Obama is a celebrity

[vede]

Wait, so being a celebrity and being intelligent or well-intentioned are incompatible with each other or something?

Also, you believe that the only reason he was voted in was because he was black? What percentage of the voters do you think voted for him because he was black? Look at the options; there was McCain ("I voted with Bush 90% of the time.") and Obama("Bush fucked shit up, and it needs fixing!"), you honestly think that the majority would have voted for McCain if Obama were white?

 

[mattttherman3]

I doubt that Obama wants this much press, nobody wants their every move followed. He sure is a celebrity, the only one that I give a damn about too.

 

[shadow skill]

Wait, so being a celebrity and being intelligent or well-intentioned are incompatible with each other or something?

Also, you believe that the only reason he was voted in was because he was black? What percentage of the voters do you think voted for him because he was black? Look at the options; there was McCain ("I voted with Bush 90% of the time.") and Obama("Bush fucked shit up, and it needs fixing!"), you honestly think that the majority would have voted for McCain if Obama were white?

I don't think almost half the country would have voted for McCain had Obama been white and everything else played out exactly the same.

 

[RebelRising]

I have a great idea:

Let's shut up about the politics and go back to our games. Then we'll come back to this thread in a year. Then we'll talk about Obama. All sensationalizing come from the sensationalizers (the media), so maybe we should ignore them and just see how he does.

I'm probably not making much sense, am I?

 

[shadow skill]

I'm sick of seeing him as the top story on every news program. Yes, he's black and he's the president, good for him. What else happened today?

It also seems that when it comes to Obama every single reporter and news anchor loses all objectivity and becomes a full-on fangirl. Every time they talk about him on the Today show I expect the anchors to start squealing.

Mostly I'm tired of everyone judging the man as either a saint or sinner when he hasn't even really done anything yet. Give him a year, then start with the "best/worst president evar".

He's going to be the top story for a while, happens with all presidents at least for a while. It also happens that with the economy going straight to shit all eyes are turned to what his administration does. My suggestion is to take a break from the 24 hour news channels for a month or two.

 

[James Cassidy]

So okay judging what some of you have written already you either voted for Obama because A.) He is black (Yes I have people told me this was the only reason and have regretted this) or B.) Because you hate Bush.

So apparently, so long as he is not Bush you're okay with it? I didn't like Bush either, but we had worse presidents in our history. We had FDR who drove America into a great depression, and then we had JFK who actually went to war with Cuba giving Castro $54 million dollars and Vietnam, losing both wars. The only thing people remember from JFK was that he was shot in the head. I have asked people about JFK and that is all they remember about it. Pity.

To be honest, Obama to me is not doing well at the moment. We are in a recession and yet he spends 100 million dollars on his inauguration...more than any other president has done? We could have took 90 million of that to every person in America, but it was spent on an inauguration that wasn't even that good. I got bored after the first 5 minutes. I want my money back for that.

Don't get me wrong, I hate McCain as well, but for all the bullshit Obama kept spewing I had better see results. I mean, 3 hours after the inauguration I didn't get my check in the mail. I still in debt with car payments and my job still sucks with the pay. (No, this has nothing to do with him being black before anyone says anything. I have plenty of black friends who feel the same way.)

Where is the change he promised? I want the change to happen right now.

In essence we are screwed no matter who gets to be president and that is how it is for all recent elections since Clinton. The only difference is who is going to stab you in the back the least.

The only question I have for everyone is: If Obama screws up more than Bush, will you still say he was the greatest president we ever had? Remember that a president cannot just wave a magic wand and make all the problems go away.

Oh and BTW, Obama won with 52% of the votes so not everyone likes Obama.

 

[The Wooster]

Did Bush "have experience"?

On paper yes, and he was surrounded by people more than qualified on paper to be president, yet they failed miserably.

A fair point. I think a lot of people are taking the system at face value. Obama's experience isn't an issue. What's important is the experience of his advisors and the people who'll be feeding him information.

 

[Anomynous 167]

I'm sick of seeing him as the top story on every news program. Yes, he's black and he's the president, good for him. What else happened today?

It also seems that when it comes to Obama every single reporter and news anchor loses all objectivity and becomes a full-on fangirl. Every time they talk about him on the Today show I expect the anchors to start squealing.

