Blog pundits are notorious for making much ado about nothing. We’ve heard that Obama is a Muslim, that he “pals around” with terrorists, and that he is a socialist - none of which are true. They are only inferences derived at from half-truths, fear, and irrational thought processes. In the spirit of bi-partisanship, we’ve heard similar urban legends about Sarah Palin.
I’ve got no problem with people choosing the candidate they feel best represents their values. Everyone must support someone and if an individual does the research then makes a decision based on solid, provable evidence, they’ve done what is required of a dutiful citizen. But most of what we hear coming from talk radio and the blog pundits is ludicrous and damaging. There is no critical thought that goes into most of it and my fear is that the majority of Americans will cast a vote on election day based on one of the urban myths they read in an e-mail without investigating whether or not there is any truth to it. That certainly is not what the Founders had in mind.
Watch the video yourself and then ask yourself, “What’s the big deal?”
Here’s my analysis:
Barack Obama seems to be saying that the Constitution is a great document, but it reveals a flaw of the Founders that still exists in America today. I’m sure they would agree. But Obama doesn’t say what that flaw is. We can only speculate what he believes it might be. The American Pundit writes this:
Even more audio damaging to Barack Obama has surfaced from 2001 Chicago Public Radio interviews. Via Drudge, here we find Barack Obama saying that the U.S. Constitution “reflected the fundamental flaw of this country that continues to this day”.
Now, how is that damaging? It’s a very general statement that is obviously a clip from an interview, but the interview question isn’t shown. Why not? It might actually reveal something about the nature of Obama’s response.
The fact of the matter is, the Constitution is a flawed document because it was written by flawed human beings with good intentions. That doesn’t mean they were bad people nor does it mean they were saints and that the Constitution is a divine document. It is what it is: A human document designed to create a society in which a broad swath of people from diverse backgrounds can live peacefully on the same geographical ground in a system that is fair to each regardless of race, creed, color of skin, economic status, gender, religion, or other identifier. To the degree that it does that it has been successful; conversely, to the degree that it doesn’t it is flawed. I don’t know if that is what Barack Obama meant by his comment, but it is what I mean when I say the Constitution is flawed. History proves it.
From Ambiguity To Idiocy
The responses of The American Pundit’s readership are even worse than the blogger’s own ambiguity. Read this:
so if its such a flaw then how come it has worked for the past hundred years or so? and how are you gonna come in and change something that has been what america was founded by, i think that if we havent had any problems up to do then leave it alone.. “why fix what isn’t broke?”
Gee, I’d like to meet this illiterate jackass. The Constitution has only been around for 100 years? Or is he saying it has only worked for 100 years? And we haven’t had any “problems” till now? Where has this moron been? Did he forget about the Civil War and the discussion over state’s rights? Civil Rights? Suffrage? How about the 17 amendments - changes - that have occurred to the Constitution since its ratification? I guess this reader thinks the Constitution was written with 27 amendments right from the start.
One reader thinks the news media is hiding the truth by not reporting that Obama believes there is a flaw in the Constitution:
Now there’s a story no one would ever read or hear about on C.N.N.>,M.S.N.B,>A.B.C.>,FOX,>C.B.S.,or especially the New York Times..Makes a person wonder just how much of the truth is really hidden..
“Mike” says
Unbelievable
Oh, yeah. Because no one’s ever advocated change before. This is so new.
Big Brother accuses Obama of wanting to represent blacks and no one else:
News flash Sen. Obama….You are likely days away from being elected President. You are supposed to represent ALL americans not just Black Americans. Such an attitude will not only prevent the healing process from continuing but will unravel it.
Where did he get that from? Has he even listened to the man’s speeches? Of course, he’d probably say it’s OK for President Bush to represent just rich, white people because that’s in the Constitution. Oh my God! Now I’m speculating. You see, it rubs off.
People, listen. Pull your heads out of your asses and listen. It’s OK to disagree with Senator Obama’s policies and ideas, but at least take the time to understand them before you start making idiots of yourselves. For those of you interested - truly interested - in exploring the facts and understanding who the candidates are, start by debunking the myths and legends. Click the below links then go and find the truth:
What Is Snopes?
Before the wackos start saying things like, “Oh, they’re biased” and “Well, they’re just not reporting the facts,” yada yada yada, let me just tell you what Snopes is. Their job is not to report the truth about all things under the sun. It’s not a newspaper or an encyclopedia. Snopes exists to dispel myths and urban legends about a lot of things, not just political figures.
David and Barbara Mikkelson do a fabulous job of ferreting through facts to get to the heart of the matter on many things. They separate truth from fiction, fact from fantasy, myth from actuality on a great deal of subjects that have been known to receive wide circulation and create a sense of “legend.” Their only bias is toward separating the misinformation from actual fact and they do a pretty doggone good job of it. If you don’t like what you read, maybe you should do some soul searching.
I encourage you to read the Snopes entries of the candidates then conduct your own fact-finding mission to learn about each of the candidates and what their real views are - apart from the legends about them.
