Daily Kos

LA Times: Oh noes - Obama SUX!! cuz he can't be in two places at once!! (updated, sort of)

by occams hatchet

Fri Jul 25, 2008 at 01:01:13 PM PDT

I guess when you've got column inches to fill, you'll grab at anything.

Appearing in the LA Times' online edition under the headline

Obama's path to presidency is far from clear

is the following mind-reeling observation:

Both Obama and McCain had been invited Thursday to a cancer forum organized by cyclist Lance Armstrong's foundation at Ohio State University.

McCain showed; Obama did not.

But those Ohioans - they're an observant lot:

Some in the crowd took notice.

- and, based on the next sentence in the story, evidently decided that their vote for leader of the free world would hinge on one's ability to defy the laws of physics:

Ann Marie Jones, a stay-at-home mother whose 10-year-old son was diagnosed with cancer in September, said she had leaned toward Obama "until he didn't show up tonight."

And why didn't he show up? One might imagine, from Ms. Jones's comment, it's because Sen. Obama doesn't care about 10-year-old little boys with cancer, or their mothers. Or maybe it was because he was in, umm, let's see, oh yeah: Germany.

Now, Ms. Jones and her boy have my sympathy; cancer is serious and not to be trifled with. I just wish she would rethink her criteria for selecting a president. Given that Obama's absence lost him her vote, then one can only infer that Ms. Jones will vote for - whom?? Someone who possesses the ability, unknown among mere humans, to be in two places at the same time? (This would be as opposed to the ability to talk out of both sides of one's mouth at the same time. Because if that's all it takes to get her vote, then have I got a candidate for her.)

I can understand Ms. Jones's frustration - I can only imagine how desperately I would want for my child to be healed. So I really have no beef with her - I believe she will eventually come to her senses and realize which candidate offers the best hope for children like her son, and millions more like him. You know: universal health care, stem cell research, SCHIP, things like that. Yeah.

No, my real issue is with the LA Times, as a representative of the Traditional Media, running with a lame story such as this. You really should read the whole thing; it's amazingly useless. No, wait, I take it back: come to think of it, for those high school and college students in need of a quick example of How To Say Nothing And Use Up 1,300 Words Doing It, Peter Nicholas's story could prove quite useful.

For instance, Nicholas reminds us that Some Hillary Voters Still Aren't Convinced:

Amy Siskind of Westchester, N.Y., is a Clinton supporter who said she wouldn't vote for Obama. Siskind said she was especially offended when Obama hired Clinton's former campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, to work with his vice presidential nominee. Given that Solis Doyle was demoted by Clinton, the appointment was perceived by Clinton loyalists as a slight.

"Most folks feel that the battle is over and he's the winner, but he's really acted like a sore winner," Siskind said.

Y'know, the unintentional hilarity of those two paragraphs have led me to re-examine my assumptions about Nicholas's goal with his story . . .

Yup, yup, now I'm quite sure: Nicholas is attempting the written-word equivalent of the New Yorker cover. He is trying to ridicule false beliefs by presenting them as if they were true. Check this:

Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a Clinton fundraiser who lives in New York City, said, "What I think is very important is that he has a problem with his image. He is an aloof candidate. He does not connect with people. He has words, but no ordinary person thinks that he is there for them, and women feel that intensely." [snip]

Seeing an opportunity, McCain's supporters have sought to drive home perceptions that Obama doesn't connect with average voters.

"The fact that Obama is out of touch with voters . . . is certainly something we'll continue to reiterate," said Alex Conant, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee.

OMG - Obama "doesn't connect with people" (oh noes!!!) and - according to John McCain's spokesman - is "out of touch."

Comedy gold, people, comedy gold.

Thanks, LA Times, for clearing all of that up for us.

< eye roll >

UPDATE: A recent photo of Obama not connecting with people:




UPDATE 2: As pointed out in the comments, the LA Times writer interviewed six people for this story: One Republican housewife, three disgruntled Clinton supporters, a McCain spokesman, and an Obama spokesman. Oh, and cited a Fox News push poll as evidence of Obama's "slipping" support.

Awesome "journalism." Seems fair and balanced to me.



UPDATE 3 (why not, right?): The guy is just funny, there's no getting around it. From the same Ohio appearance:

"I don’t think I would [support cigarette taxes] because I don’t think the money is being spent on the state taxes right now," McCain said. "It would have to be proven and frankly, the constitution of this Congress, they couldn’t prove it to me, ‘cause I don’t believe them. I don’t. I’ve seen corruption in Congress, OK?"

Oh, no he DIH-nnt. Mmm-hmm.

Tags: Barack Obama, Ohio, Media Bias, Los Angeles Times, 2008 (all tags) :: Previous Tag Versions

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