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Obama defines today’s GOP: ‘These guys take pride in being ignorant’

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For nearly a week now, Republicans, including John McCain, his surrogates, and his aides, have been mocking the notion that routine auto maintenance can contribute to fuel efficiency. Yesterday, at an event in Ohio, Barack Obama mocked them back.

For those who can’t watch clips online (and in the unlikely event you haven’t seen the clip elsewhere), Obama told the Ohio audience, “[L]et me make a point about efficiency. Because my republican opponents they don’t like to talk about efficiency.

“You know, the other day I was in a town-hall meeting and I laid out my plans for investing $15 billion a year in energy efficient cars, and a new electricity grid and all this/ Somebody said, ‘Well, what can I do, what can individuals do?’ So I told them something simple, I said, ‘You know what, you could inflate your tires to the proper levels, and that if everybody in America inflated their tires to the proper levels, we would actually probably save more oil than all the oil that we get from John McCain from right below his feet there, whatever it is that he was going to, wherever he was going to drill.

“So now the Republicans are going around — this is the kind of things they do, I don’t understand it — they’re going around, sending like little tire gauges, making fun of this idea as if this is Barack Obama’s energy plan.

“Now two points. One, they know they are lying about what my energy plan is. But the other this they are making fun of a step that every expert says would absolutely reduce our oil consumption by 3 to 4%. It’s like these guys take pride in being ignorant.

“You know, they think it is funny that they are making fun of something that is actually true. They need to do their home work, because this is serious business. Instead of running ads about Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, they should go talk to some energy experts and actually make a difference.”

There are competing schools of thought here, but I found this pitch-perfect. I’ve long believed Obama is at his best, and most compelling, when he’s on the stump, without notes, simply highlighting the silliness of the attacks against him. It makes his detractors appear even smaller, while setting the record straight.

Yes, his choice of words — most notably “lying” and “ignorant” — are provocative. That’s precisely the point.

Indeed, I think that’s what makes remarks like these so effective — Obama threads the rhetorical needle, skewering his rivals with aggressive language, but doing so in a lighter, almost comedic, tone.

Ezra’s take on the remarks was spot-on:

Obama is never better than when he’s backed against the wall on an issue where he believes he’s right. This was true of negotiating with dictators. It was true on the gas tax holiday. And it’s proving true on tire gauges. If I were on the Obama campaign, the themes laid out in this video wouldn’t simply be my rejoinder to the GOP’s tire gauge bullshit. They’d be my message for the next few months. Not only is there a cutting attack in here, but there’s also a reply to McCain’s charges that Obama lacks substance. After all, if McCain has so much substance, how come he doesn’t actually know anything?

What better way to highlight John McCain’s ignorance than to accurately describe the problem with contemporary Republican anti-intellectualism: “It’s like these guys take pride in being ignorant.”

Indeed, I’d add that the other important part of this is Obama insisting, “This is serious business.” McCain has ceded the grown-up ground, acting like a petulant child (whining, lying, playing with toys, easily distracted by nonsense), so Obama is stepping in, positioning himself as the adult in the race.

“They need to do their home work” — in other words, we’re dealing with conservative children who clearly aren’t prepared to govern.

More like this, please.

Comments

  • Simon

    says:

    Awesome.Awesome.Awesome. Republicans are ignorant. And they are liars. And Obama needs to call them on it every time. Notice how Obama can go on the attack without sounding angry? I bet McCain wishes he could do that…

  • Simon

    says:

    Ha Ha. Now, even McCain has admitted that Obama was right:
    http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/2008/08/05/mccain-takes-air-out-of-tire-pressure-debate/

    ——-The surprise came during a telephone town hall meeting McCain held on Tuesday with voters in Pennsylvania.

    “Obama said a couple of days ago says we all should inflate our tires. I don’t disagree with that. The American Automobile Association strongly recommends it,” McCain said.

    But he kept up his broad criticism of Obama on energy: “I … don’t think that that (inflating tires) is a way to become energy independent.”—–

  • Charliet

    says:

    Just got out of chemo and I’m starting to fade fast so if this makes less sense that I intend, I apologize.
    Hammer that celebrating ignorance theme home. All the way home. Yell it from the rooftops. “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore”. You Republican fools no longer can play this game with impugnity and a price will be paid from here on out. Every lying 527 ad will be challenged online, in print and in the courts if possible. When McSame says something outrageously stupid and it’s regurgitated by MSM I will immediately email them and take them to task. If every other commenter here makes that same pledge and follows through the least that can come of it is diminished bandwidth for these morons. Thank you Obama for that spot on rejoinder. Game on!

