Nation-Building

President Obama is now a Laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize. There's enough in that statement alone to drive rightwing conservatives insane. And insane they certainly are, as others are ably and gleefully documenting . The general gist of the response by the Right is twofold, and predictably schizophrenic: 1. Obama has not accomplished enough in office to deserve the NPP, and 2. the NPP only awarded it to Obama because he is a. not-Bush and b. he is African-American . In essence, this means that they are arguing that the Nobel Peace Prize is both a farce and sacred at the same time. Of course, conservatives' enmity for the Peace prize is longstanding, given that it was awarded to Yasser Arafat, Jimmy Carter, and Al Gore, even as they pine for it's omission to George W. Bush. While the conservatives' newfound concern for the integrity of the NPP is certainly touching, the same critique coming from the Left carries more weight. But to address this, you have to consider the...

Yesterday's nationwide Tea Bagger tax protests seem to have been reasonably successful, with total turnout probably at least a couple of hundred thousand people. Despite dogma by the conservative blogsphere that the media was ignoring them, it seems that coverage was everywhere - including on NPR , which even interviewed Glenn Reynolds . One of the more fairly written articles about these protests was at The Daily Beast, which pointed out that there was also a substantial Obama Derangement Syndrome (ODS) mentality running through them: But when I saw the giant placard which read “Hussein = Commie,” the time had come for some counseling. The guy holding the sign looked like he could have come over on the subway from Williamsburg, wearing a hoodie, sunglasses, and an iPod. I asked him if the sign was serious. Oh, yes. “Every-time he opens his mouth he spouts textbook Marxism, Communism, Socialism,” said the man who initially gave his name as “Barry Soetoro”—Obama’s name when he ...

One of the strategies of the conservative right has been to try and politicize the military. The confuse their own military fetish and partisan self-interest with genuine patriotism and the public good (because in their view, they hold a monopoly on both). In so doing, they disrespect the very troops they allegedly revere. For example, the Bush Administration paid great lip-service to veterans on the field but left them hanging out to dry when they got home . Now, the right is taking their insult to the military to new levels, by promoting this video which allegedly shows that the military does not respect Obama the way they did Bush: At Redstate.com, the bloggers crow that this is the "Semper Fi Zone" which is about as gross an insult to the professional ethics of the Marine Corps as you can imagine. In the fevered imaginings of the conservative right, a military that shows a preference for one political party over another is actually a desirable thing, instead of the ...

More Obama Derangement Syndrome, this time from Leon at RedState, who labels Obama as "corrupt" and "morally deparaved": as we will remember in two short days, all is not morally well in America. Barack Obama is sure to have a lengthy honeymoon with many people, who will be willing to overlook his essential moral emptiness for as long as it appears that he is doing a competent job of running his Administration. As for me, it is my hope for America that Obama’s moral emptiness will be exposed through his actions for all to see, and in such a way that we will not continue to allow ourselves to sweep it under the rug. I anticipate that after Obama's (second) term as president ends, these will be the same voices calling for him to be impeached.

Obama Derangement Syndrome is here to stay. This lunatic says that Obama is "evil" and prays for the President to fail: I do not hesitate today in calling on godly Americans to pray that Barack Hussein Obama fail in his efforts to change our country from one anchored on self-governance and constitutional republicanism to one based on the raw and unlimited power of the central state. It would be folly to pray for his success in such an evil campaign. I want Obama to fail because his agenda is 100 percent at odds with God's. Pretending it is not simply makes a mockery of God's straightforward Commandments. ... Nowhere in the Bible does it teach us to obey evil rulers. Nowhere. This is a time for principled biblical resistance, not phony Christian appeasement. To summarize, Obama wants "unlimited central government" and he is evil because this conflicts with the Commandments (I must have missed the one where it says, Thou Shalt Not Vote Democrat). This is rath...

Steven Waldman looks at World Net Daily today and lists the top headlines: Now terrorists swoon over Biden (Yes, Biden!) Obama funded foreign thug who promised Islamic state Agreement with Muslims pledged to protect terrorists, throttle Christians, impose Shariah How Obama friend tried to give nation to Muslim minority Read 3-page agreement that promised to Islamize Kenya, protect terrorists Gadhafi: Obama a Muslim, studied in Islamic schools Says Arab world campaign contributions 'may enable him to win U.S. presidency' Test shows Ayers penned Obama's 'Dreams' Exclusive: Jack Cashill offers more proof radical wrote memoir News agency seeks outlet for Michelle Obama tapes Promises to show campaign is covering up her rant calling Corsi 'evil'

The muslim smear continues in visual form. Note the convergence of racial and religious stereotype. Obama Waffles : The ODS billboard : and of course, from my previous post :

Given the remarkable assertion that the Left is insane, offensive, and totally without moral restraint, whereas the Right is beyond compare as scions of civil discourse, and any evidence to the contrary of either is utterly non-representative, let me offer some counter-examples culled from sources that I believe we can indeed reach consensus on as representing the "mainstream" right. Obama had a gay love affair (front page post by RedState.com Editor) Obama's memoir was written by William Ayers ( recommended diary at Redstate.com, post at The Corner @ National Review) Obama's got something to hide regarding his birth certificate (user diary at RedState.com, promoted to front page by Editors) Obama's got "ties" to Osama bin Laden - Virginia GOP Chairman Rick Frederick Obama guilt by association with Marxists , Communists and Terrorists , Islamic Radicals . Obama was a drug dealer (Dan Riehl) Obama desecrated the memory of the victims of 9-11 becau...