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What do you mean Chris there is no today's
"Obama Bowls" or another "Obama Drinks A
Beer With Workers" or "Obama Milks Cow"
Story in WAPO today? lol

What do you mean Chris there is no today's
"Obama Bowls" or another "Obama Drinks A
Beer With Workers" or "Obama Milks Cow"
Story in WAPO today? lol

What do you mean Chris there is no today's
"Obama Bowls" or another "Obama Drinks A
Beer With Workers" or "Obama Milks Cow"
Story in WAPO today? lol

What bothers me more than McCain's temper is his penchant for pointing out the candor or "straight talk" of his own statements. Tell me that isn't a tell.

Chris - I'm seriously disappointed with the content of your posts. You're not even a top five blogger anymore.
1. Ben Smith
2. Mark H
3. Marc A
4. Kos
5. Josh Marshall
At least they are either a) totally on top of breaking action b) analyzing relevant and newsworthy issues with intelligence.
Your posts suck in comparison. No offense.

Speaking of -- can you IMAGINE this guy being allowed by the Secret Service to interact with Pres. Bush in the same way? Even if Bush were campaigning? I bet you won't see any more incidents like this; some agents are going to get a good talking-to from their supervisor.

Let me get this straight: if you are photographed with person X, and person X happens to be a sleaze, you're attacked for being associated with a person of X's character. BUT -- if you decline, however politely, to be photographed with person X, you're a bad guy? If person X refuses to take no for an answer, you're supposed to put on a fake smile and cave in? And when the discussion drops to this level, aren't we really reaching for reasons to attack Sen. Obama? What's next, are we going to interview the waitress he tipped 20%, who thought she deserved 25%? (And this really does tend to support the accusation that CBS is in the bag for Hillary, which is a topic that Howie Kurtz should look into, except that he stopped being a serious reporter about the time he made it on TV.)

In related news, I would HATE to be in Sen. Obama's detail. That scene reminded me of nothing so much as the black woman who tried to assassinate MLK by stabbing him. They HAVE to let people approach him, as he is seeking votes, but they've got to be on split-second reflexes in case someone produced a weapon instead of a camera.

BNW173, since when are you qualified to talk about poor judgment. Based upon your recent posts supporting this inane, divisive non-issue, I'd watch the bonehead talk. Remember, people who live in glass houses...

This is totally ridiculous. What is wrong with people who view real-life events like this and criticize Sen. Obama for acting appropriately during a circumstance could be have been dangerous, was rude on the part of the man asking for the photograph, etc.? I cannot believe that this is what our country has come to but obviously it has. While in college, I read a book called "The Dumbing of America". It has happened and now we have a dumb president who has bankrupted our country, has shredded our very important Constitution and now the public seems to delight in criticizing a good man for not going along with the desires of a very rude and pushy man for a photo-op. Again, totally ridiculous.

MI/FL petitioner #
10701 Patrick Callahan - INDIANA

OBAMA SAYS FL & MI CAN VOTE, BUT ONLY IF THE VOTES DON'T COUNT. IT LOOKS LIKE HE REALLY IS SADDAM'S COUSIN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Former Senator Tom Daschle, a supporter of Obama told CNN's Gloria Borger that Obama would like to "give Florida the opportunity to vote" - but not in a way that would change the overall outcome. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Same line Obama supporter Chaka Fattah said on "Hardball" the other day. Count the votes, but only if they don't really count. . . , , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Not counting Florida and Michigan into the nominating process makes the nominee illegitimate. Can't say it any plainer than that.

--

It's all here -

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/seatourdelegates/signatures.html

-

Chris you gotta be kiddin me Obama has got the right temperament to be President this picture thing is non-sense! the guy who has the bad temperament is the "race card kid" Bill Clinton just ask Bill Richardson! I would also question Hillary Clinton's mental well being after the Bosnia, Ireland, SCHIP delusions now she says Bill Richardson is lying about her saying Obama can't win! Billary is saying that Richardson is the one who said Obama couldn't win! A he said she said! Who do you believe Chris? Billary is a serial liar! I think a vast majority of the American people know that Billary is lying AGAIN Billary is just not honest and the polls all of them reflect it!

-- Definitely reveals an arrogant side to his personality. This has always been his Achilles' heal. It does give me pause. --

-

...haven't you heard? Hillary is the
one who thinks she's entitled. Obama
is a Man Of The People.

(unless you live in MI, or FL... ;-)

-

The encounter was scary in that this guy was a stalker who should have been handled swiftly and firmly by the Secret Service detail. The fact that he was not is disturbing.

Sen. Obama's behavior was cool, detached, calm and effective as always. It was appropriate to the situation and does not merit more analysis. His temperament is ideal for a president or for anyone required to show sound judgment under pressure.

There is no political content in this particular event at all. Please get back to covering the actual news. Thank you.

You're better than this Chris.

I do think this is a slow news day story, funny though how it recieved over 400 posts. Obama's haters are reading it the way they want, as are the Obamacultists. Is it a story? I have seen many stories on McHothead losing his temper, much worse. But Obama has had fw negatives from the MSM outside of Wright and Rezco.

The true loser though is the SS, how could they let him so close to Barak is way beyond belief.

I don't understand. Obama was calm and cool like he always is. Are you serious with this article?

This little piece only goes to show how The Media will go to any lengths to portray Obama in a favorable way. The whole thing was handled badly, by Obama, The Media, and the SS as well. The "Jerk" got more than he wanted.

Richardson - VP
Hamilton - Defense Sec
Both - Sellouts

Barack - desperate for validators,
makes calls with jobs in hand...

-

-- The man's hawking of Obama for a picture seems similar to those folks who pushed young kids out of the way at spring training --

-

How so? The man didn't push anyone out
of the way.

