Aide: Obama doesn't think tea partiers are racist

[47of74]

Source: CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A day after tens of thousands of conservatives gathered in Washington to protest the policies of the Obama administration, a top White House aide said that President Obama doesn’t think the protests and the growing conservative movement against Obama are motivated by racism.

“I don’t think the president believes that people are upset because of the color of his skin,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.

Read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/13/aide-obama-doesnt-think-tea-partiers-are-racist/

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Dear Mr. Gibbs and Dear Mr. President;

If you don't believe the teabaggers are racist, could I perhaps interest you in the following structure that I have for sale?

[graywarrior]

1. He'd be accussed of playing the race card if he thought they were racist.

It's better he says nothing and let others point out the despicable ways of the teabaggers.

[Skittles]

32. that is absolutely true

[Stellar]

35. Obama *never* takes a race baiting question. No matter how

true it is. They already claimed he hates white people. And every teabagger group I've seen was like 99% white. He needs to keep people concentrating on health care instead of what Obama thinks about race. All the GOP needs is a diversion, the President can't go there!

[TheEuclideanOne]

41. Rather, if he SAID they are racist

It is pretty clear on the surface, so better for the president to take the high road.

[QC]

42. Exactly. He's handling this the only way he can. n/t

[Grassy Knoll]

48. Exactly ..... don't let the .....

Ball suck nation , get you to say what they want you to say,
Our president has way too much class , what is very cool is we have soooooo much footage,
against these asshats to get re-elected.

[goclark]

54. Exactly ~ I'm with you! nt

[Deja Q]

63. Logical and agree.

[Bicoastal]

2. Dear 47of74;

Would you like to stand in the center of this shiny metal object that Obama is choosing to avoid?

[DFW]

3. Oh, really? Well, if you want to get technical.......

Maybe not. OK, how about: stupid, emotionally unbalanced, willfully ignorant, boorish, intolerant, illogical and loud?

I guess after that, adding on "racist" on an individual case basis could be done after the qualifying basics have
been ascertained...........

[Libertas1776]

4. I think this one is more appropriate...

Although, yeah, I agree that its better for him to remain silent on the matter. It is us, American citizens, not him, that have to speak out against these racists teabaggers.

[msongs]

5. at first german jews ignored nazis, thinking they would go away. how'd bipartisan work then? nt

[elleng]

6. I'll take the Bridge.

Another example (as if we need it) of a 'hot topic' to give the media something to do.

[SpiralHawk]

7. Not all racist. Some just dumb. Some paid Black Ops provocateurs.

All committed to making America & Americans FAIL, while maintaining Massive Profits for Insurance Corporations.

[scentopine]

8. Any dings or dents? Do you take paypal?

[47of74]

17. Yes to both questions.

[OHdem10]

9. Get Real. No one should even ask the President such a question.

He can only answer one way....just as the Aide did.

If he said yes, he would bring down sound and fury
not yet imagined. The Theme. Obama is racists and
using race blah, blah, blah.

Anyone who asks him is only trying to stoke enough
fires to stir something up.

[Turbineguy]

39. It was the smart answer.

It's politics.

It's the President's job to unite the country. We forget that. The Bush Administration is over. The fact is that us liberals have a lot on common with the teabaggers, even though they seem unable to recognize that.

[onehandle]

10. How did this come up in the conversation? Gibbs was just being a company man, if you ask me.

I would really like to see the transcript.

They are racist little assholes.

I don't work for the President and am free to be honest.

[Ian David]

11. The President doesn't have to say it. The rest of us will say it for him. n/t

[JohnnyLib2]

14. Yup, He's showing some wisdom on this one.

[Cha]

18. Prescisely..Let the maggot bigots stew

in their own toxic filth and the rest of the country can make up its mind if they're racist.

[Garbo 2004]

12. And if he does think racism is an element (he's not stupid), do you think he would say so publicly?

Of course not.

[Jester Messiah]

13. So he must say. [nt]

[TheWraith]

15. He couldn't say anything else without lighting himself on fire in the press. nt

[depakid]

20. Sure he could- he could simply call a spade a spade and quit equivocating about the obvious

in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, it sounds mealy mouthed and weak.

[TheWraith]

26. What color is the sky on the planet where you live?

If you seriously believe that Obama calling the teabaggers racists would NOT be followed by possibly the largest media feeding frenzy we've seen in a decade, then you're deluding yourself.

