# Obama and the A word. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 5, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887 "2008-06-05T15:13:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/1 "2008-06-05T15:13:59Z")
After he clinched the nomination, I mentioned it to some friends and family, and they all said they thought the same thing. It’s been repeated through out history, and sadly, nothing has changed in this regard. I feel he is at high risk now. Only because there are so many wacko people in this world that have nothing to lose and will follow through with it. Discuss. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/2 "2008-06-05T15:16:04Z")
No. I won’t. This is a skeezy topic. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/3 "2008-06-05T15:19:14Z")
Ok. We don’t have to discuss the details. We can discuss this looming cloud that I and others feel on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/4 "2008-06-05T15:20:55Z")
What indication do you have that the number of whackos is higher now than it was in, say, 2004? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/5 "2008-06-05T15:22:14Z")
(The word is “Assassination”, right? Good.) I don’t think he’s particularly more high-risk than any other presidential candidate. The number of nutjobs is pretty constant, and you’d more or less have to be a nutjob to try and assassinate such a public figure. Reagan was shot to impress Jodie Foster, not because of his politics. Whoever is in the spotlight is at risk, and I don’t think Obama’s risk is appreciably greater. ---
**Author:** ![Zomling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8baadc/32.png) [@Zomling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zomling)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/6 "2008-06-05T15:23:01Z")
[QUOTE=ParentalAdvisory] After he clinched the nomination, I mentioned it to some friends and family, and they all said they thought the same thing. It’s been repeated through out history, and sadly, nothing has changed in this regard. I feel he is at high risk now. Only because there are so many wacko people in this world that have nothing to lose and will follow through with it. Discuss. [/QUOTE] Excuse my ignorance, but which A word are we talking ab out? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/7 "2008-06-05T15:25:40Z")
Anal? ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/8 "2008-06-05T15:26:34Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] Anal? [/QUOTE] What gave it away, the “clinched” part? 😛 ---
**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:** [June 5, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/9 "2008-06-05T15:28:02Z")
Eh. He’s weighed the risks and made his decision. He might be at a slightly higher risk because of his race, but all candidates are at risk to some degree. Not much you can do other than make sure the Secret Service is on the ball. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/10 "2008-06-05T15:29:30Z")
[QUOTE=Zomling] Excuse my ignorance, but which A word are we talking ab out? [/QUOTE] I thought it might be “African-American”, to match the N word. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/11 "2008-06-05T15:31:04Z")
[QUOTE=Shodan] What indication do you have that the number of whackos is higher now than it was in, say, 2004? [/QUOTE] What color was John Kerry? The number of overall whackos is probably pretty constant, but previous recent elections have not have any particular draw to the hardcore racist demographic. This one does. I wasn’t alive in 1963 or 1968, but I can understand why as soon as Obama reached prominence, people wondered if somebody was going to take a shot at him. But really, I think things are different. Jesse Jackson is still alive; Al Sharpton is still alive. [I do understand the counterargument, which is that since King, no black man has had such a large political stature.] I’ll go ahead and say he’s at a higher risk than McCain is or Edwards would be, but I don’t think it’s a particularly high risk and I don’t expect anything will happen. Within a few days I expect to stop thinking about it until November. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/12 "2008-06-05T15:35:37Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Eh. He’s weighed the risks and made his decision. He might be at a slightly higher risk because of his race, but all candidates are at risk to some degree. Not much you can do other than make sure the Secret Service is on the ball. [/QUOTE] What he said. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2008, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/13 "2008-06-05T15:42:18Z")
IIRC, it was Ford, the safe white never did anything guy that had all the assassination attempts. I’m sure the SS is well aware of the possibilities. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/14 "2008-06-05T16:19:20Z")
The SS? Mein Gott! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/15 "2008-06-05T16:39:42Z")
I grew up during the period of the A word. To this day, no one can explain to me what Charles DeGaulle, Gen. Edwin Walker, John Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, George Wallace, Gerald Ford, Anwar Sadat, George Moscone and Harvey Milk, Park Chung-hee, Ronald Reagan, John Lennon, and Pope John Paul II had in common, other than somebody with a gun had an itch. Or, to use a counter example, why Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Nixon, George McGovern and Jimmy Carter, to name just five, aren’t also on that list. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/16 "2008-06-05T16:48:51Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] What color was John Kerry? The number of overall whackos is probably pretty constant, but previous recent elections have not have any particular draw to the hardcore racist demographic. This one does. [/QUOTE] I am not sure what you are saying. If the number of whackos is constant or nearly so overall, then the risk to Obama is no higher than it was for Kerry. BO is at risk from hard-core racist whackos. Reagan was at risk from hard-core Jodi Foster groupies. Ford was at risk from the Manson family. Kennedy (JF) was at risk from hard-core Commies. Kennedy (Bobby) was at risk from Palestinians. Obama is a lot more popular than Bush right now - why isn’t the risk of assassination higher for Bush? Is the number of racist whackos higher than the number of left-wing whackos? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/17 "2008-06-05T16:57:17Z")
[QUOTE=Shodan] I am not sure what you are saying. If the number of whackos is constant or nearly so overall, then the risk to Obama is no higher than it was for Kerry. [/quote] Regardless of how many racist nutcases there were in 2004, they had no particular motivation to try to harm John Kerry. I’m not sure who would have hated Kerry enough to want to take a pop at him, but I’ll assume they existed. But since he’s a black man, perhaps you can see where Obama might be a target. The number of people who are downright crazy enough to try it is very small, granted. > [@](#): > > BO is at risk from hard-core racist whackos. Reagan was at risk from hard-core Jodi Foster groupies. I’m sure you’re not suggesting that these groups are equal in size. > [@](#): > > Obama is a lot more popular than Bush right now - why isn’t the risk of assassination higher for Bush? There’s a non-zero risk of assassination for Bush, he’s indeed very unpopular - but approval ratings aren’t really the issue here, it’s about the level of passionate dislike he inspires in his enemies, some of whom are crazy. There’s also the random factor of nobodies who just want to get famous by killing someone important. What this has to do with Obama, I don’t really know. Bush faces some low risk of assassination every day, as does any major political figure and a President in particular. This thread reflects a concern that Obama is at a higher risk because black leaders like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Medgar Evers were murdered in this country in years past. We’re no longer in the thick of the civil rights movement and times have changed, but I do think Obama is at a marginally greater risk than generic white candidate would be (and in fact, generic white candidate would have been a good nickname for Kerry). Call it 0.000000011 instead of 0.00000001. > [@](#): > > Is the number of racist whackos higher than the number of left-wing whackos? I have no idea. Does it matter? ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/18 "2008-06-05T17:18:31Z")
Being pro-choice, I support Obama’s right to have and Abortion if he so chooses ---
**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:** [June 5, 2008, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/19 "2008-06-05T17:32:15Z")
[QUOTE=kunilou] I grew up during the period of the A word. To this day, no one can explain to me what Charles DeGaulle, Gen. Edwin Walker, John Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, George Wallace, Gerald Ford, Anwar Sadat, George Moscone and Harvey Milk, Park Chung-hee, Ronald Reagan, John Lennon, and Pope John Paul II had in common, other than somebody with a gun had an itch. [/QUOTE] Many of those had obvious and numerous enemies. That’s what they had in common. For instance: Anwar Sadat? He made peace with Israel. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887/20 "2008-06-05T17:43:03Z")
Is this a Hillary related thread? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-a-word/451887.md?page=2)