SaysWho? Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 Obama memoir confronts role his presidency played in Republican obstructionism and Trump's rise WWW.CNN.COM Barack Obama directly confronts the racist politics of President Donald Trump in the first volume of his post-presidency memoir, bluntly suggesting how he believes his historic election in 2008 opened a wave of bitter and divisive turmoil that fueled Republicans' obstructionism and ultimately changed the party, according to a copy of the book obtained by CNN. On racism and why he picked Biden: Quote When describing his decision to criticize the arrest of Henry Louis Gates in 2009, Obama recalls how then White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs asked if he would consider clarifying his statement. Obama writes that he told his top aide it will "blow over," but he was wrong, learning later from his polling director that the incident caused a huge drop in support among white voters that he never recovered. "The reaction to my comments on Gates surprised us all," Obama writes. "It was my first indicator of how the issue of Black folks and the police was more polarizing than just about any other subject in American life." Quote "One of the reasons I'd chosen Joe to act as an intermediary -- in addition to his Senate experience and legislative acumen -- was my awareness that in McConnell's mind, negotiations with the vice president didn't inflame the Republican base in quite the same way that any appearance of cooperation with (Black, Muslim socialist) Obama was bound to do," On Trump and Republicans: Quote "It was as if my very presence in the White House had triggered a deep-seated panic, a sense that the natural order had been disrupted," Obama writes. "Which is exactly what Donald Trump understood when he started peddling assertions that I had not been born in the United States and was thus an illegitimate president. For millions of Americans spooked by a Black man in the White House, he promised an elixir for their racial anxiety." Quote "In that sense, there wasn't much difference between Trump and Boehner or McConnell. They, too, understood that it didn't matter whether what they said was true," he writes, adding: "In fact, the only difference between Trump's style of politics and theirs was Trump's lack of inhibition." On Palin: Quote "Through Palin, it seemed as if the dark spirits that had long been lurking on the edges of the modern Republican Party -- xenophobia, anti intellectualism, paranoid conspiracy theories, an antipathy toward Black and brown folks -- were finding their way to center stage," Obama writes Quote Obama writes that he "wonder(s) sometimes" about whether 2008 Republican nominee John McCain would still have picked Palin if he had known "her spectacular rise and her validation as a candidate would provide a template for future politicians, shifting his party's center and the country's politics overall in a direction he abhorred." "I'd like to think that given the chance to do it over again, he might have chosen differently," Obama writes. "I believe he really did put his country first." On the 2010 midterms: Quote "As far as I was concerned, the election didn't prove our agenda had been wrong," Obama writes of 2010. "It just proved that... I'd failed to rally the nation, as FDR had once done, behind what I knew to be right. Which to me was just as damning." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_m_b_m_b_m Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 700+ pages for volume 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skillzdadirecta Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 Sounds like even HE underestimated how real racism is in this country. It's shocking for folks who are in certain circles especially people who have a fairly diverse, educated circle of friends. That shit is REAL though. Republican obstructionism started waaaay before him though. Newt Gingrich started that shit with the Clintons in the 90's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osxmatt Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 Quote "It was as if my very presence in the White House had triggered a deep-seated panic, a sense that the natural order had been disrupted," Obama writes. "Which is exactly what Donald Trump understood when he started peddling assertions that I had not been born in the United States and was thus an illegitimate president. For millions of Americans spooked by a Black man in the White House, he promised an elixir for their racial anxiety." This is absolutely spot on. In fact, I think there's been analysis of presidential speeches going back to the 1930s, and they found Obama spoke about the topic of race less than any president in that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_MH Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 1 hour ago, skillzdadirecta said: Sounds like even HE underestimated how real racism is in this country. It's shocking for folks who are in certain circles especially people who have a fairly diverse, educated circle of friends. That shit is REAL though. Republican obstructionism started waaaay before him though. Newt Gingrich started that shit with the Clintons in the 90's. Obama was naive. He thought that maybe all the racist, obstructionist bluster was just that and that behind closed doors things would be different. That's what gets folks to incredibly frustrated about Biden claims that he can work with Republicans. As it goes, at a certain point you just have to start believing people are who they say they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Vic20 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 How many centuries will it take white America? Its not hard, people come in different colors, with different features, its OK for the same reason a box of crayons is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kal-El814 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 Just now, Mr.Vic20 said: How many centuries will it take white America? Is not hard, people come in different colors, with different features, its OK for the same reason a box of crayons is! Because you can buy them and they’re you’re property? Raaaaaaaaacist. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chairslinger Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 Obama in his first term: Good morning, America. And ain't it a lovely morning.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Vic20 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 2 minutes ago, Kal-El814 said: Because you can buy them and they’re you’re property? Raaaaaaaaacist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CastlevaniaNut18 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 1 hour ago, b_m_b_m_b_m said: 700+ pages for volume 1. Have you ever read a presidential memoir or biography? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_m_b_m_b_m Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 1 minute ago, CastlevaniaNut18 said: Have you ever read a presidential memoir or biography? Not a presidential one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CastlevaniaNut18 Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 2 minutes ago, b_m_b_m_b_m said: Not a presidential one Yeah, they're all really long. I love 'em. Can't wait to read this one. I've been wanting to read a presidential bio lately, but I've been holding off for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CitizenVectron Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 45 minutes ago, Mr.Vic20 said: How many centuries will it take white America? Its not hard, people come in different colors, with different features, its OK for the same reason a box of crayons is! Based on the history of the human race...never. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewhyteboar Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 1 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodyHell Posted November 13, 2020 Share Posted November 13, 2020 14 hours ago, thewhyteboar said: Totally got lost for a moment thinking Greg Miller of Kinda Funny was actually reading a book 🤣 19 hours ago, CastlevaniaNut18 said: Have you ever read a presidential memoir or biography? yeah. Nixons might be the single longest book I’ve ever read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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