Obama and the Politics of Crowds

I was emailed a link to this rather interesting article describing the psychology of crowds and it applicability to the Obama campaign. An interesting comparison. They hear a promise of ‘hope & change’ and then project that onto the blank slate that is Obama.
Its going to be one hell of a ‘morning after’ for a lot of people.

[quote]Obama and the Politics of Crowds
The masses greeting the candidate on the trail are a sign of great unease.
By FOUAD AJAMI

There is something odd – and dare I say novel – in American politics about the crowds that have been greeting Barack Obama on his campaign trail. Hitherto, crowds have not been a prominent feature of American politics. We associate them with the temper of Third World societies. We think of places like Argentina and Egypt and Iran, of multitudes brought together by their zeal for a Peron or a Nasser or a Khomeini. In these kinds of societies, the crowd comes forth to affirm its faith in a redeemer: a man who would set the world right.

As the late Nobel laureate Elias Canetti observes in his great book, “Crowds and Power” (first published in 1960), the crowd is based on an illusion of equality: Its quest is for that moment when “distinctions are thrown off and all become equal. It is for the sake of this blessed moment, when no one is greater or better than another, that people become a crowd.” These crowds, in the tens of thousands, who have been turning out for the Democratic standard-bearer in St. Louis and Denver and Portland, are a measure of American distress.

On the face of it, there is nothing overwhelmingly stirring about Sen. Obama. There is a cerebral quality to him, and an air of detachment. He has eloquence, but within bounds. After nearly two years on the trail, the audience can pretty much anticipate and recite his lines. The political genius of the man is that he is a blank slate. The devotees can project onto him what they wish. The coalition that has propelled his quest – African-Americans and affluent white liberals – has no economic coherence. But for the moment, there is the illusion of a common undertaking – Canetti’s feeling of equality within the crowd. The day after, the crowd will of course discover its own fissures. The affluent will have to pay for the programs promised the poor. The redistribution agenda that runs through Mr. Obama’s vision is anathema to the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and the hedge-fund managers now smitten with him. Their ethos is one of competition and the justice of the rewards that come with risk and effort. All this is shelved, as the devotees sustain the candidacy of a man whose public career has been a steady advocacy of reining in the market and organizing those who believe in entitlement and redistribution."…b[/b]
Mr. Ajami is professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, and an adjunct research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.[/quote]

Does this say more about the candidate, or the American people?

So what words drove the GOP-believing lemmings over the cliff with lil’ pussy’s shit show? ‘War and financial ruin’?

‘Hope & change’ sound far more preferrable.

HG

[quote=“TainanCowboy”]I was emailed a link to this rather interesting article describing the psychology of crowds and it applicability to the Obama campaign. An interesting comparison. They hear a promise of ‘hope & change’ and then project that onto the blank slate that is Obama.
Its going to be one hell of a ‘morning after’ for a lot of people.

[quote]Obama and the Politics of Crowds
The masses greeting the candidate on the trail are a sign of great unease.
By FOUAD AJAMI

There is something odd – and dare I say novel – in American politics about the crowds that have been greeting Barack Obama on his campaign trail. Hitherto, crowds have not been a prominent feature of American politics. We associate them with the temper of Third World societies. We think of places like Argentina and Egypt and Iran, of multitudes brought together by their zeal for a Peron or a Nasser or a Khomeini. In these kinds of societies, the crowd comes forth to affirm its faith in a redeemer: a man who would set the world right.
[/quote][/quote]

Hmmm. What was that second sentence again of that “interesting” article? “Hitherto, crowds have not been a prominent feature of American politics.” Hmmm. Teh Google begs to differ. The article is a farce on its face and is easily refuted back nearly to genesis of the United States. Trust everything you read without verification TC? Or just those things that make your sophistry easier to peddle?


