Sorry to disappoint you, but neither side is evil.

by itsthemedia, Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 02:01:43 AM EST

We all do no end of feeling, and we mistake it for thinking.
-- Mark Twain

I think any of us who retain even the smallest scrap of objectivity can agree that the above quotation is sadly relevant to the current state of the Dem primary.

If you look for the bad in people, expecting to find it, you surely will.
-- Abraham Lincoln

One manifestation of the intense feelings on all sides is the unfortunate way every slight or misstep is taken as proof of evil intent on the part of the transgressor. While I admit that evil intent is hard to disprove in many cases, as enlightened human beings, we should hold ourselves to a higher standard that that, before we break out the tar and feathers.

Let's look at a couple of recent incidents in light of the above ideas.

The Samantha Power "Monster" Incident

I suppose Clinton supporters could ascribe Samatha Power's recent comment that Hillary is a "monster" to some evil plot by the Obama campaign, or even just take Powers at her word, that she actually thinks Hillary is a monster. But in order to do that, you'd have to ignore her very gracious apology, wherein she expressed admiration for Hillary. Isn't it far more likely that Power just let her feelings of the moment get the better of her thoughts? From what I have learned since this incident about Powers career acheivements, I frankly would hope that there is a place for her in either an Obama or Clinton administration. Her talents are too good to waste. (Just keep her away from microphones when she is jet lagged, OK?)

The Geraldine Ferraro incident

While there may have been some extended context in which Ferraro's comment made some sort of sense, it was nevertheless witless of her to say it, and even worse to refuse to back down or clarify it when challenged. I am a Clinton supporter, but sorry, Ferraro's comment was just not OK with me. I am glad she quit or stepped down or whatever it was she did to make herself go away.

I mean, geez, lookit:

O'REILLY: This crossed the wire. Apparently you told the Daily Breeze newspaper in Torrance, California, quote, "If Obama were a white man, he would not be in this position. If here were a woman of any color, he would not be in the position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is in a country who's caught up in the concept." Did you say that?

 FERRARO: Yeah, but I also said a lot before that.

 O'REILLY: Right, but you know you're gonna get hammered on that.

If you found yourself having a conversation with O'Reilly, and HE was the one talking sense, wouldn't you think "Maybe it's time to pause and reconsider my position"? For all she knows, if Obama were a white man, he might already be President by now. He IS a talented politician, whatever else you may think of him.

Stipulating to all the above, lets look at another quotation from earlier in the same Daily Breeze interview - one that the tabloid media chose not to publicize.

I'm on Hillary's finance committee. I've done a fundraiser for her here at my firm. And I went and worked the phone banks before Super Tuesday. I have to tell you, this is a very emotional campaign for me.

I suppose Obama backers are free to brand Ferraro as a white supremacist, or whatever. Isn't it far more likely that Ferraro just let her feelings of the moment get the better of her thoughts?




Tags: Power, Ferroro, Clinton, Obama, Lincoln, Twain (all tags)

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Permalink :: 20 Comments :: Post a Comment


Re: Sorry to disappoint you, but neither side is e (none / 0)

Can someone get rid of that ad , its giving me the creeps every time it pops up.


Educated in a small town Taught to fear Jesus in a small town Used to daydream in that small town Another born romantic that's me.
by lori on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 02:05:29 AM EST

Re: Sorry to disappoint you, but neither side is e (none / 0)

lori, I think we've found something we can agree on.


by upstate girl on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 02:09:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Agreed, but (none / 0)

I guess they have to pay the electric bill somehow.


Your attempt to change the subject to "the issues" is irrelevant.
by itsthemedia on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 02:19:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sorry to disappoint you, but neither side is e (none / 0)

LOL, seriously.
Even John McCain lusts after teh engels.
by sricki on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 02:20:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sorry to disappoint you, but neither side is e (none / 0)

I agree with the overall tone and message of your diary, so I'll happily rec it on that basis. Its a good message, a true one.

My only quibble is that Ferarro has a history of those kinds of statements, going back to the 1984 primary. Its harder to make a case that she let her feelings get the better of her momentarily.

However, while I vehemently disagree with her statements, I don't think that she's an evil person, or entirely without merit as a person or a politician. Her statements don't represent Ferarro the entire individual, and on that basis I agree that the hyperbole and vitrol directed at her in some commentary is out of line.


by upstate girl on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 02:08:37 AM EST

Re: Sorry to disappoint you, but neither side is e (2.00 / 1)

Thanks. My goal is to get folks here to take the rhetoric down a few notches, and look at the race a bit more rationally. If we can keep the party from flying apart this fall, we can smack addlepated, psychopathic grandpa McCain, and gain a bunch of seats in Congress in the process.

I guess I did not pick up on Ferraro's history from 1984. That makes it even sadder that she hasn't learned in all this time to either get her mind right or at least shut her mouth about it.


Your attempt to change the subject to "the issues" is irrelevant.
by itsthemedia on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 02:17:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sorry to disappoint you, but neither side is e (none / 0)

You're welcome. When you say that you didn't pick up on Ferarro's history, I think that's pretty much exactly the reason why so many of the angry and out-of-proportion comments are being made - there is so much background, context, and additional information about the people that make these "newsworthy" comments that is simply not taken into account, lost in the sea of information. And that reduces complex and multilayered individuals into nothing more than the sum of a single sentence.  And that does us all a disservice.

edit: previewed my post and Paul Giamatti is at the top of this screen too, is he running for President now?


by upstate girl on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 02:26:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sorry to disappoint you, but (2.00 / 2)

Yes, and can I just add that it would be really helpful if people could quit throwing around allegations of racism/sexism every single time they find someone they disagree with? It's really annoying, often unmerited, and it makes me hate the supporters of the candidate(s) who are doing the name-calling, which in turn makes me resent the candidate they support. (Sorry, that's an illogical but very human reaction.)

