Uppity or Arrogant pt 2
An "uppity"person is an annoyance,but mostly harmless.A person that is "arrogant" is usually a disaster waiting to happen.I used to be the senior machine operator on my last job,with 30 years experience,and as such I had to help train new management trainees.They came fresh out of colleges and tech schools with a head full of knowledge and ready to start their climb up the ranks.Virtually all were insufferably arrogant.There was no way a lowly machine operator,even though a senior one, could teach them anything.After all, they had been to the finest schools and they should be teaching me.They were always a great source of amusement,they would want to change this or that,or try any number of things that they had learned.Usually they would foul things up royally,and I would wind up bailing them out.It was only then,usually after they had been chastised and having a strip of their behind chewed off,would they listen to my counsel.They were amazed that I,only a high school grad could have insight and wisdom that made sense to them,if they had cared to listen first.I think that's what divides the liberals from conservatives.Liberals have knowledge,and the arrogance to believe that knowledge is the solution to everything.Conservatives are smart enough to combine knowledge with experience to come up with WISDOM.It will take a man full of wisdom to lead the U.S in the times to come.

Uppity or Arrogant????
Why in heavens name are we wasting time on this
ridiculous question. There are serious questions to be asked, and this is not one of them. It only makes us look scared and/or desparate.

and Regal Lion: "I work with a lot of black people and all day long I hear them calling eachother the "N" word. It is disgusting! And yet no white person on the job would ever dare to use the "N" word. Why? Why can blacks say it and whites can't?"

Why in heavens would you want you to and why do
you care. Your other posts are completely
offensive also. "Regal" also suggests that
there is arrogance around here all right, but
it is not the candidate.

Hawkins
"Liberals are almost always insufferably arrogant. It sort of goes with the territory. After all, if you believe that we have to throw religious customs, hundreds of years' worth of societal traditions, and the parts of the Constitution you disagree with into the wastebasket based primarily on your "feeling" that they're antiquated or no longer necessary, then you almost certainly must have an ego the size of a small planet."

Please don't say things like this. I would hope that this is beneath us, even if it were
true. Liberals do not INSIST on throwing out
customs, religious or societal. The
Constitution allows everyone to choose whether
or not they will participate in the customs you love so much or not. That is NOT throwing out the constitution. You sound like you would like to throw out the Constitution because many
people's sensitivities don't match yours.

I would also like to ask why everyone seems to
think that having been in the military is a
qualification for being a president. I know
the President in Commander in Chief, but it
has always been my presumption that the reason
why the President is the Commander in Chief is
because he/she is a civilian and thus apart
from the military.

Just because you say it?
"Just because you say it, don't make it so."

That's a quote from one of my friends, a Southerner of some great reputation.

This column, on the other hand, is ridiculous (and may even border on being 'innocuously racist').

Why is it ridiculous? Well, let's first examine the premise of supposed 'arrogance' on the part of Liberals and Progressives.

first of all, no one -- and that's NO ONE -- in modern politics has demonstrably acted more arrogant, either toward Congress, the Senate, or the American people, that G.W. Bush himself. And I mean, no one, unless it's Richard Cheney.

But back to refuting this ludicrous column:

I happened to grow up in the so-called 'liberated' North during the 1960s and 1970s and you know what? I heard Northern racists use the word 'uppity' quite a bit. Quite a bit. And the "N" bomb, and lot's of other stuff that's far too obscene to report here.

And I'm talking in casual conversation. CASUAL conversation, amongst other so-called 'white' people. (I guess because I myself am caucasian they thought I wouldn't notice, or that I somehow agreed with them.)

Just exactly what social vacuum does this apparently brain-closeted, semi-intelligent 'blogger' think he's living in anyway?

I stand by my friend's honest words:

"Just because you say it, don't make it so."

lipstick, pigs, kultur
A Washington Post editorial on Thursday put it well: “On a day when the Congressional Budget Office warned of looming deficits and a grim economic outlook, when the stock market faltered even in the wake of the government’s rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, when President Bush discussed the road ahead in Iraq and Afghanistan, on what did the campaign of Senator John McCain spend its energy? A conference call to denounce Senator Barack Obama for using the phrase ‘lipstick on a pig’ and a new television ad accusing the Democrat of wanting to teach kindergartners about sex before they learn to read.”

Now that Rove has, astonishingly, admitted that McCain has lost his judgment, how can any rational person continue to support this sad lost duo? Here's what Rove said:

"McCain has gone in his ads one step too far, and sort of attributing to Obama things that are, you know, beyond the 100-percent-truth test," said Rove. "Both campaigns ought to be careful about... there ought to be an adult who says: 'Do we really need to go that far in this ad? Don't we make our point and get broader acceptance and deny the opposition an opportunity to attack us if we don't include that one little last tweak in the ad?'"

Get it? Even the architect of right wing hate, and inheritor of Lee Atwater dirty tricks, is now on record as saying McCain has lost his marbles!

Nuff said.
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