Some weeks ago, a colleague of mine shot me an e-mail which included, inter alia: "Did I hear you say you were an ‘Obama-Mama?’ Sure hope you were kidding!"
Now, this came totally out of left field. When not talking shop, my buddy and I usually hold forth on The Essentials Of Life: horses, dogs, Harley Davidson’s, and good beer. We had only touched on the political when discussing the various feasances, (mis, mal and non) perpetrated by the current administration of Our Great State. So I was quite surprised when, in response to my, "Nope. Not kiddin’", he offered to debate positions. Seems his previous debating partner had been transferred to another department, and he was jonesing hard for some political discourse. Over the next weeks, I began to realize something wondrous and dreadful was happening. Ladies and gentlemen, I have my very own Personal Troll.
I suppose in the grand scheme of things, this is a bit silly. Here I am, a la Dona Quixote, jousting with the most inflexible of wind mills. But my job takes me out of town frequently and sometimes at a moments notice, so I’ve been unable to commit to doing any hardcore volunteer work. And my distinguished spouse and I can be considered the working poor, so donating money is sometimes difficult. (We do it anyway, just skip lunches for a week or so!) But somehow, I got the idea that, if I could change just one vote - open one mind to a new possibility - that would be my major contribution to Obama For President. What follows below are excerpts from some of the communications my buddy and I have shared.
Now, I should mention that "troll" is perhaps a bit of a misnomer. My buddy is no knuckle-dragging, beetle-browed, knee-jerk relic of the late Cretaceous Era. He’s a thoughtful, literate, sensitive, fun-loving kind of guy. A decorated Viet Nam Vet. He’s the founder of a program that specializes in the problems of re-integrating incarcerated veterans back into society - a passion we both share. (BTW - how good is this program? Damned good. The recidivism rate state-wide is a whopping 59.6%. Among the graduates of the Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program? 6%. Are you listening, Governor? How ‘bout a little funding here, guy! Sorry, I digress).
Nevertheless, I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised when the opening salvo of the Great Debate was:
http://www.eyeblast.tv/...
Yes, indeed, everybody’s favorite viral video. The text of my friend’s message was:
"Please explain why this is bad information"
Hoo, boy. And I said to myself, "If my guy, who is not lacking in political acumen, was genuinely asking about this video, this is gonna be harder than I thought." And it is, too. Not only do I have to refute everything he comes up with I have to do so without resorting to the "Obama for President" website, which would be the cheap and easy way out, or using anything that could be considered "The ‘Librul’ Media". Anything less would taint the debate.
Oy.
Me: Where would you like for me to start? Yes, his name is Barack Hussein Obama. Get used to it. Other than that, everything else in that video is complete trash. Others have managed to be elected to the Highest Office without one of those "Uh-mur-i-can" sounding names. Like, I dunno . . . Eisenhower and Roosevelt. See here:
http://www.snopes.com/...
and here:
http://urbanlegends.about.com/...
C’mon pal. Do your own research. You’re too smart to fall for this Swiftboating.
Ask yourself if you’re tired of seeing the sons and daughters of your fellow veterans die in a war begun on falsehoods and continued for the profit of no-bid federal contractors.
Ask yourself if you’re tired of watching the uber-wealthy in this nation receive massive tax cuts while middle and lower class families cannot put food on the table or gas in their cars.
Ask yourself if you’re tired of seeing homeless veterans in the streets or under bridges - no health care, no vet care, no one caring.
Ask yourself if you’re tired of America being the butt of every international joke and the target of smouldering fury from people who want us to get the hell out of their country.
Ask yourself if America is ready for more conservative judges at the Federal and USSC level that will further erode personal liberties that are supposed to be "inalienable".
Ask yourself if America ready for good health care that is affordable for everyone.
Ask yourself if America is truly ready to focus on alternative energy sources that don’t require the destruction of something we cannot ever replace.
Ask yourself if America is ready for an education policy where "No Child Left Behind" means something other than "Left Behind".
Ask yourself if it should really matter - if two people are ready to commit to each for life - what sex they are?
Ask yourself if America is ready for an African-American President.
If you’re honest - the answer is "Yes, we are".
