For anyone who missed Countdown August 10th Michael Moore was the first guest. Michael is currently on my “whatever” list since he posted his article during the healthcare debate disrespecting Barack Obama’s mother. I understand he’s a very passionate man, and I would grab a megaphone and happily protest on his side for any of the issues he advocates anytime he said the word go. Now I can’t remember Michael Moore ever advocating any real action unless it was to go see one of his movies, but that’s a subject for another day.
I noticed where the conversation was headed right away and I should have known to turn off the TV or at least tuned it to what the vast majority of America was watching either SpongeBob or CSI Miami, but no I kept it on. They were outlining the familiar upset leftist argument that President Obama was basically a sell out corporatist pimp without the courage or the ability to be what they had hoped. Keith was having a “SPECIAL COMMENT” though and since I’d been out of the talking head pundit loop and hadn’t seen any earth shattering reports of news I wanted to see what Keith was upset about.
Press Secretary Robert Gibbs apparently punched a hippie. Of course back in the day when hippies were real I doubt very seriously they’d spend their days or any of their time playing with a thousand dollar machine, and tacking on 500 bucks a year in order to really use it in the form of internet access fees, but apparently in an interview published in The Hill he did just that.
“I hear these people saying [President Obama’s] like George Bush. Those people ought to be drug tested,” Gibbs said in the interview. “I mean, it’s crazy.” He also said they would only be satisfied "if [Democratic Ohio Rep.] Dennis Kucinich was president."
The account of Gibbs' remarks from The Hill
This comment was aimed at what Gibbs described as the “professional left” which I took to mean those people who were supposed to be on our side. The side that wants healthcare, education, a fair equal and living wage regardless of sex or race, the side that could agree with Barack Obama when he said this.
And fellow Americans, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, I say to you tonight: We have more work to do -- more work to do for the workers I met in Galesburg, Illinois, who are losing their union jobs at the Maytag plant that’s moving to Mexico, and now are having to compete with their own children for jobs that pay seven bucks an hour; more to do for the father that I met who was losing his job and choking back the tears, wondering how he would pay 4500 dollars a month for the drugs his son needs without the health benefits that he counted on; more to do for the young woman in East St. Louis, and thousands more like her, who has the grades, has the drive, has the will, but doesn’t have the money to go to college.
Obama's DNC speech for John Kerry in 2004
Now, don’t get me wrong. The people I meet -- in small towns and big cities, in diners and office parks -- they don’t expect government to solve all their problems. They know they have to work hard to get ahead, and they want to. Go into the collar counties around Chicago, and people will tell you they don’t want their tax money wasted, by a welfare agency or by the Pentagon. Go in -- Go into any inner city neighborhood, and folks will tell you that government alone can’t teach our kids to learn; they know that parents have to teach, that children can’t achieve unless we raise their expectations and turn off the television sets and eradicate the slander that says a black youth with a book is acting white. They know those things.
People don’t expect -- People don't expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all.
They know we can do better. And they want that choice
It was a fair criticism in my opinion. Keith has on more than one occasion taken the President to the woodshed. As a man who didn’t even take the time to vote he had no issue at taking very strong stands against healthcare over a public option only people with money could use, and during the gulf spill I’m sure I heard the idea of this as Obama’s Katrina come from him more than once. I don’t recall hearing any praise for the fact that the issue is being fairly well managed, but that’s ok. I can imagine what Rachel Maddow might say in her next Presidential address describing to America how the well’s output has been arrested, the relief wells about on schedule, the 20 billion dollar settlement in the hands of a very competent administrator.
Keith of course went off.
He described the administration as amateur left, he railed against their attempts at compromise, he went up and down the list of his disappointments. He even brought up Shirley Sherrod stating that it was the administration that damaged her, and not even taking into consideration the large pack of potentially violent racist the media has invited into this woman’s life with every mention of her name.
MSNBC has a curmudgeon racist in Pat Buchannon as a commentator, but it bans one of the fiercest advocates for the people in the Universe in Markos Moulitsas. It leads its day off with 3 hours of Republican inspired propaganda, and Keith wonders how the administration might consider MSNBC as not so friendly?
Last week when the President went on The View and got professionally interviewed for the first time in about a year he said something that really caught my ear. Joy Behar pretty much asked him why is he not upset and or fighting back when merchants of hate like Fox is glorifying animosity, and he replied something to the effect of “that’s your job Joy”
I like that answer because it is so right. It is our job. It is Keith’s job, it is Rachel’s job, it is the job of every American and every human for that matter to come together to fight for what we know in our hearts is right.
Barack Obama is never going to go to war with the Republican Party. Barack Obama is never going to go to war with the Tea Party. Barack Obama is never going to because he will never see any American as an enemy as he loves us all he has to. He will always try to reasonably and calmly discuss with our fellow Americans and drive us forward one inch at a time if needed. He has to for that’s what I and the majority of Americans elected him to do.
We can do our job though. As opposed to blogging about injustice we can at least one time a month hit the streets and do something about injustice. On August 28th I plan on holding a counter demonstration against Fox and I’d like to invite all to come along.
Protest Fox August 28th!
This is what real hippies would do
Namaste Friends!
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