Obama's Tribal Garb Photo

Comments (Archived):

1. The issue here is how far will H go beofre she is reined by the Dems or the voters.

2. The companion piece to this topic: http://shakespearessister.b…

   1. LOL Lindsay….nice setup there. I think there should be a law….if you’ve never killed livestock, corralled livestock, been involved in a duel or performed some type of minor surgery on yourself using a blade you sharpened yourself, or married/parented by someone who has….you are NOT allowed to wear a cowboy hat.

3. Someone should leak a picture of Obama running a state, a company or even a senate office. Oh — shit, not possible, because he’s done none of the above. I was thinking hard about this the other day as I hire for my new company. Would I hire Obama as a board member or as CEO? Answer: no — he isn’t qualified for either. Weird to have a president that never ran anything, ever. I still don’t get the Obama thing even though I do understand his appeal on a human level. I guess I think too much:)

   1. I have a suggestion for you. Chill out about obama just a little bit.he might be the next president and he might be greatBut even if he sucks he won’t be worse than the idiot who has been running our country for the past eight yearsFred

      1. I totally agree that our current president is a complete idiot and Barack Obama is not.

   2. A campaign is a billion dollar company.Obama has run his campaign masterfully. Both Clinton’s campaign and McCain’s campaign have run out of cash at one point or another.

      1. Erik,Have you ever made a key hire for your company? Do you examine qualifications or do you hire based on personality? I understand that ultraliberal people feel like they finally have a candidate that will raise taxes on people that create jobs, and Obama is your vessel, but let’s be serious. Running a campaign does NOT qualify someone to run the country. I’m not saying that Obama won’t be president because he has a real chance of winning. I’m not even saying that he won’t be a decent president, because he can surprise me and be great. All I’m saying is that he’s not qualified — that’s a fact. All of your rationalizing, while fun, isn’t very persuasive to those that think qualifications matter — in hiring a CTO or president of the U.S.

         1. It is not a fact that he’s not qualifiedIt’s your opinion and you are very entitled to itI am sure that many Americans share itI do to an extentBut the judge of that issue will be the American people in NovemberAs it should befred

         2. Do you examine qualifications or do you hire based on personality?Both. Thanks to the 22nd amendment you’re hiring a first time CEO when you elect a president. Your gut is as important as anything else.No one is qualified to be President based on past accomplishments. There is no other job like it.

            1. No doubt. If McCain wants to do this right, “qualified” would be the word to use, NOT “experienced”. George Bush is “experienced”….but Bloomberg is “qualified”

         3. “Running a campaign does NOT qualify someone to run the country.”I agree, but whole point of the campaign is that it is a prism through which we can assess all candidates. Presidential campaigns are enormously grueling, complex affairs and how a candidate runs his or hers provides a great deal of indicators (hard and soft data). It may not be THE qualification, but running a solid campaign is most certainly A qualification. (And I would simply adjust the importance of that qualification according to the context; this is a particularly important Presidential race.)But there are many other qualifications, and, yes, executive experience is but ONE of them. This is of course my opinion, but character is also a qualification. As does temperament, people & information management, legislative knowledge, agility (ability to pivot / change / adapt to circumstance), analytical capability, among many others. All of which gets back to my original sentiment — that the campaign exposes all of them.

   3. Mitt? Is that you?

   4. I do not believe everyone hired as a board member in boardrooms throughout the world are all people who have run companies necessarily. In many cases board members are added because of their network value, their connections and other factors that do not equate to experience.To say Obama is not experienced enough to be added as a board member is just a little out there methinks.

4. As a foreigner, I have a comment on this: what the heck?Can you explain to me why a picture of Obama in ethnic garb can be a piece of news in any way? Every politician wears them when travelling abroad. There are scores of pics of Bush and Clinton dressed with traditional costumes from everywhere in the world. It’s just protocol.And even if it wasn’t, how is this relevant in any way? I’m seriously baffled about this.Cheers, Giordano

   1. Because there’s been an ongoing whisper campaign by the Right (emails, etc.) that suggests Obama is a Crypto-Muslim. So showing him in Muslim looking pictures only reinforces the meme. In America, a large percentage equate MUSLIM = BAD. Someone in Hillary’s campaign early on was caught sending out the Muslim smear emails (rightfully fired by Hillary’s campaign). Also consider a lot of Americans still believe Saddam was responsible for 9/11.