[depakid]

55. Not acknowledging the obvious is absurd

And that's one of the biggest problems America has at the moment- and the administration doesn't help AT ALL by disingenuous statements.

[Bette Noir]

31. You want to rephrase that?

edited for typo.

[Number23]

34. As usual, you out yourself.

he could simply call a spade a spade and quit equivocating about the obvious in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, it sounds mealy mouthed and weak.

Clueless. Naive. Astoundingly idiotic. And a questionable phrase tossed in for good measure too, eh??

[depakid]

56. That would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic

You have racists marching around with confederate flags and every imaginable racist reference- and "you call me" out for using a colloquialism?

Maybe I should have said: Gibbs needs to stop “beating about the bush."

-though you'd probably read something into that as well.

[Number23]

65. You get called out regularly to no avail. Your stupidity is legend around here.

And yet, you always manage to set the bar lower as in your assertion that Obama not calling the tea-baggers racists is "mealy mouthed and weak."

Clueless. Naive. Astoundingly idiotic.

[msanthrope]

36. "a spade a spade?" Were you trying to be cute or funny?

Or are you truly ignorant?

[alfredo]

49. There's shovels and spades. Don't call a spade a shovel. The spade is for

digging, not removing material.

I spent many an hour with a coal shovel in my hand. Other times I was jumping on a spade to cut through the dense clay soil.

[msanthrope]

50. Dude--put down the bottle. n/t

[alfredo]

52. too late

[tavalon]

44. No wait, what he could say is that the police acted stupidly when they arrested

a black man in his own home. He never said directly that they were a racist, so the media didn't eat him and us alive for two weeks while real stories got ignored. I'm with the majority here, he needs to keep his mouth shut on calling out these bigots. We need to. Remember, we promised to keep his back safe and keep his feet to the fire. We'll take this one from here and besides, the more they get riled, the more likely it is that their real agenda will be exposed by them without any help from anyone.

[bluestateguy]

16. He has to say that

Sometimes it does more harm than good for a politician to speak the truth. WE on the other hand can tell it like it is and point out the clear racial overtones of these outside agitators.

[kelly1mm]

19. Hey Gibbs, YOU LIE!!!!!! (chuckle chuckle) nt

[tomm2thumbs]

21. probably the 'I don't think...' translates to 'I KNOW...' heheheheh

but that's just imho - of course they can't say it. It's the (GOP) elephant in the room

[MessiahRp]

22. Either he's really naive or playing coy...

But he sure gives the benefit of the doubt to the people that don't just hate him but wish him dead.

I wish he gave us lefties the same sort of respect and consideration. You don't see him bending over backwards for us.

Rp

[procopia]

23. They aren't entirely motivated by racism

The rabid right-wingers also tried to destroy Bill Clinton.

[thelordofhell]

30. Well, you do know that at the time

Clinton was called the first black President.

[CakeGrrl]

24. They KNOW these asshats are racists, but they're not wading into an MSM

hornet's nest over the issue.

Based on past coverage, let's say Rev. Wright and ACORN for example, do you think the MSM would treat the White House's position fairly, or do you think they'd side with the Teabaggers?

Saying they're not racist is smart. It removes the WH from the fray, and the WH is being besieged enough as it is with not addressing REAL issues as quickly as people think they should. You want them to take a detour like they did for the Henry Gates incident x10?

Let someone else call "Bullshit!" and take the Teabaggers to task. If someone wants to knock the WH upside the head publicly for not calling it racism, then let it happen. That draws some attention back TO the racism that is obvious to anyone who can read those dumbass signs and keeps the WH from having to address it directly.

I'd rather they make sure the President's security is up to the task rather than making any sort of statement calling out racism and spending time chasing MSM distortions all over the place.

[berni_mccoy]

25. Obama cannot say they are racist without causing a major disruption.

[ro1942]

27. stand up just once

for anything right or wrong smart or not just stand up once please.

[notadmblnd]

28. then Obama is naive as hell

Sometimes I wish he wasn't so eager to placate and pacify the right.

[AusDem]

43. oh come on, this is not the issue on which to do it

standing up the right should involve a combination of the following:

1. Prosecution of those that broke the law during the last admin
2. A strong healthcare bill being passed, and rebuffing all the lies about what's being planned
3. Fixing the economy and then taking credit for it as much as possible
4. Starting to push through a climate change bill
5. Appointing people to the administration and sticking by them even when the wackos go on witch hunts

etc, etc.

