This was a very stupid thing for Obama to say.  That does not make it any less true.  Get the people stirred up over guns or abortions, gays or Mexicans.  The government is not going to be able to take our guns or stop abortions.  The government is not going to be able to stop people from being gay or Mexicans from coming over the border.  But get people stirred up over those issues and people don't see the privatization of profits and socialization of losses for the major corporations that causes the pillaging of the American people.  The American people don't pay attention and then get obsessed with issues that are not going to change.  Therefore, the American people will continue to subsidize the losses of the obscenely rich, because God forbid we let a large bank or investment firm actually go bankrupt.

When his audience is pro free trade, Obama winks and nudges and gives them the impression he's pro free trade.

When his audience is anti-free trade, Obama tells them he's against free trade.

Look, at some point the man will have to stop preening for his audience and start PERSUADING people to a particular point of view. Assuming he has one, that is

tep,

My understanding is that Obama is in favor of free-trade deals that have adequate (from his perspective) labor and environmental standards.  Denis McDonough, one of Obama's foreign policy advisors, pointed to our agreements with Peru and Oman as examples of the type of free trade agreements Obama would support.

IOW, he's against free trade.

My understanding is that he's in favor of free trade, as his economics adviser Goolesby, in best Obamian form, winked and nudged to the Canadian press not long ago when the matter came up.

He's a politician, I know. But really, the gap between his rhetoric as a post-racial, post-partisan, post-poster and the reality of his all-things-to-all-audiences m.o. is getting uncomfortably wide. Unless he starts telling people what hes about, and why-- 30 words or fewer, mind-- he's running, including where he stands on his top 3 issues, I think the man will be a much weaker candidate in the fall than his fans around these parts suppose.

Tep,

You continue to insist that instead of the political rhetoric he deploys successfully Obama instead use policy rhetoric that is a drop-dead proven loser.  If Obama listened to you, he would have been out of this race months ago.

C'mon Barron. You know the phrase you quote was Obama speculating about how people vote, not about why they believe in god or guns. And you know that in that context you agree with him. If we want to read someone twisting it out of context we have Bill Kristol and Hillary Clinton.

roi,

No, I want him to show LEADERSHIP, which is the one thing our candidates-- Kerry Dukakis esp-- in recent years have lacked, and which is what, again and again, screws us up in the fall.

Obama doesn't need to worry about Hillary. She's finished. We all know this. He needs to show the nation that a Democrat can actually stand for something without being offensive toward and/or cynically dismissive of ordinary working families.

Again, you keep misconstruing me. I don't care whether he's for free trade or against it, whether he's for black power or against it. But I want the man to show people that he has some core convictions, has a spine, has some potential to lead the nation instead of preen and pander as President Justin Obama Timberlake.

"for black power or against it"?  What?

tep,

Take a look at Obama's speech today to the Alliance for American Manufacturing

thepage.time.com/full-text-of-obamas-speech-to-the-alliance-for-american-manufacturing

He discusses his positions on trade at some length.  Given the audience, I would hardly call statements like this one pandering:

"The truth is, trade is here to stay. We live in a global economy. For America’s future to be as bright as our past, we have to compete. We have to win.

Not every job that has left is coming back. And not every job lost is due to trade –automation has made plants more efficient so they can make the same amount of steel with few workers. These are the realities.

I also don’t oppose all trade deals. I voted for two of them because they have the worker and environmental agreements I believe in."

ok tep,

And how would you suggest that Obama convey the "core convictions" that you want to be persuaded of?  It doesn't seem as though his well constructed policy positions cut any ice with you.  So, what would?

Make some enemies (cf Clinton, Bill).

Tell it straight to an audience not predisposed to sympathize with him (cf Kennedy, Robert).

Persuade large numbers of people on a particular issue of great urgency and importance to the nation (cf Johnson, Lyndon).

I could go on, but I think you get the point: show us some evidence of _leadership_ ability. Glamor doth not equal leadership in my book.

psantillana,  = 'for Wright's ridiculous race-soaked "black power" theology...'