   2. Giordano, MikeInAZ is spot-on. The fact is that inside the US we are treated to journalistic wonders like a CNN poll questioning whether patriotism is a qualification for the Presidency, a poll that results directly from inane stories that he doesn’t wear a US flag lapel pin & a rank falsehood that he doesn’t put his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance.Seriously, that’s what the vast majority of our country sees in ways large and small, opaque and transparent, on a daily basis courtesy of the MSM. It’s repugnant. But it is what it is … and I suspect the power of online media is starting to change that.

5. Nope, nothing racist to see here folks….just a test by one of our own…..move along….save your protests and outrage for when McCain says he likes fried chicken…..nothing to see here…

6. This is an interesting two-fold meme: the Clinton Campaign’s potential involvement; and the general right-ward attacks concerning both the picture and the questioning of his “patriotism.” (The latter was raised yet again on Bill Maher the other night by Jack Kingston, R-GA, so you can be pretty sure that no matter how experienced the pol may be, the GOP will have plenty of baseless muck to sling.) Regardless where it came from, I think it says quite a good deal about Obama someone — finally — is able to deal with these forms of attacks in a sensible (if not admirable) manner. Glenn Greenwald over at Salon has an excellent take on this here:http://www.salon.com/opinio…(Head over to TPM to read about the Clinton angle, here: http://talkingpointsmemo.co…Nonetheless, I am starting to think that there’s another component to this as evidenced by the above articles — the growing power & influence of blogs to call BS and reveal the muck for what it is. (The AP and CNN should be ashamed in that regard.) If nothing else, there is ample evidence to show that online writers left, right and center just ain’t gonna buy it. If Drudge can start a fire, then Polk-winning TPM can extinguish it.

   1. “If Drudge can start a fire”?? What? He just reprinted an email that was circulated by the Clinton campaign. How about a little less killing of the messenger. Look at the source.HRC and her cronies are desperately trying to knock Obama out. It’s too late now to win on merit so they are going for the knock out punch. They tried many times (Rezko, Obamas past drug use, his muslim sounding name, his indonesian education) but nothing sticks. But expect more of this until they finally admit defeat.If current polling trends continue, she will lose Texas and have a nail biter in Ohio. At that point, it’s over and it’s Obama vs McCain.

      1. Indeed, don’t shoot the messenger. In this case, me! ; )I agree that Drudge reprinted something he got from somewhere, and thusfar the non-denial denials by the Clinton Campaign are not very reassuring. My only point here is that online media — from Drudge to TPM — is becoming a significant force for shaping / informing public opinion.And for the record, I believe that Drudge is a bottom feeder. M’kay?

7. I’m not an Obama supporter per se, but how is “garb photo” any different than this:http://members.fortunecity….While we’re at it, let’s find some Halloween photos too…

8. Maybe this is how HC can best help the democrats now. She’s a sparring partner, throwing low blows. As an opponent in the elimination bout to see who goes up for the title (President), she’s taking a lot of punishment – much of it self-inflicted.

9. Did you all catch Clinton surrogate Stephanie Tubbs Jones comments about these being the clothing of his “native country”.http://www.youtube.com/watc…

10. It’s amazing to think that being culturally sensitive is somehow a quality that the future president of the United States should NOT possess. America has become such a bigoted, narrow-minded, insular, uneducated society with a significant percentage of the population unable to even point to the US on a map. Hillary is pathetic. However, sadly enough, her campaign manger is beginning to understand the psychographic profile of the average American idiot.- Your fellow American -AND- patriot.

11. Lots of comments on Obama’s experience/first time running something, ya da ya da ya da. Nixon, Bush sr, Bush jr all had experience. You might equate Hil’s experience with being a VP like Bush Sr and Nixon. Experience is great when you want to continue business as usual type growth, but might be a hindrance to the kind of change needed in America.As for the CEO points, Apple’s a pretty great company, they had a first time CEO, tried to go the more experienced route and wound up asking the first time CEO to rescue them, did a pretty good job if you ask me.

    1. Steve Jobs was/is a pioneer and visionary. How can you equate what he’s accomplished to the Illinois State Senator? You’re joking, eh? Steve Jobs is one of the great business people in the history of the world. Pathetic.

       1. Yet John Sculley was a lot more “qualified” and “experienced”…Sometimes talent is more important than other qualifications.

