On Thursday, August 6, OFA had a table at Swingin’ Summer Thursday in West Chester, PA. It WAS swingin’: a hot salsa band just half a block away.
I saw no end to the enthusiasm of people for President Obama’s three principles of health care reform. The people I talked to know the issues, know disinformation when they see or hear it, and are ready to phone or even visit their members of Congress now that those members will be in their “home” offices for the rest of the month.
The people who sign the declarations have not been fooled one bit by the propaganda. They are going to lead us to victory.
One of my closest friends opined briefly on twitter: "... you have lost your mind..." and expanded his message into a novelette in the comments section of my general blog. You know, Obama is the Anti-Christ, blah, blah, blah. But I did throw my friend a major curve ball.
I was a bit taken aback by the level of disinformation. Turns out he can't take McCain either. But he returned to the theme of: "ANYBODY but Obama". Yeah, sure did birth a litter of kittens! Sadly, such mud slinging doesn't get anything useful done.
I love how this campaign bothers to provide seriously crafted coverage of Barack et al. The speaches fill me with hope and a willingness to actually get out in my neighborhood and speak to others about Barack. I'm 55 years old and this is my first venture into political activism of any kind, for any party.
The proof is in the pudding. I have a sense that my legal blindness and use of a walker won't phase the workers in my local area. I care about this campaign and can't live with the thought of another four years of what we have going on at the moment.
Frankly, I am also a bit shell shocked at my willingness to engage with people on the street. I belong to a black church, but a stranger doesn't know that. At the mention of Barack, all barriers come down between me being white and a black stranger. We speak hope to one another, and share our mutual love of God and things religious.
I like what has happened in my life since Thursday. Thanks for energizing my life in a completely new direction. Ya all feel me?
Cliff Kincaid and his colleagues have accused Frank Marshall Davis (1905-1987) of being a Stalinist, a lifetime member of the Communist Party, and “Obama’s Communist Mentor.” Kincaid heads “Accuracy In Media” (A.I.M.), an organization dedicated to “fairness, balance and accuracy in news reporting.” Kincaid and his colleagues are all honorable men.
Having asked Kincaid to substantiate some of his accusations, and having received no reply, one can only conclude that Kincaid must be preoccupied with more important questions, because Kincaid is an honorable man.
Although the ironically named “Accuracy In Media” has yet to substantiate that Davis actually mentored Obama (a claim specifically rejected by the Obama campaign), such a relationship could have provided a bi-racial teenager with the key to success in mainstream America. To minimize criticism and maximize their potential, bi-racial African-Americans must walk a narrow identity path between group expectations. Davis was uniquely qualified to show the way. He may have significantly facilitated Obama’s vision of an inclusive society.
In case you thought there's been a lot of negative stories on Obama lately -- there have -- and here's why.
http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/3/14/19013/6047
Chuck Olsen of Blogumentary posted the raw footage of his documentary called "God in Our Governments". Olsen interviews four women from Lynchburg, TN that identify themselves as Non Denomination Christians. In it they state their support for Governor Huckabee, God in government, policy as biblical prophecy and Obama's insistence on swearing in with the Koran.
After watching, I'm sad. We, Obama supporters, have a lot of work to do but some people are beyond reach. But we can still reach many, many others.
Yes, we can.
I've known my best friend for 35 years. He's well educated, kind and a good man in most respects. That's why his reaction to my support for Barack Obama was all the more shocking. I groaned when he said: "Obama's father is a Muslim, and I don't trust having someone in the White House that close to the Muslim world. Those people are dangerous!"
"Gee, what's next," I asked him, "rounding up Jews?"
"No, there's nothing wrong with Jews," he said. The problem is Islam and Obama's closeness to someone who practices it.
"But my landlords are Muslim," I countered, "and they're some of the sweetest people in the world. They gave us a bottle of wine and two boxes of chocolates for Christmas!"
"I'm sure they are nice," he said. "But a lot of Muslims are radical nuts."
