Obama Wire: The Blogosphere Reacts
Every time you here someone refer to Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) as a ‘media darling’ the next few weeks, please keep in mind they are only referring to the MSM. The new media/bloggers just aren’t that into him.
A DailyKos straw poll shows shows Kossacks prefer John Edwards 37% to Obama’s 27% with Wesley Clark a distant third at 14% (the Blogometer has checked these numbers at 6K, 13K ,and 16K votes and there has been no change in the %s).
Netroots ambivalence towards Obama’s candidacy seems to stem from two related sources: 1) his perceived centrist/Liebermanesque/DLC rhetoric; 2) and his inability/refusal to lead take the lead on a major progressive issue (especially the war).
Netroots reactions include:
- The Left Coaster: “I am getting tired of this ongoing Liebermanesque "different kind of politics" canard. This country has been driven into a ditch, and is being led towards another war in Iran, yet what we get from Lieberman and perhaps now Obama is the salve of a bipartisan "let's just all get along" campfire sing-a-long.”
- Firedoglake Taylor Marsh: “Barack Obama has not been nearly as strong on the escalation, evidently preferring "symbolism" to action, or confusing one as being as strong as the other. (I won't say "I told you so," but I did warn you.) But Obama did strongly push back against escalation after Mr. Bush's speech last week. Certainly the fact that Obama was against the Iraq war from the start helps, but he wasn't in the Senate, so it's difficult to know what he'd have done if he were.”
- MyDD commenter MNPundit: “This is a bit worrying if Obama turns out to be a DLC type because that will mean he not only hurts our movement but is good at it which most DLC types... aren't.”
Listen, the cat's good and all, but he ain't gonna be our nation's next president...no way shape or form. Now Gore/Obama 2008--that's a different story...
I'm not trying to be petty, but I voted in that Kos poll when about 9,000 votes were in, and Wes Clark had 17% support then, and he has held at 17% non stop from then until right now at 18,778 votes.
In fact, the only changes I noted in the percentages were that John Kerry finally got credit for hitting 1% at about 13,000 votes and John Edwards slipped 1% down to 36% somewhere around the 17,000 vote mark. And in the slim chance anyone thinks I'm making these numbers up, there is no way Clark could have risen 3% in 2,500 votes to the 17% mark now. No, it has been constant there all along.
So why the undercount with Clark in your reporting? Seems more like a Florida e-boting machine read out.
He needs to address this somehow. Once the blogs get something in their heads you cannot shake it. The Edwards backers are especially vile in their pushing the misconceptions.
I get frustrated because He is not a Dlc type or like Leiberman. He wants to take politics in a new direction and change the dialog. I wish they would just listen.
The country needs someone like Obama. It is that simple. It is ABOUT TIME that our country...the people....redefine politics and focus on the real problems...and yes...with a "let's just all get along" attitude. What is wrong with being positive?