Mostly I'm tired of everyone judging the man as either a saint or sinner when he hasn't even really done anything yet. Give him a year, then start with the "best/worst president evar".

I'm sick of it too, evan in Australia we get news stories about his SINGNATURE (sadly this is true) and how his capital letters look bigger than the lower case ones. Also he writes in cursive.
On an unrelated note I wanna rename Kentucky Fried Chicken to Konfederacy Fried Chicken.

So okay judging what some of you have written already you either voted for Obama because A.) He is black (Yes I have people told me this was the only reason and have regretted this) or B.) Because you hate Bush.

So apparently, so long as he is not Bush you're okay with it? I didn't like Bush either, but we had worse presidents in our history. We had FDR who drove America into a great depression, and then we had JFK who actually went to war with Cuba giving Castro $54 million dollars and Vietnam, losing both wars. The only thing people remember from JFK was that he was shot in the head. I have asked people about JFK and that is all they remember about it. Pity.

To be honest, Obama to me is not doing well at the moment. We are in a recession and yet he spends 100 million dollars on his inauguration...more than any other president has done? We could have took 90 million of that to every person in America, but it was spent on an inauguration that wasn't even that good. I got bored after the first 5 minutes. I want my money back for that.

Don't get me wrong, I hate McCain as well, but for all the bullshit Obama kept spewing I had better see results. I mean, 3 hours after the inauguration I didn't get my check in the mail. I still in debt with car payments and my job still sucks with the pay. (No, this has nothing to do with him being black before anyone says anything. I have plenty of black friends who feel the same way.)

Where is the change he promised? I want the change to happen right now.

In essence we are screwed no matter who gets to be president and that is how it is for all recent elections since Clinton. The only difference is who is going to stab you in the back the least.

The only question I have for everyone is: If Obama screws up more than Bush, will you still say he was the greatest president we ever had? Remember that a president cannot just wave a magic wand and make all the problems go away

Do your own research before you post, he spent 200 million.

Remember people: the most powerful person in America is NOT the president, it is the person that gives him his to-do list.

 

[shadow skill]

Did Bush "have experience"?

On paper yes, and he was surrounded by people more than qualified on paper to be president, yet they failed miserably.

A fair point. I think a lot of people are taking the system at face value. Obama's experience isn't an issue. What's important is the experience of his advisors and the people who'll be feeding him information.

This and his own intelligence. It was one of the worst knocks against the man considering how Bush blew it, and his friggin dad had the job ffs! The issue is never experience it's whether the person in question can think because in order to have real experience you would have to have had the job already.

Ps. I wasn't attacking your point just answering your question, earlier.

 

[axia777]

His blackness and so-called celebrity status meant nothing to me. I voted for him because he is very intelligent, charismatic, very articulate, a creative thinker, an over achiever, and a decent human being. Those are the qualities I want in a President. I want a person who is better than most of us in almost every way. That is why he got my vote and I know I am not the only one who thinks this way.

 

[Labyrinth]

With the media scrutiny of politicians and in particular our freshly inaugurated US president, it's not hard to believe that all of them are celebrities to a greater or lesser degree. Like celebrities, we feel we know them from their private lives smeared across tabloid papers and pried into for the sake of sensationalism. We hear about them every day. The biggest difference is how political celebrities and media celebrities affect our lives.

Political celebrities govern our external lives by laws and public policy. Media celebrities do it by demonstrating what is "in" at the time. The latter can be seen to be a voluntary law, adhered to by many different Minds in different ways, whereas the former becomes a standard for the entire population.

 

[The Wooster]

Did Bush "have experience"?

On paper yes, and he was surrounded by people more than qualified on paper to be president, yet they failed miserably.

A fair point. I think a lot of people are taking the system at face value. Obama's experience isn't an issue. What's important is the experience of his advisors and the people who'll be feeding him information.

This and his own intelligence. It was one of the worst knocks against the man considering how Bush blew it, and his friggin dad had the job ffs! The issue is never experience it's whether the person in question can think because in order to have real experience you would have to have had the job already.

Ps. I wasn't attacking your point just answering your question, earlier.