-

"But, this episode is sure to raise questions in some circles about Obama's temperament..."

I think that the "some say" rhetorical device, of which this is a variant, should not be used by serious journalists. It is a lazy and deceptive way of pushing forward an opinion that the journalists has, or some rival campaign staffer has, or the journalist's boss has, without telling us who the "some circles" are.

Let me guess. Would the "circles" include Ickes, Wolfson and Penn? Or are you just floating it out there to try and get it started?

I think the real story on Obama's temperament is his remarkable cool under pressure. His brief loss of it on the debate stage in South Carolina was a rare event. The Clinton campaign has made heroic efforts to provoke him and he has not responded in kind.

Contrast Obama with John McCain and his frequent red-faced outbursts, at everyone from Bumiller to random voters. The reason his temper is finally being written about, even by his adoring fans in the press, is that it is a real-life issue, and it has been raised by real people on the record, like Senators and Generals, not by the anonymous detractors in "some circles."

I would have said, with a polite smile, "Stand back, young fella, while Agents Bauer and Gibbs check you for weapons. While they pat you down, you may state your business, or your grievance."

Stalker: "My wife is a school teacher and she wants a photo or video of you for her class."

M_In_A: "Agents, is he clean?" [Gibbs nods] "Excellent. Please take your photo."

Stalker: "I'm using my cell phone video, can you say something to her? Her name is Farfelle."

M_In_A: "Hi, Farfelle. "Butterfly" is such a pretty name in Italian. What do your students call you? Hi kids. Get your parents out to vote for me."

Stalker: "Oh, thank you. We love you."

M_In_A: "Agent Bauer, help this young fella on his way, please."

Actually, Chris was just being clever on a slow news day. This was his Seinfeld entry (a blog about nothing) and you all bought into it. Good job, Chris!

leichtman, I am having a coffee break and I see your post to me. Point taken. I believe you understand my frustration with the security aspect.

But "wpost4112", who likes BHO, found this episode to give him pause [11:34A], so I do not think universal condemnation of BHO supporters is warranted.

Frankly, I thought BHO conducted himself reasonably, but not in the stellar fashion that I would have conducted myself. And
If HRC had conducted herself in exactly the same way I would have thought her very calm and healthily detached, considering the security risk. If McC had conducted himself as BHO did, I would have said "Thank God you did not go off on the guy and make an incident for YouTube."

More than being just arrogant, it reveals something FAR MORE disturbing, and more to the point, about Obama-his TOTAL lack of people skills, his total unwillingness to accomodate a pesky, yet potential vote by posing for a simple photo, just as the other candidates had done, and made him go away-you didn't notice this man having an issue with Hillary, now did you? Because it shows that she has MORE COMMON SENSE.

If this man Obama, with his poor people skills, his total lack of leadership qualities can take a mundane situation on the campaign trail and blow it up into something that reflects very badly on his character and his ability to deal with minor irritants-JUST THINK OF WHAT HE'D BE LIKE IF HE WAS FACED WITH A TENSE INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT-AND HE WAS BEING ROUNDLY CRITICIZED BY MEMBERS OF CONGRERS-OBAMA IS NOT PSYCHOLOGICALLY FIT TO BE PRESIDENT-HE'S GOT THE KIND OF PERSONALITY THAT IS NO WAY SUITED TO BE A POLITICIAN, BECAUSE PEOPLE SKILLS ARE EVERYTHING FOR A POLITICIAN AND A PRESIDENT-HE HAS NO PRESIDENTIAL QUALITIES ABOUT HIM WHATSOEVER.

VERY VERY DISTURBING VIDEO, AND VERY INSIGHTFUL AT THE SAME TIME.

Definitely reveals an arrogant side to his personality. This has always been his Achilles' heal. It does give me pause.

mark_in_austin:

I like your idea. I think the problem would be to select appropriate samples from the different stump speeches, as they have evolved quite a bit even in the last couple of months.

HRC and BHO have had to give their stumps pretty frequently during this campaign, so I would hope that they improve with practice!

I think that HRC's campaign figures she has won the experience battle over BHO. So she can take out some of the wonkiness in her speeches and make them more human to connect better with the audience. But she seems to have also learned the ebb and flow of a good campaign speech as well.

BHO has always given a great speech. And his evolution as a debater is apparent over the course of this campaign. But in interviews, he does appear to think too much and comes across as an aloof, pointy-headed, ivory tower intellectual, which hurts him in trying to connect with "regular" people.

I think McC's problem is that he's no longer speaking from a stump speech, but rather he has to talk about specific policy issues (or VP selection) as they arise. That gives him little opportunity to test out what works and what should be discarded. He might be the least gifted of the three in terms of public speaking, but an expert campaigner nonetheless.

All in all, I think we have a choice among three really excellent candidates. I won't be holding my nose when I go into the voting booth in Nov.

more astonishing stupidity--

"Chris Matthews' latest problem with race: MSNBC personality suggests blacks, college grads aren't "regular people" - Earlier this week, obsessing over Barack Obama's bowling excursion, Chris Matthews told MSNBC political analyst Michelle Bernard, "You know, Michelle -- and this gets very ethnic, but the fact that he's good at basketball doesn't surprise anybody, but the fact that he's that terrible at bowling does make you wonder." It was, of course, an incredibly odd thing to say -- it certainly sounded as if Matthews, while getting "ethnic," believes black people are necessarily good at basketball. With this one under his belt, Matthews decided to dabble in some more bizarre racial talk again yesterday, suggesting only whites with high school diplomas qualify as "regular people."