          1. Right, like for actors and actresses, singers, golfers, baseball players, jugglers, and, um, er, presidents?

12. Perception is reality. I spoke to some friends in South America yesterday. During our conversation they brought up the battle of Obama and Hillary. What I found interesting was their observation of the mudslinging. Frankly, they believe that American politics is very civilized compared to South American politics. Of the three guys I talked to one thought that Obama would be best. His conclusion was that due to the lack of experience he would be in the best position because he has not been brainwashed with the ill fated political game that takes over ones person (plus he could just surround himself with the brightest people). Another person thought Hillary would be best because of her “affiliation” with Bill. Sounds a bit shallow but in Latin America Bill Clinton is still very well liked and respected. But, they point here was that American foreign policy really needs to be addressed and Hillary by defacto has the best foreign ambassador on her staff. The third person really liked both people and was torn in trying to make a decision. But, in the end said no matter who comes out of the Democratic party its going to be better than what you “Yankees” have had over the past several years.

13. The attacks on Obama’s religion are going to get much worse now that he’s the nominee.The muslim upbringing, his church and his relationship with Louis Farrakhan. It’s not going to be pretty.I’m surprised it took the Clintons so long to bring this one out.

14. please, this is southpaw pansy hour… just wait until the gop propaganda war pigs get a hold of this guy in aug/sept… then we see if obama has the steel balls required to be presdnt….

15. Yeah, but we expect that kind of crap from the right. I posted about it here: http://www.charliecrystle.com, and yeah, I’m pretty pissed at Hillary’s attacks in general. She’s at the “do something, anything” stage. Yes, Hillary, do anything.

16. Agreed, better now then later! Obama’s more resilient than a lot of people think. I am a conservation, but have very real reservations about crossing party lines this election. Maybe I am getting old, but its getting to be less about Reds or Blues. This a time that this country has to come together and formulate rational and logical responses to issues on defense, healthcare, social security, etc. A new way to approach it is needed and is refreshing.

17. I don’t know what’s scarier: Obama in Somali outfit celebrating the Black Hawk Down anniversary, or Obama being sworn in on Inauguration Day with Minister Farrakhan seated in Obama’s guest row

    1. You spreading hate on my blog

       1. Obama Denounces Farrakhan Endorsementhttp://blogs.wsj.com/washwi…

       2. ‘… won’t be worse than the idiot who has been running our country …’THAT’s ‘hate’

          1. I don’t think so. GWB has less than 30pcnt approval ratings. He’s a pariah in his own party.Fred

18. Here at the Jackson ’08 campaign headquarters we’re quite sure photos of me pulling bong hits will surface. I feel it could only help me.

19. Fred, I agree, it’s a good thing, and it’s a good test. No, not for him, though… for the American people… Will they pay attention to substance or to slime? We’ll see, but the early signs are encouraging. I like what Michelle said, people are paying attention and they want to get to the bottom of it. There is nothing he can do about things like this, it’s only a test for teh voters…

20. This isnt much different than the McCain Times stuff. Unfortunately it’s just part of the game, and it will get worse. I agree hopefully it will just get out of the way now and over with. I think, but I’m assuming that most people see right through this stuff. However I am sure it has to have an impact. It is sad and pathetic to have this stuff really…embarassingLet’s talk about the real issues, Not his lack of experience, but it his mind numbing rhetoric of saying nothing at all. Or the fact he proposes the biggest tax increase and largest government we have ever known. Those are the issues, not this right wing attack propoganda. Then again I keep forgetting this is a popularity contest – another American Idol show. First in show!Thanks,Simon Cowell

21. Hi Rob … I like your blog, and your track record in VC biz, but Obama (the anointed one) …c’mon.I am sorry, but he is a lightweight and should he be the Dem nominee expect major buyer’s remorse by the fall as his lack of accomplishment, and skeletons (drugs, rezko, others) come out, as they should. So far he has gotten pretty much of a free pass, the SNL skit wasn’t too far out.BTW I hate Hillary and am not particularly enamored w/ McCain. Obama seems likeable enough, but I would be frightened to have him as Prez.

