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What Obama really said Tuesday Sunday, Jun 8, 2008 by David J. Sanders I take nothing away from Barack Obama's historic moment on Tuesday night. That said, as he laid claim to the Democratic presidential nomination, some of the professionals stationed at cable news desks shed their objectivity and seemed to get themselves stuck in Obama's moment and unwilling to get out of it. In fact, one might have concluded from their observations, that the powerful energy Obama emitted in the Minneapolis Arena might in itself constitute a new alternative energy source, which could single-handedly end America's dependence on foreign oil. So, if serious people were transported by Obama's rapturous tongue and hypnotic cadence, then it's conceivable that reasonable Americans, who watched on television, might have been so overwhelmed by the emotion that erupted at Obamapalooza that they were unable to comprehend what the newly minted nominee actually said. Unaffected by it all, I will translate. On his grandmother: "Thank you to my grandmother ... who poured everything she had into me and who helped make me the man I am today. Tonight is for her." Translation: Sorry I had to throw you under the bus granny. You really aren't a typical white woman. On Hillary Clinton: "... when we finally win the battle for universal health care in this country ... it will be because she worked to help make it happen." Translation: Vice presidents give speeches at obscure gatherings and attend funerals for insignificant heads of state; your place is in the U.S. Senate and not my administration. On John McCain: "... there are many words to describe John McCain's attempt to pass off his embrace of George Bush's policies as bipartisan and new. But change is not one of them." Translation: Steer clear of my currency, I don't care if you are a war hero I will attack you as a phony until the last dog dies. On foreign policy: "We must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in ..." Translation: I said I would get out of Iraq quickly, but I now need some wiggle room. "It's time to refocus our efforts on al-Qaida's leadership and Afghanistan, and rally the world against the common threats of the 21st century - terrorism and nuclear weapons, climate change and poverty, genocide and disease." Translation: Bush declared the war on terror; I will declare war on climate change, poverty, genocide and disease. Soldiers get ready for missions to Africa and the North Pole. "... tough, direct diplomacy (is) where the president of the United States isn't afraid to let any petty dictator know where America stands and what we stand for. Translation: I screwed up big time claiming I would negotiate with Mahmoud, Fidel and Hugo? now I must clarify what I said; that's what I call change. On the fall campaign: "... what you don't deserve is another election that's governed by fear, and innuendo, and division." Translation: Republicans better not mention my record or speeches to peacenik groups. "What you won't hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon." Translation: I don't want to talk about the 20 years I was a member of a kooky church or my wife's newly discovered pride in her country. On his own superpowers: "... this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal." Translation: Just put it on the screen and no matter how stupid it is, I'll make it sound good. Now you know. ------- David Sanders writes twice weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock and is a host of the Arkansas Education Television Network's "Unconventional Wisdom." His e-mail address is DavidJSanders@aol.com. |