Yes we can.
My pal: This I can say. The name calling about his name is stupid & I am very adamant about that & won’t listen to it. I see Obama in two separate issues: his personal bad choices and his socialistic-borderline communistic policies. As for being "swiftboated", I see that as an honorable term. JF Kerry was ready to step into the presidency until he was exposed for what he truly was, a coward who deserted his men in a combat zone. And I feel very comfortable saying that. I was in Viet Nam too. I was sent home to recover ina hospital fo 5 months after many surgeries. So, based on the books I read, and Kerry’s own words, I stick by what I called him. A coward.
Me: Oh, my, you must have read "Unfit for Command". Hope you didn’t lose any sleep while doing so. Even John McCain himself has condemned that hatchet job.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
Bad personal choices?" Well, his pastor is an idiot, I’ll grant you that. And Obama did experiment with drugs as young man. You show me somebody who says they never did, and I’ll show you a liar. He’s made one other bad choice that I’m aware of - he withdrew his support from a very competent young man who was running for the County Board. Because he did so, it allowed the current corrupt and incompetent leadership to remain in place. He got a snarky e-mail from me on that one, believe me.
As for his "socialist", "communist" policies?
http://unabridged.merriam-webster.co...
and
http://unabridged.merriam-webster.co...
Based on these definitions provided by Merriam Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, which of Sen. Obama’s positions are the "socialist, borderline communistic" policies? When/where/how has he ever advocated government control of private property? He has not proposed nationalizing healthcare, he has proposed revamping the current system so that more people - and more importantly - more children are covered. That’s communism to you?
My pal: When the framers of the constitution and the writers of the amendments referred to rights and freedoms of the people, they did not at any time refer to contingent participation in or with a membership regarding a special group with specific privileges. They referred to "the people". Dat be youse & me.
Me: Oh, I suppose that "well-regulated militia" isn’t a specific group? But in any case, you’re barking up the wrong tree. Don’t assume that because I’m an Obama supporter than I’m a gun control freak. I believe in the Bill of Rights. All 10 of ‘em. And so does Sen. Obama:
"I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms, but I also identify with the need for crime-ravaged communities to save their children from the violence that plagues our streets through common-sense, effective safety measures. The Supreme Court has now endorsed that view." –Barack Obama-
http://www.time.com/...
My pal: Does the following leave a door open wide enough to drive a semi through? Identifies with . . . common sense safety measures. What are those measures? Gun control in WDC & Chicago while Des Moines has none? Those who live in big cities shouldn’t have the right of gun ownership because of the killings? I let it be known that always had my 45 when I worked behind the bar. We were never robbed. Criminals and crazies only hang out & attack where it is usually safe, meaning no guns around, except for theirs, i.e., the latest mass killings on College campuses.
Just remember, if guns kill people, then pencils are responsible for math errors and spoons made Rosie fat!
Me: So your solution is to arm everyone? All he is saying is that there’s no need for law abiding citizens to be prohibited from having the means to protect themselves. "Common sense measures" does not mean that Chicago has no guns and Des Moines does. It means people with felony convictions can’t have a handgun. It means people with a history of documented mental illness can’t have a handgun. It means minors can’t have a handgun. Remember this guy lived on the south side of Chicago for 20 years watching the neighborhood kids get shot down.
My pal: I don’t buy that. He speaks of hunting & shooting with "kids". Trying to have it both ways is pandering. He’ll say whatever it takes to get elected.
Me: His position hasn’t substantially altered:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/...
http://www.cnn.com/...
- Obama "I Do Not Object To The Lawful Use And Ownership Of Handguns." Obama said, "I do not object to the lawful use and ownership of firearms, but I do think it is entirely it appropriate for the state to monitor it. Too many of these guns end up in the hands of criminals even though they were originally purchased by people who did not have a felony." [Chicago Defender, 7/5/01]
My pal: Given that he was a "community activist" whatever that is, what effect did he have on his community? I can’t seem to find out what he was doing, besides working for and with the Chicago political bosses and accomplishing what?
Me: As for what he was doing as an activist:
http://www.thenation.com/...
