In most election years, candidates worry about the “October Surprise” phenomenon – late-breaking bad news for a candidate, that makes a big enough impression to reduce their vote count, with not enough time left to counter the bad news before the November election.
Barack Obama is not “most candidates.”
The Chosen One instead has a (dirty) laundry list of things to worry about, and I’m not talking about his “Great Pumpkin” infomercial from last night. Some are relatively new. Some, like Christopher Lee in a Hammer Films Dracula flick, just keep rising again from the grave:
- Joe the Plumber – this is the big one…the one that, if he loses, is the reason. Joe exposed Obama for what he is – a socialist who wants to redistribute the wealth of the well-off to those who don’t pay taxes (but can still vote Democrat).
- Rashid Khalidi – a PLO mouthpiece, Obama has a connection to him, the extent of which is being hidden by:
- The Los Angeles Times – the media’s in the tank for the Big ‘O,’ but nobody’s been as brazen about it as the lap dogs at the L.A. Times. They were quick to publish a video tape from a so-called “anonymous source” regarding Gov. Schwarzenegger because of the “people’s right to know.” Funny, that same logic doesn’t apply to Obama and the tape of him at the dinner (with Bill Ayers) honoring Khalidi.
- Biden’s Florida TV Snub – just when it looked to everybody as if all the non-Fox News media was in the tank for the Dems, along comes a Florida TV station that has the unmitigated gall and audacity (sans hope) to ask VP candidate Biden if Obama’s tax plans aren’t just the teeniest bit socialist, going so far as to compare his philosophy with that of Karl Marx. Biden, having none of the flair for dialog of any of the Marxes (Karl, Groucho, et all) beat a hasty retreat. The campaign blackballed the station and the reporter for the duration of the campaign.
- ACORN – this one just gets seamier and seamier. Today, a former ACORN volunteeer exposed the entire sleezy system, where ACORN is more or less an interchangeable part of the Obama campaign.
- Election Financing Laws – Gotta love a guy who figures out how to get two-thirds of the haul from his September fundraising from prepaid credit cards with account names like “Adolf Hitler.” This one’s gonna come back to bite him, no matter what happens in the election.
- Bill Ayers – Live with the lame and you limp. Lay down with dogs, get up with fleas. If you want to take the measure of a man, look at who he counts as friends. Pick your aphorism. They all apply. You’d think any sane candidate would distance himself from someone who said “I wish we’d done more” in regards to his own bombing of the Pentagon. Oh, yeah, and Ayers said that in the NY Times on 9/11/2001.
- Reverend Jeremiah Wright – This bombastic bozo just can’t keep his mouth shut. That’s bad enough, with his spewing hate of all things White. But Obama claims he attended church regularly for years and never happened to catch one of Wrights “I hate America” sermons. That’s not just unlikely. That’s a lie.
- Tony Rezko – It must be nice when you can “buy” a piece of expensive property at a fraction of it’s value from a now-convicted felon, and never get touched. Of course, it helps if you’re a part of the corrupt Democrat Chicago political machine (Give Richie Daley our regards).
- Franklin Raines – People are just now figuring out how deep Obama’s and his cronies ties are to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the rest of the mortgage meltdown. Didn’t help to have Raines on board as his big financial advisor.
- Taxes and Math – Obama’s numbers just don’t add up – and everyone knows it. What is “rich,” Barry? $250K? $200K? $49K? Hows about you and Biden get your stories straight. You gotta wonder why he keeps on, even though the latest polls now show a majority of people think McCain is a better man for the job of fixing the economy.
- Seal the Deal – Conditions are ideal for a Democrat sweep. The war’s unpopular. The economy’s tanked. The sitting President is unpopular. The Dems have raised two or three times the war chest that the GOP has. What could go wrong? By all rights, Obama should be 20 or 30 points out in front. Why can’t he seal the deal? I think it’s because he’s an empty suit – or as we say here in Texas, “all hat and no cattle.” Get past the true-believers and the KoolAid-drinking leftwingnuts, people just can’t quite bring themselves to trust Obama. He’s like that salesman you meet that comes across as really friendly, but a little too slick and sincere.
