Was I the only one paying attention?

It seems that almost every day the media is jumping on some "new" thing Barack Obama said that they perceive is somehow different from what he was saying before.  The problem is that the "new" things are, for the most part, not new at all.  They are the same things he has been saying since the very beginning of the primaries.  They are the same things he has said in stump speech after stump speech across the country.  They are the same things that I personally heard him say at events in May 2007, December 2007, and January 2008.

So, I totally expect this from the media, what bugs me is that there are constantly diaries here about them.  I don't know if these are McCain trolls or what, but it is getting really annoying.  So, I have an idea.  For those people who apparently have no idea what Barack Obama is really about go here.  That is Obama's YouTube page.  It includes everything from ads to speeches to news reports.  You can also go here.  That is the issues section of Barack Obama's website.  There you will find the "Blueprint for Change," which has been part of the campaign since Iowa.

So, forgive me if this seems harsh, but if you don't know what Obama stood for before the media magically started paying attention, maybe you should just shut up and stay out of it.  

You finding out something you didn't know about Obama doesn't make that thing new, and it certainly doesn't automatically make it a "flip-flop."

PS -- I ended up with a B in my macroeconomics class.  When I pulled out the syllabus and compared it to the test about 25% of the questions were from chapters that were not assigned to us and were not lectured on.  I'm still deciding on if I should challenge the grade or not.

•  Tip jar

  by ThatPoshGirl on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:19:14 PM PDT

  •  Nope

    You weren't the only one paying attention, and you're not the only one getting annoyed by the chicken littles.

    by BoiseBlue on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:21:00 PM PDT

  •  Which Is Pretty Much What He Said the Other

    day in response to a flipflop question.

    But I think on FISA specifically he said around a year ago (?) he'd filibuster, and given that it touches a Constitutional right, a lot of people took that seriously.

    by Gooserock on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:27:54 PM PDT

    •  FISA is the one exception

      I think he punked out on us there, and I'm happy to push on him there, but most of the rest of this "Rush to the middle" horsepucky is.. horsepucky.

      by Vox Libertas on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 03:20:04 PM PDT

      •  I don't mind a rush to the middle....

        happens. always does.

        I mind capitulation.

        If I wanted someone who'd surrender to Bush, I would have supported Hillary. She gave him fisa and the war.

        by ron ray on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 03:31:09 PM PDT

        •  Pfui on that.

          He has capitulated once: FISA. That pisses me off. He's just dead wrong there. OK?

          Now go read "Obama, the flip-flopper? Give me a break.".

          by Vox Libertas on Sat Jul 05, 2008 at 12:44:25 PM PDT

  •  Red'd. PS: Challenge the grade

    if you are sure there were no supplemental materials either assigned or handed out.

    by Heiuan on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:44:44 PM PDT

    •  grrr...sorry. That should be

      Rec'd.  ::sigh:: time to get a new set of fingers and a new keyboard.

      by Heiuan on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:46:01 PM PDT

  •  Thanks, good diary. I remember back in the day

    when we used to have to walk 20 miles in the snow to daily kos, in 2004, there were a whole bunch of prominent diarists here who would tell the chicken littles and concern/purity worry warts to STHU. Now all we have is Jeff Lieber, Elise and a half dozen others doing that task, while many of the prominent diarists are losing their cookies.

    Now I sound like a Daily Kos drama queen, but I'm not worried about all the silliness.

    Somehow a whole lot of people got overinvested in Obama and projected all sorts of things on him. I never did, so I expect much less. We're in a very conservative political machine's strong grip on the country, and half of daily kos wants Instant Progressive Government. I think Obama's stirring the stew of change reasonably well, and while it's good for us to agitate, we can settle down a bit and breathe too.

    by doinaheckuvanutjob on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 04:00:31 PM PDT

•  Amen, Posh.

  by StrangeAnimals on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:19:47 PM PDT

•  No you weren't the only one

  But I understand why you have to do a sanity check

  by Vita Brevis on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:21:57 PM PDT

•  What the hell

  is MSNBC doing?
  running an Obama Iraq stance shift story....with no shift as "BREAKING NEWS"

  by Hani on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:22:46 PM PDT

  •  Well, I guess no FBI operative

    is meeting with some Black guys in the ghetto somewhere and offering them a little money and some new boots so we can find another terrorist cell to offer up as "breaking news" in time for the election.