Chris you gotta be kiddin me Obama has got the right temperament to be President this picture thing is non-sense! the guy who has the bad temperament is the "race card kid" Bill Clinton just ask Bill Richardson! I would also question Hillary Clinton's mental well being after the Bosnia, Ireland, SCHIP delusions now she says Bill Richardson is lying about her saying Obama can't win! Billary is saying that Richardson is the one who said Obama couldn't win! A he said she said! Who do you believe Chris? Billary is a serial liar! I think a vast majority of the American people know that Billary is lying AGAIN Billary is just not honest and the polls all of them reflect it!

This is a non-event. The candidates are all getting tired (well, not McCain so much, he can coast a bit), and making mistakes.

http://www.gopcatholics.blogspot.com

"Glenn Greenwald -- The central paradox of our political life is that the right-wing faction that continues to dominate our political institutions and win elections embraces fringe beliefs which have little popular support. That's why their overarching objective is to remove substantive considerations from our political debates "

--hmmm...

A very slow news day, I'm sure.
Most of you news reporters (not journalists) are egotistic and vulture-like. Let it go.

Let's turn it around: Wouldn't a candidate who would allow a commercial autograph seeker to badger him endlessly without rebuke be regarded as a "wimp" and a "softy" who coundn't be relied on in a crisis?

Chris, your silliness quotient just took a huge leap.

Here, CC -- let me help. Here's an actual news story:

Net Loss 6,700 GOP Voters In NC

"Thanks to a team of gracious number-crunchers at the North Carolina State Board of Elections, here's another fascinating tidbit about voter registration in the state -- custom-crafted at NBC/NJ's request.

It's big news that the number of NEW registrations is off the charts here in the Tar Heel State, as many voters wake up to the blinding spotlight of presidential politics aimed unexpectedly in their squinting eyes. Over 165,000 previously unregistered voters have signed up since the first of the year.

But there's also a lot of movement within the ranks of registered voters. Between January and March of this year, more than 30,000 currently registered voters changed their party identification. More than 12,000 of those, about 40%, are previously Republican voters who have moved OUT of the party to register either as Democrats or as unaffiliated voters able to participate in either primary on May 6th. Subtract from that the number of Dems and unaffiliated voters who moved into the GOP, and there's still a net LOSS of about 6,700 Republican voters in three months. In contrast, the Democratic party nabbed a net of about 4,000 voters - previously Republican or unaffiliated - who moved into the D column. And the unaffiliated group, which gained almost 50,000 new voters in the last three months, added an additional 2,700 net from the shuffle.

Why am I telling you all this? Unaffiliateds are the big bold wildcard in the Carolina election - they're difficult to poll and even harder to target, and their motivations are all over the map. From Republicans hoping to throw a monkey wrench in the Democratic primary at Rush Limbaugh's urging, to disenchanted partisans seeking a unity candidate, to last-minute undecideds, these are the voters who could surprise us all."

Now, kids, wag the blog. What do you think the real story is here? Why are so many R's in NC swiitching to D?

mark no one is defending this creep especilly not CZ or how the SS responded. What I can t understand is why any time ANY quuestion is posed to Obama supporters they attack the questioner with a how dare you. Politics is not for the feint of heart especially Presidential. Still no response to my querry what would today s response had this been HC? Certainly not way to go girl. More likely she would hsve been called an out of control b++++. I am waiting to hear an Obama uppoeter say otherwise.

FARFALLE --STFU, YOU MORON.

jeezus. what a nation of idiots.

I can't THINK of a more meaningful post on Barack Obama than this one Chris! This is a reporter's JOB to report on how the candidate reacts to situations on the campaign trail, and wheb you have a candidate who reacts in such a haughty, arrogant and dismissive manner to a potential voter, regardless of how pesky, and reacts with such poor interpersonal skills, escalating a mundane situation on the campaign trail to a major reported incident, then a reporter has a DUTY TO REPORT THIS AND PROVIDE A SUBTEXT FOR DISCUSSION. AND THE AMERICAN PUBLIC NEEDS TO SEE THIS CANDIDATE FOR WHAT HE IS, WHICH IS SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T BELONG ANYWHERE NEAR THE WHITE HOUSE, HE IS UNSKILLED AS A LEADER, AS A POLITICIAN AND AS A HUMAN TO DEAL WITH ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE ON A DAILY BASIS WHO WILL BE QUESTIONING HIM EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, FROM NOW ON OUT.

OBAMA'S LACK OF DECORUM, HIS LACK OF GENIALITY REGARDING A POTENTIAL VOTER'S REQUEST FOR A PHOTO, SPEAKS VOLUMES ABOUT HIS UNPREPAREDNESS AS A POLITICIAN, HIS LACK OF PEOPLE SKILLS, WHICH IS AN ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TRAIT FOR A GOOD PRESIDENT-GOOD PEOPLE SKILLS-OBAMA DOESN'T HAVE, THIS VIDEO SHOWS IT, AND SO CHRIS IS DOING THE AMERICAN PUBLIC A FAVOR BY SHOWING IT AND DISCUSSING IT

BRAVO CHRIS-MORE LIKE THIS, PLEASE!

Ahem, for the record, only 'kiddies' post in all caps.

farfalle --you are hysterical. get a life. see a doctor. take your meds. step away from the keyboard.

mark -- if you talk to that cop, please let us know what he says. i find this security breach to be jaw-dropping. this guy was close enough to stab obama with a kitchen knife. what the hell goes on here?

To give CC a break, the press corp has been this juvenile and irresponsible for a generation now. He's never seen much real reportage. But it's stomach-churning to watch the press clown around bufoonishly while we're trying to decide who's the next president of the most powerful nation on earth.

On this Jon Stewart clip, watch the media hysteria over -- yes, bowling -- starting at about 2:50: Unbeleivable.

http://www.mediachannel.org/wordpress/2008/04/02/daily-show-obama-bowling-for-votes/

It's VERY amusing to see how the "little kiddies for Obama" are jamming this blog, because they are SO worried that their guru is being portrayed in a less than flattering light, to say the least! I think this blog has more Obamaite BS on it than any blog the Post has initiated about the Dem. candidates thus far!

