# Obama "Most Divisive" Figure in US Politics **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 20, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525 "2012-05-20T17:13:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![JBGUSA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/258eb7/32.png) [@JBGUSA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBGUSA)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/81 "2012-05-23T16:25:54Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > Says who, and since when? > > Apparently you’re not familiar with the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 where the U.S. Army was critical in immediately helping fight the fire and rescue lives. The commander there, General Frederick Funston, didn’t wait for orders from Washington, he immediately took charge and ordered his men and equipment in to provide much needed aid. > > [Link](http://www.sfmuseum.org/1906/cosmo.html) > > That’s a much better history than the performance of “Heck of a Job” Brownie’s. And you no doubt would have been calling such a response “racist” since it would have implied the incompetence of the New Orleans government. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/82 "2012-05-23T16:40:07Z")
Wait, how could the New Orleans government have been incompetent? It was local, after all! And don’t we all know that local government is better than national government? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/83 "2012-05-23T17:16:37Z")
Geez folks, **JBGUSA** knows far better than we do what we and most Americans want. Just accept it. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/84 "2012-05-23T17:17:57Z")
> [@JBGUSA](#): > > And you no doubt would have been calling such a response “racist” since it would have implied the incompetence of the New Orleans government. :rolleyes: The kindest thing to be said for that is that you really don’t know what you’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/85 "2012-05-23T19:47:42Z")
> [@JBGUSA](#): > > And you no doubt would have been calling such a response “racist” since it would have implied the incompetence of the New Orleans government. This is what is called a “Strawman”, if I understand things correctly. You are the first person to mention racism is relation to Katrina in this thread. Can you at least TRY to stick to the actual issues being discussed? Also, can you point to anything Iraq had done post 1992 to destabilize the Middle East? If you take history seriously, you should work to learn some. The reality is, Islam had been fairly insular from the collapse of the Almohads in the 13th century (I think) until the dual rise of Wahabism in the 1800’s and Arabic nationalism during WW1. ---
**Author:** ![BrainFireBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@BrainFireBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainFireBob)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/86 "2012-05-31T20:58:44Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > The difference between the Bush vitriol and the Obama vitriol is the the Bush vitriol was never mainstreamed the way it is for Obama. This is completely over the line, I can’t take this anymore. Obama contended with a comedy on a cable network revolving solely around him being incompetent or terrible as a person? Or do you not recall “That’s my Bush!” Bush had a ridiculous amount of vitriol thrown at him from day one from people hurt over the “stolen election”. Doesn’t matter whether it was stolen, that didn’t make him stupid, etc. The same people later claimed vindication of their absolute nastiness, and it’s appalling to see people not recognizing it in hindsight. “But . . he deserved it?” About as much as Obama does, really. Congress deserves the lion share of blame in both instances. Now, if you have specific complaints, that’s different. But vitriol? That’s an emotional, purposeless, useless waste of time. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/87 "2012-05-31T21:06:49Z")
You mean, a show that lasted 8 whole episodes and [was supposed to be about Al Gore?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That%27s_My_Bush!) ---
**Author:** ![BrainFireBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@BrainFireBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainFireBob)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/88 "2012-05-31T21:13:40Z")
Yes, that’s the one. Liberal outrage with Bush was obscene. Bush is still treated as a running joke in some circles, and it’s been nearly 4 years. I really don’t give a damn about anyone’s politics, but really, to claim Obama has faced more vitriol than Bush? Hardly. Stupider vitriol? That one I’ll probably concede- the birther thing is retarded. But seriously, Obama as being subject to more ridicule, lambasting, and attacks? I don’t see how anyone with intellectual honesty can claim that. Tell you what. When you get a Michael Moore delivering a Fahrenheit 911 on Obamacare or his handling of the economy, you can start discussing scale. When discussing vitriol, it’s not about the validity- it’s about the smear and tone. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/89 "2012-05-31T21:17:54Z")
> [@BrainFireBob](#): > > Obama contended with a comedy on a cable network revolving solely around him being incompetent or terrible as a person? > > Or do you not recall “That’s my Bush!” I agree that people have somehow managed to forget a lot of the vitriol directed at Bush, but this is wrong. “That’s My Bush” was a very broad parody of TV sitcoms and it was not about Bush being “incompetent or terrible as a person.” It did not evince any hatred for Bush and in a lot of ways was not about politics or about him as an individual. It also lasted all of eight episodes: it premiered at the beginning of April and was over before the end of May. The show was made by the South Park guys, and while I’ve never been a fan of theirs, they do not go for that kind of straight-up partisanship. There is no comparison behind the largely apolitical humor in “That’s My Bush!” and, say, Fox News shilling for Tea Party rallies and doing 18 hours of anti-Obama froth for almost four years. > [@](#): > > When you get a Michael Moore delivering a Fahrenheit 911 on Obamacare or his handling of the economy, you can start discussing scale. I think you have it backward here. Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 911 were big deals because (by documentary standards) a lot of people saw them, and maybe there’s no pent-up demand for anti-Obama documentaries because there’s a cable TV network and a corner of the internet devoted to that kind of stuff. In that light, why bother making a two-hour movie? