Here's the quote - yes, of course it's Barack Obama and his apparent Natsec Ignorance Field. You had to ask?
Throughout our history, America's confronted constantly evolving danger, from the oppression of an empire, to the lawlessness of the frontier, from the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor, to the threat of nuclear annihilation. Americans have adapted to the threats posed by an ever-changing world.
And here's Dean Barnett's well-aimed sneer regarding it:
Aaah yes – "the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor." Who can forget that? It was the big one, the one that took out all those boats. I guess Obama's political correctness prevents him from noting someone actually dropped "the bomb" and it didn't just fall.
This is a surprising error for a Hawaii native (via the great Kansas heartland) to make. Perhaps Obama was merely confused, as he and his surrogates so often accuse John McCain of being.
My turn after the fold.
First off, I think that Dean's making a slight mistake: it's unlikely that this represents direct personal ignorance on Obama's part. After all, it's not like anybody would actually let the junior Senator from Illniois write his own speeches. We've got quite the history by now of what happens when the man has to talk on his own, which is the major reason why he ran away like a scared rabbit at the very hint of actually having to participate in unscripted town hall meetings with McCain. So he probably didn't come up with this howler on his own...
...but he really should have caught it. Or somebody really should have caught it. "{T}he bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor" is at best a decidedly clumsy way of putting things: in this culture, when someone talks about a singular-bomb falling on a specific place, he's not trying to evoke the image of Coventry. He's trying to evoke the image of Hiroshima. This rather bald statement will make the Obama supporters pout, whine, and try to explain, but at the end of the day it really is at best, ah, an inartful thing to say. At worst it's merely yet another one of the results of our marvelously inept public school system, not to mention a reminder that progressives don't like to read history books. For the record, I'm guessing that it was the former; I'm a charitable sort, and I'd like to think that a sitting US Senator and his staff were merely being exceedingly sloppy, instead of pig-ignorant about elementary details of modern American history.
I suppose that what all this comes back to is what many people have noticed about the Obama campaign: they're exceptionally arrogant sorts. They surely understand that the American public does not assume that Democrats know anything about national security, thus making it necessary for them to be twice as careful than the GOP on avoiding obvious natsec and military-related gaffes. At least, again, I hope so, for essentially the same reason as above. But if they understand this, they seem to not particularly care: because this isn't the first time that they've opened themselves up to criticism like this, and it certainly won't be the last.
All of which would be unimportant, no doubt, if it was October and Obama was ahead by 12. It being July and +4.8 (translation: early, and not promising for him), well...
Moe Lane
Rookie mistake
Darin_H July 18th, 2008 at 12:06 p.m. (link)
Not ready for the bigs, kiddo.
Just like PayPal, except it's free and a $25 bonus to sign up!
not much of a mistake
dskerman July 18th, 2008 at 12:12 p.m. (link)
I've never seen more words devoted to a missing s.
I'm pretty sure from the knowledge of history he has demonstrated in his books and appearances that this was clearly an accidental omission.
It was a single sentence in the speech, and he probably misread or misspoke without noticing.
"from the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor," is pretty close to "from the bombs that fell on Pearl Harbor,"
Misread or misspoke? funny how you
Jaded July 18th, 2008 at 12:31 p.m. (link)
acolytes clean up for your messiah...to bad it doesn't work because like it or not they are his wordS (see how easy it is to add an s?) and he dropped the s like the fool he is....and knowing how stupid and empty he truly is, I am sure he is inept at the historical nature of what happened at Pearl Harbor.....but I know he is not inept at marxist history!
Whoever has his enemy at his mercy & does not destroy him is his own enemy
What knowledge of history has he shown?
tcgeol July 18th, 2008 at 12:32 p.m. (link)
Frankly, he seems to be one of the more ignorant (not stupid, but ignorant) and inept candidates the Dems have run for a good while. He cannot talk without a script. Al Gore almost make sense next to Obama.
Lets face it - if he didn't have some sort of apparent charm and charisma, he'd be so far behind McCain, you wouldn't be able to see him in the rear-view mirror.
Just your typical bitter gun- and God-clinger
And he has that really
ekevlar11 July 18th, 2008 at 12:36 p.m. (link)
cool unicorn. "Change, did I mention change"
Erik
Wow do your lips hurt from all that...
Jaded July 18th, 2008 at 12:34 p.m. (link)
_ _ _ kissing?
Whoever has his enemy at his mercy & does not destroy him is his own enemy
Being one letter off only makes sense if he were typing
Neil Stevens July 18th, 2008 at 12:37 p.m. (link)
If he's speaking, it makes no sense as an excuse.
