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And Obama Wept
ABC News ^ | 2/7/08 | Jake Tapper

Posted on 02/07/2008 10:37:57 AM PST by squidly

And Obama Wept February 07, 2008 9:43 AM

Inspiration is nice. But some folks seem to be getting out of hand.

It's as if Tom Daschle descended from on high saying, "Be not afraid; for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people: for there is born to you this day in the city of Chicago a Savior, who is Barack the Democrat."

Obama supporter Kathleen Geier writes that she's "getting increasingly weirded out by some of Obama's supporters. On listservs I'm on, some people who should know better – hard-bitten, not-so-young cynics, even – are gushing about Barack…

Describing various encounters with Obama supporters, she writes, "Excuse me, but this sounds more like a cult than a political campaign. The language used here is the language of evangelical Christianity – the Obama volunteers speak of 'coming to Obama' in the same way born-again Christians talk about 'coming to Jesus.'...So I say, we should all get a grip, stop all this unseemly mooning over Barack, see him and the political landscape he is a part of in a cooler, clearer, and more realistic light, and get to work."

Joe Klein, writing at Time, notes "something just a wee bit creepy about the mass messianism" he sees in Obama's Super Tuesday speech.

"We are the ones we've been waiting for," Obama said. "This time can be different because this campaign for the presidency of the United States of America is different. It's different not because of me. It's different because of you."

Says Klein: "That is not just maddeningly vague but also disingenuous: the campaign is entirely about Obama and his ability to inspire. Rather than focusing on any specific issue or cause — other than an amorphous desire for change — the message is becoming dangerously self-referential. The Obama campaign all too often is about how wonderful the Obama campaign is. “

The always interesting James Wolcott writes that "(p)erhaps it's my atheism at work but I found myself increasingly wary of and resistant to the salvational fervor of the Obama campaign, the idealistic zeal divorced from any particular policy or cause and chariot-driven by pure euphoria. I can picture President Hillary in the White House dealing with a recalcitrant Republican faction; I can't picture President Obama in the same role because his summons to history and call to hope seems to transcend legislative maneuvers and horse-trading; his charisma is on a more ethereal plane, and I don't look to politics for transcendence and self-certification."

Then there's MSNBC's Chris Matthews who tells Felix Gillette in the New York Observer, “I’ve been following politics since I was about 5. I’ve never seen anything like this. This is bigger than Kennedy. [Obama] comes along, and he seems to have the answers. This is the New Testament."

And behold, Obama met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.

The Holy Season of Lent is upon us. Can Obama worshippers try to give up their Helter-Skelter cult-ish qualities for a few weeks?

At least until Easter, or the Pennsylvania primary, whichever comes first...

- jpt

UPDATE: Let me be clear: I'm not saying there shouldn't be enthusiasm in politics. I'm merely touching on the fact that some Obama supporters' exhuberance seems to be getting a little out of hand. Obama himself joked about this at a Hollywood fundraiser, as noted in Men's Vogue:

“When Morgan Freeman comes over to greet Obama, the senator begins bowing down both hands in worship. ‘This guy was president before I was,’ says Obama, referring to Freeman's turn in Deep Impact and, clearly, getting a little ahead of his own bio. Next, a nod to Bruce Almighty: ‘This guy was God before I was.’”


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2008; atheism; jaketapper; obama; obamainhalesforsure; obamaisasmoker; obamamania; osamaobamarama; religiousleft
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Rare that ABC would accurately summarize what I think about a political candidate, but there it is all the same.
1 posted on 02/07/2008 10:38:03 AM PST by squidly
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To: squidly

Obamacult. It’s a sickness right now. Leftists and misinformed independents are all joining.


2 posted on 02/07/2008 10:41:00 AM PST by ilgipper
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To: squidly
This might proved to be Obama's Achilles heal. The bigger they are the harder they fall. Anyone that is revered that much by the public, must show perfection all the time. If they start to show their imperfections, then they are usually dumped as a fraud.
3 posted on 02/07/2008 10:54:21 AM PST by notpoliticallycorewrecked (Get the U.S. out of the U.N. and get the U.N. out of the U.S.)
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To: squidly

Time for a remake of The Matrix.