This is a VERY newsworthy post-it points to a very troubling fact, that those of us who have been watching this man have been able to see from the very start: OBAMA HAS NO LEADERSHIP SKILLS WHATSOEVER, HE IS A RAW BEGINNER, HE TURNED A MUNDANE EVENT ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL INTO A MAJOR CONFRONTATION, REVEALING HIS NASTY ARROGANT SIDE, HIS LACK OF PEOPLE SKILLS IS APPALLING, AND IT RAISES REAL QUESTIONS ABOUT HE WOULD REACT IF HE WERE PRESIDENT, WHEN FACED WITH A VERY TENSE INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT, WHEN HE WAS BEING "PRESSURED" BY A RECALCITRANT CONGRESS, WHO WAS NOT GOING TO GO ALONG WITH WHAT HE WANTED, AND MOREOVER, WERE GOING TO CRITICIZE HIM AS WELL.

Obama is disturbingly thin-skinned, we learn from this video-he doesn't know how to deal with people who don't lay down at his feet and idolize him, he has NO leadership/management training, he's never worked for the federal government so he doesn't have any idea how a big bureaucracy works-no experience in large group organizations whatsoever THESE INSIGHTS INTO HIS PERSONALITY THAT ARE REVEALED HERE IN THIS VIDEO AND THE QUESTIONS RAISED ABOUT HIS TEMPERAMENT COULD NOT BE MORE RELEVANT TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC WHO ARE TRYING TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS MAN AND HIS PERSONALITY, HIS CHARACTER-AND ANYONE WATCHING THIS VIDEO, SEEING OBAMA REACT TO A POTENTIAL VOTER IN SUCH A NASTY DISMISSIVE WAY, HANDLING THE SITUATION OF SOMEONE WHO IS PESKY ON THE CAMPAIGN TRIAL WITH SUCH POOR PEOPLE SKILLS, CANNOT FAIL BUT BE VERY DISTURBED ABOUT THE DISCONNECT BETWEEN WHAT OBAMA SAYS HE IS ALL ABOUT-CHANGE, INCLUSIVENESS, UNITY AND THE UGLY REALITY OF HIS TOTAL LACK OF PREPAREDNESS IN DEALING WITH PEOPLE -OBAMA DOESN'T REALLY LIKE PEOPLE, IS WHAT THIS VIDEO SAYS, AND HE HAS A DIFFICULT TIME DEALING WITH PEOPLE AND SITUATIONS THAT OTHER CANDIDATES WOULD SIMPLY HUMOR AND LAUGH ABOUT-IN OTHER WORDS, OBAMA IS NOT WILLING TO COMPROMISE, THIS VIDEO SHOWS, NOT EVEN FOR THE STUPIDEST LITTLE MATTER WHICH IN TURN, CAUSES THE MATTER TO ESCALATE IN THE MOST NEGATIVE WAY POSSIBLE FOR OBAMA.

I will repeat: OBAMA DOES NOT BELONG ANYWHERE NEAR THE WHITE HOUSE-I HOPE THE FECKLESS DEM. "LEADERSHIP" AND THE SUPERDELEGATES ARE WATCHING THIS VIDEO CLOSELY-THEY CANNOT FAIL TO BE DISTURBED BY WHAT THEY SEE, ABOUT THE MAN WHO CLAIMS TO BE READY TO BE IN THE WHITE HOUSE WHO CANNOT EVEN HANDLE THE SIMPLEST, MOST MUNDANE SITUATION OF A PERSON REQUESTING A PICTURE, A PICTURE THAT THE MAN GOT FROM THE OTHER CANDIDATES-BUT NOT OBAMA, OH NO, NO YIELDING, NO COMPROMISE, NOTHING BUT GRIMNESS AND HAUGHTINESS IN HIS TREATMENT OF A POTENTIAL VOTER-THE VIDEO AND BLOG REVEAL: THERE'S NO WAY IN HELL THIS MAN COULD BE PRESIDENT-NO WAY IN HELL.

Keep up the good work, Chris! YOU KNOW, like the kiddies here do not, how important this video is for the American public!

Threadjack.

I think an interesting topic for "The Fix" would be the evolution of the candidates as speakers and as campaigners.

My gut feel is that HRC has come a long way as a public speaker during this campaign, and that last week she sounded engaging, sometimes invoking in me memories of Ann Richards, something she certainly could not do as recently as February, 2008.

My gut feel is that McC has slipped from the very charming person he was in 2000 and I would suspect some hearing loss.

My gut feel is that BHO now seems more comfortable without the teleprompter and easier in conversation, but still appears to think before every turn of phrase. The habit of a law [senior instructor]? On POTUS'08, I still hear the "ums".

Perhaps Chris could pick "early" and "late" sample videos for each, in three separate threads.

This is the most riducilous story of the day. For anyone to try and question Obama's temperament over this is just nuts. Just shows you the media will try and find anything to make Obama look bad. Cazilla and his other media buddies need to get a life. Translation of getting a life: Start reporting some serious news stories.

Posted by: lumi2
--------------------------------------------

Everybody is missing the real story here. This guy, Obama, according to his cult, is almost superhuman. How can he be heckled all day and not take care of it. It could be done subtly. If he can't take care of a persistant heckler, how can he take care of these World's dangerous pests?

I think this shows problem solving abilities and poor judgment. My goodness how boneheaded.

Let me add that the video shows no evidence that the crowd has been in any way checked by the Service. This is not a video from a screened campaign event.

