DarthDub : No, it is not a bad thing at all. Hopefully you paid attention to things that actually mattered unlike the majority of the country.

Elara : I honestly just listen to what others say about Obama. Like my Dad and a few friends.
I obviously pay attention to rising gas prices and other things.

Elara : I read what you said. I'm just interested in your opinions. I ask silly questions and make assumptions to get responses.

I understand what you say. I agree with most of it. It's all good.

warmaker : Poking the hornet nest so to speak? I can live with that. Hope I rose to your challenge, lol.

Elara : Hi, there.

Things are getting heated here. First, you're right and I reread the original post. I made a mistake earlier and went off the skin color, not the name. You said you're surprised he would be getting challenged over the name and not the skin color. My mistake.

Ultimately, all presidents get challenged about things. Clinton's big thing was cheating on his wife and smoking pot. That was constantly brought up and he was always challenged on it. Bush's big thing was that he was a 'liar' about the first wars (which we're in, plus one more) and he was constantly harassed about knowingly attacking Iraq with the point of.... I dunno, getting their oil? All I remember hearing about Bush was that he lied to the country and he was a moron. It was nonstop. No one focused on the issues.

Obama has dark skin, he has a name that sounds like a recent enemy of the United States, and we're in a country polarized about religion.

My point is: All Presidents get harassed and criticized and attacked about things. I don't know one guy who has been president and never faced negative attention. We take something that can cause controversy and we exploit it. In this case, it's his name.

I think it is no different than any other treatment of a president. Is it harassment? Absolutely. Should it be expected? Absolutely. This time it's the name and not something else. If his name were Jones or Hitler, people would find other subjects to attack. The harassment would still be there.

Lastly, I joined a month or two ago. I haven't been around for years to read your other posts so I'm not familiar with your beliefs. I didn't accuse you of anything either.

I think shoe throwing isn't funny so we disagree on that point. But know that I'm not attacking you personally. I'm just asking some questions to see the world from your point of view.

warmaker : Bush also had the drug problem in college if I recall correctly. And the going AWOL from the National Guard.

What amuses me is that what the media and the opposition focuses on is normally something that most of them are guilty of. I mean adultery and lying... how many of them are innocent of both of those? But this... I mean, really, is logic just not required anymore? What makes me so pissed about the whole thing is that so many people believed it. The birthers spout it and because they yell the loudest people believe it. Do you know how stupid we must look to the rest of the world?

And you actually insinuated that I was racist, so yeah you did accuse me of something. Water under the bridge though.

You've never laughed at physical comedy? I mean, getting hit with a shoe is textbook for skits like that... just look at the Three Stooges. People only got offended because of who got hit with a shoe. It is personal taste though, some people just don't think it is funny.

Elara : I used to think physical comedy was funny. I don't any more. Even Dodgeball, where guys get hit in the face and crotch the entire time, isn't that great for me. Maybe I'm getting old or something but it's just not what it used to be.

That and when a movie has violence for humor's sake, it's for fun. Throwing a shoe at anyone is terrible. I wouldn't laugh if someone threw a shoe at Obama. That's not a nice thing to do to someone, no matter who it is.

So let me get this straight...

We were/are in a recession.
We are in conflicts trying to get out.
We are busy with very important international affairs.

And yet the people are more demanding to see the President's Birth Certificate?

Does it matter what country he was born in? The people still voted for him.
Does it matter what his religious beliefs are? He's running the country about as well as anyone else in the past decade...

Honestly, people need to get over their racial/ethnical/bulls*** issues and help America recover from the hole we dug ourselves in.

legacyme3 : That about sums up my feelings on the matter.

Anyone think it would have been hilarious if at that press conference got and said "Told you so", if their was any situation where a told you so was needed, it was there.

Margoth : Yeah, that would have been rather amusing. And really, really deserved.