What if the Obamas behaved like the Palins?

Imagine the following:

Barack Obama stands before a predominately African-American audience. “America is ready for another revolution!” he shouts to the crowd.  The entire auditorium stands, applauds, and shouts.

Now imagine that Michelle Obama has been part of a movement to get her home state of Illinois to secede from the union.  She is a mover and a shaker in this movement, convincing her husband to speak at  a convention designed to further this cause for succession.  When asked about his attendance, Barack Obama lies about it, saying he never attended.

Now consider this:

Sarah Palin stands before a predominately white audience. “America is ready for another revolution!” she shouts to the crowd.  The entire auditorium stands, applauds, and shouts.

Husband Todd Palin has been part of a movement to get his home state of Alaska to secede from the union.  He is a mover and a shaker in this movement, convincing his wife to speak at  a convention designed to further this succession movement.  When asked about her attendance, Sarah Palin lies about it, saying she never attended. (http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/the-alaska-divi.html)


Of course, if the first two scenarios had occurred, there would endless fear mongering among right wing pundits.  Can you imagine what Glenn Beck -- who has accused President Obama of being racist -- would say about this?  Can you imagine Barack Obama ever in a million years becoming Senator, let alone President, if Michelle were a member of a succession movement? And if Barack Obama had addressed the group supporting Illinois leaving the United States?

The Sarah and Todd Palin scenarios have actually happened.  Todd Palin's membership in a party whose purpose is to get his state to leave the union was barely an issue in the campaign.  And while Sarah Palin's speech at the recent Tea Party Convention was been widely covered, I haven't read much about her use of the word revolution in her speech.  Does anyone actually believe this would be the case if Barack Obama used this language in front of an African-American audience?  Remember when he was "palling around with terrorists" because he attended a grassroots meeting with William Ayers?

I know the myth is that the media is liberal.  I think we should question this assumption whenever we can.

A little exageration?

The other day I was driving home listening to NPR.  A program about the "tea bagger" movement caught my attention.  The program focussed on Texas "tea baggers," a group of rebels who have initiated a movement that, in part, opposes the power of the federal government.  Some tea baggers have even articulated a desire to leave the union. 

Then the program dug a little deeper, interviewing other people who were part of this movement.  One woman was asked what she didn't like about President Obama.  She responded with this statement: I don't think I've ever heard him say anything positive about the United States.

I listen to or read news many hours a day.  I've heard the passionate arguments of either side on so many debates.  But this statement --  I don't think I've ever heard him say anything positive about the United States -- really frightened me. Why?  It was so divorced from reality as to make me realize that there was no possibility of having a logical conversation with people.  

Think about it: I don't think I've ever heard him say anything positive about the United States.  Is it even conceivable that a candidate could win the election without saying anything positive about the US?  Even an election for town council? Is it even possible that someone could hear Obama's inauguration speech and still believe this is true?  Is it even possibly sane to consider Obama's Nobel Prize Speech and still believe this?

Of course it isn't.  Which is what makes it so scary.  In order to be seen as being positive about this country, what tea baggers believe is that you must never question or never criticize it.  Ironic, isn't it, since the tea baggers prime motive seems to be to tear down the federal government.  And they are the ones who are telling us that to be fully patriotic means that you must never doubt whether or not your country is right.  Unless, of course, the leader of the opposing party is president. Then all bets are off: tea baggers can scream and shout down and threaten to leave the union -- the very definition of unpatriotic.