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Nobody can claim a "free speech" right to suck the fun out of our lives. Certainly not on a private board. – Steve Jackson
Do tell
Dan McLaughlin July 18th, 2008 at 1:27 p.m. (link)
Would that be when he thought that FDR and Truman had negotiated with Hitler and Tojo? Or when he thought the US Army had liberated Auschwitz?
"No compromise with the main purpose, no peace till victory, no pact with unrepentant wrong." - Winston Churchill
Books HE wrote?
Raven July 18th, 2008 at 3:17 p.m. (link)
How many politicians do you know of that actually wrote their Own books. There's this helpful little thing called a "ghost-writer". Basically, someone else who can actually research and write intelligently, does the research and writes the book and then the politician signs his name on it.
"It is getting harder and harder to find suicide bombers. And all the really good ones are gone."
Well it wasn't
MGamo July 18th, 2008 at 12:16 p.m. (link)
just bombs, kamikaze attacks were just as effective. At least Obama didn't quote Bluto from Animal House and stated it was the Germans that attacked Pearl Harbor.
"A man who never quits is never defeated." - Fred D. Thompson
Kamikaze...at Pearl Harbor?
Jeff Emanuel July 18th, 2008 at 1:43 p.m. (link)
You're a few years off on that.
It's that public education again
Raven July 18th, 2008 at 3:21 p.m. (link)
Some people just listen instead of reading. More people need to read. Especially public school students...
"It is getting harder and harder to find suicide bombers. And all the really good ones are gone."
you're bigger than this mr. lane
jkern July 18th, 2008 at 12:17 p.m. (link)
Generally I enjoy your commentary but this seems a little thin to hang onto.
jkern
:shrug: Give me an opposition candidate worthy of my talents, then.
Moe Lane July 18th, 2008 at 12:24 p.m. (link)
I'm not the one who picked this guy. Then again, the same could be said of the rank-and-file of the Democratic Party. Either way, I work with what's handed to me.
Moe
PS: I'll delete your extra hiccups; hopefully, the site has finished settling in.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC.I've been usurped!Zzzzz
ThreeNineNine July 18th, 2008 at 12:18 p.m. (link)
"from the bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor, to the threat of nuclear annihilation."
He probably looked at his notes, and the word nuclear made him think "the bomb that fell on Hiroshima". I find it pretty pathetic to hit him on this. The 57-state thing made a funny joke, but this really just doesn't.
Thanks for your input. N/T
Moe Lane July 18th, 2008 at 12:28 p.m. (link)
N/T
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC.I've been usurped!apologies for three posts
jkern July 18th, 2008 at 12:19 p.m. (link)
/blame it on computer.
jkern
LaLa Land
Vegas_Rick July 18th, 2008 at 12:23 p.m. (link)
That's where Obama and his campaign seem to be stuck. They spend so much time in front of the swooning, fainting, enraptured morons at his rallies, that I think they have forgotten that most of the rest of America is actually intelligent and rational.
They seem so caught up in his popularity with the American left, that they can't fathom that anyone who isn't part of the VRWC would find any fault with anything they say or do.
They're careless. They need to get out more. They need to talk to the Dems that I talk to in the trade union halls, who say there's no way they'd vote for the empty suit.
Then maybe, they would come back to reality.
Those who control energy, control society.
Oh Vegas Rick, they parted ways with
janis July 18th, 2008 at 12:30 p.m. (link)
reality as most of us rational humans experience it so long ago that it probably isn't even a distant memory. As to talking to Dems who won't vote for the Opossum, my guess is that they would refuse to believe it was a true Dem but rather a member of the VRWC in sheep's clothing.
As with your experience, I live in a Dem county and daily interact with people who are truly horrified at what their party has become.
Maybe he meant one specific bomb
Slightly_Askew July 18th, 2008 at 12:35 p.m. (link)
He was probably referring to the one that nearly took out Ben Affleck's Jeep. That one was quite emotional.
Wait a minute:
oppression of an empire: Julius Caesar
frontier: Once Upon a Time in the West
bomb on pearl harbor: Tora, Tora, Tora
nuclear annihilation: The Day After
Holy crap, he's talking about the threat of annihilation by Jason Robards!
I'm thinking maybe his head speech writer is a bit of a movie buff. Surprised he didn't add the threat of alien invasion that we had to overcome with the help of that great American hero, Will Smith.
Nice, but you left out the remake...
Moe Lane July 18th, 2008 at 12:51 p.m. (link)
...of Seven Days in May "(The Enemy Within )". Not that you missed much.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC.I've been usurped!Thanks, but with proper disclosure
Slightly_Askew July 18th, 2008 at 1:13 p.m. (link)
I can only take credit for three of the four. I had never heard of Once Upon a Time in the West and had to google for a Robards movie that dealt with the frontier.
