From Barack Obama to American Idol: Playing the “Single Mom” card.
Much to the chagrin of Democrat Senator Barack Obama and FOX’s American Idol contestant David Hernandez, if I had British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber’s private telephone number I would call him at once and ask him to compose a 2008 follow-up to his famous “Don’t cry for me Argentina” lyrics, and call it, “Don’t cry for me America.” We need it.
Obama, Hernandez, and many other Americans these days apparently would prefer that we did cry for them–or at least sigh deeply and feel permanently sorry for them–simply because they were “raised by a single mother.” In recent television interviews, Obama and Hernandez were both quick, as are many others in the public spotlight, to play the “Single Mom” card when asked about their childhood.
It is difficult to imagine that these single mother and broken home comments aren’t clearly meant to elicit sympathy and support. Otherwise, what would be the point of making note of it? Why not simply say I was raised by a wonderful woman? Why include the “single” and “mom” aspects if not to conveniently convey an inherent feeling of being incomplete or somehow disadvantaged?
Or could it be the acknowledgment of an intentional inferiority complex crafted in the case of Obama and Hernandez to garner votes for their respective endeavors?
Let’s face it, in today’s sensitive and see-me society it’s cool and trendy to be the underdog, the forlorn, the freak, the disadvantaged, the fighter, and for some, the vicious victim of something sensational and sinister, whether real or imagined.
“I was raised by a single mom” and ”I come from a broken home” have seeped into our society’s psyche and frequently find targeted homes in celebrity interviews, biographies, blogs, rap lyrics, heart-felt prison interviews, and anywhere the “oppressed” and beaten-back choose to fish for unbridled understanding and ocean-deep empathy, and a clever and crafty tactical advantage in the form of shameless sympathy.
It’s all about the baggage. The more baggage a person has, the more we are expected to pity and protect them and ask them to step to the head of the line to hopefully help relieve our guilt and anguish over their plight and life.
In a country where it was once commonplace for a proud and independent person to refuse a handout or an unsolicited helping hand up, it is becoming increasingly more acceptable to find reasons not to be proud, not to want to make it on one’s own abilities, and a reason to not only ask for a helping hand but to simultaneously demand that that same helping hand also has a handkerchief in it… to dab the free flow of crocodile tears.
Obama, a millionaire Harvard grad and the likely Democrat nominee for president, seems to have done very well in life, all things considered, as do hundreds of thousands if not millions of other children who were also raised by single moms but don’t make it a point to tell the world about it at every turn and opportunity.
The land of the free and the home of the brave is fast becoming the land of the molly-coddled and the home of the namby-pamby, the soft, and the cry-baby.
If I was a political strategist for the John McCain camp I would immediately begin to issue boxes upon boxes of “Obama handkerchiefs” at each and every political gathering from now to November and ask every one of Senator McCain supporters to wave them wildly everytime Obama’s name was mentioned, similar to how Pittsburgh Steelers football fans wave their “Terrible Towels.”
The visual imagery would be wonderful and let’s hope the underlying message would be clear.
Seed Newsvine
And for good reason! I want someone who’s been down here where I am leading my country. Not some born-to-privilege, never had to struggle from the very bottom to make it to the very top. His life story is that of a role-model, what every young person should strive to immolate. He -should- be bringing that up over and over again, giving kids something to see and hear that tells them it doesn’t matter where they come from in life, they can become the single most powerful person in the world.
But it’s not the kids you’re worried about, is it? The only way you could be offended in any way at all about his life story is if you were already against the guy before you heard it. It’s not about him, not about the kids, not about anyone other than yourself. The pain you must endure to hear about his childhood.
Dear Sphinx,
Pardon me if I don’t hold your hand while you lie in the floor holding your breath and whine and cry “Why me?” Your comments and mindset personify my point exactly when you refer to “down here where I am.”
Dreaming is all good and well in context. That’s why we have teachers, scholars, and parents. But my friend, pull your head out of the sand, dreams and hope are not qualifications to be the most powerful man on earth. Let Obama join the Big Brother’s program if he wants to mentor and inspire. Telling the people what they want to hear in soothing speeches/preaching delivery is fine for Sunday sermons and locker rooms, not for the Oval office.
I am not against him, I against the lack of him. He’s a politician and a timely politican, but beyond that, his resume of accomplishments in public life is severely lacking.
I am very much for the kids. So much so that I am not about to vote for an empty suit who has no business being the leader of the greatest country on the face of the earth. The thought of Barack Obama sitting in the Oval office playing president like some high school intern is indeed painful, but as for his childhood, I’ve heard all I need to hear about it.
I would instead welcome some insight into his plans for the country and less of his habitual made-for-TV “Can I get an Amen?” speeches.
Wait a second there!! You are obviously not reading, listening, or just selectively watching!! Obama has been going over and over his plans in details, way too much details if you ask me for this stage in the campaign. I don’t think you are in touch with a lot of those in hardships around the country and who feel that the establishment has shut them out and the system designed against them. There are a lot of struggling single mothers who are in need for a voice and they are voters like you. Obama is doing the right thing letting them know that they can overcome these hardships like he did.
