# He's NOT the Messiah! ...And We Never Said He Was! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 18, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167 "2012-04-18T16:48:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/21 "2012-04-18T20:15:01Z")
Whenever I hear someone refer to “The Messiah” in a political context, I always assume they mean Ronald Reagan. That guy is worshiped like nobody else. Still takes me by surprise when I figure out they mean Obama. Some conservatives have worshiped at the alter of Reagan for so long they have started to think everyone thinks like that. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/22 "2012-04-18T20:18:08Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Dear Conservatives, > > We do not think Obama is “The Savior”, "The Chosen One, “The Messiah” or even [“The Perfect One”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14973420&postcount=14). We never have, it is all in your heads (although I am sure if you scour the Internet you will find SOMEBODY who thinks that). Using it as some sort of “Gotcha” rheotrical devise is as idiotic as saying “Dummycrats” or even “Rethuglicans”. It revelas far more about your character than the folks you are trying to pander to. > > Sincerely, > Fuck You To be fair, I’ve seen the same shit about Reagan. There are fringe elements in both sides of the political spectrum. The vast majority of conservatives view Reagan as a good president, but just a president. It’s the same damn thing with Obama. You may scoff at my observation, but the mirror image of the people who want to name every damn bridge and airport after Reagan are going to want to name other bridges and other airports after Obama. Neither were the second coming, but there is a fringe element on both sides that forgets what the Presidency is, and worships them. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/23 "2012-04-18T20:40:45Z")
This is the just standard Rovian trick of trying to use your opponent’s strengths against him. Obama was a breath of fresh air after 8 years of bumbling ineptitude. As a result he was highly popular and inspiring much the same way Reagan was/is among the Republicans. Since the Republicans don’t have anyone who is remotely as popular or inspiring they have taken the view that being popular and inspiring is a bad thing. Bringing in large crowds now meant that you were prototype Hitler. Inspiring people meant that you were a cult leader and those who you inspired were brain washed. Same thought process that made it better to not show up for to your Air National guard duty than to win a silver star in Vietnam. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/24 "2012-04-18T22:34:23Z")
[Hosanna](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3gIhsOFamM). ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/25 "2012-04-18T22:51:19Z")
Previous [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=616898), containing links to still previous threads. I predict this thread will also run four pages, and no Pubbie will be persuaded in the least by it, or any number of iterations of it. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/26 "2012-04-18T22:55:43Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > I live in Tea Party Country and this idea that Democrats think Obama is “The One” is prevalent around here. When I asked about it, I was told that on a an Oprah Winfrey show, she referred to Obama as “The One” and that is where the idea comes from. > > I’m not sure how we get from one woman saying this to all liberals agreeing with it, but there you go. > > Winfrey tells Iowa crowd: Barack Obama is ‘the one’ [Winfrey tells Iowa crowd: Barack Obama is 'the one' - CNN.com](http://edition.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/08/oprah.obama/index.html) > > The actual quote is not even very dramatic, she said "“We need a president who can bring us all together. I know [Barack Obama] is the one.” Well, there was also one of his huge campaign speeches, I think, where he said to a slobbering crowd, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” I think that was the actual wording. Anyway, while he did say “we”, the setting gave credence to the impression that “I’m here, now. All will be fixed.” ---
**Author:** ![SmithCommaJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@SmithCommaJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmithCommaJohn)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/27 "2012-04-18T23:07:14Z")
It’s too bad Ron Paul will never be elected president. If that happened, and he is able to implement even less of his agenda than Obama could, the drooling sycophancy of his supporters sure would look silly. Well, sillier than it does already. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/28 "2012-04-18T23:12:24Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Well, there was also one of his huge campaign speeches, I think, where he said to a slobbering crowd, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” I think that was the actual wording. Anyway, while he did say “we”, the setting gave credence to the impression that “I’m here, now. All will be fixed.” Huh? Seems to me that the implication is the exact **opposite** of what you suggest, especially when taken in [context](http://www.notable-quotes.com/o/obama_barack.html): > [@Obama](#): > > Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. The message of that is clearly, “It’s not about finding ‘The One’ or a political ‘Messiah’, it’s about getting off our asses and working to improve our own circumstances for **ourselves** , ordinary mortals though we be.” Which is not at all like the message “I’m here, now. All will be fixed.” I think it would take a fairly irrational hysterical liberalphobe to be able to genuinely confuse the two. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/29 "2012-04-18T23:19:20Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I think it would take a fairly irrational hysterical liberalphobe to be able to genuinely confuse the two. So _no wonder_ **magellan01** thinks that way. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/30 "2012-04-18T23:32:24Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > So _no wonder_ **magellan01** thinks that way. Well, I dunno that he was actually claiming that as his **own** impression of Obama’s remark, just suggesting that Obama’s remark might have given others that impression. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_With_The_Golden_Gun)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/31 "2012-04-18T23:49:15Z")