I may get a chance to talk to a cop friend today for other reasons - I am curious what a pro would think about this. My limited knowledge of security work leaves me with Judge Crater on this one: "unimpressed".

leichtman, please look at the still frame Chris posted in his intro. The fellow appeared previously while BHO was talking to kids, and then followed him and in the still, he is touching the candidate. That is a security lapse.

If this had happened to HRC, I would have hoped the Service was alert enough to keep this man at least six feet away. I would hope this for McC or for BHO. I actually think that for once, Chris, whom I admire, has seized on the wrong "story".

What the chattering classes should be concerned with is how such a known sleazeball could have been given this kind of access to a Presidential candidate. Question: how many known autograph-for-profit-seekers have been casually allowed to confront McCain, HRC or even GWB?

Based on the available data, this is a Secret Service-proof, Disney Fastpass means of getting close to anyone in government. Color me unimpressed, once again, with our tax dollars at work.

In reading the CZ post I don't see that he is defending this jerk only raising an issue for discussion. Apparantly Obama supporters are so sensitive that even asking questions of Sen Obama is herisy. I can only imagine what we would be hearing if this were a Hillary stalker. Somehow I doubt it would be way to go girl.

Didn't John Kerry get heckled at a speech a year ago where he called on the secret service to stop him and the news media slammed Kerry. That was not fair either but neither is politics.

Once again it was only a question not a defense of this jerk. Shouldn t we insist on consistency from the news media or should they only pounce when HC opens her mouth?

Wow. What a sleazy story. Smells like a set-up. Hey Chris, do you know that guy? Slip him a few bucks to harrass Obama?
To the Secret Service...what is wrong with you morons? That could have been the next james earl ray!

Yeah, Cc -- and where is the story about how McCain went ballistic -- nutso, beet red, loony ballistic -- when reporter Elizabeth Bumiller asked him a very legitimate question about when he had discussed the possibly of joining Kerry's ticket?

He raged, he blustered, he stammered, he lied.

But you never reported it. Why?

Everyone's talking about McCain wanting to find a VP now -- five months before the elections, it is because HE cannot take the heat ALONE...He is making one gaffe after another, and he needs someone else become the center of attention for awhile, so the American public doesn't notice that he is COMPLETELY INEPT! It is quite a clever move on his part.

The press corps is trying to damn hard to be trivial and superficial, and succeeding marvelously. The Secret Service doesn't do its job -- and somehow the story is about some perceived flaw of a -- a Democrat, of course.

But can the press be bothered to report on the fact that the Iraq 'war' has taken a very bizarre turn? If you're old enough to remember Vietnam, this should sound familiar. At least the reporter here was discerning enough to understand that this is the purest propaganda. Whose 'enemy' are we talking about here? Not the US', but rather Maliki's POLITICAL OPPONENT in the upcoming elections. You perhaps know that these so-called enemy forces are a rival political party, and that the US has now rained 104 f*cking bombing runs on a civilian village. How many kids are dead?

"Operation Charge of the Knights. " Think about that for a moment. What are they saying? Knights, for chrisake? Why not just come right out and call it 'The New Crusades' -- because that's how the rest of the world sees it. They think we're just out to kill Muslims. And who could blame them? This so-called 'war' has turned into an incoherent slaughterfest. This is shameful and disgusting.

"BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A U.S. airstrike "against enemy forces" in Basra killed one person and destroyed a house, the U.S. military said Thursday.

Iraqi children stand on top of a destroyed Iraqi Army vehicle in Basra.

The strike was carried out overnight in support of Iraqi security forces and hit a house in the western Basra neighborhood of Qibla.

One "enemy" was killed and no civilian deaths were reported, according to a military spokesman. The military is looking into reports that civilians were killed in another airstrike, he said.

The Basra strike supported the Iraqi-led offensive that began last week, targeting criminal elements in the southern Iraqi city. The troops are targeting strongholds of Shiite militants, including members of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army, which has a strong presence in Qibla.

The military had no further details about the incident.

Hundreds were killed and wounded in the fighting across Iraq's Shiite regions, which ended when al-Sadr ordered his men to stand down after talks with Iranian and Iraqi Shiite officials.

The United States and Britain have supplied air support during the campaign in Basra, called Operation Charge of the Knights.

The U.S. military said on Thursday that Iraq's fledgling air force also has been involved in the operation.

That force has "planned, executed and monitored 104 missions in support of Iraqi ground forces in Basra between March 25 and April 1."

104 BOMBING RUNS OVER ONE TOWN IN ONE WEEK. A SLAUGHTERHOUSE.

Are you serious? This guy had been dogging Obama all day. I'm suprised his SS agents let him get as close as he did. I'm actually impressed that Obama didn't yell at the guy, didn't lose his temper (and I know from losing my temper, and that certainly wasn't it.) Obama was very clear with the guy that he was bothering him, finally relented and gave the guy a picture, and hoped he'd go away. Period. Why is this news? Why does it generate titillating gossip? Why is everyone so blinded by their own political preferences to see this for what it was - an annoying jerk harassing someone? I don't know. But here we stand.

i woulda maced that guy in the face

I have to agree with most posters -- how far to the bottom of the barrell does the press have to dig to find a way to discredit Obama?

First it's BOWLING, for chrissake, now it's some jerk. The only story is that the Secret Service isn't doing it's job. Obama SHOULD have been furious -- at them for letting this nut get so close to him.

Seriously, CC -- think before you write-- that is just sad.

What is fascinating here is the inverse relationship between the content of the blog entry and the comments it generates. As has been pointed out in myriad ways, this blog entry lacks any semblance of news quality. I'm not sure whether to be more disappointed with Chris, or the enthusiastic respondents who have nothing to say when higher quality entries beg a higher level of intercourse. Be very careful people. By responding in such quantity, are you not inviting more such vacuous entries? Might this just morph into a "Sound Off" blog? It wouldn't be ALL Chris's fault.

