# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/41 "2012-04-19T01:57:49Z")
> [@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? [Since at least Jan 31, 2007…](http://townhall.com/columnists/benshapiro/2007/01/31/is_barack_obama_the_messiah/page/full/) ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/42 "2012-04-19T02:00:04Z")
> [@dngnb8](#): > > It is more about how people treat him then being called the messiah. Oh, preach it, bro. They treat him like…well, you know, like, it’s totally hypocritical what they do. Both parties do it. The way they…anyway, I’m with you. How do they treat him that we hate? Also, Obama touched me and it cured my leprosy. ---
**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, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/43 "2012-04-19T02:20:00Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Oh, preach it, bro. They treat him like…well, you know, like, it’s totally hypocritical what they do. Both parties do it. The way they…anyway, I’m with you. How do they treat him that we hate? > Also, Obama touched me and it cured my leprosy. First, Im not your “bro”. Second, there is no “we”. There is you, and there is me. Lastly, what is the airspeed velocity of an unlaiden swallow ---
**Author:** ![Condescending\_Robot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a183cd/32.png) [@Condescending\_Robot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Condescending_Robot)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/44 "2012-04-19T02:40:45Z")
How quickly forget the fact that Obama’s Internet support came from cat memes and shit like [http://barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com/](http://barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com/). Yes, he was the projection of every fantasy about the super-leader who would solve all the problems with his wisdom and goodness. Whether that makes him the “Messiah” or not, I don’t know, but that is what the true believers were saying. ---
**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, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/45 "2012-04-19T02:41:13Z")
> [@](#): > > …Lastly, what is the airspeed velocity of an unlaiden swallow A swallow that has just gotten laid has pretty much the same airspeed as another, but rather more cheerful about it. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/46 "2012-04-19T02:43:42Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Do you have a brain tumor? You don’t even understand the meaning of what you just quoted. For you and others, try reading, you knee-jerking nitwit: > [@](#): > > Anyway, while he did say “we”, the setting gave credence to the impression… ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/47 "2012-04-19T02:46:46Z")
I’m going to go on record and defend my fellow conservatives here. We weren’t calling him “The Savior”, we were calling him “YOUR savior”. Whether or not that’s the case remains to be seen. We may yet get Mitts Rompney and his magical underpants so there’s a serious disconnect there. Ah hell, I got nothing. My former party doesn’t represent me anymore. Please just give me a prick and a square to balance the budget that keeps mommy the democrat from spending all the money. Oh wait, that kind of Republican doesn’t exist anymore. \<\\> ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/48 "2012-04-19T02:46:51Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > 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? You have trouble reading, too? And grasping that a live speech has a different dynamic than a few letters of the alphabet strung together and read? :rolleyes: ---
**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, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/49 "2012-04-19T02:46:57Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > [Since at least Jan 31, 2007…](http://townhall.com/columnists/benshapiro/2007/01/31/is_barack_obama_the_messiah/page/full/) I presume “you” in the OP means “conservative”, and “we” in the OP means “liberal”, and the conservative opinion in 2007 claims that Barack Obama is the secular messiah, preaching the words of Tom Hayden. First of all, has it ever occurred to you Straight Dopers that this is a CONSERVATIVE political OPINION website? It’s an opinion, not a fact. Second of all, the quote is from 2007. That’s five years ago. Surely you wouldn’t think that conservatives have not changed since then! Third of all, it’s one website, presumably voiced by one author who has the liberty to say what’s on his mind at that point of time. So, I say, the “Barack Obama = Messiah” thing is probably a joke. The word “Messiah” means anointed one (like Queen Elizabeth I who once said that “I am your anointed Queen.” Not that I consider Queen Lizzy to be “The Messiah”. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/50 "2012-04-19T02:52:51Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > 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. Obama said “we”, not “I”. But I remember the speech, and like any good speech there’s a bit of theater to it. In this case, there was a load of theater. That’s the art of it. I thought it was well done when I saw it. A little grotesque from my personal view, but credit where credit is due. He turned a vote for me event into a calling. That’s what almost every politician _tries_ to do. He pulled it off. I give him props for that. But it also does give some credence to the charge that this whole “The One” thing has not been created out of thin air by Republicans. Them’s just the facts. ---
**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, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/51 "2012-04-19T02:56:06Z")
> [@SDMBKL](#): > > …Second of all, the quote is from 2007. That’s five years ago. Surely you wouldn’t think that conservatives have not changed since then! … Well, yeah, actually. That’s kinda what they do. Or don’t do, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/52 "2012-04-19T03:01:17Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Them’s just the facts. You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means. [/im] ---