If Obama’s the Messiah, where’s his long form Messiah certificate? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/32 "2012-04-19T00:32:21Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Well, there was also one of his huge campaign speeches, I think, where he said to a slobbering crowd, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” I think that was the actual wording. Anyway, while he did say “we”, the setting gave credence to the impression that “I’m here, now. All will be fixed.” If the crowd had been stupid enough to think that, they would have all gone to a Republican rally. Have you always had this trouble disbelieving pronouns? ---
**Author:** ![SDMBKL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sdmbkl/32/7297_2.png) [@SDMBKL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SDMBKL)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/33 "2012-04-19T00:49:42Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Dear Conservatives, > > We do not think Obama is “The Savior”, "The Chosen One, “The Messiah” or even [“The Perfect One”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14973420&postcount=14). We never have, it is all in your heads (although I am sure if you scour the Internet you will find SOMEBODY who thinks that). Using it as some sort of “Gotcha” rheotrical devise is as idiotic as saying “Dummycrats” or even “Rethuglicans”. It revelas far more about your character than the folks you are trying to pander to. > > Sincerely, > Fuck You What on earth are you talking about? Since when did conservatives think that “you” folks think that Obama is “The Savior”, “The Chosen One”, “The Messiah” or “The Perfect One”? Is this a joke? Also, who is “we”? You and yourself? You and your political party? You and your political allies? You and your political friends? You and your friends? You and your family? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/34 "2012-04-19T00:58:03Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Hey **bup** , I’ve been called a nigger-lover, and I’ve been told I worship Obama as a Messiah because he assauges my liberal white guilt. Different words, same tune. > > Conservatives: fought fair housing and shool integration 50 years ago, and now deny ever having done so. That was somebody else who called themselves a word that only sounded similar, like the Macabees of Israel and the Macabebes of the Phillipines. Many political conservatives also fought against womens suffrage, medicare, medicaid, social security, the minimum wage, ending child labor, abolition of slavery, FMLA, etc. They were all radical social, political and economic policies at one point, opposed by proponents of the status quo. I have no idea why there is no sense of historical perspective on modern politics. It is like life before 1980 never happened in US politics. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/35 "2012-04-19T01:13:18Z")
Liberals must think he’s the Messiah since so many conservatives think he’s the anti-Christ. Q.E.D. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/36 "2012-04-19T01:38:14Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Many political conservatives also fought against womens suffrage, medicare, medicaid, social security, the minimum wage, ending child labor, abolition of slavery, FMLA, etc. They were all radical social, political and economic policies at one point, opposed by proponents of the status quo. > > I have no idea why there is no sense of historical perspective on modern politics. It is like life before 1980 never happened in US politics. Remember what happened to Trent Lott when he praised Strom Thurman? Was it for violating the Conservative amnesia requirement, or failing to make hay of the fact that Strom’s greatest sins were committed before he joined the GOP? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/37 "2012-04-19T01:45:07Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Well, there was also one of his huge campaign speeches, I think, where he said to a slobbering crowd, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” I think that was the actual wording. Anyway, while he did say “we”, the setting gave credence to the impression that “I’m here, now. All will be fixed.” Do you have a brain tumor? You don’t even understand the meaning of what you just quoted. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/38 "2012-04-19T01:47:39Z")
> [@SDMBKL](#): > > What on earth are you talking about? Since when did conservatives think that “you” folks think that Obama is “The Savior”, “The Chosen One”, “The Messiah” or “The Perfect One”? Is this a joke? Also, who is “we”? You and yourself? You and your political party? You and your political allies? You and your political friends? You and your friends? You and your family? Check out [this more functional version of the link to an earlier thread that **pseudotriton ruber ruber** posted above](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=616898). ---
**Author:** ![dngnb8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@dngnb8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dngnb8)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/39 "2012-04-19T01:53:40Z")
It is more about how people treat him then being called the messiah. Not that this term is any different then any recent term in my memory. The hypocrisy is delicious. Many of the complaints about the previous admin, that were defended by the previous partisan party, and now complaints about this POTUS, and this current party defend them. It is all part of the partisan hackery game. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/40 "2012-04-19T01:56:16Z")
Why, yes, when you look at it that way, Obama is just like Bush! And you know what that means? Means that is a very stupid way to look at it! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167.md?page=3)