Obama -I fear for his wellbeing

[lizrene555]

Sadly, I fear the election of a Black President will inspire some lunatic fanatic in the U.S of A, where there are still major racial prejudices to try and harm Obama or his family. It is a country of so many extremes and I am not sure it is mature enough at the worst end to cope, with such a major change. I hope I am wrong, as the thought of McCain and his Moose shootin mate would have to be a retrograde step for America. It is an enormously interesting election year for them. Does anybody else feel like this?

 

[Cheerthesaints]

Sadly, I fear the election of a Black President will inspire some lunatic fanatic in the U.S of A, where there are still major racial prejudices to try and harm Obama or his family. It is a country of so many extremes and I am not sure it is mature enough at the worst end to cope, with such a major change. I hope I am wrong, as the thought of McCain and his Moose shootin mate would have to be a retrograde step for America. It is an enormously interesting election year for them. Does anybody else feel like this?

Your correct mate. The US are not ready for Obama, but not just becuase of the colour change. If it was General Colin Powell, I think it would be different. McCain is playing on Obama being "arrogant". Would he call General Powell arrogant? no, I don't think so. I do not think Obama has earn't the respect of the people yet.(in the same manner a General would) This is why General Powell came out in open support of Obama only last week.

Half the country will Love him, the other half will Hate him. It will be a close election, and if Obama wins he will inherit a country IN THE s**t! brought about by GW Bush, the worst President ever! the new President will go straight into the hot seat, and decisions will have to made-hard decisions. He will be popular for some decisions, not for others.

Good Luck to Obama, and his country.

 

[Joffaboy]

I think Obama is the safest African American in the world and after Nov 4th will probably be the safest person in the world.

 

[Cheerthesaints]

I think Obama is the safest African American in the world and after Nov 4th will probably be the safest person in the world.

Your spot on mate. If that was that easy to "remove" a President, Bush would have been gone long ago!

 

[mess]

Nah mate, Greenpeace are pussy's when it comes to that s**t.

The Klan'd be bang up for it but, I reckon.

 

[SunKing]

Yeah the right are far more fanatical. Nobody likely bothered with Nixon but two Kennedy's and MLK get bumped off.

 

[Godfrey Jones]

Nah mate, Greenpeace are pussy's when it comes to that s**t.

The Klan'd be bang up for it but, I reckon.

cmon mate the kkk are nothing left but a bunch of unorganised old rednecks

 

[Fire]

Your spot on mate. If that was that easy to "remove" a President, Bush would have been gone long ago!

I think Bush represents the demographic that would "remove" a president.

However, that same demographic is opposed to Obama. That’s where the difference lies.

 

[BigBadCam]

cmon mate the kkk are nothing left but a bunch of unorganised old rednecks

The Arian brotherhood and KKK are deceptively strong. They've got ties with various outlaw motorcycle clubs too.

 

[immortalmike]

Your correct mate. The US are not ready for Obama, but not just becuase of the colour change. If it was General Colin Powell, I think it would be different. McCain is playing on Obama being "arrogant". Would he call General Powell arrogant? no, I don't think so. I do not think Obama has earn't the respect of the people yet.(in the same manner a General would) This is why General Powell came out in open support of Obama only last week.

Not quite true as many on the left (rightfully) hate Powell's guts for lying the U.S. into war in the first place. The rest of your post I agree with. Just watch as the idiots like those on Fox news turn around and blame Obama the minute he's elected for the tragic state America is in at the moment. I will really fear for his safety after that point.

 

[carsoutback]

Sadly, I fear the election of a Black President will inspire some lunatic fanatic in the U.S of A, where there are still major racial prejudices to try and harm Obama or his family. It is a country of so many extremes and I am not sure it is mature enough at the worst end to cope, with such a major change. I hope I am wrong, as the thought of McCain and his Moose shootin mate would have to be a retrograde step for America. It is an enormously interesting election year for them. Does anybody else feel like this?

It's really hard to know where to begin. OK. it's a country of extremes, no doubt about that, so I agree with that. And yes, there are lunatics who might seek to cause Obama harm. But you make implicit and explicit sweeping judgements of the USA that really shouldn't pass without comment, even from an ex-pat Aussie living here in the US.

Is the USA "mature enough to cope"? (I assume you mean with an African Amercian president). Well your post is assuming that he will be elected - so it seems that the majority of the country will be mature enough to elect him to office in the first place. That's a fair start in demonstrating a certain maturity I would think. How many Prime Ministers from an ethnic background have been elected in Australia? I think the answer to that is none. How many aborigines in the Federal Parliament? Very few. So if we (you) are assuming that one measure of a country's maturity is to accept minorities as leaders, then using your own rationale, Australia must not seem like a very "mature" country to outsiders.