This is just a stupid trap to fall into. Doesn't gain him anything whatsoever.

[butterfly77]

29. I saw this earlier today...

and I said,Bullshit when I heard it. The president knows it is.

[bora13]

33. freedom of speech checked by tea partiers

as long as every word out of Obama's mouth
is heavily scrutinized by the nuts, the more his
freedom of speech is squelched.

dam shame in a "free" country.

[bkkyosemite]

37. Yea Donna Brazille was saying that today on CNN was ready to email her. Maybe they are not saying

racist things to her but they are to this white person!

[Kali]

38. what are the fucking morans going to say to the answer?

YES WE ARE racists?

[mzmolly]

40. That's what the White House should say ~ officially speaking.

eom

[Juche]

45. Sad

This is the same president who said he doesn't support single payer or gay marriage though (despite verbal and written evidence to the contrary), so what do you expect.

Obama isn't this stupid. I know acknowledging it as racism would be politically unpopular, but that doesn't make it false.

[ismnotwasm]

46. I do

And having, perhaps, the faintest glimmer of how difficult the topic of race must be for our first African American president, I'll say what he, perhaps, can't say

They're racist in every sense of the word. Deeply damaged by being racist as well as inflicting damage by being racist. I suspect most are deliberately obtuse(stupid on purpose, although a good portion are no doubt just plain stupid)

They're bizarre and ignorant motherfuckers who make me sick personally, and inflict harm and mayhem anywhere and everywhere they are. If a cure for racism was available they'd reject it, because being the twisted and poisonous beings they are, they enjoy being racist. As some of the most disgusting chicken-shits alive, they won't come out and admit their racism, oh, no. They twitch and squirm and scuttle around what they really stand for; like a worm from the movie "Eraserhead" Or perhaps the genetically damaged sperm.

They do serve an (unfortunate) purpose. I can point out to my children and grandchildren and any other person who learns from me what racism looks like in overt action, and in real time. And I do, believe you me.

[Unvanguard]

47. Politically, he can't call them racist. He has to appear to take them seriously.

It's the rest of us who can shout them down.

[depakid]

57. "He has to appear to take them seriously."

This is EXACTLY why the Dems lose policy fight after policy fight- even though they now have 60 votes in the Senate and an overwhelming majority in Congress.

It's EXACTLY why America has fundamentalists and loons in office all across the country- as opposed to other western nations, where they've remained relegated to the fringe.

You've enabled and legitimized the most bizarre of statements- and delusional behavior by "taking it seriously," when you should have been confronting it dismissively or with the ridicule it deserves.

[MessiahRp]

58. +1

Right! And by treating the irrational as if it were rational, our rational stances feel less empowered and are taken less seriously. It's ultimately the death of nuance.

Rp

[Unvanguard]

64. The percentage of people on their side is too large to be dealt with another way.

It would be different if most people were solidly behind Obama, if there were not widespread sentiments of worry toward the health care plan. But Obama has to deal with the public he gets. It is not really something he can change much.

People must think "Obama is taking my concerns into account"--and if Obama is simply dismissing the opposition as extremists and crazies, they will not get that impression. It doesn't matter whether or not the opposition actually is extremists and crazies.

[momofvegasgirls]

51. Of course the Pres. doesn't think teabagger are racist

What the heck is he supposed to say. "Yes, I think they want me lynched". Adding fuel to the fire is not gonna get healthcare passed. The only tactic Repugs have is to wait for us to s.crew up. Seems like John King and others are going to be trying plant land m.ines for anyone in the administration to try to trip up on.

None of us should fall for it!

[The Wizard]

53. Just because they think

President Obama should be playing the banjo and dancing barefoot in the Mississippi mud doesn't make them racists, but bigots, that's another story. They use the same rhetoric as the segregationists of the 1950s.
Every time the president says they're not racists they push themselves a little closer to the edge to prove him wrong.
The President is playing chess and the bigots are playing checkers.

[janedum]

59. GIBBS denial is SICKENING! nt

[Javaman]

60. I have a few of those to unload, it seems as Gibbs is on a buying spree. nt

[One_Life_To_Give]

61. Some are and some aren't

The Klan is made up of Racists. The TeaPartiers probably have a mix of Racists, Libertarians, Rockafeller Repub's etc.

[Deja Q]

62. For most of them, it's not about race.

Just as long as Obama doesn't appease those particular right-wingers...