I think the anger at McCain rallies is mostly at themselves and really not for Obama

[Quixote1818]

They are clearly in the anger stage of loss. They know this economic disaster is because of Republican free market policies and it's proof they were wrong all along. They feel this slipping away and so they get angry that they were wrong about so many things. So, they lie to themselves and project their denial and anger toward Obama rather than deal with it in a healthy way by beating a pillow and verbalizing their thoughts to a psychologist who can help them understand they are lying to themselves and in denial. It's classic psychology, they just need some counseling so they can figure out that they are not really mad at Obama but at themselves and their party.

Maybe under Obama's new health-care program they can afford to get counseling and psychological help to deal with realizing they have always been stupid? :shrug: It's tough when you think you are smarter than everyone and history and current events prove you are actually an idiot.

[gateley]

1. I think you're being too kind. I think a large number of them are

bigots (even if they would never believe that about themselves) and they're scared of a Black man leading our country. I don't think they're at the point where they've even considered that they may not win.

[liberal N proud]

2. These are stupid hate filled people

Many of the crazies are racist bigots and don't think that the rage isn't aimed at Obama.

[LisaM]

3. They've been taught to hate liberals for so long

that a lot of their fear is simply directed at liberals. I think many of them are scared. Scared of losing the status quo, scared of the unknown, scared because they think values are shifting (they are, IMO, but back towards a more moralistic view of society), just plain scared that the party is over for the white patriarchal society.

I feel sorry for them.

[Shakespeare]

4. Sorry. I spent several years living in Pensacola, FL, and I know better.

There is a minority of angry, violent lunatics who will be more than happy to take up violence against Obama or anybody they see as too liberal.

I saw 2 doctors gunned down while I lived there, one just a few blocks from my house. Yes, they're capable.

What they need to be crystal clear on, however, is that they're not the only ones who are armed. If they choose to start a war, they're going to get more than they bargained for.

[Quixote1818]

5. I don't think many people are understanding my post

Yes the anger at Obama is real but it's because they need counseling to realize they are really mad at themselves and need to come to terms with being wrong. Deep down the anger they are dealing with is really toward themselves but they subconsciously direct it at Obama when it should be directed at themselves and their party.

I wish Freud were here as he could probably explain the phenomenon better.

[gravity]

7. They are angry about the economy and the culture

They feel like their way of life is threatened, and lash out on the boogie man. Constant reinforcement from people like Rush Limbaugh reinforces these feelings.

I think these people need some economic assistance and positive exposure to diversity. I know republicans who become more open minded on social issues after going off to college.

[BrklynLiberal]

6. I doubt these people would be open to therapy.

As much as the McSame/barracuda rhetoric incites these kind of folks, it also attracts a certain kind of person.
These people are not your run-of-the-mill unhappy voter.
They are only there to scream and foam at the mouth with rabid hatred at anything they can find to blame for their dissatisfaction.
The repukes are focusing and enhancing this hatred, not creating it.
They came to the rallies already filled with hate.
They scare me. I think they are capable of anything now that they have been given validity by McSame and the barracuda.

[Jamastiene]

8. Psst...

Have you told them yet? I don't think THEY know that.

[Hansel]

9. I think you are right.

Bigotry and hatred are nearly always coupled with profound self-loathing. And it's tough for people who already hate themselves so much to admit that they've been majorly had.