My pal: In other words, it was all about him
Me: You’d want a president who didn’t have a world view? Or any compassion? Or any sense of what a community is? What is this "all about him" stuff? His experiences working with the underclass shaped his world view, just as McCain’s experiences shaped his. War, war, war and more war is NOT the answer.
My pal: World view? What world view? From the Ghetto? Where does this world view come from? What experiences?
Me: Before I take you to task for that snarky "ghetto" comment, let me just say this: Obama’s experiences in the real world trump McCain’s privileged life by a country mile. Oh, I forgot. McCain DID live abroad, didn’t he? Briefly
More me: Now - you gotta problem with a "ghetto" worldview? You gotta problem being sensitive to issues of poverty? (something McCain never had to worry about) Or joblessness? Or homelessness? Or of having to scratch a living out? You think it was easy for somebody with Columbia University-level bills to survive on a $13,000 a year salary? I can tell you from personal experience - it ain't.
My pal: Not hardly. BO also lived abroad, and he also attended a very expensive private HS in Hawaii, paid for by his Gramma. He lived very well all of his life. The only time he spent in poverty was in the getto making his political bones as an activist. You know that. He can't remake himself, nor can his handlers without bending the truth beyond all credibility.
Me: Of course, another way of saying, "Making his political bones" is, "Trying to help people." At least he saw first hand what people were up against. Mr. McCain, on the other hand, used his family name and his wife’s money to jump start his political career.
My pal: I agree, it ain't easy. getto and suburban worldviews are distinctly different. Education, healthcare, jobs, and financial security by virtue of their differences skew the views. Not that one is more right than the other. Different. Which colors future actions, preceptions, and social stances. (and this subject could go on for days)
Which begs another question. What did he earn from say '85 until he was placed in the House of reps. by the Chicago bosses? Job by job, even during this years in school? I've been jobless, scratching out a living. Sorry, can't relate to the Obamas in that position. Not with their financial success. Either one of them. He’s lived well his whole life.
I should make you look this up for yourself. Obama graduated from Columbia University in 1983 with a degree in political science. He worked for 2 years for the Business International Corporation and then at the New York Public Interest Research Group (a non-profit consumer advocacy organization). He moved to Chicago in 1985 and worked as an organizer for low-income residents in public housing. He entered Harvard law in 1988. So what was he making in 1985? $12,000 + $2,000 for a used car. Adjusted for inflation (according to your good friend Bill Kristol) that's $23, 958.00. He worked at Baskin-Robbins when he was a teenager in high school. He attended Columbia on a scholarship. He finally paid off the last of his law school loans a few years ago.
Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, a bank vice president, and grandfather, Stanley Dunham, a salesman, lived in a two-bedroom apartment in downtown Honolulu and helped raise their grandson along with his mother until he graduated from high school. Hardly the lap of luxury. You suggest he would have been a better person had he been raised in a tar paper shack? Like Sen. McCain?
Michelle Obama was born into a working class A/A family on the south side of Chicago. Her mother was a stay-at-home and their father raised a family of four on his salary as a shift worker for the City of Chicago.
Oh, yes. They're both successful. They did it the easy way. They worked their asses off for it. As opposed to inheriting it. Or marrying it.
There’s more - a lot more. A week’s worth of conversations on veterans affairs alone. Another week’s worth of discussions on whether or not John McCain is George Bush III. And if my replies were snotty at times, well, put it down to frustration. Remember, my buddy is a well-educated, well-read, thinking adult. Despite this, he still half believes what the right wing wants him to believe. I shudder to think what the so-called "low information voter" is hearing and believing.
I hadn’t heard from my friend for two weeks. This morning he ascended from the weedy depths of trolldom to gift me with this:
Subject: Lucy, ‘Splain Dis to Me:
http://www.youtube.com/...
But he signed it, "Luv, Desi". Told you, he’s really a very sweet guy.
There have been a lot of diaries lately about the dangers of complacency. And I’ve agreed with many of them. I haven’t given up on my personal troll. There’s a lot of ‘em out there - I’ll bet we probably each have one, if we look hard enough. I haven’t given up on my personal troll. And if you find yours - don’t you give up either.