2007: THE time has come, Senator Barack Obama says, for the baby boomers to get over themselves.

[Bluebear]

You can't say we weren't warned.

====

THE time has come, Senator Barack Obama says, for the baby boomers to get over themselves.

In taking the first steps toward a presidential candidacy last week, Mr. Obama, who was born in 1961 and considers himself a member of the post-boomer generation, said Americans hungered for “a different kind of politics,” one that moved beyond the tired ideological battles of the 1960s.

To make his point, Mr. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois in his first term in the Senate, announced the formation of his presidential exploratory committee in a video streamed on his Web site. He is tieless and relaxed and oh so cool.

Mr. Obama calculates that Americans of all ages are sick of the feuding boomers and ready to turn to the generation that came of age after Vietnam, after the campus culture wars between freaks and straights, and after young people had given up on what überboomer Hillary Rodham Clinton (who made her own announcement on the Web yesterday) called in a 1969 commencement address a search for “a more immediate, ecstatic and penetrating mode of living.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/weekinreview/21broder.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1310396691-5ibrSkIblIl6GeqZVjtBtQ&pagewanted=1

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[DURHAM D]

2. I have posted this 3 times today already. Needs to be posted 3 more times.

I pulled a hard copy of this out of my political file yesterday while talking on the phone with a friend who was coming unglued. I started reading it to him as I reminded him that he and I had discussed it back in January of 2007. He apologized for "not getting it" back then.

[Bluebear]

3. Disdain for his own age group, disdain for those stale 1960's programs.

:(

[DURHAM D]

7. And all those movements - my god the Movements...

civil rights, women's rights, choice, peace, gays.

My God those people need to get over themselves.

[yellowcanine]

75. Did you read "Audacity of Hope?" Here is what it says on Civil Rights. Where is the "disdain?"

No black or white America--just United States of America

A line in my speech at the 04 Democratic National Convention struck a chord. "There is not a black American and white American and Latino America and Asian American--there is the United States of America." For them, it seems to capture a vision of America finally freed from the past of Jim Crow and slavery, Japanese internment camps and Mexican braceros, workplace tensions and cultural conflict--an America that fulfills Dr. King's promise that we be judged not by the color of our skin but by the content of our character.

I have no choice but to believe this vision. As the child of a black man and white woman, born in the melting pot of Hawaii, with a sister who is half-Indonesian, but who is usually mistaken for Mexican, and a brother-in-law and niece of Chinese descent, with some relatives who resemble Margaret Thatcher and others who could pass for Bernie Mac, I never had the option of restricting my loyalties on the basis of race or measuring my worth on the basis of tribe.

[jtown1123]

69. President Obama doesn't give a shit about seniors.

There is plenty of evidence documenting this going back to his campaign site where he had a special section for just about every sub group of voters EXCEPT FOR seniors, who vote in droves. He then added a seniors and Social Security section, which is pretty patronizing, lumping a group of people into one issue. He thinks he can win without them. He did before and he thinks he can again. He has no interest in seniors. Period.

[Dappleganger]

4. From his own mouth.

:shrug:

[Abq_Sarah]

52. He needed the youth vote

And there's no better way to get that than to bash boomers.

[sabrina 1]

5. I thought he wanted to be president of 'all the people'?

That's a pretty big segment of the population, and they have kids and grandkids who I'm sure are not 'sick of them', to dismiss.

[Bluenorthwest]

17. To think that you have to ignore all the gay baiting he engaged

in directly and via his hate preacher chorus of surrogates. He told us he wanted to be President of the crazy religious people. Then he went to SF and slagged off the people of PA for being bigoted and religious! It was the same month, he hired hate preachers of the worst kind to be his surrogates, then he criticized others for 'clinging to God and fear of those unlike themselves'. The towering hypocrisy of it should have been noticed but no one was looking or listening.

[cliffordu]

46. Still back in the primaries, Hmm???

telling, very telling....

[MNBrewer]

73. Oh, that's right!

We're only allowed to look forward. Who cares what happened in the past? It's not prologue or anything, is it?

[Maven]

76. Yes the primaries were telling.

And now we're all paying for some of us not listening then.

