The Worst of the Campus in the White House

In a chilling piece, yesterday, Andy McCarthy argues — I would phrase it — that Barack Obama is the fruit of the leftist lunacy that has flourished on American campuses:

For Obama, that society is an ineradicably racist “white world.” He is more opaque than mentors like Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers, who mince no words in portraying America as an apartheid state. Still, as Hank De Zutter wrote in a fawning 1995 profile, Obama learned to see “integration was a one-way street, with blacks expected to assimilate into a white world that never gave ground.” One hears the echoes of Obama’s wife, Michelle, whose Princeton thesis decried the thought of “further integration and/or assimilation into a white cultural and social structure that will only allow me to remain on the periphery of society; never becoming a full participant.”…
As Obama wrote in his chapter [in a tribute to Saul Alinsky], “Why Organize? Problems and Promise in the Inner City”:

The debate as to how black and other dispossessed people can forward their lot in America is not new. From W.E.B. DuBois to Booker T. Washington to Marcus Garvey to Malcolm X to Martin Luther King, this internal debate has raged between integration and nationalism, between accommodation and militancy, between sit-down strikes and boardroom negotiations. The lines between these strategies have never been simply drawn, and the most successful black leadership has recognized the need to bridge these seemingly divergent approaches. [Emphasis added.]

Breathtaking. Observe that the organizer does not reject separatism, menacing, and civil disobedience. They are iterations of the hard power he “bridges” with soft power, the exploitation of the system’s regular politics. And in a society that venerates dissent and free association, there is much to exploit in the blurry line between critiquing our society and advocating its destruction.

In his partial review of laws likely to be signed into law by an “unchecked” Obama, David Freddoso is correct to note that Republicans’ abandonment of their principles has helped to bring us to the point at which the likes of Obama have a shot of running the country, but if he wins, dark days seem to be looming for freedom in the American sense.
If Clinton’s era was a “vacation from history,” Obama’s will be nostalgia for the fantasies of co-ed years, during which several generations learned to pump their fists in a show of disconnected, play-acting vanity. He’ll be a “transformative” figure, indeed, but not in a way amenable to the spirit in which that banality has so often been uttered.

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OldTimeLefty
15 years ago

From Our Socialist leader, Comrade Barbara Ehrenreich. I’m a secret capitalist agent and thought that you might like inside details on the insidious socialist plot. Arise capitalists, you have nothing to loose but your bonds. Surely you have heard by now of the imminent socialist takeover of America, and if you find the prospect unlikely, ask yourself: How many socialists do you know who lost millions in the recent stock market crashes? Just as I thought — none — and that’s not only because you don’t know any socialists. The truth is that we, the Socialist International Conspiracy, not only saw this coming, we are the ones who made it happen. The plan took shape during a particularly intense criticism/self-criticism session at our 2000 annual convention in a booth at an Akron IHOP. We realized that we’d been recruiting no more new members per year than the Green Bay Packers and that, despite all our efforts, more Americans have been taken aboard UFOs than have embraced the historic promise of socialism. So we decided to suspend our usual work of standing on street corners and hissing, “Hey, how’d you like to live in a workers’ paradise?” Instead of building socialism, one worker at a time, we would focus on destroying capitalism, hedge fund by hedge fund. First, we selected a cadre of crusty punks from the streets of Seattle, stripped off their Che T-shirts, suited them up in Armani’s and wingtips, and introduced them to the concepts of derivatives and dental floss. Then we shipped them to Wall Street with firm instructions: Make as much money as you can, as fast as you can, and as soon as the money starts rolling in, send it out to make more money by whatever dodgy means you can find — subprime loans,… Read more »

Brian Mc
Brian Mc
15 years ago

Well done
OldTimeLefty
Signed
The Folks at
BANK OF AMERICA
BAC–NYSE

joe bernstein
joe bernstein
15 years ago

I watched a 3 hour interview with John Hope Franklin,an Afro-American history professor at (I think)Duke.He’s about 90 years old,but very astute mentally.
He was a history professor at Brooklyn College when I was in high school!
He delivers an unsettling and pessimistic view of race relations in the US.He remembers every slight he encountered in his life for just being Black.Can’t say I wouldn’t feel bitter either.It depends who you are.
He is no Farrakhan or Jackson or Sharpton.He is a very accomplished historian,but he is depressing to listen to.It’s the hopelessness of his tone that comes through.Ironic, given his middle name.
It was on CSPAN.

Pragmatist
Pragmatist
15 years ago

The only thing chilling about that piece is that you consider it legitimate journalism.
McCarthy (the irony is too rich) makes many declarations about what Obama believes. The problem is that other than one quote from one of Obama’s books and a few words from an interview from the mid-1990s, McCarthy provides no support for his assertions.
A good deal of science fiction for the NRO crowd, but not a serious examination of Obama’s beliefs. Of course, since Obama is a thoughtful author and a serious thinker, I would not expect an NRO hack to waste his time on legitimate criticism.
Poor Bill Buckley, turning over and over again in his grave as the anti-intellectualism of the right reaches ever new heights. What is worse, the right now revels in it. Ivy League educations are a source of embarassment. Plumbers and mayors of third-rate towns are now the standard for our political leadership.

rhody
rhody
15 years ago

Socialism, Arab ties…
Coming up next: Barack Obama kicks dogs.
But seriously, folks…Osama bin Laden wasn’t vilified this much.

msteven
msteven
15 years ago

Rhody, you have got to be kidding me. Ever heard of Sarah Palin? If you think Obama has been more vilified her then you have your eyes closed or are totally blinded by partisan-ism.
Not saying that Obama hasn’t been unfairly attacked – as opposed to any Presidential candidate. But not in the league of the venom and mud spewed toward Sarah Palin by the MSM.

bobc
bobc
15 years ago

OTL,
Never has anyone used so many words to say so little.
Nostrovia

rhody
rhody
15 years ago

Palin brought it upon herself with her arrogance and sense of entitlement from Day One.
I’m sure plenty of Republicans feel the same way, too.
As for those who foisted her upon McCain because they wanted a storyline, well, sometimes in life you gotta take the bad with the good.

msteven
msteven
15 years ago

Palin brought it upon herself with her arrogance and sense of entitlement? As opposed to the behavior of some woman named Clinton?
Come on, Rhody – at least be honest. She’s a woman. She’s conservative. It is clearly unacceptable to be both in today’s culture. This proved it.

rhody
rhody
15 years ago

I completely agree Hillary brought her problems on herself. She managed to pull defeat from the jaws of victory with her sense of entitlement.
Men can do it too – look at Romney and Guiliani.

joe bernstein
joe bernstein
15 years ago

Hey Rhody-how about Obama?Publicizing the menu for the victory party and all.
I mean he looks good to win,but the fat lady hasn’t even farted,let alone sang yet.

rhody
rhody
15 years ago

If you’re talking about the New York Post Page 6 kerfluffle…three words:
Consider the source.
Now if Palin won and wants to have Bugaboo Creek cater the party, most of us would be down with that.

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