Obama’s Term of Endearment Leaves Bitter Aftertaste

Just as bad are television shows that refer to females of all ages as "girls."

Males over the age of 18 aren't typically called "boys."

Starshine,

Why do you question your own intuition to call someone out ? If he is condescending in his comments, you shouldn't question if its okay for professional women (or women in general) to get bent about it.

The way that he talks to a "professional woman" is unacceptable if he is a presidential candidate, or just someone not in the relationship where that verbiage is not common.This is true whether she is a reporter or in fact the "waitress at the pie shop off the interstate."

And for those to whom Obama can do no wrong, just because he apologized does not make it okay.

Just because he apologized does make it o.k. My gawd the man is human! Haven't we all said something we have had to apologize for? Bet McCain would like to take back what he called his wife.

"Visceral response"? Way too funny, Starshine. Obama is wrong on a multitude of issues, espousing a warmed over socialism/communism state. His statement regarding a sitdown with Iran's leader is an example. What do you say to someone who leads a government that hangs women for the crime of being raped? Nice choice of rope? The policies he proposes are far more dangerous for peace in the world. Don't let your own feelings of inadequacy blow a harmless comment WAY OUT of proportion. Chill Sister!!!

I know you didn't mean it, "scorphitman" but just to be clear we all know that Ahmadinejad is not "Iran's leader."

Oh heck...

*just* for the benefit of those few grade school children who might not know it, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is the Supreme Leader of Iran, and of course Obama *never* said he would sit down and talk with him.

"The fact that neither of us likes the other is no reason to refuse to talk. Living in this nuclear age makes it imperative that we do talk."
-- Ronald Reagan, referring to the USSR

"I ... do that with ALL kinds of people" (well... not men)
BTW... isn't this the guy who raised holy hell with Kentucky law maker, Geoff Davis (R) for referring to him as a boy? Sorry, Barack, he calls all kinds of people "boy" (well... not girls)

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the highest directly elected official in the country. Mouthpiece for the mullahs. President Ronald Reagan - "Trust but verify". Obama would make room in his schedule to sit down with Ali Khameni or any of the the other criminals that have hijacked Iran.

This brings to mind the Sir Edward Ross routine by Monty Python where Graham Chapman says to John Cleese "Don't call me 'Sweetie'".

Simple common sense dictates that you don't call someone you don't know "Sweetie", but obviously Barack is either very ignorant, or is so full of himself that he doesn't care.

Since the subject is Obama quotes, here is a quote from the June 3rd debate, a quote I heard rebroadcast on the radio "Everybody is going to learn to speak English if they live in this country. ..."

Considering how out of touch the above comment is, is it any wonder he'd call a woman he doesn't even know "Sweetie"? The evidence suggests that he's a lightweight.

Of course today Hillary made some reference to Robert Kennedy's assassination which by the time my comment here is read should be mainstream news.

The American people, despite all their complaining about not having any choices per presidential candidates, have once again put at the the head of the class three people who by all appearences are a simple continuation of politics as usual.

From all that I can see, Barack is simply a protest vote borne out of the "anyone but Bush" school of thought, the quote to which I refer being seen on bumper stickers in the last election.

What we all must remember is that the enemy of our enemy is not always our friend. (Think how Stalin and Hitler practically annihilated one another) So simply because Barack is the anti-McCain, that doesn't make him a good choice. Such polemical voting allows for much lack of accountability on the part of candidates.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q......

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...

And to Mr. Clausen, I hereby impose Godwin's Law.* !!

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_la...

OK Binky, please tell all of us what the connection is between what I say and Godwin's law. I don't get the connection between what I wrote and invoking nazism.

Appendix A: The Many Forms of Godwin's Law

"You can tell when a USENET discussion is getting old when one of the participants drags out Hitler and the Nazis."
- Richard Sexton (http://www.vrx.net/richard/) stating what would later be known as Godwin's Law, Message-ID <21000@gryphon.COM>, 16 Oct 1989
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=210...

"Godwin's Rule of Nazi Analogies: As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one."
- Mike Godwin, first article about the topic in the Google archives, Message-ID <1991Aug18.215029.19421@eff.org>, 18 Aug 1991
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=199...

:Godwin's Law: /prov./ [Usenet] "As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one." There is a tradition in many groups that, once this occurs, that thread is over, and whoever mentioned the Nazis has automatically lost whatever argument was in progress. Godwin's Law thus practically guarantees the existence of an upper bound on thread length in those groups.
- The Jargon File (http://www.ccil.org/jargon/)

--------------------

However, in the generous spirit to which I am privy, I may have a slight problem with this (from the Godwin's Law FAQ http://www.killfile.org/~tskirvin/faqs/g...