  • Rielle Lovechild

    says:

    I can’t see the clip, but if he threw in “the same old and tired politics that we’ve suffered through the last eight years. I guess John McCain doesn’t “do” nuance either.” – then, perfect. At any rate, darn near perfection in tone and substance of response.

  • C.S.Strowbridge

    says:

    “Yes, his choice of words — most notably “lying” and “ignorant” — are provocative. That’s precisely the point.”

    I love it. The Republicans are liars and they are proud to be ignorant. And I love that Obama said that.

  • MW

    says:

    Two comments, one directly relevant to this thread, one tangential.

    I went to the report Simon @3 provided. Reading the entire post, the “reporter” (and I use that term reluctantly) goes the typical route of presenting the whole matter as a he said/he said back and forth. Then he ends the report as Simon shows above, by giving the last word to McCain with the implication that Obama’s whole energy plan consists of inflating tires. As always, the media is in the tank for McCain.

    My second comment is in regards to the Britney Spears/Paris Hilton ad. The McCain people have been contending that their choice of two blond, white women known for sexy images was purely coincidental. That they chose these two “celebrities” because they were famous for being famous without having done anything to earn their celebrity status. In a column about the ads, Howard Kurtz of the WaPo referred to them as two “socialites”. That all may be true of Paris Hilton, but it is clearly false in reference to Britney Spears. Spears is certainly no socialite, heiress. Spears may be a major joke nowadays and you may think she has no talent (personally, I do not think she has any talent), but, no matter what you think of her talent she has had a career in the entertainment industry that goes back about 15 or 16 years now. By all the normal measures, when she was at the top of her career, she was a hugely successful pop entertainer who made millions upon millions of dollars through her work. So how, exactly does picking this highly successful pop entertainer fit the McCain argument that they only picked her because she is famous for being famous?

  • jhm

    says:

    Of course this is just more proof that Hon. Sen. Obama is an élitist (that and the fact that he didn’t offer up his wife for mud wrestling or whatever).

  • angry young man

    says:

    of course the republicans take pride in their ignorance. why else would they twice elect an indifferent C student who made it through college and grad school on his name, then nominate a guy who is proud to have finished fifth from the bottom of his college class?

  • Georgette Orwell

    says:

    Wherever you are, I’m sure you heard me shriek “YES!” when Obama *finally* used the L word–lying. I agree that the humorous manner in which he presented blunt comments is spot on. Let’s hope we have more of this.

  • clar-z

    says:

    “More like this please” indeed! Also, Jack Cafferty hit McCain hard last evening on Wolfie”s show. I swear he has been reading this blog. Does my heart good.

  • slappy magoo

    says:

    Might just be me, but here’s what I see as a problem…and a solution.

    A problem, obviously, is that the GOP in general, and the McCain campaign in particular, spread so many rumors, smears and flat-out lies about Obama, it’d be a full-time-plus job for him to refute and contradict it all. I’m generally pleased when Obama’s able to sum up the ridiculousness of it all in a few choice words, but it doesn’t change the fact that, by the time his rebuttal makes the rounds, SO much damage is done.

    I feel like Obama needs to find a talented & photogenic person he can trust to be the face of a DAILY YouTube/podcast type of post that will take on those attacks & tear them apart. Stuff like the Young Turks & TPMtv are doing, but coming direct from the Obama campaign. Have Obama’s writers & policy wonks shape what the defense du jour is, then have experienced comedy writers in the Daily Show mold shape it into something informative, funny AND a counterattack back to the GOP court. Start advertising that the podcasts will be available every day at a specific time, get the host on every talk show that’ll have him/her to hype the podcast in an entertaining way (like tell Liz “Smeegle” Hasselbeck on the View that before you can disagree with Obama, you have to know what his positions actually are and this podcast allows every voter, every interested American, to know what’s being discussed in the Obama camp and what the facts are). It frees up Obama to not have to costantly play defense while providing hilarious smackdowns of GOP stunts from an official campaign standpoint.

  • True

    says:

    “Lying” and “ignorant”– FINALLY. I add my voice to those asking for more of this. “Taking pride in being ignorant” is a powerful statement– and it’s a nice, short soundbite.

