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Did anyone think this was going to be easy?
Hillary Clinton, in an epically vain and disgusting attempt to preserve the Clinton fiefdom, could be doing Obama a favor. She's showing him a microcosm of what running for President of the United States of America will be like.
Jackie Robinson used the preexisting racial prejudices of his Brooklyn Dodger teammates to prepare for the real test. Obama must do the same. Fending off racist remarks by Geraldine Ferraro should be like taking batting practice in Spring Training
If the 2008 Presidential contest continues to play out like the 1947 Major League Baseball season Barack Obama will have to channel the spirit of #42. He must have the courage not to fight back.
It will take extraordinary willpower not to retaliate and go on the offensive, but his silence will speak the loudest.
Robinson knew he would face a constant barrage of verbal and physical attacks every day from his opponents. Obama must be prepared to face the same challenges from his.
The hatred, prejudice and racism generated by Obama's campaign will continue to expose an undercurrent in American society.
Obama isn't the only one swimming upstream though. Heroic men like Howard Dean, Ted Kennedy and Christopher Dodd have emerged as modern day uber-versions of Branch Rickey, Leo Durocher and Pee Wee Reese.
When the democrats start listening to the players on the field and ignore the vile complaints coming from the end of the bench, the party will rally behind Obama like the Dodgers did Robinson.
Americans will support an Obama presidency for the same reasons Major League Baseball supported Robinson. Not just because he was the first African American and it was the right thing to do.
We'll support him because, like Jackie Robinson winning the MVP in only his third season, Barack Obama will be an exceptional president.
Spring Training for Obama
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Posted By: R. D. Briceland Posted on: Mar. 13, 2008 at 12:35 PM  11 Comments
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Mar. 13, 2008 at 02:03:52 PM
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Rating for this article
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| C'mon RD! This is just dirty politics as usual! Ask Mr. Toad!
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Mar. 13, 2008 at 02:41:10 PM
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[This is a reply to comment by Bob Toad on Mar. 13, 2008 at 01:10:58 PM]
Bob Toad
Mar. 13, 2008 at 01:10:58 PM Be sure of this, Briceland, Jackie Robinson was not responsible for managing two wars, the illegal immigration problem, economic policy, and anything remotely close to running the most powerful entity in the world. Now if you were talking about the... View this Comment Geez Toad, a sports reference on a political topic should be taken with a grain of salt, do you need one? I know you recognize the personal courage and determination shared by two people overcoming insurmountable odds to be the first to do something. Why you chose to ignore it is anyone's guess. How is the "hypocrite" reference substantiated? Hillary dragged herself through the mud by airing negative campaign ads as a last ditch effort. The number don't lie, she's losing in delegates, states won, and the popular vote. Any other candidate would've dropped out by now. You say Obama started the negativity. MIC-research the transcript. Where is Obama's TV ad that shows Hillary crying in NH? Where's the one that exposes her "foreign affairs" trip to Bosnia as a fraud? How come he hasn't given a speech mocking Hillary's vision of America? I don't want to squabble with you. Like the two democratic candidates, you and I agree on most of the issues. We even share a first pick for president. I just want to know how you can hate a man you "barely" know a thing about? |
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Mar. 13, 2008 at 03:02:45 PM
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[This is a reply to comment by R. D. Briceland on Mar. 13, 2008 at 02:41:10 PM]
R. D. Briceland
Mar. 13, 2008 at 02:41:10 PM Geez Toad, a sports reference on a political topic should be taken with a grain of salt, do you need one? I know you recognize the personal courage and determination shared by two people overcoming insurmountable odds to be the first to do something. Why... View this Comment "Geez Toad, a sports reference on a political topic should be taken with a grain of salt, do you need one? I know you recognize the personal courage and determination shared by two people overcoming insurmountable odds to be the first to do something. Why you chose to ignore it is anyone's guess." It's a bad analogy. Period. "How is the "hypocrite" reference substantiated? Hillary dragged herself through the mud by airing negative campaign ads as a last ditch effort. The number don't lie, she's losing in delegates, states won, and the popular vote. Any other candidate would've dropped out by now." You're a hypocrite because you're (1) advocating a candidate who wants to bring people together and (2) advising Obama to not fight back and to remain silent. Yet here you are attacking me because I don't support Obama. "You say Obama started the negativity. MIC-research the transcript. Where is Obama's TV ad that shows Hillary crying in NH? Where's the one that exposes her "foreign affairs" trip to Bosnia as a fraud? How come he hasn't given a speech mocking Hillary's vision of America?" I recall a 1984 themed anti-Hillary ad that an Obama supporter posted on the Internet at the beginning of the campaign. Long before Hillary went negative against Obama, his supporter launched their Internet campaign to destroy Hillary. If you didn't notice its venomous presence in the various popular blog sites the you were probably part of it. "I don't want to squabble with you. Like the two democratic candidates, you and I agree on most of the issues. We even share a first pick for president. I just want to know how you can hate a man you "barely" know a thing about?" I don't hate him, I hate that his message isn't questioned and that I see the radical social conservatives from the 2004 when I read the garbage his radical supporters have been saying. His campaign, whether he knows it or not, has aided in the fracturing of the Democratic Party. But you're right. We do agree on everything else. |