    Never mind that our economy is tanking along with rising oil prices, and the much ridiculed Carter administration had it right way back in the 70's when they said conserve, conserve, conserve....

    Instead, we elected the GOP (gas and oil party) for another 8 years, and here we are looking for any gossipy way to avert the average voter's attention from reality.

    by blindyone on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:40:18 PM PDT

•  To make an accusation of flip flopping, one only

  has to be mistaken of Obama's positions at one of two times.  It's the perfect accusation for people who get things wrong, have low information, or are lazy.  Moreover, it requires Obama to clarify every single time he's addressed an issue ever to rebut the ignorant.

  by Inland on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:23:29 PM PDT

  •  He must feel like he's talking to small children

    He makes a statement and everyone goes apeshit, so he clarifies, but the dense (and the media, always eager to stir the pot) pretend they still don't get it, so he makes another statement and suddenly:

    OMG! Flip-flop! Flip-flop! Flip-flop! Flip-flop! Flip-flop! Flip-flop!

    by BoiseBlue on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:27:05 PM PDT

    •  He is!

      by dlh77489 on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:30:46 PM PDT

    •  It's crazy

      I think having to repeat yourself over and over in several different ways for eternity is the 10th circle of hell.

      by ThatPoshGirl on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:33:17 PM PDT

      •  He is running for president.

        Which circle would that normally be??? I can't imagine...

        by rb137 on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:37:15 PM PDT

  •  And McFlop never flips nor flops, according to

    the establishment media.

    by doinaheckuvanutjob on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 04:01:37 PM PDT

•  Attagirl - Heck, I'm a Hillary supporter and

  I'm not disappointed in Obama, I'm disappointed in Obama supporters.  Can't shred my candidate any more so you're starting on your own?  This election is too important for the "best to be the enemy of the good" - go back and look.  Obama or McCain?  If you're thinking anybody but Obama, you're on the wrong website.

  by bfitzinAR on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:24:00 PM PDT

  •  Support you 100percent

    I am an Die hard Obama supporter and I am keeping my eyes on the Ball.

    When I saw the heading I thought there goes the media again.

    We have to put all the media in Perspective.  This is the age on idol, and Britney

    Now that she is not getting better , they want to make this election like a soap Opera or idol Competition.

    The Press is the Jury. They cheer and speculate.

    Now there is body watch press camping around Obama 24 like paparazi did with Britney

    And we are voting by calling.

    by Alex van Hussein on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:35:50 PM PDT

•  Hey

  Congratulations on the B.  I'm sure you were hoping to pull out an even better grade, but from the way you described the guy teaching the class it's nice that you were able to do that well.  It totally stinks that he did such a bad job of teaching, and if you've got the energy to protest the grade - and the way the class was taught - you might want to think about doing that.  If no one speaks up, that teacher could be right back filling in for someone else, and messing up another person's GPA.  

  But well done - you were really stressed out about it, so I'm glad it's over and you can (maybe?) relax.

  by lcork on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:26:47 PM PDT

  •  I'm glad it is over too

    But the 5 week biology class is interfering with the relaxing part. ::le sigh::

    by ThatPoshGirl on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:28:45 PM PDT

    •  oh poor baby...

      (((hugs))) and keep your chin up - school doesn't last forever!  I hope you get to have some fun over the holiday weekend, at least!

      by lcork on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:45:56 PM PDT

      •  Oh I do

        I'm marching with my democratic club and meeting our congressional candidate and then I will be registering voters later in the day.

        by ThatPoshGirl on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:48:09 PM PDT

  •  Read the fine print.