[mitchtv]

77. if only we were having a primary

(didn't get my vote then )

[sabrina 1]

48. I think people did notice, but by then, after eight years of Bush

the prospect of a McCain win and more of the same, wars, torture etc, was enough to cause people to put on blinders. And when McCain picked Palin, that was probably the best thing that happened to Obama.

But I do recall the outrage over several things he did that were forewarnings of what we are now seeing. We just didn't have much choice. I know I was uneasy about him when he spoke so much about his religion eg. It seemed almost phony to me, like someone told him he needed to steal some thunder from Republicans. And on the Gays-are-sinners pastor, that was unforgiveable and incomprehensible if you thought of him as a real Democrat. But in retrospect, it is not so incomprehesible anymore.

Then there was his total flip-flop on the Fisa bill. But Hillary wasn't much different and in the end for me, it came down to him not supporting Mandated Ins, which he slammed Hillary for, and a few other minor differences.

Now, well, I don't know what to think. We do get a few crumbs when a Dem is in the WH because I suppose they have to keep the 'two party' idea alive. I think the focus has to be on Congress now. No matter who is in the WH, if we had a strong Progressive Congress, it would not matter.

[QC]

6. There were many, many signs.

Nobody wanted to think about such things, though. It was much more fun to get caught up in the moment.

[Hydra]

10. We were told we wouldn't be able to do better

I seem to remember lots of "Shut up, sit down and vote!" too.

It all seems so surreal now...the Bush era was already rabbit hole material, but to think of all that's happened since 2006...crazy!

[QC]

18. "Why do you hate hope?"

Yes, someone actually said that. Right here. And others thought it was the most clever piece of wit since the passing of Oscar Wilde.

[Hydra]

28. That in itself is white rabbit material

Are delusions all we have?

[amborin]

38. like relaxing legislation protecting Illinois aquifers from radioactive waste

after getting donations from Exelon

[QC]

45. Yes, that one is a classic, isn't it?

And let's not forget "clean coal."

And appointing Monsatan's favorite sycophant to be ag secretary.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

78. I knew but wanted to be wrong. The minute he hired Rahm as his COS, I knew we were fucked.

Nothing has surprised me since.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

84. Rahm's appointment, that was the moment for me, too.

I knew which direction we were headed and I knew it was going to be bad. :(

[Joe the Revelator]

8. He was right then, and he's still right.

[EFerrari]

12. No, he was wrong then and he's still wrong.

All of those battles are ongoing and Obama is AWOL. Backing off of those battles is precisely what allowed this fascist right wing to get where is it today.

[DURHAM D]

32. +1000

[cliffordu]

47. Bwaha ahahahahaha hha ha hahah ahaha

Fucking perfect.

Just perfect.

[mitchtv]

79. you are right

other poster , not so much...
I found him to the right of Hillary on nukes, that cost him points in my book his Interior appointment lost more points.

[Bobbie Jo]

9. / unrec

[sendero]

11. He sounds like a Republican..

.. bitching about "class warfare". Guess what Obama? It's not about dueling ideologies it is about right and wrong, fair and unfair.

[SoCalDem]

13. All the government needs to do is to PAY BACK all the "extra" FICA money

we have been paying in since Reagan...and then we'll all be fine & dandy:)

[Bluenorthwest]

14. He holds the GLBT rights movement in contempt along with

the women's movement. He's a huge right winger. A McClurkin fan.

[EFerrari]

15. Anyone that call tell a suffering nation to "eat their peas"

as he sets about cutting into its social programs has problems that are unexamined.

[Bluenorthwest]

19. Envision Whriled Peas!

nt

[Bluebear]

22. .

[WorseBeforeBetter]

33. All we are saaaaying, is give peas a chance!

(Oops, wrong spot. Oh, well!)

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

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[LooseWilly]

37. The "eat your peas" one liner was delivered as both a message for leaders and for citizens ...

for leaders in the sense of the need to do hard work, but also implied for citizens who were being exhorted to endure their "share" of the sacrifice entailed in negotiated cuts to social programs.

The significant pause between the previous metaphor and the "eat your peas" metaphor had the effect of decoupling it from the context of the rest of the statements at least enough for "eat your peas" to be interpretable by a listener as applying, like the metaphor before, to leaders or equally applying to the "other side of the equation"... "the led" (the citizens who would be enduring the effect of the tough policies mapped out by the leaders).