When did Journalism become 7th Grade Gossip Mongering? The guy was being a jerk, a potential security risk, disruptive, and generally obnoxious and the pundits want Obama to kiss him and bless him for his interest?

Mr. Hinckley: Mr. President, could you turn and face me please.

Mr. Reagan: John, just come on over hear and give me a hug!!

It is a security risk for any candidate to have a person run up to them like that. He should have been taken aback.

I wonder if the guy had been African American would he have pushed him aside?

Chris needs a vacation. Obama needs better Secret Service protection. The autograph seeker sounds like someone with a serious personality disorder, some sort of manic obsessive problem perhaps. Also who knows what his background is and if it is a Republican trick to have Obama pose with someone who has a shady past. This autograph seeker sounds mentally ill to me.

Also - what about more serious, investigative type stories - What happened - Where's the news on the Clintons tax returns, donations to the Clinton foundations? What's going on with Tibet, Iraq, Zimbabwe?

Take a vacation please.

Actuakky I live by the moniker kill them with kindness. That is something I remind my adult children when they talk to me about a problem. The lesson here is this Senator Obama no matter how big a pain someone is if you kill them with kindness they go away a lot faster whether they are selling the picture on ebay or not (by the way the guy is just trying to male a buck or two).

Well, I was glad to see the Secret Service guys really watching this guy's hand and arm movements.

HOWEVER, this dance with the guy (who he could not have known was an EBay seller, and just what is so wrong with someone in Pennsylvania economy using EBay for income???) would have been easily avoided by just standing for a photo quickly.

Here's an exercise. How would we have felt if this had been a video with, instead, Hillary ?

Transcript from the pool report
(with Hillary's name replacing Barack's
and vice versa)

Run In #1

Man: Senator, Can I have a quick picture with you?
(Clinton refuses to take a picture)

Run In #2

Man: "Senator, Can I get a picture with you?"
Clinton: "You are wearing me out..."
Man: "I got one with Barack Obama and I got one with McCain, come on Senator that's not right."

Run in #3:

Man: "Senator, can I please, a quick one?
Clinton: "No, you know what, no."
Man: "Can I just say something to you real fast?"
Clinton: "Yeah, you can"
Man: "I had one with Barack Obama, had one with Senator McCain."
Clinton: "I am sure you do. Because when I was trying to talk to some kids - and I know ... look ...
Man: "No, my wife is a school teacher and she was there, she had to go back and that wasn't right what wont you just take a picture with me, I'm not asking you for a autograph its for my family."
Clinton: "Yeah well whatever. Just take it. I won't be smiling. Because you're wearing me out. ....No no, you've been really rude about it. Just take a shot."

(Does it seem ruder coming from her ?)

Hi there
I am from Switzerland... although I am not American hater; but after 2003; after the start of the Irak war decided not to visit USA... or not to buy any US products...
America is a great country, the land of opportunity; and the land which has the potential to bring the whole world together as a single democratic nation ...
Since couple of decades you have presidents who lie for their cause... who were/are selfish... real politicians than humans...

See how bad the US economy is, see how the people are suffering in the war zones, see how other people from other nations think about America...
Its really sad; how a nation could fall this much down; because of the politicians and their selfish policies ....

I will visit USA and start to buy US products; if the new US president is young and energetic to bring the whole world together
I will visit USA and start to buy US products; if the new US president can think logically and judge the things in the right way and time
I will visit USA and start to buy US products; if the new US president is wise enough to create a dream team around with best people for their job
I will visit USA and start to buy US products; if the new US president is a human than politician

This is not the mind set of one person; try to talk to people out side US

Actually you people need a change!

Hi there
I am from Switzerland... although I am not American hater; but after 2003; after the start of the Irak war decided not to visit USA... or not to buy any US products...
America is a great country, the land of opportunity; and the land which has the potential to bring the whole world together as a single democratic nation ...
Since couple of decades you have presidents who lie for their cause... who were/are selfish... real politicians than humans...

See how bad the US economy is, see how the people are suffering in the war zones, see how other people from other nations think about America...
Its really sad; how a nation could fall this much down; because of the politicians and their selfish policies ....

I will visit USA and start to buy US products; if the new US president is young and energetic to bring the whole world together
I will visit USA and start to buy US products; if the new US president can think logically and judge the things in the right way and time
I will visit USA and start to buy US products; if the new US president is wise enough to create a dream team around with best people for their job
I will visit USA and start to buy US products; if the new US president is a human than politician

This is not the mind set of one person; try to talk to people out side US

Actually you people need a change!

test

I wonder if Congressional security cameras have ever caught one of Senator McCain"s famous temper tantrums. I'm sure one of those would really be something to see. I head Senate Pages are not even allowed to go near him lest they encounter one of his purple profanity spewing rages. I think this story is definitely a sort of joke or political prank, which ought to provoke some scrutiny of the other candidates

Chris, this isnt even news. He wasnt even rude to the guy who was being a real pain in the arse. He never even raised his voice, never mind using insults or swear words! people will try and make this a Teresa Heinz-Kerry moment when it really isnt. Surely there are better things to write about?

I can't THINK of a more meaningful post on Barack Obama than this one Chris! This is a reporter's JOB to report on how the candidate reacts to situations on the campaign trail, and wheb you have a candidate who reacts in such a haughty, arrogant and dismissive manner to a potential voter, regardless of how pesky, and reacts with such poor interpersonal skills, escalating a mundane situation on the campaign trail to a major reported incident, then a reporter has a DUTY TO REPORT THIS AND PROVIDE A SUBTEXT FOR DISCUSSION. AND THE AMERICAN PUBLIC NEEDS TO SEE THIS CANDIDATE FOR WHAT HE IS, WHICH IS SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T BELONG ANYWHERE NEAR THE WHITE HOUSE, HE IS UNSKILLED AS A LEADER, AS A POLITICIAN AND AS A HUMAN TO DEAL WITH ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE ON A DAILY BASIS WHO WILL BE QUESTIONING HIM EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, FROM NOW ON OUT.