  • Fargunicehole

    says:

    You liberals are amazing. Not only do you not understand the point of the argument, you are so blinded by your mesiah’s message that you can’t seem to grasp reality. The point is, yes routine maintenance will enhance your gas millage, however it will do NOTHING to get us off of the 21 billion barrels of oil we import daily. Getting a 1.5 more miles to the gallon isn’t that impressive. You are also assuming that everyone in the country is driving around with under-inflated tires…morons. And a tune up? A car hasn’t been produced in the last 20 years that has points to be adjusted…. Keep dreaming people, yes you can. And yes Obama is about change..your change as a matter of fact, or lack there of if he gets elected.

  • Racer X

    says:

    What Charliet said. We all need to back up Barack, by sending lots of letters to the MSM idiots. A LOT OF THEM.

    And good luck with your treatment, Charliet.

  • tonyroma

    says:

    The DNC should print out a million bumper stickers and either give them away or sell them on the web:

    TAKE PRIDE IN BEING IGNORANT—VOTE REPUBLICAN

  • Ed

    says:

    I hadn’t seen the clip. Not to be the Cassandra on the string, but…it worries me just a little that McRove might spin this rhetoric right round (baby) and have his grandfather stumping at Nascar events saying, “Barack Hussein Obama called y’all ignint!”

    I live in a wonderful town full of people who think just like me. And I wander the blogosphere reading comments like these from folks just like me. Progressive, inquisitive, liberal and professional. The only problem is, I’m not like the rest of America. And neither are y’all.

    I made the mistake of thinking John Kerry was going to be elected because everyone in my town had Kerry stickers on their cars. Then I went on vacation and noticed that as soon as I left the beltway those stickers disappeared and W’04 stickers were everywhere. The point is, while Obama’s pointed remarks are long overdue, we may be able to enjoy this tack very briefly. It works with us, but Rove and his fucknut henchmen are going to turn this on us. I fear we won’t be pumping our fists for very long over that wonderful speech.

    Hope I’m wrong

  • Racer X

    says:

    “[the Republicans] know they’re lying”

    Powerful stuff.

    And it’s about fucking time that a leading Democrat said it.

    No more pussyfooting around, we’ve got to play hardball, and that, my friends, is how a smart Dem plays hardball. Point out the lie, call it a lie, and beat ’em over the head with it. Let ’em whine about incivility. But don’t call lies “misrepresentations” or any other candy-ass word.

    They’re LIES.

  • chrenson

    says:

    Republicans don’t just think most voters are ignorant. They know it. They count on it. It is the solid oak crossbeam that supports every single plank in their platform.

    How did Bush get elected and re-elected in the first place? Voter ignorance.
    How did we wind up in Iraq at the expense of the real fight in Afghanistan? Voter ignorance.
    How did they suspend the Bill of Rights? Voter ignorance.
    How did they sink hundreds of billions of tax dollars into an adventure in Iraq that will only benefit a few filthy rich corporations? Voter ignorance.
    How did they sell the surge? Voter ignorance.
    The protection of Marriage Act? Voter ignorance.
    Abu Graib? Voter ignorance.
    Terri Schaivo? Voter ignorance.
    Blackwater? Voter ignorance.
    The One Percent Doctrine? Voter ignorance.
    “No Child Left Behind”? Voter ignorance.
    Shopping our way out of 9/11? Voter ignorance.
    Compassionate Conservatism? Voter ignorance.
    Predatory lending? Voter ignorance.
    Killing Kyoto? Voter ignorance.
    Osama Bin Laden? Voter ignorance.
    Obama “The Muslim”? Voter ignorance.
    McCain “The Maverick”? Voter ignorance.
    And now, coastal drilling as an immediate fix for $4.00 gas? Voter ignorance.

    It’s all they need to win. For salesmen and politicians, it’s like printing money.

  • Badass4Peace

    says:

    Barack Obama is a rarity in American politics; he speaks to audiences as if they’re adults. He uses logic and well-reasoned arguments and even long sentences. And by being constrained by facts he is uplifted by them. People respond well to him because when he speaks (most of the time) they feel a part of their brain being used that normally isn’t used when engaging a political figure.

    It needs to be pointed out that when Obama speaks he respects you. When McCain speaks he is manipulating you.

  • Steve

    says:

    It’s like these guys take pride in being ignorant.

    It’s been bred into their species. Being ignorant is a survival trait—just as being dishonest is a survival trait. If we take away their ignorance and dishonesty, they will die out as a species.

    Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm….

  • danimal

    says:

    “It needs to be pointed out that when Obama speaks he respects you. When McCain speaks he is manipulating you.”