22. And for the legions of Bush hater’s (I am not one), being “better than Bush” or “anyone but Bush” is hardly a qualification.I am amazed how people have bought into 7+ years of Bush bashing; it is disgraceful; but typical for New Yorkers that live in that bubble where contrary opinions aren’t heard or well received.When I hear people commenting how sad and pathetic it is about the disrespect the President has gotten from the leaders of the other side, then perhaps there compaints about cheap shots in a campaign, because the BushHitler crowd has given plenty of shots that are far more odious than cheap shots.

    1. Fred, I know this is your blog, and I am trying not to antagonize, but I am so sick and tired of Bush hatred in general, and yes in my view it is hate that is not rational (its ok to dislike the guy and its ok to disagree w/ him politically) , so I have to ask:Are you saying if Bush’s approval rating improved, to say over 50%, he would no longer be an idiot ?And when he received 62 million votes for President, he wasn’t an idiot then ?

       1. We can disagree on Bush. That’s fine.It’s my opinion that he’s been the worst President in a very long time. Hehas presided over a very meaningful movement toward economic inequality inour country. Surely that has been the result of many things. But his tax andfiscal policies have made it worse. And his decision to take the US into awar in the middle east, essentially all by ourselves, has been a disaster.His response to 9/11 was ineffective and has made the terrorism problemworse. He’s created a supreme court that does not match the views ofmainstream america. He’s antagonized our allies and enemies all over theworld.These are my opinions. You have yours. That’s fine.Fred

          1. Yes, we each have our opinions and it is fine.I do obviously disagree w/ pretty much most of your points and I find these discussions never really change any minds.I will beg your indulgence over one more question … re: the Supreme’s.Bush has appointed 2 justices. Alito and Roberts. Both excellent jurists. That amounts to “creating a supreme court that does not match the views of mainstream america”. ?I am unaware of any requirement that any justices views must “represent the views of mainstream america”. The president has the perogative to appoint qualified justices that will interpret the law and the constitution, and I don’t see how anyone can argue that Alito and Roberts don’t meet that standard (by a country mile).Second, I would argue that mainstream america is favorably disposed towards Alito and Roberts, and probably more so than say a R B Ginsburg.So other than you would seemingly prefer more liberal oriented justices than conservative oriented justices, what was so terrible ? Bush appointed 2 excellent justices, confirmed by the Senate, and that is his perogative as president. Beyond that he has zero influence on those justices or the courts; he didn’t create anything.And as far as antagonizing our allies all over the world, I am not buying it. Nor the enemies part either, but tha’s a whole other discussion.Anyway, we probably won’t change any minds here, and that is fine.I just have a thing about the types of personal venom tossed at Bush because of differences over policy.

             1. It’s his in your face politics that make people hate himHe’s so smugBeing smug and incompetent at the same time is hate inducingfred

23. I lifted this from an autism-sufferers chat-site:Requirements of a good Democrat:1. You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand.2. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding Americans are more of a threat than U.S. Nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Chinese and North Korean communists.4. You have to believe that there was no art before Federal funding.5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by cyclical documented changes in the earth’s climate and more affected by soccer moms driving SUV’s.6. You have to believe that gender roles are artificial but being homosexual is natural.7. You ha ve to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding.8. You have to believe that the same teacher who can’t teach fourth graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.9. You have to believe that hunters don’t care about nature, but loony activists who have never been outside of San Francisco do.10. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.11. You have to believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make “The Passion of the Christ” for financial gain only.12. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.13. You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high.14. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important t o American history than Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, and A.G. Bell.15. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides are not.16. You have to believe that Hillary Clinton is normal and is a very nice person.17. You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn’t worked anywhere it’s been tried is because the right people haven’t been in charge.18. You have to believe conservatives telling the truth belong in jail, but a liar and a sex offender belonged in the White House.19. You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying drag, transvestites, and bestiality should be constitutionally protected, and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.20. You have to believe that illegal Democrat Party funding by the Chinese Government is somehow in the best interest to the United States.21. You have to believe that this message is a part of a vast, right wing conspiracy.22. You have to believe that it’s okay to give Federal workers the day off on Christmas Day but it’s not okay to say “Merry Christmas._________________

    1. I guess I am a bad democrat thenBut I am still a democrat

    2. funny ….

24. Fred — thought you’d like this.You’re gonna miss him when he’s gonehttp://www.time.com/time/wo…

    1. i reblogged that first paragraph on fredwilson.vc.for some good africa/bob geldof humor, check this outhttp://youtube.com/watch?v=…