OBAMA'S LACK OF DECORUM, HIS LACK OF GENIALITY REGARDING A POTENTIAL VOTER'S REQUEST FOR A PHOTO, SPEAKS VOLUMES ABOUT HIS UNPREPAREDNESS AS A POLITICIAN, HIS LACK OF PEOPLE SKILLS, WHICH IS AN ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TRAIT FOR A GOOD PRESIDENT-GOOD PEOPLE SKILLS-OBAMA DOESN'T HAVE, THIS VIDEO SHOWS IT, AND SO CHRIS IS DOING THE AMERICAN PUBLIC A FAVOR BY SHOWING IT AND DISCUSSING IT

BRAVO CHRIS-MORE LIKE THIS, PLEASE!

Come on Chris. Since Senator Obama has had SS since the start of his campaign, aren't you just a little concerned about people out there that are just a little crazy??????? Think about JFK, RK, AND MLK.

My hats off to McCain, Clinton and Obama. Not only do they have to deal with death threats, security issues, 24 hr scrutiny and whack jobs like these for the past 18 months, but they also have to deal with asscracks like the WaPo putting nonsense like this on the front page.

I really do pray for the safety of all these candidates, even the ones I am not voting for - with this country's history it would seem the WaPo would do better investigating the security lapses on the campaign that this video so clearly indicates.

Are they safe?

It's hilarious that so many people have posted that this is a non story. However, there are way too many multiple posts. I suggest the WaPo invest in some software that will prevent multiple posts by the same ID (I know that will not necessarily prevent a person from setting up multiple ID's, but it would be a start.)

You get one chance to comment, and that's it. Seems fair to me.

Last thought: change to the format used in the regular articles, where there are 'pages' and the most recent comment is listed first. I posted a short comment here about 3 hours ago and now I can't find it.

"This is a VERY important video-would that the Post could find more of these on Obama-like I said, a video like this is worth a thousand of Obama's empty rhetorical speeches-because it shows how badly he reacts to a very mundane situation-VERY VERY TELLING IN A VERY VERY BAD WAY FOR OBAMA!"

I COULDN'T agree more, S! For once, the Post has a reasoned and thoughtful blog going about a very minor incident on the campaign trial blowing up into a very nasty and unflattering major incident by a Presidential candidate who continually likes to crow about being a uniter not a divider! WOW-VERY VERY TELLING MOMENT ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL ABOUT OBAMA'S DECEPTIVE PERSONALITY -JUST KEEP HIM AWAY FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, AND HE CAN DO WHATEVER HE WANTS!

"This is a VERY important video-would that the Post could find more of these on Obama-like I said, a video like this is worth a thousand of Obama's empty rhetorical speeches-because it shows how badly he reacts to a very mundane situation-VERY VERY TELLING IN A VERY VERY BAD WAY FOR OBAMA!"

I COULDN'T agree more, S! For once, the Post has a reasoned and thoughtful blog going about a very minor incident on the campaign trial blowing up into a very nasty and unflattering major incident by a Presidential candidate who continually likes to crow about being a uniter not a divider! WOW-VERY VERY TELLING MOMENT ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL ABOUT OBAMA'S DECEPTIVE PERSONALITY -JUST KEEP HIM AWAY FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, AND HE CAN DO WHATEVER HE WANTS!

"This is a VERY important video-would that the Post could find more of these on Obama-like I said, a video like this is worth a thousand of Obama's empty rhetorical speeches-because it shows how badly he reacts to a very mundane situation-VERY VERY TELLING IN A VERY VERY BAD WAY FOR OBAMA!"

I COULDN'T agree more, S! For once, the Post has a reasoned and thoughtful blog going about a very minor incident on the campaign trial blowing up into a very nasty and unflattering major incident by a Presidential candidate who continually likes to crow about being a uniter not a divider! WOW-VERY VERY TELLING MOMENT ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL ABOUT OBAMA'S DECEPTIVE PERSONALITY -JUST KEEP HIM AWAY FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, AND HE CAN DO WHATEVER HE WANTS!

"This is a VERY important video-would that the Post could find more of these on Obama-like I said, a video like this is worth a thousand of Obama's empty rhetorical speeches-because it shows how badly he reacts to a very mundane situation-VERY VERY TELLING IN A VERY VERY BAD WAY FOR OBAMA!"

I COULDN'T agree more, S! For once, the Post has a reasoned and thoughtful blog going about a very minor incident on the campaign trial blowing up into a very nasty and unflattering major incident by a Presidential candidate who continually likes to crow about being a uniter not a divider! WOW-VERY VERY TELLING MOMENT ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL ABOUT OBAMA'S DECEPTIVE PERSONALITY -JUST KEEP HIM AWAY FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, AND HE CAN DO WHATEVER HE WANTS!

"This is a VERY important video-would that the Post could find more of these on Obama-like I said, a video like this is worth a thousand of Obama's empty rhetorical speeches-because it shows how badly he reacts to a very mundane situation-VERY VERY TELLING IN A VERY VERY BAD WAY FOR OBAMA!"

I COULDN'T agree more, S! For once, the Post has a reasoned and thoughtful blog going about a very minor incident on the campaign trial blowing up into a very nasty and unflattering major incident by a Presidential candidate who continually likes to crow about being a uniter not a divider! WOW-VERY VERY TELLING MOMENT ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL ABOUT OBAMA'S DECEPTIVE PERSONALITY -JUST KEEP HIM AWAY FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, AND HE CAN DO WHATEVER HE WANTS!