Silly trivia from IMDB (did not fact check it myself): Actor Jason Robards was actually present at the bombing of Pearl Harbor on the 7th of December, 1941.
I could recommend to Barry that he ask a survivor of the attack how many bombs there were, but I'm aware of his aversion to asking members of the military for their input, and wouldn't want to make him uncomfortable.
There must be something wrong with me, Moe
Marcus_Traianus July 18th, 2008 at 12:44 p.m. (link)
I found Obama's continued assault on the English language laugh out loud funny. Dean's comment just propelled me to the floor.
When I added to that Obama's dearth of knowledge regarding history, I blacked out.
"Nec Aspera Terrent" bene ambula et redambula Contributor to The Minority Report
Wait a minute!
Slightly_Askew July 18th, 2008 at 12:48 p.m. (link)
Hey! You can't say that!
It's "passed out" or "fainted" or, at the most, "grayed out".
Let's keep it civil around here.
Heh - 5!
bs July 18th, 2008 at 2:41 p.m. (link)
Black Day was a couple of weeks ago. We must return now to being our normal sensitive selves.
The Unofficial RedState FAQ “You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say. ” - Martin Luther
It was just last week
Raven July 18th, 2008 at 3:26 p.m. (link)
And cut short by the launch of RS 3.0
And speaking of which, the whole Texas Racsim thing was just Priceless...
"It is getting harder and harder to find suicide bombers. And all the really good ones are gone."
Lawlessness of the frontier?
JamesLBurns July 18th, 2008 at 12:48 p.m. (link)
This isn't really any better than "the bomb". I don't see a lot of native americans celebrating how the United States confronted the lawlessness of the frontier. Kind of a strange thing for a lib to highlight.
That was just sloppy contrasting, JamesLBurns.
Moe Lane July 18th, 2008 at 12:54 p.m. (link)
Empire vs. Anarchy, and all that. Not really relevant to anything, of course, but then you don't go to an Obama speech to be informed.
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC.I've been usurped!Veiled threat to the hippies?
blooch July 18th, 2008 at 2:05 p.m. (link)
Everything else Obama listed is an existential threat, and the Wild West is usually a cue for liberals to scream "genocide!" instead of crowing about how we made the Iron Horses run on time. And note that he left the Civil War left out of his litany.
I think he is letting the anarchonomics majors know that lawlessness will not be tolerated in Denver when Sheriff Obama comes to town.
"Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in common: their gender and their good looks."--spam
Speaks to the quality of a madrass
Old_Crow July 18th, 2008 at 12:58 p.m. (link)
eduation.
==== "Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm." -- James Madison
Thrift, thrift, Horatio! As Hamlet used to say.
streetwise July 18th, 2008 at 1:46 p.m. (link)
One bomb does all.
Clearly, we are getting insights into Obama's conviction that economies are to be had in the management of the military.
Under the Divine One's guidance, the national anthem will be changed to say "rocket's red glare". It will be reinterpreted as being about the threat of global warming.
One of my favorite things
Uma_Richie July 18th, 2008 at 3:49 p.m. (link)
about RedState is the slew of historical and literary allusions the posters draw on to make excellent points. Smart people are so cool!
Where are the books?
29Victor July 18th, 2008 at 2:27 p.m. (link)
Or at least the websites, or magazine articles. Late night T.V. skits? Monologues? T-shirts? Anyone?
Careers were made off of Bush's "Bush-isms." They fit so perfectly into the media's "Bush is a moron" meme. And does anyone remember "potatoe?" Quayle was just reading what was written, but the media managed to tar him as an idiot for the rest of what was left of his political career.
But Obama is soooo smart. Did you know he went to Harvard?
"57 states?" He must just have been tired. "Bomb that fell on Pearl Harbor?" Some computer screwed up somewhere (you know how computers can be). He sounds like a stammering idjit when speaking extemporaneously? Ummm...did I mention that he was tired?
He disagreed with the War in Iraq, that proves that he his a genius, so anything that he says after that must be understood in context of his, errr, geniusness.
There was an article just a couple of days ago reporting that late night t.v. show writers weren't writing jokes about Obama because, they said, they couldn't find a "hook" to stereotype him with since he hadn't done anything funny that "defined" him. But the truth isn't that Obama hasn't been doing "funny" or "defining" things. The truth is that the writers (as well as the rest of the media) have already defined Obama as highly intelligent and eloquent and the stupid things that he continues to say contradict their idea of him. So misstatements that, had they been uttered by Bush or Quyale, would have provided Leno and Letterman with a few days of matteral are, instead, completely ignored.
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5
youngling July 18th, 2008 at 9:10 p.m. (link)
that pretty much sums up the media bias these days
"Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first." Ronald Reagan