**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, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/53 "2012-04-19T03:01:39Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Obama said “we”, not “I”. But I remember the speech, and like any good speech there’s a bit of theater to it. In this case, there was a load of theater. That’s the art of it. Sure, but the message conveyed by the art was totally different from what you’re suggesting. A statement like > [@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. is **not** implying “I am your Messiah”. On the contrary, it’s saying “We the people shouldn’t be sitting around expecting some Messiah to fix our problems for us: we need to fix them ourselves.” It certainly is a powerful and somewhat dramatic message, but it happens to say the **exact opposite** of the “Obama=Messiah” meme that some Republicans claim Democrats buy into. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/54 "2012-04-19T03:29:24Z")
> [@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. I was excited when I voted for Obama in 2008. Not because I thought he was a savior or any kind of miracle worker, but because of what it said about how we’ve grown in America during my lifetime. I toyed with the idea of McCain (I’d voted for Republican presidential candidates before), but then he made my decision easy by nominating Palin. In 2007 and the early part of 2008 I thought Obama would be a great vice presidential candidate. I felt is was too inexperienced to become president. And there has certainly been evidence of that during his term - especially in 2009. He has grown into the job, at least to some extent. I think he has finally gotten over his delusion that there are significant numbers of Republicans of good will. But he still hews conservative lines on too many issues. Given the ideological and extreme nature of today’s Republican party, it seem likely I will never vote for another one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/55 "2012-04-19T04:20:37Z")
You never know; there may be some gigantic phase shift, as there was between 1860 and 1940, or between 1960 and today. The Grand Old Party might purge itself of the destructive radicalism that drives it today. But, meantime, this sort of “straw man” attack, where they address themselves to their own caricatures of what other people say and believe, rather than engaging in any kind of honest dialogue, is symptomatic of their near-criminal level of corruption. They want to write both sides of the script, with a sock-puppet to represent us, which they use to attribute opinions to us that we don’t actually hold. Hell, it’s the only trick Rush Limbaugh knows; try listening to him and see if so much as five minutes go by without him using it! ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/56 "2012-04-19T04:28:30Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > What with all the recent calls to stop using the phrase “The War on \_\_\_\_\_\_\_”, it’s probably The War on Wars. So, are you saying [Jeff Tweedy is the Messiah](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr161wKdkyw#t=0m43s)? I admit he has the hair and the beard but I don’t know… ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/57 "2012-04-19T04:40:01Z")
I think the OP is forgetting an important fact: the Republican party is full of horrible, hate-filled racists and horrible, hate-filled racists say horrible hate-filled things. I honestly don’t know why decent people still try to engage with them. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/58 "2012-04-19T05:11:44Z")
**Projection.** We understand the world through a process of empathy, by putting ourselves in the shoes of others. Republicans want to put Reagan’s image on Mount Rushmore. So naturally they conclude that liberal supporters of Obama must feel the same way. **Dog Whistling**. Conservatives of a certain mentality can’t go beyond skin color. In my view this failure is limited to a fraction of dim witted tea party crazies. **Poor character**. Those of sensitive disposition thirst for reassurance. The conservative media provides it in the form of misleadingly edited video clips (see Kimstu’s quote below) and silly and historically oblivious claims about teleprompters made by media personalities who know their argument is bogus. Footage from the Fox News Mole [shows Hannity chatting with Romney before his show](http://gawker.com/5901344/how-sean-hannity-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-teleprompters?tag=inside-fox-news) and saying, “It’s smart. You don’t want to make a mistake. I’ll tell you, they’re out to eviscerate anybody who makes a mistake.” He’s discussing Romney’s use of the teleprompter. This revelation won’t stop modern conservatives from watching Fox News. Misinformation is a feature to them: it props their super-sensitive dispositions. Liberals watch the news to be informed. Conservatives do it for reassurance. > [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > 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. Actually, I’m fine with naming airports and bridges after Reagan. That’s the convention in the US. But Mount Rushmore? Where’s the liberal false equivalence for that? > [@Kimstu](#): > > 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): > > 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. Yes. Modern conservatives view the world largely through a tribal lens, so hysteria is SOP. It wasn’t always that way. Conservatives used to be problem solvers: the elder Romney, Eisenhower and even the ethically defective Nixon were examples of this. But after 1980 the moderates handed the reins to the cranks and the fantasists, before being expelled from the GOP as RINOs. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/59 "2012-04-19T10:59:52Z")
What happened to that trope that was common a few years back that it was unpatriotic to criticise the commander in chief? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167/60 "2012-04-19T11:23:48Z")
> [@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”? All the time? > [@gamerunknown](#): > > What happened to that trope that was common a few years back that it was unpatriotic to criticise the commander in chief? A black Democrat got into office. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hes-not-the-messiah-and-we-never-said-he-was/619167.md?page=4)