Neo (Barack Obama)
Trinity (Michelle Obama)
The Oracle (Oprah)
Morpheus (Frank Luntz)
Agent Smith (John McCain)


4 posted on 02/07/2008 10:56:57 AM PST by newheart (The Truth? You can't handle the Truth. But He can handle you.)
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To: ilgipper
Why is anyone surprised by this?

The Democrats voted for Clinton because he was the dope from hope. He talked a great game and was charming (I never saw it) and he wasn't Bush.

Jimmy Carter won because he wasn't Nixon and Ford wasn't Mr. Personality.

Johnson was president by accident and Kennedy was the poster boy for the cult of personality. Funny thing is with his stance on low taxes and strong defense he couldn't even BE a Democrat let alone their nominee. And he was a horrible president and a fataly flawed human being.

The next Democrat elected to the office of president on a rational basis will be the first one in at least 100 years.

5 posted on 02/07/2008 10:58:51 AM PST by hometoroost (...the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual. Galileo)
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To: squidly

.

And low!, when the dust finally settled it was no longer a republic but a complete “Obama-nation”


6 posted on 02/07/2008 10:59:28 AM PST by Sir Lurks Alot
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To: hometoroost
Kennedy was the poster boy for the cult of personality. Funny thing is with his stance on low taxes and strong defense he couldn't even BE a Democrat let alone their nominee.

This is why I didn't understand the talk of a "return to Camelot" when Obama got the Kennedy endorsement. Policy-wise, Obama has virtually nothing in common with JFK. What they do have in common is being young, handsome, and good speakers. That's about it.

7 posted on 02/07/2008 11:02:59 AM PST by squidly
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To: squidly
Describing various encounters with Obama supporters, she writes, "Excuse me, but this sounds more like a cult than a political campaign. The language used here is the language of evangelical Christianity – the Obama volunteers speak of 'coming to Obama' in the same way born-again Christians talk about 'coming to Jesus.'

Someone check underneath Osama's hair and see if a certain number appears there.

8 posted on 02/07/2008 11:04:19 AM PST by OB1kNOb (Politics means nothing for those who suffered loss from Tuesday's devastating tornadoes.)
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To: squidly

I’m amazed to see this on ABC.


9 posted on 02/07/2008 11:06:33 AM PST by Think free or die
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To: ilgipper

Some are of Paul, and some are of Obama...


10 posted on 02/07/2008 11:09:09 AM PST by Spokane
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To: squidly
A thought keeps creeping into my mind - AntiChrist.
11 posted on 02/07/2008 11:12:28 AM PST by Aevery_Freeman (Terrorists, Demonrats(sic) and ACLU lawyers are always in season)
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To: ilgipper

FYI..
www.muslimsforobama08.com
and www.muslimsforobama08.com/issues.html


12 posted on 02/07/2008 11:13:10 AM PST by sheik yerbouty ( Make America and the world a jihad free zone!)
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To: squidly

A transcript of Obama’s last speech (or any speech for that matter):

Bob the Builder!
Can we fix it?
Bob the Builder!
Yes we can!

Scoop, Muck and Dizzy,
And Roley too.
Lofty and Wendy
Join the crew.
Bob and the gang
Have so much fun.
Working together
They get the job done.

Bob the Builder!
Can we fix it?
Bob the Builder!
Yes we can! (I think so!)

Pilchard and Bird,
Travis and Spud.
Playing together
Like good friends should.

Bob the Builder!
Can we fix it?
Bob the Builder!
Yes we can! (Yes!)