Dear Bolsonon,
Ah, I see. You believe his commenting on his childhood is purely for political leverage, and not to inspire the younger generation. We differ on that belief. Of course it will give him political leverage, there’s no arguing that. People want to ‘connect’, and as I’ve already shown, he lets you do just that. He came from “down here with us”, not born and raised in a mansion to filthy rich parents.
So, basically, what you’re also saying is that Senator Clinton should quit mentioning her experience in the White House, never bring up Bill Clinton, or anything else that might give her an advantage.
Anyhows, your recent comment tells me (and anyone who has done research) that you don’t know what you’re talking about. The Times has even analyzed the amount of “details” the different candidates are presenting in their Speeches, and Obama rated higher than either Clinton or McCain. His senate deeds (thomas.loc.gov) exceed Clintons by a wide margin despite less time in the Senate (unless you are really into getting government buildings renamed and handing out awards, vs the restrictions to nuclear proliferation and ethical politics).
So, while I’ve got my head in the sand (something the rest of us refer to as books and media sources), you’ve got your head up in the clouds feigning an awareness of Obama based on the inane allegations portrayed by the Clinton Campaign about his in-experience and “all talk”.
There’s more to politics than the eagerly read mis-directions Clinton’s Media has you reading.
Dear Sphinx,
Picking apart your assertions is tantamount to shooting fish in a barrel. The most difficult part is picking where to start…
Of course people want to connect with Obama, as I’m confident that other people also connect with Hillary Clinton and John McCain. So what’s the point? My point is, he is pandering to those who prefer to play the victim/self-imposed oppressed in our society and perpetuating the mind-numbing Democrat party platform that government exists to take care of you.
You continually mention “raised in a mansion and filthy rich”? Who are you referring to? As far as I know, neither Clinton nor McCain fit that description—and more importantly, you are CLEARLY unfamiliar with Obama’s childhood. I suggest you try and catch the current MSNBC biography on Obama. He attended several schools of priviledge growing up and was comfortably provided for at every turn, despite your inference that he was raised in abject squalor. Nothing could be further from the truth.
And yes, I am absolutely saying that Hillary Clinton should refrain from using her role as First Lady, and years in the White House, and her marriage to the president as reasons that she is “qualified” to be president. That is also as far from a reason to be president as possible.
As for Obama’s ranking highest for divulging the most details thus far of the three candidates, that says absolutely nothing as the total amount of details released by the combination of all the aforementioned candidates still insignificant.
What I do know about Obama’s wild spending proposals is also cause for great concern. He is proposing over $200 BILLION additional spending proposals with very few SPECFICS on how he intends to pay for all of it. Stay tuned as I will be commenting in far greater detail on that matter very soon.
If you want to talk about IMPORTANT ratings, let’s chat about Obama’s rating as the #1 most liberal senator in office–even more so than tipsy Ted Kenneday–and that’s saying a mouthful.
Your last assertion that my interpretations of Obama are based on Clinton campaign misinformation is laughable. I trust the Clinton camp even less than I distrust the Obama bunch. My information is culled from numerous media reports with verifiable facts. The only one who seems to be believing a particular presidential campaign’s propoganda is you.
Again, let me repeat it because it obviously must be drilled into you Obamaniacs, promises of hope and dreams are nothing more than smoke and mirrors. And when the smoke clears the view is going to be far less flattering than you want to believe.
Start with the Obama-Rezko relationship… That should keep you busy for some time and will hopefully open your eyes to the fact that Obama is not the second-coming of Christ. He is an ambitious, politically-motivated, power-driven, smooth-talking, inexperienced, all-talk and no-action presidential candidate who bears far closer examination before we rush to hand him the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Robert
It’s true that single-parent syndrome has become mainstream. It’s being played up both in the media and on the streets. It’s merely the result of decades of declining successful marriage and out-of-wedlock children, and the influx of single parents who result from said failed relationships. That said, he’s a result of statistics, but it’s not something he should play up as a shameful part of his pasttime.
You make a great point that Obama and others are using their childhood situations as a means of gaining sympathy from their audience. Most of us know someone who strugged as the child of a single parent. Most of the ones I know don’t suffer from “pity me” syndrome – they suffer from trying too hard to become successful so they can say “look at who I am now!” That’s inspiring. They never mention their childhood. They want to be seen for who they are NOW, not what they were, or how they percieved themselves to be. Obama does just the opposite – talks up his past – so as to give the image of ultimate success. It’s just that – all talk, an illusory image that would fade away if he stopped talking about it.
One thing that gets my goat is that Obama brings up the sympathy card just as often as he brings up the race card, and in much the same way as you describe for the other. Oh yes, he’s half white, and was raised by his white family, which makes him mixed – but he publically refers to himself black as though he’s all one and not any of the other. How well did he know his father or his father’s homeland? Not at all. Now he plays up the role of his drunk, egotistical, and nonexistant father as a role model and an inspiration to remind people that he’s “black,” while practically ignoring that he had a stepfather and a strong and successful mother who were actually a part of his life and cared for him. He was not underprivelaged and should be ashamed for expressing himself as such.
He should be very ashamed of playing up and playing down specific parts of his history and family life in the political arena to gain sympathy votes. Does he ever mention his mother respectfully? I bet she’s rolling in her grave right now, for all the sacrifices she made for him, and he goes on to play up sympathy about her – his “single mom” – as though she was not good enough to inspire him to talk about her with respect…