Truman Campaign


Eisenhower Campaign


Kennedy Campaign


Lyndon Baines Johnson Campain (props to my home boy)


Nixon Campaign


Carter Campaign


Reagan Campaign


Clinton Campaign


Bush Campaign

This reminds me of nothing so much as the free associations of the left in the 80s regarding sex, religion, society, food, you name it. Choose an issue you dislike, say men, add in a dash of French theory, and voila, you can make your personal and idosyncratic impressions abound with universalities.

It’s so nice to see Repubs trying their hand at it now, though one must feel a little pity for those still on the cutting edge of 30 years ago

Yeah, and at McCain rallies you see crowds of supporters cheering for McCain.

Yawn… nothing new under the sun.

[quote=“Chris”]Yeah, and at McCain rallies you see crowds of supporters cheering for McCain.

Yawn… nothing new under the sun.[/quote]

Actually, they’re cheering that they got let out of Grade 11 math class.

Well Tues night in da Loop(downtown Chicago) should be an interesting crowd. I’ll do updates about what is being said.

Here’s to hoping that news reports come in very very late…

McCain’s crowds are ready for the election

[quote]Hey –

If you make a donation at this crucial moment, you could join Barack backstage at the Election Night event in Chicago.

They’re saving 5 of the best seats for supporters who make a donation before Sunday night.

If you’re selected, you can bring a guest, and they’ll fly you in and put you up in a hotel for the night.

Make a donation now to go backstage with Barack:

donate.barackobama.com/front-row

Thanks![/quote]

Rant on/

Not only did I get a generated robo message from the Obama camp for this but I also got this from a cousin. WTF??? There are 3 days left for the campaign and he wants a donation just so I can basically sniff the same air as him in the same area??? :fume: Funny thing is I bet the camp is tallying up all these donations so that they can be put into a lottery (wonder what that starts at? People who donated $500 or more? Cause five dollars doesn’t even get me a good happy meal now. ) and names will be drawn. I swear this man’s greed is more than I can handle…

Rant off.

[quote=“Namahottie”]… I swear this man’s greed is more than I can handle…

Rant off.[/quote]

I don’t know if it’s greed or just political theatre. And just like not everyone likes Rent, not everyone will like this. But he’s not CSB you know; the money doesn’t go into Michelle’s Swiss bank accounts.

[quote=“Namahottie”][quote]Hey –

If you make a donation at this crucial moment, you could join Barack backstage at the Election Night event in Chicago.

They’re saving 5 of the best seats for supporters who make a donation before Sunday night.

If you’re selected, you can bring a guest, and they’ll fly you in and put you up in a hotel for the night.

Make a donation now to go backstage with Barack:

donate.barackobama.com/front-row

Thanks![/quote]

Rant on/

Not only did I get a generated robo message from the Obama camp for this but I also got this from a cousin. WTF??? There are 3 days left for the campaign and he wants a donation just so I can basically sniff the same air as him in the same area??? :fume: Funny thing is I bet the camp is tallying up all these donations so that they can be put into a lottery (wonder what that starts at? People who donated $500 or more? Cause five dollars doesn’t even get me a good happy meal now. ) and names will be drawn. I swear this man’s greed is more than I can handle…

Rant off.[/quote]

Hey, it’s just fundraising. All politicians do it. Democrat or Republican or Independent.

Obama may be less than perfect, but consider the alternative: four more years of Republican incompetence and the continued destruction of American freedom and progress.

[quote=“Chris”][quote=“Namahottie”][quote]Hey –

If you make a donation at this crucial moment, you could join Barack backstage at the Election Night event in Chicago.

They’re saving 5 of the best seats for supporters who make a donation before Sunday night.

If you’re selected, you can bring a guest, and they’ll fly you in and put you up in a hotel for the night.