13 posted on 02/07/2008 11:14:34 AM PST by MrB (You can't reason people out of a position that they didn't use reason to get into in the first place)
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To: notpoliticallycorewrecked

That’s right — he has a long time until November to NOT be perfect. I look forward to that. In fact, that is the one good thing in these early primaries, to me - November is too far in the future to keep a mask on and to sustain high-pitched enthusiasm.

Bring on Reality.


14 posted on 02/07/2008 11:15:00 AM PST by bboop (Stealth Tutor)
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To: squidly
Obama is just a stupid brain dead Socialist. Still I will probably vote for him rather than Hitlery. It really doesn’t matter except I want to never see BJC anywhere near the White House. NcNut is done.
15 posted on 02/07/2008 11:18:11 AM PST by Logical me (Oh, well!!!)
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To: Logical me

On sup tuesday I suffered thru his sppech and there was this blond girl behind him that was crying as this buffoon talked.
They believe in hussein and that is scary


16 posted on 02/07/2008 11:22:31 AM PST by italianquaker (I will vote for Bozo the Clown instead of hillary and obama hussein barack)
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To: squidly

To squidly from Squidpup:
I have noted the same - chilling.

“When therefore you see the “Obama-nation” spoken of by the prophet sitting in the temple of power - flee to the hills. Don’t even turn back for your cloak.”


17 posted on 02/07/2008 11:25:10 AM PST by Squidpup ("Fight the Good Fight")
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To: squidly
"Policy-wise, Obama has virtually nothing in common with JFK."

So?

"What they do have in common is being young, handsome, and good speakers. That's about it."

And your point is...?

\sarc

18 posted on 02/07/2008 11:26:27 AM PST by GourmetDan
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To: squidly

Obama is a blank screen onto which libs ejaculate their most precious Marxist wet dreams.


19 posted on 02/07/2008 2:08:02 PM PST by libstripper
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To: Think free or die

Especially from Jake Tapper, who has Salon.com lefty credentials.


20 posted on 02/07/2008 2:12:42 PM PST by bootless (Never Forget - And Never Again. And Always Act.)
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To: sheik yerbouty

Thanks for posting those links... well worth becoming acquainted with!

We don’t need a “change agent.”


21 posted on 02/07/2008 2:13:25 PM PST by bootless (Never Forget - And Never Again. And Always Act.)
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To: MrB

Brilliant! [/Dizzy]


22 posted on 02/07/2008 2:34:05 PM PST by GraniteStateConservative (...He had committed no crime against America so I did not bring him here...-- Worst.President.Ever.)
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To: Aevery_Freeman
A thought keeps creeping into my mind - AntiChrist.

Mine as well. I guess if he miraculously recovers from a head wound, we'll have the answer.

23 posted on 02/07/2008 2:35:30 PM PST by Marathoner
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To: MrB

24 posted on 02/07/2008 2:37:10 PM PST by GraniteStateConservative (...He had committed no crime against America so I did not bring him here...-- Worst.President.Ever.)
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To: squidly
We are the ones we've been waiting for," Obama said. "This time can be different because this campaign for the presidency of the United States of America is different. It's different not because of me. It's different because of you."

Says Klein: "That is not just maddeningly vague but also disingenuous: the campaign is entirely about Obama and his ability to inspire. Rather than focusing on any specific issue or cause — other than an amorphous desire for change — the message is becoming dangerously self-referential. The Obama campaign all too often is about how wonderful the Obama campaign is. “

wow. The Obama Momas are just now getting this? That their messiah is an empty suit with no idea other than himself?

It's plain that left, continuously self-flagellating since the 1960s, is only voting for Hussein because it finally begins to soothe their tormented conscience of how Democrats treated the Black Man.

25 posted on 02/07/2008 2:40:18 PM PST by VeniVidiVici (Benedict Arnold was against the Terrorist Surveillance Program)
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To: ilgipper

Hucksters and Paulites are similar.

Religion is a whole in people that has to be filled. You can fill it with real spiritual doctrine about a Supreme Being, or you can fill it with something less than that, like politics.

