# Obama "scares" former P&G VP Lou Pritchett in mass email -- What say you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 29, 2009, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142 "2009-08-29T07:25:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/41 "2009-08-30T04:36:09Z")
Sorry, **athelas** , but that’s how he comes across. If he had done the level of research that a typical 8th-grader devotes to a paper he’d realize that many of his fears are groundless. It’s like reading a screed by Grandpa Simpson. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/42 "2009-08-30T05:15:26Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I just wanted to ask: Am I the only person who’s noticed that the entire conservative movement in the US for the last 10-15 years has been all about fear? Nope. I was just asking some friend why conservatives seem to be such cowards. Everything scares them. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/43 "2009-08-30T05:23:06Z")
AN OPEN LETTER TO EX-PRESIDENT Bush Dear President Bush: You are the twelfth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the others, you truly scare me. You scare me because after years of exposure, I know nothing about you. You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of support. You scare me because you have never run a profitable company, just one of daddy’s baseball teams. You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don’t understand it at its core. You scare me because you lack humility and ‘class’, always blaming others. You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America kill everyone in the world. You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the ‘Bomb Muslims’ crowd and deliver this message abroad. You scare me because you want to change America to a Single Party State akin to Soviet Russia (permanent Republian majority anyone?). You scare me because you want to replace our government controlled health care system with nothing at all. You scare me because you are prepared to invade Iraq in order to steal its oil. You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world, by allowing the worst depression in 70 years. You scare me because you have begun to use ‘extortion’ tactics against certain banks and corporations. You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on your wild and irresponsible spending proposals. You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing points of view from intelligent people. You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and omniscient. You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do. You scare me because you demonize and want to silence anyone who offers opposing, reality based points of view. You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing. Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years. Tapioca Dextrin see how easy that was? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/44 "2009-08-30T05:37:37Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > This is true, at least the formative years part. No it isn’t. He spent four (4) years out of the United States from ages 6-10. That’s it. I spent more years than that outside the US growing up, and I guaran-godamn-tee you I’m a fucking cultural American. > [@](#): > > I don’t know how he paid for his Ivy League education either - affirmative action? Loans? Scholarship? Student loans, and just for the record, he did not benefit from affirmative action. He left the race question blank on his application to Harvard. GWB, on the other hand, got into Harvard as a legacy, i.e Affirmative Action for rich white people. > [@](#): > > You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these radicals who wish to see America fail. > Ayers, Wright, etc. A disputable but legitimate point. No, it’s horsehit. He barely knew Ayers, and Wright is not a “radical extremist who hates America,” but even if you want to argue those points, it does not amount to the totality, or even a significant portion, of Obama’s life prior to politics, and, contrary to teha ssertion of the moron who wrote this letter, Obama fucking well HAS denounced both those guys, so the letter writer is just flat lying on that score. > [@](#): > > Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years. > Likewise. Seriously? You’re really truly afraid you won’t be able to criticize the President in 8 years? Do tell. What are you afraid he’s going to do to you? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/45 "2009-08-30T05:41:49Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > No it isn’t. He spent four (4) years out of the United States from ages 6-10. That’s it. I spent more years than that outside the US growing up, and I guaran-godamn-tee you I’m a fucking cultural American. Your passport says “No!” but your posts say, "Fuck me, you infidel pig! And give your Commie friend a chance. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/46 "2009-08-30T05:44:18Z")
Incidentally, the answer to the “lifestyle” question is that he wrote two bestselling books. The Obamas did not become millionaires until those books stared selling. Until then, their lifestyle, while not lavish, was about as comfortable as you would expect for an attorney turned law professor turned state legislator turned US Senator, and a hospital administrator. Where this yahoo gets “no visible means of support” is a mystery to me. I guess he assumes that since Obama is black he must not have ever had a job. This wasn’t really written by the head of P&G, was it? I don’t buy it. This was fabricated by some halfwit teabagger. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/47 "2009-08-30T06:00:52Z")
He claims its his own words, really. Which is an admission that he is the tard who wrote it. Alzheimer’s is a heavy cross to bear, especially if it allows one to continue to broadcast the same shit one had the judgement to keep close to the vest before. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/48 "2009-08-30T08:18:28Z")
what the fuck? ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/49 "2009-08-30T08:27:38Z")
Reported. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/50 "2009-08-30T10:48:32Z")
Mmmm…big spam. Anyway, I agree that this is a stupid email. It’d be stupid if a similar one was directed at Bush, at Clinton, hell, it’d be stupid if it was directed at William Henry Harrison. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/51 "2009-08-30T11:05:16Z")
> [@](#): > > You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll. Which is worse, having no record or having a [record of proven failures](http://alaric3rh.home.sprynet.com/science/bceo.html)? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/52 "2009-08-30T11:07:31Z")
tb;dr ---