Make a donation now to go backstage with Barack:

donate.barackobama.com/front-row

Thanks![/quote]

Rant on/

Not only did I get a generated robo message from the Obama camp for this but I also got this from a cousin. WTF??? There are 3 days left for the campaign and he wants a donation just so I can basically sniff the same air as him in the same area??? :fume: Funny thing is I bet the camp is tallying up all these donations so that they can be put into a lottery (wonder what that starts at? People who donated $500 or more? Cause five dollars doesn’t even get me a good happy meal now. ) and names will be drawn. I swear this man’s greed is more than I can handle…

Rant off.[/quote]

Hey, it’s just fundraising. All politicians do it. Democrat or Republican or Independent.[/quote]
Hopefully he won’t be like Bush where the highest donor gets to be head of FEMA.

[quote=“Namahottie”][quote]Hey –

If you make a donation at this crucial moment, you could join Barack backstage at the Election Night event in Chicago.

They’re saving 5 of the best seats for supporters who make a donation before Sunday night.

If you’re selected, you can bring a guest, and they’ll fly you in and put you up in a hotel for the night.

Make a donation now to go backstage with Barack:

donate.barackobama.com/front-row

Thanks![/quote]

Rant on/

Not only did I get a generated robo message from the Obama camp for this but I also got this from a cousin. WTF??? There are 3 days left for the campaign and he wants a donation just so I can basically sniff the same air as him in the same area??? :fume: Funny thing is I bet the camp is tallying up all these donations so that they can be put into a lottery (wonder what that starts at? People who donated $500 or more? Cause five dollars doesn’t even get me a good happy meal now. ) and names will be drawn. I swear this man’s greed is more than I can handle…

Rant off.[/quote]

You would think he would take better care of his extended family. Shame. Shame. :laughing:

If the election continues in the direction it is heading in right now, the next few years should be amusing. Bereft of policy criticisms that resonate and frustrated at the impotence of normally effective ad hominem assaults, the loony right falls back this? Rich.

I suppose my adopted friend in Chicago should be sharing her higher income with her family (who she hasn’t actually had contact with) from S. Korea? I’ll let her know that genetic distance is the appropriate criteria to base connections on. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled.

Interesting how the Obamabots divert from the article by going into silly “crowd” comments.
But its the lack of attention span and shoddy. or non-existent, analytical abilities that the 0 counts on…:smiley:

Selectively pulling one sentence and basing your response on that is indicative of having no substantial argument.
Sophomoric at best.

And if Obama lavished money on them, the right-wingers would be criticizing Obama for throwing money at the poor and fostering dependence… Republicans are such sleazeballs.

It doesn’t surprise me that Republicans are aiming their venom at Obama’s elderly aunt. How despicable can you get?

[quote]Interesting how the Obamabots divert from the article by going into silly “crowd” comments.
But its the lack of attention span and shoddy. or non-existent, analytical abilities that the 0 counts on…[/quote]

Would it be fair to summarise your post as “oh read it, you must READ it!” Sorry, but given Chewy’s track record of posting vast chunks of unrelated dribble, I just flick straight past anything with his name on it these days.

Was it about the phantom Canadian Nazi PM on a motorcycle? I love that story, I only wish he could confirm it.

But I apologise, I’m sure I must be getting in the way of the vast treatise you’re about to treat us all with on why it makes sense to vote for a party that has failed so dismally in office in the past eight years, leaving a toxic legacy of debt and financial ruin, in addition to a protracted and unnecessary slow haemorrhaging war.

Over to you.

HG

So now, pointing out facts is called “aiming their venom at Obamas elderly aunt.”

Laughable in its ridiculousness.

p.s. - she’s also an illegal…but now shes a VIP in the media, read Obamabots, eyed…:smiley:

So now, pointing out facts is called “aiming their venom at Obamas elderly aunt.”

Laughable in its ridiculousness.

p.s. - she’s also an illegal…but now shes a VIP in the media, read Obamabots, eyed…:smiley:[/quote]

That’s the point. She’s an illegal alien, and right-wingers hate illegal aliens because of their (the right-wingers) xenophobia.