Maybe I'm stepping on something sacred here but I find it hard to believe that the president actually makes that many decisions himself. Even if he does it still depends entirely on the information he's given and if Iraq proved anything (except the fact Vietnam still has the best soundtrack of any war so far) it's that these people might not always be telling the complete truth. Or the truth at all for that matter.

 

[shadow skill]

Did Bush "have experience"?

On paper yes, and he was surrounded by people more than qualified on paper to be president, yet they failed miserably.

A fair point. I think a lot of people are taking the system at face value. Obama's experience isn't an issue. What's important is the experience of his advisors and the people who'll be feeding him information.

This and his own intelligence. It was one of the worst knocks against the man considering how Bush blew it, and his friggin dad had the job ffs! The issue is never experience it's whether the person in question can think because in order to have real experience you would have to have had the job already.

Ps. I wasn't attacking your point just answering your question, earlier.

Maybe I'm stepping on something sacred here but I find it hard to believe that the president actually makes that many decisions himself. Even if he does it still depends entirely on the information he's given and if 9/11 proved anything (except the fact Vietnam still has the best soundtrack of any war so far) it's that these people might not always be telling the complete truth. Or the truth at all for that matter.

True, no leader seriously leads by themselves.

 

[Wicky_42]

I
I don't pretend to know everything about politics but I do know that he is becoming a celebrity
...
I just think that we need a president in the white house not a celebrity
Am I the only one who feels like this?

Well, as a Brit watching the last few American elections from afar, I have to say that the last few have definitely primarily been popularity contests. Whenever there's commentary, it's always about the character of the candidate, or what nice things he's been doing, or just how generally great the guy is - or, in the case of Bush at election 2, how good a Christian he is. There's barely any coverage of what definable changes they're going to make, what policies they'll follow etc, unless they stall embarrassingly on such a question.
As such, presumably the majority of the population not actively involved in seeking out specific information on the candidates would be making decisions based pretty much on how the media portrayed each one. Which doesn't seem to be a good way to pick a leader...

 

[mokes310]

He was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review and a professor of constitutional law at the University of Chicago for over a decade before he ran for president. Yes, he lacks experience in federal politics, but he's demonstrated his intellect in both the legal sphere and at the local and state level of politics. The fact that he's probably the strongest orator we've had as president since JFK is just the icing on the cake.

If there's ever been a case of someone's celebrity being deserved, it's Obama's. More than, say, this guy's.

Exactly that.

 

[DrunkenKitty]

Lack of experience?
Experience itself is of no value. Experience can lead to good judgment and understanding. Experience is actually a bad thing if you've been doing wrong. I rather like the fact that Obama is new on the scene. That means less old fat cats that he owes favors to.

Obama spent time as a community organizer in Chicago. He's lived in a third-world country. He took out student loans. This guy has seen real poverty. He's lived it. He's interacted with it. He lacks the separatist "I'm rich/You're poor" mindset that most politicians have. He's probably the first president that can say that.

Sitting on a senate seat with your thumb up your ass isn't meaningful experience.

 

[Brett Alex]

Did Bush "have experience"?

He had Rove and Cheney, he didn't need experience.

 

[mosinmatt]

I wanna start off by saying that in this previous election I wasn't stoked on either candidate
But Obama was elected as a celebrity not a president...
People were excited for a African American president who looked good and was a great public speaker and that's why (I believe) most people voted for him
I don't think most people realize how very little experience he has
I don't pretend to know everything about politics but I do know that he is becoming a celebrity
He has his own action figure and I believe his daughters are going to appear on Hannah Montana
It seems like he's two steps away from getting a reality show in the white house
I just think that we need a president in the white house not a celebrity
Am I the only one who feels like this?

Pretty much.
His race also played a factor in that Blacks voted for him cause he was black....and so did a lot of other races (including white)
I had people tell me that since every other president was a WASP, that he deserved it. That whole "change" bullshit. Nothing but Racism.
Infact, he didnt even win by that much. If McCain had a better VP, he would of won, hands down.

 

[Izakflashman]

its not the first time america has had a celebrity as a president, Reagen used to be an actor before he was elected, go figure.
If you didn't vote for Obama your racist. 0_0
but seriously, its not really a big deal a black guy is a president, to the united states it is. But the only reason anyone gives a toss anywhere else in the world is cause the other western countries are like americas little sheepies. Or at least thats how its looking from over here.