# Why aren't people more spun up about the assassination attempt on Obama? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 18, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301 "2011-11-18T01:14:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301/41 "2011-11-19T04:41:33Z")
Well, son of a gun. That didn’t take long, did it? Not front page and pretty tenuous and just one article, admittedly, but still… [Alleged presidential assassin Ortega-Hernandez reportedly called Obama ‘the Antichrist’. So who put that idea in his head?](http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/nov/18/obama-antichrist-end-times-doctrine) > [@](#): > > Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez, a 21 year old from Idaho Falls, Idaho was charged this week with attempting to assassinate Barack Obama by firing rifle shots at the presidential residence at the White House. The president, Ortega-Hernandez reportedly maintained, is the Antichrist.[…] > > Behold this video I took of a couple at Glenn Beck’s seminal 12 September 2009 Tea Party rally on the National Mall, in which the man is holding a sign with a decidedly more pedestrian depiction of Obama’s satanic leanings (mere horns rather than seven heads and so forth). Indeed, this man’s companion could not cite chapter and verse, but insisted, nonetheless, that the Bible tells us that Obama is the Antichrist: > > We don’t know yet exactly which apocalyptic brew Ortega-Hernandez was imbibing. But tasting it to guess whether the Antichrist is a human dwelling among us is more than a harmless parlour game. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301/42 "2011-11-19T04:44:51Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > Well, son of a gun. That didn’t take long, did it? Not front page and pretty tenuous and just one article, admittedly, but still… > > [Alleged presidential assassin Ortega-Hernandez reportedly called Obama ‘the Antichrist’. So who put that idea in his head?](http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2011/nov/18/obama-antichrist-end-times-doctrine) And also British. And the other things you mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301/43 "2011-11-19T04:48:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Apparently there is an Occupy group a few blocks from the White House. The police were going around asking people there if they had seen Ortega-Hernandez hanging around. Which is perfectly reasonable as part of an investigation. I’m sure the police are asking other people who’ve been in the area if they’ve seen him. > > Of course, it suits some agendas to say the police are investigating a possible connection between the Occupy movement and an attempted assassination. I agree. I also think, though, that the ‘Obama survived an attempted assassination’ is just as bad. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301/44 "2011-11-19T04:58:23Z")
> [@CitizenPained](#): > > I agree. I also think, though, that the ‘Obama survived an attempted assassination’ is just as bad. Someone said that? I did a search, and my Google-fu isn’t very strong tonight. Can you provide a link? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301/45 "2011-11-19T05:33:45Z")
> [@CitizenPained](#): > > I agree. I also think, though, that the ‘Obama survived an attempted assassination’ is just as bad. If you can attempt to assassinate someone by shooting a gun 3000 miles a way, he’s been dodging assassination attempts left and right during hunting season. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301/46 "2011-11-19T05:39:09Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > Somebody took a shot at the President. > [@CitizenPained](#): > > I also think, though, that the ‘Obama survived an attempted assassination’ is just as bad. > [@Kolga](#): > > Someone said that? I did a search, and my Google-fu isn’t very strong tonight. Can you provide a link? Er… ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301/47 "2011-11-19T05:50:02Z")
“Somebody took a shot at the President” =/= “Obama survived an assassination attempt.” Especially since the OP’s statement has pretty much been taken to task in this very thread. I thought you were referring to a news story in which someone was claiming that Obama had survived an assassination attempt. I didn’t realize you were referring only to posters on this single message board. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301/48 "2011-11-19T06:00:00Z")
I made a bad attempt at…something…and wasn’t paying too close attention and it failed. So really, he’s like, ‘the assasination attempt!’ and I’m like 'Oh, by the OWS guy! ! ! ! ’ when in fact it was not either of those things…unless you’re a media website trying to get traffic or something. The OP thread title reads \*\*Why aren’t people more spun up about the assassination attempt on Obama? \*\*. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301/49 "2011-11-19T06:03:18Z")
> [@CitizenPained](#): > > I made a bad attempt at…something…and wasn’t paying too close attention and it failed. So really, he’s like, ‘the assasination attempt!’ and I’m like 'Oh, by the OWS guy! ! ! ! ’ when in fact it was not either of those things…unless you’re a media website trying to get traffic or something. The OP thread title reads \*\*Why aren’t people more spun up about the assassination attempt on Obama? \*\*. O…kay. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301/50 "2011-11-19T06:05:45Z")
\ Post fail. It happens. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2011, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301/51 "2011-11-19T06:20:13Z")
:smack: I are dumb. I just now realized the “assassination attempt” came from the thread title, and the OP’s misunderstanding of the whereabouts of the president combined with the title… Yea, sorry. It’s been a long day/week/semester. ---
**Author:** ![BeaMyra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@BeaMyra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeaMyra)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301/52 "2011-11-20T07:11:40Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Isn’t someone shooting at the White House still kind of a big deal? Look at Ford who had two much more serious attempts close together. No one really cared much. Squeaky Fromme got more sympathy than he did. Interestingly attempt on US Presidents have been more often than not, some person grudge (real or imagined) rather than a political statement ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301/53 "2011-11-20T14:25:48Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Free question: So if he had somehow succeeded and murdered someone else who was in the White House, like a cabinet member or elected poiltician or staffer, that wouldn’t matter? Well, it definitely wouldn’t matter in being charged with _an assassination attempt on the President._ ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301/54 "2011-11-21T01:11:26Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > Again, you realize that Loughner actually KILLED people, right? I mean, people actually died, and were injured, and there was blood and stuff, yes? Actual damage to living beings? > > In this case, a window was cracked. In Loughner’s case, there was much, much worse. > > And to throw in Breivik is even more laughable. I agree Loughner and the fellow here isn’t comparable morally-that has nothing do with my point. ---
**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:** [November 21, 2011, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301/55 "2011-11-21T01:30:33Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > I agree Loughner and the fellow here isn’t comparable morally-that has nothing do with my point. What is your point? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301/56 "2011-11-21T02:10:01Z")
> [@BeaMyra](#): > > Look at Ford who had two much more serious attempts close together. No one really cared much. Squeaky Fromme got more sympathy than he did. Interestingly attempt on US Presidents have been more often than not, some person grudge (real or imagined) rather than a political statement Presidential assassination attempts are surprisingly common. Every single president since the Kennedy era (except LBJ :dubious:) has had at least one publicized one and there have been many more that got thwarted before they got that far. This one is minor league and forgetful at best. If you think it has anything to do with Obama in particular, see how many of the other publicized assassination attempts on recent presidents you can remember off the top of your head. Th answer key is below. If you get 50% or more, you are doing quite well and most of those were much more serious. > **[List of United States presidential assassination attempts and plots](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_assassination_attempts_and_plots)** > > Assassination attempts and plots on the president of the United States have been numerous, ranging from the early 19th century to the present day. This article lists assassinations and assassination attempts on incumbent and former presidents and presidents-elect, but not on those who had not yet been elected president. Four sitting U.S. presidents have been killed: Abraham Lincoln (1865), James A. Garfield (1881), William McKinley (1901), and John F. Kennedy (1963). Ronald Reagan (1981) is th... ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301/57 "2011-11-21T02:31:28Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > I agree Loughner and the fellow here isn’t comparable morally-that has nothing do with my point. Then don’t use him as an example to try to MAKE your point, whatever it is. Which I THINK is that Loughner and Breivik got more publicity because you believe that those of us on the left kept harping on real or imagined ties to right-wing politics. Rather than the obvious fact that both of those actually killed people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-people-more-spun-up-about-the-assassination-attempt-on-obama/603301.md?page=2)