Polls seem to indicate that the race is tightening up. Polls have been known to be wrong. But the interesting thing about all this isn’t who’s ahead – it’s who will win. And I believe when push comes to shove, the Obama OctoberFest of Surprises will be enough to seal the deal…for McCain.
A few notes on your erudite reply:
1. The word “God” is capitalized to indicate that He is a diety. Unless
you're just using His name as an exclamatory expression. In which case, you
might want to review the Third Commandment.
2. I am a professional musician, and have been since turning pro at the
age of 15 (which was admittedly kind of late in my family – I'm a
fifth-generation musician, and my dad turned pro at age 4). I've played with
Gladys Knight and the Pips, Barry White and the Love Unlimited Orchestra,
Frieda Payne, Frankie Layne, Bob Newhart, David Brenner, and jammed with
guys like George Benson and Ray Brown. I play drums, vibes, acoustic guitar,
fretless bass, mandolin, harmonica, percussion, tympani, and a variety of
other instruments. I'm also a composer, orchestrator, and songwriter, all on
a professional (I earn money regularly doing it) basis. By any reasonable
standard, I think that it's safe to say that this completely negates your
second sentence.
3. “Suckish” is not a word with which I'm familiar. I assume you regard
this as some kind of shorthand way of saying that you found my post
distasteful or not up to your literary standards, although I must admit that
I found it difficult to discern what your standards might be, both due to
the brevity of your comments and the fact that you choose to write in
sentence fragments. Perhaps this is some sort of effort at a post-modern,
minimalist, “e.e. cummings”-inspired take on writing. Or perhaps you're just
not adept at expressing yourself verbally.
4. I welcome all comments. I find well-reasoned arguments based on logic
and facts to be stimulating, interesting and a great way to encourage
thoughtful debate. I find the ones that rely on invectives, childish,
uniformed comments and crude retorts to be infantile, as they expose the
writer for the moronic ass that they are, as opposed to offering any useful
comment on my work. Guess into which category I put your reply?
5. If you by some miracle hold a diploma from a High School or College
where you studied English composition, I would suggest in the strongest most
possible terms that you inquire as to the possibility of a refund. You got
rooked.
6. Take heart – you're not alone. You have a lot of company on hate sites
like the Daily Koz and MoveOn.org. Perhaps you could all get a fleet rate on
an online course to teach writing, reason, and logic.
7. Never engage in a battle of wits when you are an unarmed combatant.
Come back when you have bullets in your gun.
Thanks for your comments, however juvenile they may have been. Have a nice
day.
Captain Digital
Hmm. Once again, you choose to fight facts with unsubstantiated opinion. That’s sad. If you could offer something other than vulgarities and your own, unoriginal invectives against me, I supposed you’d be, at the very least, interesting to debate. Since you, once again seem incapable of offering any insightful, intelligent arguments, I’ll make a couple of assumptions about you, rather like the profilers do on the police procedural dramas:
* You’re young – probably between the ages of 17 and 30. Most that survive their teens and 20s can express opinions that cite facts, or at the very least refrain from name-calling.
* You’re a liberal, who’s voted for Obama. In fact, you probably think that Obama is not quite liberal enough, but you’re convinced that if he wins, he’ll see the light, and move back from center-left to the far left.
* You think anyone who disagrees with you is an idiot. I, on the other hand, have a bunch of friends who are quite liberal. We respect each other and agree to disagree. They are also well-educated, articulate, and enjoy engaging in a spirited debate on the issues. The do not stoop to the kind of name-calling and crude language you use.
