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LessisNevermore

kevhed72 wrote: »

Am I the only person who caught the fact the....neither Obama nor Bill Maher....stated in the quotes they DIDN'T BELIEVE in American Exceptionalism, but then the host went right into a statement that they "Didn't believe in American exceptionalism". Then the whole thing turned in a political spin-fest based on the host mis-quoting / spinning Obama's and Maher's.
Listen to the beginning again.....

Nope, I heard it too, and that's when I shut it off.

audiobliss

If the President is asked about his nation's being exceptional and instead of beaming with pride and joy over his position and where he currently resides and proclaiming that yes, his country is exceptional but instead decides to talk about how exceptional other nations are, that is just as blanket a concession that he doesn't think our country is anything special as coming out and saying so in those words.

BeRad

uhm, am I missing something here. Based on the quote, Obama said he believes in American exceptionalism and the video is arguing in favor of American exceptionalism as well meaning they both agree. Yet the guy in the vid is all "In your face Mr. President."

am I missing something?

BeRad

audiobliss wrote: »

If the President is asked about his nation's being exceptional and instead of beaming with pride and joy over his position and where he currently resides and proclaiming that yes, his country is exceptional but instead decides to talk about how exceptional other nations are, that is just as blanket a concession that he doesn't think our country is anything special as coming out and saying so in those words.

Where did he talk about how exceptional other countries are?
He simply said yes, and then stated that Britt's probably think they are exceptional, etc etc as well. Seemed more of an "Of course I do, ask anyone that about their country and they'll probably think so as well." response to a question with an obvious answer.

Once again, this strikes me as people blowing a simple meaningless comment/gesture out of proportion and skewing it into something that it clearly isn't.

nooshinjohn

He (Obama)did state he will create a civilian defence force as strong, as well equipped and as well funded as the U.S. military... that is scary in and of itself.

BeRad

nooshinjohn wrote: »

He (Obama)did state he will create a civilian defence force as strong, as well equipped and as well funded as the U.S. military... that is scary in and of itself.

What if it is more of a metaphor?

Kex

audiobliss wrote: »

If the President is asked about his nation's being exceptional and instead of beaming with pride and joy over his position and where he currently resides and proclaiming that yes, his country is exceptional but instead decides to talk about how exceptional other nations are, that is just as blanket a concession that he doesn't think our country is anything special as coming out and saying so in those words.

This is not supposed to deteriorate into a noisy political argument, and I may be missing something here, but isn't that called diplomacy? I believe he was in London at the time, IIRC. In any case, let's imagine for a minute that the French President is visiting the U.S. and is asked the question: "Mr. President, the United States is a relatively new country, compared to France. Do you think this means that France is culturally superior to the United States and the we have a lot to learn from you?". Should Sarkozy answer:

A) "Yes, you are right, France is culturally superior and you could learn a lot from us, if only you would listen more often." Or,

"France has a very rich culture, but it is easy to see that the United States, despite being a younger country in some ways, perhaps, has an immensely rich and unique culture of it's own that in no way should be considered inferior. As you know, I have immense admiration for the United States, so much so that I have often spent my holidays here, including last year. We all can learn so much from each other, and our different cultural identities make us the better for it."

If he answered (A), first of all, he would be deafened by the silence, if not the boos. Secondly, everyone would think he was a rude, arrogant jerk. Thirdly, nobody would believe him. It seems to me that Obama demonstrated a certain ability to safely dodge what was designed to be a trick question, intended to trip him up in public, and make the United States seem arrogant on the international stage.

rayslifecycle

nooshinjohn wrote: »

He (Obama)did state he will create a civilian defence force as strong, as well equipped and as well funded as the U.S. military...

He did indeed say this many many times - and it was not a metaphor -


Back to the topic though......
I agree with some here that this pajama person is digging awfully deep to create controversy.

Isn't this the case with most programming on the tele?

Can't we all just get along?

POIDOG

American Exceptionalism is not what was presented in this video or pandered by Big O or BM. IMHO, it's about free thinking & throwing off the chains of oppression.:cool:

PS: BM should put a bullett in the gun next time, that was a humorless & lame remark

obieone

It's one thing, to show humility on foreign soil, it's entirely different, to TRASH, AND APOLOGIZE FOR, a country that just gave you the job with the BEST benefits!