To say that "eat your peas" was, unquestionably, directed towards political leaders is to pretend that the pause never happened and that the metaphor didn't "follow on the heels" of another metaphor which did obviously refer to the leaders... and it is to argue that the resulting redundancy is bereft of any meaning in and of itself. (You can make the argument, but the ear of a plurality of listeners would seem to prove you not only wrong but wrong-headed in making the argument.)

[Joe the Revelator]

39. Wow, we're reading into pauses now? Seriously?

Fun.

[LooseWilly]

43. Yes, we're reading pauses. Give a speech and change the pauses, it changes tone...

change the tone, and you change the meaning.

There is more to communication than "just" the words. That's why the written form of a language is invariably different in style than the spoken.

That's why there is bold ... and italics ... to communicate things that are communicated by tone of voice in speech but which need some indicator in the text. YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THE WORDS HAVEN'T CHANGED—BUT THE MEANING SURE AS HELL HAS CHANGED.


See... what I mean.

If this is too subtle of a point for you, still... I might be able to come up with some YouTube vids to make it PAINFULLY obvious what I'm talking about.

;)

[EFerrari]

55. You are claiming something he did not say.

But of course, you know that.

[Joe the Revelator]

56. What am I claiming

[Bluebear]

16. THAT was only a two minute song!!!

:cry:

[Bluenorthwest]

20. And one short prayer!

That was all!

[ClarkUSA]

21. That's a pantload of bitter nonsense, alright.

Bizarro World, indeed.

:rofl:

[EFerrari]

23. Don't blame Bluebear. He said it.

[ClarkUSA]

24. And four years ago, a NYT reporter spun Obama's words into yet another OUTRAGE meme.

FYI, I wasn't speaking to Bluebear, although I find the OP to be quite desperate.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

61. Yes, only a right winger would repeal DADT.

And demand visitation rights for GLBT partners at any hospital that accepts Medicare and/or Medicaid -- virtually all hospitals.

And pass the Ryan White Act.

And pass the Matthew Shepherd Act,

And expanded partnership benefits to federal employees.

And do many other positive pro-LGBT things. Yep, any right winger would do exactly that. :eyes:

Also, the Lilly Ledbetter Act was clearly a slap in the face to women who faced pay discrimination throughout their lives. :eyes:

[MNBrewer]

74. Well....

1. repeal DADT

It's not repealed, until the certification is completed. The certification is probably months away. Not counting the chicken until it has hatched.

2. And pass the Ryan White Act.

Congress did it

3. And pass the Matthew Shepherd Act

Congress did it

4. And expanded partnership benefits to federal employee

What federal employees, what "benefits"?

5. And do many other positive pro-LGBT thing

Teh Gays just LOVE window dressing!

[mitchtv]

80. enough crumbs for a Dutch Apple PIE

and that's without the Easter egg roll!

[Starbucks Anarchist]

83. Yes, it's on its way to certification.

That's how the process works. Maybe you're not aware of that.

2. And pass the Ryan White Act.

Congress did it

3. And pass the Matthew Shepherd Act

Congress did it

Who do you think signs bills into law? Again, maybe you're not aware of this.

4. And expanded partnership benefits to federal employee

What federal employees, what "benefits"?

A quick Google search will provide you with the answers. I'm not in the habit of making things up. If you don't want to do the research on an important issue, that's your problem, not mine.

5. And do many other positive pro-LGBT thing

Teh Gays just LOVE window dressing!

If you consider these historic accomplishments (no other president has passed as much pro-GLBT legislation as Obama) as "window dressing," then I feel sorry for you.

These are issues that the GLBT community has endorsed or called for, and Obama has delivered. I understand that Obama's position on gay marriage is wrong, but that doesn't deny his otherwise impressive record here.

[yardwork]

25. 1961 is not Generation X. 1961 is still the Baby Boom.

[Beam Me Up]

26. Nothing to "get over," it was never about "ourselves."

IT WAS AND CONTINUES TO BE ABOUT: Peace and Social Justice for all.