    I watched a clip of McCain passionately demanding that we need offshore drilling and we need it now, blah, blah. It dawned on me as he was emotionally working the crowd that he only adopted this new position about 2 or 3 months ago. He was whipping up the crowd as if he bled Texas crude all his life. There is no way he is that emotional about the drilling issue; it was pure manipulation.

    Despite the GOP belief that Obama runs substance-free emotional campaign, I find that the GOP ONLY has substance-free emotions to offer.

  • SteveT

    says:

    “One, they know they are lying about what my energy plan is.”

    See? Was that so hard?

    Obama wasn’t forced to forfeit because he used the “L” word. His poll numbers didn’t drop. The corporate-controlled media didn’t decide to destroy him — of course, none of them actually ran the clip . . . .

    Now, next time get more specific: John McCain was lying. Again.

  • The Caped Composer

    says:

    I like this new tack from Obama . . . and, in response to Ed at #18, the way for Obama to take this a step further is to use a line that I’ve been touting in the blogosphere for months: “You’re too smart.” If he addresses voters as being too smart to fall for McCain’s willful ignorance, that disables the despicable slimeball Rove from claiming that Obama is calling the general public ignorant. And it would make people ashamed to vote for McCain. By making it clear that the ignorance belongs to the McCain campaign– and not to the voting public– Obama would immediately disarm the Rovian tactic you describe.

  • Bernard HP Gilroy

    says:

    it worries me just a little that McRove might spin this rhetoric right round (baby) and have his grandfather stumping at Nascar events saying, “Barack Hussein Obama called y’all ignint!”

    Good point. The right response is to hammer home that the Republicans treat every voter as ignorant. But Senator Obama does need to walk that line — to make sure that voters aren’t insulted. I’m not worried. He’s the only one treating them like adults. If he can get that worked into memespace, the election will be a runaway.

  • JS

    says:

    On CNN, Jack Cafferty, ready to blow a gasket after listening to some conservative talking points, responded by saying ‘If anyone in this country votes in another republican president, the country deserves all the bad things that are going to happen’
    Jack Cafferty seems to be the only sane member of the CNN ‘team’

  • Lance

    says:

    jhm said: “Of course this is just more proof that Hon. Sen. Obama is an élitist (that and the fact that he didn’t offer up his wife for mud wrestling or whatever).’

    That’s because Michelle would wipe the mat with anyone they could throw at her. It would be too embarressing, like letting Negro League baseball players into the Majors.

  • Brooks

    says:

    Hopefully the Obama campaign will extend this argument to other topics, including:

    – The recent Bush administration attempt to classify birth control as abortion

    – The willful deceit/ignorance of those who insist Iraq had something to do with 9/11

    – The Republican patten of suppression and alteration of federally funded scientific research relating to global warming

    – The long running untruth that fetal stem cell research involves creating fertilized eggs for the sole purpose of destroying them (in fact, fertility clinics destroy many thousands of embryos a year as is, and this is where stem cell research focuses)

    …and so on. There are lots more, seeing as how the modern Republican political strategy is founded on saying whatever is most likely to advance their policy goals, regardless of whether there’s even a shred of truth to it. If Obama can raise public awareness of this fact and encourage even a slight increase of critical thinking about the basic knowledge and honesty of McCain, this could be huge.

    Plus there’s just the absurdity of the McCain camp first using Paris Hilton’s image to attack Obama, and now basking in the claim that she supports McCain’s energy policy. How contradictory is that?

  • Rabi

    says:

    This is probably the single best segment of a speech I have seen Obama give. His big, grand speeches on change are nice, but stuff like this really humanizes him. He’s taking a strong defense, but not by going on the offensive. It’s simply “What I said is true, so you can listen to me or the lies the Republicans feed you.” The comedic tone of it is great. Even when not going on the defense, I’d like to hear more from him in a less serious tone.

  • El Conguero

    says:

    About time. The conservatives don’t run on issues, they depend on the ignorance of the voters, the suppression of the vote, dogwhistle abstractions, and divisive racial politics to win elections. It’s time to take them head on and fight these arrogant bullies, tooo much is at stake. Remember up to three Sup[reme Court Justices might be retiring during the next Presidents term, it would be a disaster for this country if those choices are left to John McCain.

  • Hannah

    says:

    I loved this offensive by Obama.

    #25 & #26: I’ve heard Barack use “You’re too smart” I believe. I’d also like to hear him say “They’re insulting your intelligence” in reference to the R lies. That would help defuse any R claims of “He’s calling you ignorant”.