Most Australians really do have an inflated opinion of their own country's capacity to handle change and to accept "minorities". It has always bothered me that we think we actually have the experience in which we can offer the rest of the world advice on tolerance , immigration and 'multiculturalism". I only need to think back to the amazing support garnered by Pauline Hanson just a few years ago when she turned Australian politics on its head for a couple of years with her extemist agenda. That the Australian Prime Minister of the day acquiesced to her, and allowed her to influence policy, was a recognition that her racist agenda appealed to the vast majority of Australians. In the end, she went away because she was revealed to be an idiot. But to think it was because her policies no longer resonated with middle-Australia would really be giving our country far too much credit. One major difference here (in the US) is that there has not been the same attempt to cover the festering sore of immigration and racial tension with the bandaid of poltical correctness, as is the case in Australia.

So he might get bumped off by some idiot - one look at the security arrangments for ANY US President will show that is always a possibility. One of the extremes in the US certainly relates to violence. But I think to suggest that is because the US is more racist or less "mature" than Australia, or any other country, and just can't "cope", is just not fair nor accurate.

 

[Copernicus]

I'm guessing you guys haven't heard about the plot that was uncovered yesterday then?

Two white supremacists were arrested for plotting to kill Obama and 101 other Blacks - supposedly 88 by shooting and 14 by decapitation. Of course, they were never even able to begin carrying out their plan because, being redneck white supremacists, they did a bunch of stupid stuff that got noticed.

But it goes to show there are still people in this country who will go to extreme lengths. There's no doubt that the security around Obama will be the strongest yet for any public figure in America.

 

[Joffaboy]

I'm guessing you guys haven't heard about the plot that was uncovered yesterday then?

Two white supremacists were arrested for plotting to kill Obama and 101 other Blacks - supposedly 88 by shooting and 14 by decapitation. Of course, they were never even able to begin carrying out their plan because, being redneck white supremacists, they did a bunch of stupid stuff that got noticed.

But it goes to show there are still people in this country who will go to extreme lengths. There's no doubt that the security around Obama will be the strongest yet for any public figure in America.

There are scores of threats to kill the President every week.

Security has been tightened ever since Regan was shot. Doesn't mean it cant happen though.

 

[Tasmaniac]

The US has already had two Presidents assasinated.

Plus at least another two shot but not killed.

Plus many attempts of various levels of competence thwarted.

So yes, Obama is a good chance of being assasinated, like any other US president.

 

[DaveW]

The US has already had two Presidents assasinated.

Four - Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Kennedy.

Plus at least another two shot but not killed.

Reagan and ... is FDR the other one you're thiking of? Although the shot missed Roosevelt but killed the politican accompanying him.

Plus many attempts of various levels of competence thwarted.

Like the assassination attempt on Truman that resulted in the death of a cop outside his residence.

Might be some others I've left out.

Update: left out Gerry Ford, who had two attempts on him.

So yes, Obama is a good chance of being assasinated, like any other US president.

I tend to agree. You just can't rule it out. Particularly in a country where guns are so freely available, and where this sort of incident has happened many times before.

 

[DaveW]

In fact, here's the full list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_assassination_attempts

Andrew Jackson

January 30, 1835: At the Capitol Building, a house painter named Richard Lawrence aimed two flintlock pistols at the President, but both misfired, one of them while Lawrence stood within 13 feet (4 m) of Jackson and the other at point-blank range. Lawrence was apprehended after Jackson beat him with a cane. Lawrence was found not guilty by reason of insanity and confined to a mental institution until his death in 1861.​

LOL.

 

[evo]

In fact, here's the full list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_assassination_attempts

.

Interesting list.I hadn'rt realised that there's been an assanination attempt on every Presidient(apart from LBJ) since 1961

Thats nearly a 50 year impeccable record.


Seems it would almost be a miracle if Obamarama doesnt have at least an attempt on his life.

 

[Tasmaniac]

Four - Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Kennedy.

Thanks Dave, four not two.

I think George W is the 43rd president, so that's 4/43, a pretty high strike rate when you think about it.

So yes, Obama can/could be confident that he will be dodging or stopping a few bullets while in office.

 

[Fire]

It's really hard to know where to begin. OK. it's a country of extremes, no doubt about that, so I agree with that. And yes, there are lunatics who might seek to cause Obama harm. But you make implicit and explicit sweeping judgements of the USA that really shouldn't pass without comment, even from an ex-pat Aussie living here in the US.

Is the USA "mature enough to cope"? (I assume you mean with an African Amercian president). Well your post is assuming that he will be elected - so it seems that the majority of the country will be mature enough to elect him to office in the first place. That's a fair start in demonstrating a certain maturity I would think. How many Prime Ministers from an ethnic background have been elected in Australia? I think the answer to that is none. How many aborigines in the Federal Parliament? Very few. So if we (you) are assuming that one measure of a country's maturity is to accept minorities as leaders, then using your own rationale, Australia must not seem like a very "mature" country to outsiders.