[HockeyMom]

27. Mr. President you ARE a Boomer

since it goes up to 1964. A younger boomer by 3 years, but still a boomer. You are NOT Gen X or Gen Y. You are too OLD to be one. Hillary just makes it on the UPPER end of it.

[ClarkUSA]

29. That's a mischaracterization. Why are you dredging up false memes four years later?

Still refighting the primaries? :eyes:

[EFerrari]

30. Not at all. You can't disappear his direct quote. n/t

[ClarkUSA]

31. The OP headline is not a quote from Obama at all. It's a misleading mischaracterization.

Again, I wasn't speaking to you. Why do you keep speaking for Bluebear?

Are you his keyboard's spokeswoman?

:rofl:

[Horse with no Name]

41. One thing about it

I don't think you are going to be able to "persuade" folks like you did last time.:rofl:

[EFerrari]

59. As usual, you're refuting a claim no one made.

LOL

[randr]

34. So he is taking the side of the people who opposed equal rights?

Not to mention that he is essentially dissing the anti war crowd, the "get the government off my back" crowd, the elderly who for the first time in American history have a dignified retirement, and the organic movement to name a few.
What pissed him off so much?

[Name removed]

35. Deleted message

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[ProSense]

40. He must

really hate them; otherwise why would he enact policies to save seniors money and offer for first time ever free preventive care under Medicare?

It's bizarre!!!

[MichiganVote]

42. Ok so now Boomers are the fuck up's? What happened to the Teachers?

Make up your mind Washington. Everybody's an asshole unless you're worshiping the God of money, spouting a confederate flag on the 4th of July, swating at fleas, or working for free for corporations that are now "persons"??

What a town of total wimps and that includes anyone in the Executive branch.

[Bluebear]

50. +

[marions ghost]

65. One Party, the corporate party

I've just been looking at some propaganda posters from China. I could make a good one for the US from the images you list.

[MichiganVote]

71. do it

[Major Hogwash]

44. What the hell is Obama, isn't he a Baby Boomer, too?

Fuck.

[JCMach1]

49. Yes he is, that's why the article makes no sense...

[Honeycombe8]

53. He was born in '61. So I guess some might consider him at the end of boomer

generation. Some would not.

[somone]

51. Recommended

[Honeycombe8]

54. He's talking about the old politicians in Congress & going to run for Prez. About the old

arguments they all have with each other, etc., etc. That's fine. It's what every new generation does...distinguish itself from the previous generation, and say that we, the younger, are better.

I don't see this as a big deal. It doesn't mean he wants to throw grandma off the cliff, if that's what you're implying. That's not what the article is about.

[Bluebear]

57. You don't see anything as a big deal. Later.

[Honeycombe8]

60. I see many things as a big deal. Important things. Keep your eye on the ball.

This silly stuff is distracting and not helpful to finding solutions.

[Bluebear]

62. Feh.

[flamingdem]

58. It's common knowledge that the boomer group went through 1964 nt

[killbotfactory]

63. lol

[inna]

64. LOL, oldie but goodie.

[muffin1]

66. K&R

:kick:

[GliderGuider]

67. "Tired ideological battles" my aging, raging ass.

Since when was wanting the make the world a more humane, egalitarian, integrated, peaceful, cooperative, altruistic and mindful place to live an ideological position? And what does it say about those who oppose such changes that they would characterize them that way?

The world has been sold a bill of goods by this man and his corporate backers.

[QC]

68. That pose of floating serenely above the petty concerns of mere mortals

is really irritating, isn't it?

[marions ghost]

82. well said +++++++

n/t

[dionysus]

70. ooooh, recycled outrage from 4 years ago even. gotta keep that outrage stoked!

:rofl:

[yellowcanine]

72. Well Obama didn't actually say that, it was a NYT reporter's take on it.

And one of his main lines of "evidence" was that Obama was using video streaming technology on his website to announce his run for President. Of course everyone knows boomers don't use video streaming technology! :sarcasm: Others lines of evidence were criticism by Obama of 60's politics, the Clinton/Gingrich wars of the 1990's, and the politics of the 2000/2004 elections. Out of this thin web the reporter weaves a narrative of Obama rejecting the boomer generation. It was lame then and is even lamer now.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

81. Now he's driving the bus he threw them under.