Have a chat with Greg F on this forum to get a feel for what that’s like. Rush Limbaugh said that he just wouldn’t try to turn evangelicals anymore, for similar reason. They either disengage the headgear, or there’s a glitch in it that blinds them to cause and effect in examining candidates and issues logically.


26 posted on 02/07/2008 2:43:05 PM PST by RinaseaofDs
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To: squidly

Wow—like Jim Jones. I’ve recently been reading a lot about Peoples Temple and the communist “utopia” they had.

(I was only 9 years old when the Jonestown massacres/suicides happened, and recently I decided to find out what “drinking the Kool-Aid” really meant.)

So Obama is like another Jim Jones. . .interesting. I see similarities, like the leftism, the emphasis on black/white togetherness, and the charismatic “riveting” public speeches.


27 posted on 02/07/2008 2:45:27 PM PST by olivia3boys
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To: Aevery_Freeman
re: A thought keeps creeping into my mind - AntiChrist.)))

LOL. Does he have any Jewish ancestors?

28 posted on 02/07/2008 2:45:44 PM PST by Mamzelle
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To: Think free or die
I’m amazed to see this on ABC.

Yes and no. I could have written the same article when the ads were playing for his IL senate run, just not so eloquently.

All the comments are by Dems as far as I could tell.

29 posted on 02/07/2008 3:00:10 PM PST by Aliska
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To: hometoroost

The next Democrat elected to the office of president on a rational basis will be the first one in at least 100 years.

Since Harry Truman? So that has to be in 2048?

Thank you for that great post;)


30 posted on 02/07/2008 3:13:47 PM PST by sodpoodle (charisma ain't character ........well it ain't.)
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To: squidly

"Obama supporter Kathleen Geier writes that she's "getting increasingly weirded out by some of Obama's supporters...Excuse me, but this sounds more like a cult than a political campaign...

The Obama cult is a little weird.

31 posted on 02/07/2008 3:16:06 PM PST by HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity
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To: HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity

Souls that have been sucked dry by the Socialist nanny-state, searching for a replacement messiah.

Sad and scary! Celebrity disassociative disorder.

Our children - their future??????????


32 posted on 02/07/2008 3:21:25 PM PST by sodpoodle (charisma ain't character ........well it ain't.)
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To: Squidpup

Maybe we should start calling him “Ah-bama”.


33 posted on 02/07/2008 3:27:22 PM PST by UCANSEE2 (Just saying what 'they' won't.)
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To: squidly
Joe Klein, writing at Time, notes "something just a wee bit creepy about the mass messianism" he sees in Obama's Super Tuesday speech.

Oh good, I thought I was the only one who thought this during that speech. It really freaked me out. I was yelling "He is the second coming!" at the TV screen! Scary stuff.

34 posted on 02/07/2008 3:30:17 PM PST by ladyinred
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To: OB1kNOb

LOL! I am not sure there really will be an Anti Christ, but if so, this is about how I see him.


35 posted on 02/07/2008 3:31:39 PM PST by ladyinred
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To: squidly

Jake Tapper is gay and an atheist. Which probably helps in his disdain for people of faith. But in this case, I have been agreeing with him for months. Obama is either a cult leader or a motivational speaker - but he is not a candidate for anything having to do with policy since he has no plans to implement anything (look at this website, there is no actual policy there).


36 posted on 02/07/2008 3:33:36 PM PST by bpjam (Can you help me? I've can't remember where I parked my party.....)
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To: HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity


LOL - I guess some folks take these photo ops a little too seriously ;o)
37 posted on 02/07/2008 3:34:21 PM PST by Liberty Valance (Keep a simple manner for a happy life :o)
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To: Sir Lurks Alot

Post of the day!


38 posted on 02/07/2008 3:36:12 PM PST by texpat72 (<><)
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To: sodpoodle
Liberalism is a mental disorder. The eight years of Bush have driven some into dissociative states. Messianic utopian socialism fills that void.