Most Australians really do have an inflated opinion of their own country's capacity to handle change and to accept "minorities". It has always bothered me that we think we actually have the experience in which we can offer the rest of the world advice on tolerance , immigration and 'multiculturalism". I only need to think back to the amazing support garnered by Pauline Hanson just a few years ago when she turned Australian politics on its head for a couple of years with her extemist agenda. That the Australian Prime Minister of the day acquiesced to her, and allowed her to influence policy, was a recognition that her racist agenda appealed to the vast majority of Australians. In the end, she went away because she was revealed to be an idiot. But to think it was because her policies no longer resonated with middle-Australia would really be giving our country far too much credit. One major difference here (in the US) is that there has not been the same attempt to cover the festering sore of immigration and racial tension with the bandaid of poltical correctness, as is the case in Australia.

So he might get bumped off by some idiot - one look at the security arrangments for ANY US President will show that is always a possibility. One of the extremes in the US certainly relates to violence. But I think to suggest that is because the US is more racist or less "mature" than Australia, or any other country, and just can't "cope", is just not fair nor accurate.

This is an irrelevant post. You are the first (and only) person to mention Australia. What impact on this discussion does Australia's tolerance level have? None.

FWIW, I agree with the crux of your argument, but it simply has no context here. No one claimed Australia would be ready to be run by an Aboriginal, or an Asian, or even a woman.

Obama is still at risk of being assassinated for being black though.

 

[Z_K]

Anyone else laugh at the "plan" hatched by the last two crazies arrested?

Blow up a school and then, wearing top hats and white suits no less, drive at Obama firing out the window. Yeah, that'll work. No problems.

 

[finders]

Your correct mate. The US are not ready for Obama, but not just becuase of the colour change. If it was General Colin Powell, I think it would be different. McCain is playing on Obama being "arrogant". Would he call General Powell arrogant? no, I don't think so. I do not think Obama has earn't the respect of the people yet.(in the same manner a General would) This is why General Powell came out in open support of Obama only last week.

Half the country will Love him, the other half will Hate him. It will be a close election, and if Obama wins he will inherit a country IN THE s**t! brought about by GW Bush, the worst President ever! the new President will go straight into the hot seat, and decisions will have to made-hard decisions. He will be popular for some decisions, not for others.

Good Luck to Obama, and his country.

As I have said before the stupid Yanks DESERVE McCain He should be a great Pres - just like they thought G W Bush was = suckers!

 

[SunKing]

.

I think George W is the 43rd president, so that's 4/43, a pretty high strike rate when you think about it.

So yes, Obama can/could be confident that he will be dodging or stopping a few bullets while in office.

About 10%.
I read that all someone needs to assasinate the president is the willingness to sacrifice ones life. I'll bet there are thousands of loons willing to sacrifice their life to take out Obama.

 

[Tasmaniac]

About 10%.
I read that all someone needs to assasinate the president is the willingness to sacrifice ones life. I'll bet there are thousands of loons willing to sacrifice their life to take out Obama.

The downside of living in a democracy where you shake hands with the masses.

Reading Dave's link to wikipedia, there have been several one man/woman close range attempts, some failed due to incompetence, some failed due to luck/quick thinking, and some succeeded.

I wonder how the cop's/Secret Service feel about people shouting out "Dead man walking".

 

[fairdinkum]

How hard could it possibly be to assassinate a President, if you were willing to die in the process?

I suppose the problem would be that those people who are dumb enough to die in the process are generally the same people too dumb to think up/execute a good plan.

On a side note, I recall having a conversation early last year with a young lady who was interested in US politics. This was back, right at the beginning of the primaries. I asked her about Obama and she coolly told me that Obama could never be President because, even if he were fortunate enough to get through the primaries, somebody would knock him off before he could even be 'sworn in' (if that's how they do things over there).

Ever since then I have been somewhat concerned for Obama. Hope he gets through his 8 years unscathed*.

*Unless he pulls a Rudd...

 

[carsoutback]

This is an irrelevant post. You are the first (and only) person to mention Australia. What impact on this discussion does Australia's tolerance level have? None.

FWIW, I agree with the crux of your argument, but it simply has no context here. No one claimed Australia would be ready to be run by an Aboriginal, or an Asian, or even a woman.

Obama is still at risk of being assassinated for being black though.

Oh, so relevance is suddenly an issue with posts here? But thanks for making it relevant by responding.

Actually it is relevant. The point made about Australia was to illustrate that it will be an amazing and historic achievement for the US people to elect a "minority" as President. It is not something done in many democratic countries, including Australia - the country of my origin and I assume of the poster's and a country that likes to parade it's proud immigation history on the world stage wherever it can. That was my point. The US people are about to make history, yet the initial point of this thread was that the "US couldn't cope" with a black President.