" 6. "Hitler!" Ha! The thread is over!

"Nope, doesn't work that way. Not only is it wrong to say that a thread is over when Godwin's Law is invoked anyway (Usenet threads virtually always outlive their usefulness), but long ago a corollary to the Law was proposed and accepted by Taki "Quirk" Kogama (quirk@swcp.com):

"Quirk's Exception: Intentional invocation of this so-called "Nazi Clause" is ineffectual. "

OK binky, that's WAY too much information for me to absorb, but I think I might know what your referring to, so I'll briefly address it.

I might misunderstand you, but from what I can see, you are saying my comments are invalid because I used the word "Hitler". If you are saying that when someone calls someone else a "Nazi" or compares them with Hitler that signifies that the person is desperate and has run out of valid points, then I see what you are trying to say. If that is the case here, then I would point out that you re-read my post because I did not call anyone a Nazi or compare them to Hitler.

The point I made was a reference to history: In WW2 the U.S. was allied with Stalin to defeat Hitler. Perhaps at the (before the time I was born so I'm relying on what I've read) Stalin didn't seem like such a bad guy because it was clear Hitler WAS a bad guy. Then we found out that Stalin--like Hitler--also murdered millions of people so it ties in with what I said about the enemy of your enemy (In this case Stalin) isn't always your friend.

Human nature is to side with someone that shares a common enemy and I've observed this in American poltics. As such, I'm raising the point that simply because Obama is running against Clinton and McCain doesn't ensure that he's immune from sharing the ideologies they have which his supporters find offensive.

One more example: Despite their ongoing anti-war talk, the Democratic voters nominated John Kerry who voted for the war. His supporters defended him saying "Bush lied". There were others who were against the war from the beginning yet he got nominated.

Moral of the story: Be careful what you wish for.

"Just as bad are television shows that refer to females of all ages as "girls."

Males over the age of 18 aren't typically called "boys.""

This is true, but I DO remember one notable exception when Leslie Abramson (sp?) who defended Lyle and Erik Menendez (Who were over 18 at the time) referring them as "the boys" to gain sympathy for them.

Good morning starshine I think you are not aware of your inappropriate words used to express your disdain at Obama's use of the word "sweetie" If the jounalist is offended by being compared to a waitress at a pie shop off the interstate, the journalist should know that is the same "put down" The waitrss who is working for a living wage needs to know she is no less a productive citizen than anyone else. This is a big goof, someone should apologize to her. Just so you know.

I agree with Pangrammy. I was way more put off by your notion that "professional" pertains to YOU and not others, and that it is more offensive in the "professional" setting. Women with these opinions often do MORE damage to other women. In my own experiences, there is no one more condescending to women than women with "professional" positions. I also agree with the poster who mentioned that you are getting bent out of shape over something that is meaningless in the long run. And Jimmy Smits? I've never heard a bad thing about the guy. Hatred is pretty strong terminology for somebody like him when there are.....I dunno.....wife and child abusers running around everyplace.

How often have we seen that those who are oppressed become oppressers themselves.

We must all prevent our own bad experiences with racism/sexism/or any other type of mistreatment from turning us into that which we know is wrong.

To say "As a woman" "As a Black man" "As a (here is my personal favorite) a PARENT" is a way of thinking that many of us accept without thinking about. I'm a guy but I agree with Starshine about the "Sweetie" comment not because she's a woman but simply because it's a tacky thing to say. But invoking one's status per their gender, race, or their profession (And let's face it people, for all of the racial/gender sensitivity in Santa Barbara, the Caste System of what one does for a living is VERY much in place) is not needed.

Bottom line: If people observe good manners, then they won't make racist/sexist comments and we wouldn't need all the "sensitivity training" of such manners were observed.

And yes, people who wait on tables work far harder than most of us and they, like people who clean bedpans, pick lemons, and scrub floors, deserve respect as much as anyone else.

Correction: "and we wouldn't need all the "sensitivity training" IF such manners were observed."

It is moments like Obama's gaff that you see glimpses into the real man. I can't say I am impressed with the man. He came to far, too fast for my liking. I think he is a party mouthpiece, the new Kennedy. You may not like Hilary, but she is tough and has weathered many a storm. McCain is a bit hawkish for my likes, but I think he has integrity and toughness earned the hard way. The job of president requires intelligence, finesse and good management skills. We have had 8 years of a president who possesses none of those skills and yet the country has survived. This shows how well our system of government really works as no branch has absolute power over another. Regardless of who wins, I will be really glad to see Bush/Cheney out!