* You do not know me. In fact, I doubt you know anything about me. You’ve never met me, heard me play, heard anything I’ve written, nor have you seen any of my work. You seem to think my website “sucks,” as you put it. Which website would that be? My ad agency’s site (www.grokmedia.com), my marketing blog site (blog.grokmedia.com) my music site (www.bradkozak.com), or this blog? Many people seem to disagree with you – I earn a good living designing high-end, interactive websites. What is it that you think “sucks”? The fact that I express my opinion in an articulate manner and I happen to disagree with you? The fact that I can argue using logic and reason, and you are reduced to yelling and using bad language, like some naughty pre-schooler? Hard to tell, when you don’t get into specifics.
* You are insecure, largely because you do not have knowledge and facts to back up your feelings and rants, therefore you hide behind statements like “we all know it’s a lie,” hoping to imply that you have a large number of like-minded thugs behind you. I doubt you have that many friends that would back you up in your sad little world. You also choose to hide behind a free AOL email account, rather than back up your rant with your real name.
* The fact that you’re using AOL to begin with makes me question your character. There’s only one person I know in the online world who willingly uses an AOL address and actually knows something about computers. He only does it because inertia dictates it’s not worth his effort to notify his thousands of contacts of a new email address.
That about covers it. I suspect you are an angry person who has little to do but to rail against those with whom you disagree. Unfortunately, you are not interesting enough to deal with any further. I would suggest you might want to go spew somewhere else, unless you have something intelligent and insightful to say.
– The Captain
Hmm. Once again, you choose to fight facts with unsubstantiated opinion.
That’s sad. If you could offer something other than vulgarities and your
own, unoriginal invectives against me, I supposed you’d be, at the very
least, interesting to debate. Since you, once again seem incapable of
offering any insightful, intelligent arguments, I’ll make a couple of
assumptions about you, rather like the profilers do on the
police procedural dramas:
– You’re young – probably between the ages of 17 and 30. Most that
survive their teens and 20s can express opinions that cite facts, or at the
very least refrain from name-calling.
– You’re a liberal, who’s voted for Obama. In fact, you probably think
that Obama is not quite liberal enough, but you’re convinced that if he
wins, he’ll see the light, and move back from center-left to the far left.
– You think anyone who disagrees with you is an idiot. I, on the other
hand, have a bunch of friends who are quite liberal. We respect each other
and agree to disagree. They are also well-educated, articulate, and enjoy
engaging in a spirited debate on the issues. The do not stoop to the kind of
name-calling and crude language you use.
– You do not know me. In fact, I doubt you know anything about me. You’ve
never met me, heard me play, heard anything I’ve written, nor have you seen
any of my work. You seem to think my website “sucks,” as you put it. Which
website would that be? My ad agency’s site (www.grokmedia.com), my
marketing blog site (blog.grokmedia.com) my music site (www.bradkozak.com),
or this blog? Many people seem to disagree with you – I earn a good living
designing high-end, interactive websites. What is it that you think “sucks”?
The fact that I express my opinion in an articulate manner and I happen to
disagree with you? The fact that I can argue using logic and reason, and you
are reduced to yelling and using bad language, like some naughty
pre-schooler? Hard to tell, when you don’t get into specifics.
– You are insecure, largely because you do not have knowledge and facts
to back up your feelings and rants, therefore you hide behind statements
like “we all know it’s a lie,” hoping to imply that you have a large number
of like-minded thugs behind you. I doubt you have that many friends that
would back you up in your sad little world. You also choose to hide behind a
free AOL email account, rather than back up your rant with your real name.
– The fact that you’re using AOL to begin with makes me question your
character. There’s only one person I know in the online world who willingly
uses an AOL address and actually knows something about computers. He only
does it because inertia dictates it’s not worth his effort to notify his
thousands of contacts of a new email address.
That about covers it. I suspect you are an angry person who has little to do
but to rail against those with whom you disagree. Unfortunately, you are not
interesting enough to deal with any further. I would suggest you might want
to go spew somewhere else, unless you have something intelligent and
insightful to say.