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Mar. 13, 2008 at 03:59:12 PM
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[This is a reply to comment by Bob Toad on Mar. 13, 2008 at 03:02:45 PM]
Bob Toad
Mar. 13, 2008 at 03:02:45 PM "Geez Toad, a sports reference on a political topic should be taken with a grain of salt, do you need one? I know you recognize the personal courage and determination shared by two people overcoming insurmountable odds to be the first to do... View this Comment A few problems with all that Toad. You again call me a hypocrite claiming I attacked you when in reality all I did was challenge you to find a transcript of Obama personally attacking Hillary. Don't be so sensitive. You're also wrong about the 1984 ad. The guy who made it explains why he did it and how neither campaign knew about it here: [link:www.huffingtonpost.com] The only thing Obama's campaign divided was: 1.) People who want to take this country in a new direction and 2.) People who support the status quo. Guess what, option 1 is winning. I'll save you a seat on the bandwagon. |
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Apr. 22, 2008 at 08:30:04 AM
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Apr. 22, 2008 at 08:39:00 AM
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[This is a reply to comment by R. D. Briceland on Apr. 22, 2008 at 08:30:04 AM]
Bad analogy huh, Toad? Last night Obama said it himself on The Daily Show. "This is just like Spring Training." |
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Apr. 22, 2008 at 09:16:14 AM
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[This is a reply to comment by R. D. Briceland on Apr. 22, 2008 at 08:39:00 AM]
R. D. Briceland
Apr. 22, 2008 at 08:39:00 AM Bad analogy huh, Toad? Last night Obama said it himself on The Daily Show. "This is just like Spring... View this Comment Well there you go. Now that you feel vindicated, I suggest that you go take a cold shower to take the edge off and stop think about your baby, Obama, for a while. |
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Apr. 22, 2008 at 09:33:29 AM
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| "Barack Obama will be an exceptional president". How does someone that has been a mediocre State Senator, and a 'nothing to write home about' U.S. Senator become an exceptional president? About the only thing he did while State Senator was run for office and a good portion of his time as a U.S. Senator has been spent running for the office of POTUS. P.
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Apr. 22, 2008 at 09:56:33 AM
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[This is a reply to comment by Patricia L Johnson on Apr. 22, 2008 at 09:33:29 AM]
Patricia L Johnson
Apr. 22, 2008 at 09:33:29 AM "Barack Obama will be an exceptional president". How does someone that has been a mediocre State Senator, and a 'nothing to write home about' U.S. Senator become an exceptional president? About the only thing he did while State... View this Comment They don't get it, Patricia, and they will see what they want to see as long as it doesn't involve the very likely scenario that Obama will be defeated. There's no doubt in my mind that we are witnessing the Democratic Party implode. If Obama is indeed the chosen one and the favorite to be the nominee, why do voters in every primary contest continue to vote for Hillary Clinton and keep the race going? Why are Democrats from both factions pledging to vote for McCain if their guy or girl doesn't get the nomination? Neither Hillary or Obama will win this election because their party has been fractured. Neither candidate can win their party's nomination without greasing up the super delegates. Obama, who couldn't win a big state if his life depended on it, comes up short on the the key demographics that will be needed to win the general election. If Hillary is given the nomination because of that fact and because she can bring in the swing voters like blue-collar Democrats, she will still probably lose the election without the support of Obama's predominant constituency, African-American voters. They are done. Maybe this is a good thing. Don't we all hate the two-party system? It's just too bad that the Democratic Party had to die before the Republican Party, but they're not much better off either. |
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I know that it's you're intention to drag Hillary through the mud for trying to expose Obama as a fraud. Go ahead. But maybe instead of engaging in the mud slinging like the hypocrite that you are, you should start practicing the silence you just preached.
And why shouldn't Obama remain silent? His divisive legions of supporters are out there on the streets and all over the Web running the Divide and Conquer Wing of his campaign for him. You're probably already a founding member of that club.
Like Phaedrus, you are dodging the real issues because you know you can't support Obama's case in a debate grounded in reality. Come back at me with an attack against Hillary, you won't hurt my feelings. Neither of these two candidates were in my top three late last year. But I'll be sure to show you that Obama is identical to Clinton on nearly every issue where it counts.
In the end, don't we want the best president we can find and don't we want to know that we can trust him or her? Hillary's record, her scandals, and her defeats have been public knowledge for a dozen years. We barely know a thing about Obama's past and that is enough to make me hesitate from joining his Divide and Conquer/Change we can believe in party.
If you don't want to talk about the issues, just do what Phaedrus does and bring up stupid conspiracies like the Clintonian Dynasty ... wait, you already did that.
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