They are getting a little carried away. To the point, apparently, that even some die-hard liberals are noticing:

"The always interesting James Wolcott writes that "perhaps it's my atheism at work but I found myself increasingly wary of and resistant to the salvational fervor of the Obama campaign, the idealistic zeal divorced from any particular policy or cause and chariot-driven by pure euphoria. I can picture President Hillary in the White House dealing with a recalcitrant Republican faction; I can't picture President Obama in the same role because his summons to history and call to hope seems to transcend legislative maneuvers and horse-trading; his charisma is on a more ethereal plane, and I don't look to politics for transcendence and self-certification."

Then there's MSNBC's Chris Matthews who tells Felix Gillette in the New York Observer, “I’ve been following politics since I was about 5. I’ve never seen anything like this. This is bigger than Kennedy. [Obama] comes along, and he seems to have the answers. This is the New Testament."

And behold, Obama met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him.

The Holy Season of Lent is upon us. Can Obama worshippers try to give up their Helter-Skelter cult-ish qualities for a few weeks? "

39 posted on 02/07/2008 3:36:15 PM PST by HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity
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To: squidly

Actually, Obama sounds to me a lot like John Kerry.


40 posted on 02/07/2008 3:37:53 PM PST by aruanan
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To: squidly
Joe Klein, writing at Time, notes "something just a wee bit creepy about the mass messianism" he sees in Obama's Super Tuesday speech.

Ironic, coming from a Clinton cultist. Wonder how long it took him to notice. Sheesh.

41 posted on 02/07/2008 3:38:15 PM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: squidly

Note to this Kathleen Geier (whoever she is):

Born-again Christians experiencing a “Come to Jesus” moment ARE “getting a grip.”

You and your anti-Christian bigotry is the one who is out of touch with reality.


42 posted on 02/07/2008 3:38:48 PM PST by A_Former_Democrat
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To: OB1kNOb

If he moves his hq to a certain city in the middle east that’ll be a clue...


43 posted on 02/07/2008 3:40:24 PM PST by OKSooner
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To: Liberty Valance
If he starts wearing a cape and tries to fly, we'll know they're in big trouble. But he's not their first cult leader demanding worship and suffering from delusions.


44 posted on 02/07/2008 3:51:42 PM PST by HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity
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To: sodpoodle
Harry was a war-time President who took office the first time because FDR died. His election is really kind of an exception.

He also dropped the big one (two times as they point out in Fletch) on the Japanese and as such would be even less likely than JFK to be embraced by the modern Democratic party.

45 posted on 02/07/2008 7:28:35 PM PST by hometoroost (...the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual. Galileo)
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To: squidly

Obama as the Anti-Christ?


46 posted on 02/07/2008 7:31:16 PM PST by airborne (I'm leaving the Republican Party! They do not represent me or my values!)
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To: Aevery_Freeman
A thought keeps creeping into my mind - AntiChrist.

I wrote the same thing before reading down through the posts!

47 posted on 02/07/2008 7:32:59 PM PST by airborne (I'm leaving the Republican Party! They do not represent me or my values!)
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To: bootless

We need Turbanex..


48 posted on 02/07/2008 7:36:11 PM PST by sheik yerbouty ( Make America and the world a jihad free zone!)
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To: squidly
ABC and the rest of the liberal media were shocked that Hillary did not coast to her coronation, and they have to do something to disillusion the sheeple who buy their birdcage liner.

What they really wanted when they built Barry O up was someone to push the Witch over to the left a little more, but now he's a science project that's gotten a little out of hand...

49 posted on 02/07/2008 8:03:43 PM PST by hunter112 (With Fred gone, our best hope is for a compromise candidate from a brokered convention.)
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To: squidly
And behold, Obama met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshipped Him.

Behold at http://www.dipdive.com/

50 posted on 02/08/2008 6:28:17 AM PST by gridlock (A proud McCain supporter since February 7, 2008)
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