    Well, if there is any.

    I tried that once on a college course and was told that we were responsible for everything in the text even if it wasn't covered in class.

    I made a D in that class because I failed the final exam, and I had to take it over at my own expense. At least I raised my grade to a B the next time around.

    Academics may be different these days, or you may have a better case or a more accepting attitude at your school than I did, so good luck!

    by Brooke In Seattle on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:37:25 PM PDT

    •  But I think here there may be a case

      Because we were given a syllabus that told us what chapters to read.  My understanding is that a syllabus is a contract.  So if the syllabus says to read these 7 chapters, and the instructor doesn't lecture, then how can he test on different material?

      by ThatPoshGirl on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:41:39 PM PDT

•  McCain, on the other hand, changes positions more

  often than his shorts.

  The media seems to not pay any attention to that at all.

  Go figure.

  by PatsBard on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:27:00 PM PDT

•  To paraphrase Keynes:

  "When the facts change, I change my mind.  What, sir, do you do?"

  by BGwinetteMulroney on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:30:20 PM PDT

•  Maybe a reread of The Audacity of Hope?

  I am definitely going to reread The Audacity of Hope. My recollection is that Obama has been pretty consistent all along. Maybe I had stars in my eyes when I read it last time, but I don't think so.

  With all of this flipflop talk, I should be sure to have my bearings when I'm campaigning for Obama, right?

  And what you said about your class -- do you think you have a concrete argument that the instructor carelessly constructed the exam without regard to what was taught in the class? Was he/she using old tests, etc., based on previous semesters?

  by rb137 on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:34:48 PM PDT

  •  My impression is that he based his test

    off of lectures, the problem is that he stopped lecturing after deciding that he wasn't being paid enough to teach.  The chapters that were assigned to us didn't contain the information he tested on.  I can prove that because he let us keep the test.  It is just a matter of needing to study for weekly biology tests in a 5 week summer course. I don't know if I have the time to go through the test and the book and actually make the notes needed to prove that the information was in a different chapter.  I barely had time to rant in a half page diary lol.

    by ThatPoshGirl on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:38:55 PM PDT

    •  Good luck in any case.

      A B is really not so bad -- and it won't matter at all if it looks like an outlier. (I think I remember that you said you had a high GPA.)

      In any case, kick back and enjoy the holiday weekend!  :)

      by rb137 on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 04:07:11 PM PDT

  •  I finally got to the Audacity Of Hope

    the last few weeks. I really enjoyed the "Dreams..." book, but I postponed the more political book because I have already read so many like them.

    Anyway, it's not that bad. I am left of him, so I don't agree with him all the time... but could we all get real here and consider the consequences of enabling a McCain victory?

    All of the potential congressional candidates, who will benefit from Obama's campaign, and the support of many who participate in this site, will be vulnerable in 2010. The Obama administration will listen to you. Hold  your fire a bit and concentrate on winning this election. Damn! I know I'm not alone in realizing how crucial this election is.

    by blindyone on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 02:50:14 PM PDT

    •  I'm with you there... nt

      by rb137 on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 04:05:12 PM PDT

•  I was paying attention, which is why I was

  for Edwards. Nevertheless, Obama's the nominee, and we have to work with what we've got.

  by Jacques on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 03:00:10 PM PDT

•  Challenge the grade....

  but you likely won't succeed.  Still, it's worth trying, if only to point out what an ass the prof is.

  by Dave G on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 03:06:29 PM PDT

•  I agree with you

  and also think you should challenge the grade. Your prof might be one of those who admires gumption, and your challenge would appear to be well-founded.

  Good luck!

  It isn't easy being green.

  by emeraldmaiden on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 03:16:57 PM PDT

•  They are doing a number on Obama aided

  and abetted by so-called "progressive" blogs. Faith-based, Iraq, refusing to fist-bump, mortgage. What else?

  by JoanMar on Thu Jul 03, 2008 at 04:20:56 PM PDT