**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:** [August 30, 2009, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/53 "2009-08-30T12:08:50Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Mmmm…big spam. > > Anyway, I agree that this is a stupid email. It’d be stupid if a similar one was directed at Bush, at Clinton, hell, it’d be stupid if it was directed at William Henry Harrison. With Warren Harding, on the other hand … 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/54 "2009-08-30T14:20:38Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > You scare me because you have never run a profitable company, just one of daddy’s baseball teams. George H.W. Bush had no connection to the Texas Rangers; it was purely George W. Bush’s investment. And W. did not “run” the Rangers; he was a co-owner but was not involved in the management of the franchise. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/55 "2009-08-30T20:31:00Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > No it isn’t. He spent four (4) years out of the United States from ages 6-10. That’s it. I spent more years than that outside the US growing up, and I guaran-godamn-tee you I’m a fucking cultural American. 6-10 are certainly formative years, despite what you might deny. And your guarantee isn’t really worth anything - at least not any more than this guy’s opinion. > [@](#): > > Student loans, and just for the record, he did not benefit from affirmative action. He left the race question blank on his application to Harvard. Could I get cites for all this? > [@](#): > > GWB, on the other hand, got into Harvard as a legacy, i.e Affirmative Action for rich white people. This,too, please. > [@](#): > > No, it’s horsehit. He barely knew Ayers, and Wright is not a “radical extremist who hates America,” We’ve gone around on this before. Obama launched his political career from Ayers’ living room, and served on boards with him. And Wright certainly is a radical extremist who hates America. > [@](#): > > Seriously? You’re really truly afraid you won’t be able to criticize the President in 8 years? Do tell. What are you afraid he’s going to do to you? Not me, the guy who wrote the letter. Maybe he is afraid Obama is going to impose a theocracy on the US, like you were always saying Bush was going to do. Or cancel the elections and rule as a dictator, like was bandied about back in 2004. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/56 "2009-08-30T20:38:57Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Sorry, **athelas** , but that’s how he comes across. If he had done the level of research that a typical 8th-grader devotes to a paper he’d realize that many of his fears are groundless. It’s like reading a screed by Grandpa Simpson. Dear Mr. President: There are too many states these days. Please eliminate three. P.S.: I am not a crank. ---
**Author:** ![whorfin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/6f9a4e/32.png) [@whorfin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whorfin)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/57 "2009-08-30T20:54:07Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > 6-10 are certainly formative years, despite what you might deny. And your guarantee isn’t really worth anything - at least not any more than this guy’s opinion. Well, let’s spell it out. How is he “culturally, not an American?” Because if this guy’s opinion (about something that has an empirical component based in how Obama lives) has little or no facts to support it, it’s worthless. I’ve offered citations. Please do the same. Obama went to college and law school in America. [http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/President\_Obama/](http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/President_Obama/) His direct family (with the exception of his father, who was absent for most of his life), and his step-father (who he lived with between the ages of 6 and 10) lived in america. [http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed2/idUSTRE4A43VA20081105](http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed2/idUSTRE4A43VA20081105) He spent most of his life in america. [http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed2/idUSTRE4A43VA20081105](http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed2/idUSTRE4A43VA20081105) He married an American woman. [http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/michelle\_obama/](http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/michelle_obama/) He went into local politics, and then national politics. [http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/President\_Obama/](http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/President_Obama/) He likes american beer. [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111373030&ft=1&f=1001](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111373030&ft=1&f=1001) He likes hamburgers. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30582391/](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30582391/) Seriously, what are you contending “culturally, not an American” means? What do you think the author means? From my point of view, he looks almost entirely culturally american. > [@](#): > > served on boards with him. One point on this–most boards meet a few times a year. It’s certainly a contact, but it’s not a big deal. Most people on the board of some entity have completely independent jobs. They may or may not know the other people on the board personally. The fact that Obama served on a board with someone else means next-to-nothing. > [@](#): > > Maybe he is afraid Obama is going to impose a theocracy on the US, like you were always saying Bush was going to do. Or cancel the elections and rule as a dictator, like was bandied about back in 2004. You know, I have faith that the president who taught constitutional law wouldn’t take either of these blatantly unconstitutional moves. More importantly, does this guy (or you, for that matter) have ONE SHRED OF EVIDENCE to support the claim that Obama, or the elected Democratic party intends to do this? Because if there isn’t that evidence, the letter looks like uneducated and unconvincing fearmongering. The letter looks like a list of things the right-wing base fears, attributed to Obama to motivate the base, rather than a list of things that have any relation to President Obama. ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/58 "2009-08-30T21:33:39Z")
> [@whorfin](#): > > More importantly, does this guy (or you, for that matter) have ONE SHRED OF EVIDENCE to support the claim that Obama, or the elected Democratic party intends to do this? Some people don’t let facts or evidence (or the lack thereof) get in the way of their opinions. I don’t have any facts or evidence to support my theory that Bugs Bunny was formerly a grand wizard in the KKK, but that doesn’t stop me from telling everybody in my email address book on a daily basis. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/59 "2009-08-30T21:54:57Z")
> [@cricetus](#): > > For somebody who admits he knows nothing about Obama, this guy sure makes a lot of claims about Obama. That is the perfect response to this load of crap. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142/60 "2009-08-30T21:56:36Z")
It kinda looks like a letter SHODAN would write. Just slanted propaganda to back a position that is devoid of facts. That is why SHODAN is defending it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-scares-former-p-g-vp-lou-pritchett-in-mass-email-what-say-you/508142.md?page=4)