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/90 "2012-05-31T21:53:24Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The show was made by the South Park guys, and while I’ve never been a fan of theirs, they do not go for that kind of straight-up partisanship. Stone & Parker are small-l libertarians – they’ve been quoted as saying, “We hate conservatives, but we really, really hate liberals.” Actually, there is one consistent political message _South Park_ preaches, which is that way too many people take politics way too seriously. (False message, IMO, but clear.) Anybody in the _SP_ universe who gets exercised about any public/political/ideological issue, or appears to, is either a fool or a cynic. The only exception is when somebody is taking action in simple reaction to obvious political foolishness, like the kids/_La Resistance_ did in _Bigger, Longer & Uncut._ ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/91 "2012-05-31T22:04:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Liberal outrage with Bush was obscene… George Bush is directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent Iraqi men, women, and children. People who not only had not threatened America, but could not if they had wanted to. He retires to a life of wealth and comfort. That’s obscene. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/92 "2012-05-31T22:21:11Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Stone & Parker are small-l libertarians – they’ve been quoted as saying, “We hate conservatives, but we really, really hate liberals.” A very very long time ago. That quote gave rise to the concept of “South Park conservatives” some time in the mid-2000s. I remember some snippet of South Park during that time that made me realize they obviously hated the notion that conservatives were tagging onto their show. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/93 "2012-05-31T22:29:52Z")
> [@BrainFireBob](#): > > Or do you not recall “That’s my Bush!” Are you claiming to be the only TV viewer in America who _does_? Betcha more people remember “Carter Country”, even today. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/94 "2012-05-31T23:48:40Z")
> [@BrainFireBob](#): > > I really don’t give a damn about anyone’s politics, but really, to claim Obama has faced more vitriol than Bush? Hardly. Stupider vitriol? That one I’ll probably concede- the birther thing is retarded. But seriously, Obama as being subject to more ridicule, lambasting, and attacks? I don’t see how anyone with intellectual honesty can claim that. The difference is that anything Bush had to deal with was from random people in the street, and maybe random celebrities. Obama has to deal with things like the Birther nonsense from dozens (hundreds?) of elected officials. It’s not just that the vitriol is dumber; it’s that it comes from higher places, too. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/95 "2012-05-31T23:49:58Z")
Killing hundreds of thousands of people for no real reason is obviously the moral equivelant of looking like you could’ve possibly been born in Kenya. No side is any more guilty than the other, ever. All the smae. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/96 "2012-06-01T00:55:17Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The difference is that anything Bush had to deal with was from random people in the street, and maybe random celebrities. Obama has to deal with things like the Birther nonsense from dozens (hundreds?) of elected officials. It’s not just that the vitriol is dumber; it’s that it comes from higher places, too. Certainly the press did not keep rumors about, say, Bush’s involvement in September 11th alive by covering them at length. And certainly a lot fewer politicians found it advantageous to accuse Bush of being complicit in the attacks compared to the casual way lots of people accuse Obama of hiding his birth certificate and holding office by fraud. Killing thousands of people in a terrorist attack is more evil than lying about your birthplace or even taking office by fraud, but the accusations are equally stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/97 "2012-06-01T02:16:03Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Are you claiming to be the only TV viewer in America who _does_? Betcha more people remember “Carter Country”, even today. I had heard the phrase but didn’t know what it was until this thread. I guess I assumed it was a web show or something. So, no, I don’t “recall ‘That’s My Bush’”. ---
**Author:** ![supery00n](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@supery00n](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supery00n)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/98 "2012-06-01T11:54:55Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > Pffft, I’ve already filed a copyright application. > > I remember a LOT fo people saying all sorts of shit about bush. the only difference you point out is that the stuff they’re saying about Obama isn’t remotely true. > > Republcans put party before country. They are so convinced that they have a monopoly on good ideas that they are willing to see Rome burn so they can rebuild it in their image. Yeah…totally agree. I look back at the history of the GOP and they had some really great ideas. In fact, I don’t think that there is a single political party in the history of politics that has had so many great ideas as the Republicans from 1854-1908. I’m just wondering whether the GOP is still the same party.. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/99 "2012-06-01T12:41:27Z")
> [@supery00n](#): > > Yeah…totally agree. I look back at the history of the GOP and they had some really great ideas. In fact, I don’t think that there is a single political party in the history of politics that has had so many great ideas as the Republicans from 1854-1908. I’m just wondering whether the GOP is still the same party.. I’ll bite: what where they? Ending slavery, I’ll grant you. What else? Transcontinental railroad? National parks? I’m stumped. I’ll see your GOP 1854-1908 and raise you Democrats 1932-1964. Social Security, Civil Rights, UN, etc. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2012, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525/100 "2012-06-01T13:01:41Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I’ll bite: what where they? Ending slavery, I’ll grant you. What else? Transcontinental railroad? National parks? I’m stumped. The [Progressive Era.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_era) More Pub-led than Dem-, at any rate, though there were Progressives in both parties. (The word “progressive” nowadays means something to the right of “socialist” and to the left of “liberal,” but it meant something very different then.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-most-divisive-figure-in-us-politics/622525.md?page=6)