– The Captain
Wow. I don’t know that I’ve ever met anyone who is as consumed with hate as
you apparently must be. The personal attacks are both unprecedented and
unwarranted. Sorry you didn’t like my playing…each to his or her own. I
figure that I must be doing something right – people keep hiring me to
play…so at the very least, your opinion is not universal. As far as my
weight goes, I can’t disagree with you. I’d love to shed about 30 or 40
pounds. And I’m working on it. Not sure what that has to do with anything,
especially as to your responses to my blog. Still, I’m curious as to why you
feel it necessary to attack me personally. You see, I started blogging as a
way to share my ideas. I’m interested in hearing comments about what I
write. Your personal opinions about me, my weight, and so forth, aren’t
really that interesting. If you have an intelligent comment to make about
something I’ve written – particularly if you can defend your position with
facts, logic and reasoning – then I’m interested. If the best you can do is
to call me names and try and insult me, then you’re really not worth my
time. I am marginally curious, however, as to why you seem to harbor so much
animosity towards me, personally, inarticulate though your responses may be.
Are you always this rude, or are you singling me out for special attention?
Just wondering.
– Captain Digital
Let’s recap: You’re irrationally angry, you’re prone to defamatory hyperbole that is likely libelous, and you still refuse to make any statements that have any real worth per a rebuttal of any point that I’ve made.
When you engage someone in a discussion, you’re free to disagree – but an intelligent debater backs up a contrary position with facts, logic, and reason. If all you have to say is “you’re fat” or “you’re a liar” or “you suck” you’re not debating. Adults debate. Children (and those that are stuck in adolescence) simply reply with the linguistic equivalent naughty words and taunts. If you are 24 chronologically (which I doubt) you are doubtless somewhere between a badly behaved 10 and 12 years old emotionally.
You’ve said that you’ve met me before. If you’ve met me, then I’ve met you. That would mean that when you claim that I’ve never met you, you’d have to be wrong – or in fact, lying. If you’ve not actually met me, logic would dictate that you know nothing about me – or my family. The statements that you’ve made about my family are incorrect. For you to continue making them in the face of these facts makes you a liar.
The far more (and so far only) interesting question is why you seem to hate me so much – especially if I take your (somewhat conflicting) statements at face value. Why the venom? Why the hate? What is it that you hope to accomplish by attacking me in such a personal way? No reasonable, rational or logical adult would make the kinds of angry statements you do. Which takes us back to the point that your dialog reveals you to be about 12 years old, emotionally (and I’ll be chronologically as well).
The fact that you hide behind a pseudonym (for you 12-year-olds out there, “assumed name”) makes you a coward. If you had the courage of your convictions, you would write under your real name. When I started my blogs, a number of people asked me if I was wise in being willing to express my opinions in a public forum. After all, I could potentially lose customers if they didn’t like what I write. Unlike you, I have the courage to publish my work without trying to hide my real identity. Anybody that clicks around my websites knows who I am, what I look like, what I do, and what I stand for.
I can’t say the same for you, because you hide behind a fake name, a free email account, and a fake persona.
If you’re going to make attacks on me , have the courage to let the world know who you are. Don’t hide. You’re either brave enough to back up your statements with your real identity, or the world will see you for what you are – a coward that hides in the shadows and makes unsubstantiated, defamatory accusations in the hope that they can do so without fear of reprisals.
Let me make this crystal clear. I’m all for debate. I’m all for an honest and open discussion of issues. I’m even willing to provide a forum where those that disagree with me can be heard. You, however, seem to think that it’s amusing to spew hate instead of discussing issues honestly.
As this site is a part of my network of business ventures, the false statements you have made about me are, in fact, defamatory in nature. I would suggest that you be careful about what you say in a public forum such as this. Regardless of your attempts to hide behind a free email address, you can be assured that you are ultimately accountable for what you write here. I suggest you think about that before you take this any further.
And yet, you continue to hide behind a fake name. Cowardly, don’t you
think?