"Okay, now we're getting somewhere: Only some Muslims are radical nuts. Well, guess what?" I continued. "Obama's father has never been a radical Muslim, either. In fact, Obama's father moved away to Kenya when he was a small boy, so Obama's never been a Muslim at all. He's been a practicing Christian for the last 20 years! And do you think a radical Muslim would put his soul in jeopardy by proclaiming his belief in Christ?! So what are you afraid of?!?"
We went around and around for half an hour. I tried logic and supporting documentation to persuade him that his fears were nonsense, but in the end, I only opened his mind a crack. I didn't change it. Not all in one night's heated discussion.
If people as (normally) intelligent and decent as my friend can be manipulated by fear and suspicion, I thought, how will Obama get past the smear campaigns to win the popular vote?
Let's not depair too hastily. Keep in mind that winning an election doesn't require the support of every voter, only the majority of voters. Let's also remember that many of us white people (and black and red and Hispanic and Asian people) already "get it." We understand who Obama is and who he is not. But that may still leave our man short of the majority needed to claim the nomination and the White House.
Thankfully, that's what campaigns are for. Two things have to happen in this campaign for Obama to win.
First, Sen. Obama needs to forcefully and angrily counter the smear tactics, particularly in regard to his religion and patriotism.
Second, we have to help him counter the disinformation campaign. You and me have to get out and spread the truth about Obama. We have to use independent documentation, such as news sources that have debunked the rumors and innuendo. We have to direct people to Obama's web site when they criticize his policies as too shallow or flimsy. We have to write letters to the local newspaper editor EVERY time some editorial or talking head smears Obama's name. We have to call in to the talk shows. We have to write emails to everyone we know and keep them short, direct to the point and personal, with a link to the facts.
We may even have to get on the phone with our best friends and make repeated attempts to bring light into the darkest corners of their minds.
I have always appreciated Senator Obama's commitment to raising the level of debate in our country, and it is especially gratifying to see his deftness in maintaining that standard in one of the most bitter and sarcastic disinformation campaigns I’ve ever witnessed, both online in the comments pages of popular websites, and through surrogates in the media. What is most disturbing about these attacks, is that most recently we have heard this bitterness and sarcasm coming directly from the mouths of the Clintons themselves.
In his response to those attacks, it was terrific to hear the positive strength in Senator Obama’s voice as he stated that he was ready for the "rough and tumble" if necessary. As he gets tougher in handling disinformation from the Clinton camp, their response will likely be to call him a hypocrite as they have in the past, insinuating that he has somehow failed in his intended theme of keeping to a positive campaign.
This is a transparent attempt to use Senator Obama's integrity against him in order to weaken his ability to respond and make him pay a price for striving to campaign at a higher standard. I’m so glad to see that he will not stand down in the face of such obvious manipulation. They will also attempt to hold him to a ridiculously high double standard and use it to try to knock him off balance. I don't think it will work this time.
Senator Obama has shown that he is well equipped to deal with these attacks, and that is part of what makes him a stalwart leader. His moral fiber can stand the heat, and that is evidenced by his demonstrated ability to look inward when necessary to reflect on times when he has faced a difficult balance of competing values. And what is even more rare, is that he can comment on those inner reflections in an emotionally intelligent way during interviews, something that can only be done by someone who has done the honest work of self-examination. He seems to be reaching for even higher standards as he gains his footing under the spotlight, and he gets progressively better at handling the flack from those who must at some level know he is right, and must envy his ability to balance his strength of character with a tested ability to fight back when necessary. This is an important set of qualities that sets Senator Obama apart from Senator Clinton that I hope can used to better differentiate them.
I believe Senator Obama has set a great example in the way he is maintaining his integrity and his ability to respond effectively to attacks. Hopefully as his supporters, we can maintain a similar balance in our own interactions through the election season, as Senator Obama has done so beautifully.
While I am recommending books, here is another small but exceptionally useful book as we enter the year of spin: unSpun: Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation by Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson. The authors run the very useful site, http://www.FactCheck.org, and their book will help any reader navigate the political world of disinformation that lies before us.