    Charliet: best wishes on your treatments.

  • BuzzMon

    says:

    I have been so sick of:
    not quite truthful
    mendacious
    prevarication

    and all the other weasel ways to avoid saying LIES.

    Thanks, Sen Obama

  • beep52

    says:

    Obama has to expose and discredit the tactics, because there will be no end to the false charges until a significant number of people boo and laugh at them.

  • Prup (aka Jim Benton)

    says:

    chrenson:
    NO! The reason why Bush succeeded at these things is because the Democrats bought into the ‘liberals are losers’ meme and, for seven of the last eight elections ran candidates who started in the Center and could only move to their right. (The exception was Mondale, who had truly been a great liberal, but who had become worn out by the time he was offered up as a sacrificial lamb in an election the Democrats knew they couldn’t win — and even he was paired with Geraldine Bunker Ferraro.)

    But Mondale was the last Democratic Candidate who was to the left of Eisenhower (the only decent Republican President since TR), and the Republicans — seeing the opportunity the Dems gave them — kept on moving more and more to the right and claiming Democrats like the Clintons were ‘far-left radicals.’

    Finally, with Obama, we’re getting back on track and on message.

  • Dee Loralei

    says:

    Charliet, best wishes for your treatment.

    Slappy Magoo, I like your idea. John Cleeves, of Monty Python, said months ago he loved Obama and would love to be a speech-writer for him. Your idea sounds perfect for him. ” And now, for your daily dose of Republican silliness….”

  • chrenson

    says:

    Prup #37: What you’ve got there is a really good view of the situation from 30,000 feet. I agree with every word.

    I guess I’m thinking more along the lines of the day-to-day blithe and uninformed voters who are easily manipulated by Republican party Rovian tactics. The “Liberals are losers” meme worked thanks to voluntary ignorance on the part of a vast majority of voters. How else do you explain blue collar wrench jockeys that vote against their best interests? They have no idea what Liberals stand for, they just know they’re “bad” and want to “take away our freedom.” Liberals are flaming gays who want to take away your guns and Hummers. They want to take money out of my pocket and give it directly to unwed baby-factory crackhead girls from the city. They want my paycheck to pay for your heart attack. They want everyone to ride bicycles or walk and eat organic vegetables and fornicate in the streets and give every remaining job to a black woman. They want the US to be overrun by Muslims and Mexicans and they want our schools to teach about Mohammad and Buddha and Krishna and Oprah but they don’t want little white kids even mentioning God or Jesus at school. They want every teenage girl to be sexually active and they want every American baby to be aborted.

    These are all statements made by a neighbor of mine who, I can say without fear of exaggeration, is happily, blissfully, defiantly, patriotically ignorant.

    And just like Mondale was a good liberal, there used to be a few decent conservatives. Goldwater, for instance. But, the Republicans sold their souls to corporatists and the Christian-right which brought them unspeakable power. And what did these new rulers find? An ignorant public that responds politically to the same bullshit that opens up their wallets and hymnals. Most people choose a candidate like they choose a product or favorite team. Pictures and words that mean nothing.

    That’s ignorance. And it’s only working for one party.

  • Prup (aka Jim Benton)

    says:

    Thanks, chrenson, but I still insist that both parties were playing into the meme and fostering the ignorance. But things have changed, and we finally have a candidate who has stopped that stupidity. Sure, it will take some time for it to turn around, but it has already started.

    Remember, we DID win both Houses — barely — and even Republicans like Mike Murphy are conceding how strong our majority will be after this election — to the point that his strongest argument for McCain was that ‘people don’t like one-party government.’

    Sure, some of your neighbors will take some convincing — and some will never be convinced. (There are still people who haven’t been convinced of heliocentrism, fergawdsakes, including some important RR figures.) Look, Obama would lose 30% of the vote if Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, Mohammed, and Ganesh all appeared on Earth and supported him — and that’s not a bad thing.

    The point is that we should come close to 60% by the time the election runs — but then maybe I have a higher opinion of the American people than you do. After that, we’ll be able to really do things that will drop the meme into the same wastebasket as ‘free silver.’

    I really think you misunderstand how — despite the Bush Interregnum — people have been changed by their access to information. Philip K. Dick had a section in one of his stories where someone was going back to the 30s, and warning that person that he wouldn’t believe what the (American) people were like then, how ignorant, how prejudiced, how insane they were. If you read some history you’ll see how right he was.

    Maybe more later, mundania and the Mets are calling.