I swear to god, some of the people around here are so uptight, it's almost unimaginable. It's like they exist solely on outrage -- like it's some sort of renewable energy source that just keeps them going and going and going...

Even John McCain lusts after teh engels.
by sricki on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 02:25:54 AM EST

Re: Sorry to disappoint you, but (none / 0)

if outrage were an energy source, MYDD and DKOS could fuel the world!


Mccain/Palin '08: Grandpa's losin' it.
by Doug Tuttle on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 02:56:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sorry to disappoint you, but (none / 0)

Hah! Truth, if ever I heard it!
Even John McCain lusts after teh engels.
by sricki on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 03:00:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sorry to disappoint you, but (none / 0)

That's the disappointing thing, isn't it - that outrage can absolutely fuel a change, but the outrage currently is getting directed toward the opposing Democratic candidate.

There's lots of things to be legitimately outraged about in the U.S. right now. Let's not allow superficial outrage over non-issues distract us from funneling legitimate outrage towards a common goal - removing the Republican party agenda from the White House, regaining Democratic seats in the House and Congress, and getting to work on correcting the course our nation is on.


by upstate girl on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 03:05:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sorry to disappoint you, but (none / 0)

And the migration to colonies on several planets.


"We live entangled in webs of endless deceit, often self-deceit, but with a little honest effort, it is possible to extricate ourselves from them". -- NC
by Trond Jacobsen on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 08:41:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]

ooga booga.... (none / 0)

evil!!! I am evil I tell ya


-- be excellent to each other
by kindthoughts on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 03:30:35 AM EST

also!!! (none / 0)

run from me ya tiny mortals!!!!


-- be excellent to each other
by kindthoughts on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 03:31:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Great diary (none / 0)

Great diary. I simply hope that it will survive the  day-time smears and get on the rec' list.


by marcotom on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 06:12:36 AM EST

Re: Sorry to disappoint you, but neither side is e (none / 0)

I agree with the sentiment of this post. I am tired of the Obama people on DailyKos spewing venom. Clinton supporters here are out of control. Not everyone is so die-hard for their candidate. I am freaking tired of people being so nasty to each other. Watch out...the Clinton supporters here will brand this diary with all sorts of nasty tags...

Thank goodness most of the Democratic Party isn't like the "netroots" because if they are...our party will be split come Denver.


Philly Liberal
by Airb330 on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 08:42:35 AM EST

Re: Sorry to disappoint you, but neither side is e (none / 0)

This diary has a really good point. You know, outside of this tiny bubble of blogworld exists the rest of America. What goes on here is pretty much obscure. I myself have to admit that I would gladly take back at least one or two nasty comment that has come out of my mouth (keyboard) the last few days. I'm going to try much much harder to keep my emotions in control and think very hard before I post anything in anger.

I recently posted my very first diary here at mydd. It was mainly a little fluffy thing describing my experiences and observations at a Hillary rally. I was attacked from the first comment. It sure felt like a personal attack and was entirely unneccessary. Most if not all of those comments were off topic. I'm unsure of the rules here. I felt like I had to defend myself. It went on so long that the entire thread was hyjacked by fighting. Well, I've had my hackles up ever since. Not a good way to make a first impression. I am sorry I was sucked in. I also realize that no matter how much I distrust the other candidate in this primary, I will HAVE to support the Dem nominee in November. No matter how much I bluster about it, deep down I know that.

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. Thomas Jefferson
by Bella on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 09:21:56 AM EST

Re: Sorry to disappoint you, but neither side is e (none / 0)

NO WAY!  I thought Clinton communed with Satan, ate lots of foods with transfatty acids and purposely put road blocks up just to foil the paper boy while Obama was pals with the "super devil," drove hybrids that are actually SUVs in disguise and liked to just put the phone down when telemarketers called because they can't hang up!  MY ENTIRE WORLD VIEW IS SHIFTED.

God, I hope people read this and stop the needless anger at each other.


by ejintx on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 10:41:34 AM EST

Re: Sorry to disappoint you... (none / 0)

Isn't it far more likely that Ferraro just let her feelings of the moment get the better of her thoughts?
Based on her history, you're going way too easy on her. I think she's slowly morphing into Barbara Bush.

But I think the points in your diary have a lot of merit.

In case anyone didn't know, the John Adams documentary will be shown on March 16th at 8pm on HBO.


by desertjedi on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 11:08:58 AM EST

Re: Sorry to disappoint you, but neither side is e (none / 0)

Thanks for posting this. I've been really distressed over the past few months watching the level of mudslinging back and forth on MyDD and at DKos. I keep thinking: this isn't the rhetoric you use to talk about your own people, it's what you save for the Enemy. Now, many people think Clinton or Obama are not "ours," ie, that one or the other has broken with deep principles of the Democratic party or progressive movement or whatever. Hogwash.

In advocating for our favored candidates we need to remember not to destroy the other one, either to the rest of the country or to ourselves. I've read so many blathering and unreasonable posts that seem to be written by people who could never vote for the other candidate, whether C or O.

The only candidate I ever had that much rage against (and I call it rage when it inhibits reasoned consideration of both sides of an argument) is Bush. I could never, ever, under any circumstances vote for someone that gets me that worked up. And I think it's a mistake that too many people here have allowed themselves to get furious about the other candidate.

C'mon folks, we've got to be McCain, we need more Democrats in Congress and in Statehouses, and we're not going to achieve ANY of these things if we can't see the forest for the trees.

Again, great post. I hope it helps with some realignment of tone.


James
by james c on Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 01:24:17 PM EST


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