Yes, temperament matters. If this is as bad as we've seen from Obama, he's pretty even-tempered. The Secret Service should have shut that guy down after his second try. You should never allow someone to heckle the candidate, which is what this guy was doing.

No one has any sort of automatic right to getting their picture taken with a presidential candidate. It sort of amazes me when I see various candidates in video from the campaign trail posing constantly with members of the crowd. Well, that's a nice trophy, isn't it?, and something to brag about to Aunt Marylou, but other than that, what is the purpose? To prove you could stand next to someone famous for a moment or two? It's just dumb. I covered campaigns long before this year and this sort of thing was just not done, ever, on rope lines or in crowds. No one would have thought to ask a presidential candidate to stop and take an individual picture.

From what I have seen in recent years, the so called "general public" has come to regard celebrities and other well known people as more or less public property. Imposing on their time for a moment of personal glory is, in fact, embarrassing, but who cares? The coach of the Dallas Cowboys reported that one man came up to his dinning table in a restaurant, pushed his plate of food out the way and demanded an autograph. Obama is running for president, not to be someone's buddy on the streets of Philadelphia.

This little incident is actually helpful, in that it gives the Secret Service some real time practice at moving a potentially dangerous person out of the way. As for temperament, I am amazed that the candidates can put up with as much as they do. Getting angry is not a sin. It is the way adult human beings show something is of great importance. We need a leader who can muster up some anger and direct that toward resolving problems which has been allowed to fester and grow for decades.

McCain's outbursts are of a different order. If he, in fact, bullies his staff, the working stiffs who try to keep the wheels turning, he shows, in the process, a lack of human respect and judgment. No president, no Senator, should browbeat the staff because it is an inherently unequal relationship. He can tell them off, but they can't tell him off, short of quiting and walking out the door. (Bush shows similar disrespect in giving everyone, including Cabinet Secretaries, his silly little nick names, which they, being respectful, can't return.) Such conduct, also, is counter productive because an intimidated staff cannot provide the honest assistance required.

One more thing: TEMPERMENT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH BEING A GOOD PRESIDENT, IN A NUTSHELL, SOMEONE WHO CAN GET SO IRRITATED SO EASILY BY A PROSPECTIVE VOTER SHOWS HE HAS NO BUSINESS WHATSOEVER ANYWHERE NNEAR THE WHITE HOUSE-HE'S A NEOPHYTE OF THE FIRST ORDER, AND AS THIS VIDEO CHILLINGLY SHOWS, THE IDEA OF PUTTING SOMEONE WITH THIS HAIR-TRIGGER TEMPERAMENT AND ARROGANT ATTITUDE IN A CRITICAL INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT IS QUITE LITERALLY -ASKING FOR TROUBLE!

Great video Chris!

Shame on you, Chris. The misleading title on top of that stupid commentary you made should count as one of the low points in the WPO history. That guy seems a bona fide jerk and wacko ---- I think Obama responded to him as courteously as any sane man could do in that circumstance. Do you expect a St. Francis of Assisi from a presidential candidate?

This is making something out of very little -- but the most important point is that while most people diminish this nonsense in their above posts -- if, heaven forfend, this had happened to Hillary Clinton, and she had shown a lack of patience, these self-same people claiming this is much ado about nothing would have been decrying her arrogance and cruelty to the highest hill.

me thinks you need to "wag this particular blog" into nonexistence...but, if you want to dish on temperament, take a peek at these tasty bits...

http://209.85.207.104/search?q=cache:Dw401E2yVMQJ:www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/secretservice.htm+hillary+clinton+secret+service&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us

http://209.85.207.104/search?q=cache:QRPZmlK8L6kJ:gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2007/03/hillary-clinton-get-fcked.html+hillary+clinton+secret+service&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, CHRIS! WOW. The Obama-Zombies are REALLY worried about this video, aren't they Chris? Well, they are kiddies, so you have to cut them some slack, since they clearly are taken aback that their man is appearing in SHOCK! REAL LIFE REAL TIME, LIKE YOUTUBE VIDEO REALITY, LIKE!

And we know, THAT SIMPLY WON'T DO-SO LET'S ATTACK THE POST BLOGGER FOR PUTTING OUT A RATIONAL AND REASONABLE QUESTION REGARDING A VIDEO, ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL WHICH SHOWS OBAMA'S SHOCKINGLY THIN-SKINNED RESPONSE, HIS GLARING LACK OF INTERPERSONAL AS WELL AS LEADERSHIP SKILLS IN DEALING WITH A VERY ORDINARY SITUATION FOR A POLITICIAN: A PESKY VOTER, OR IN ANOTHER SITUATION, A PESKY REPORTER.

And the little kiddies WANT this man with his hair-trigger irritation, his absolutely unremitting arrogance, to have his hand on the nuclear trigger? Unlike McCain, Obama has NO EXPERIENCE IN DEALING ANY CRITICAL INCIDENTS, HE'S NEVER BEEN A LEADER, NEVER BEEN IN MANAGEMENT, NEVER WORKED AT THE DEPT. OF JUSTICE OR A FEDERAL AGENCY AS A LAWYER, LEARNING ABOUT WHAT A FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY IS ALL ABOUT-HE'S DONE NOTHING-AND NOW, HIS LACK OF EXPERIENCE IS SHOWING, SHOWING HOW VERY UNLEADERLIKE, WHAT A RAW BEGINNER BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA REALLY IS.

This is a VERY important video-would that the Post could find more of these on Obama-like I said, a video like this is worth a thousand of Obama's empty rhetorical speeches-because it shows how badly he reacts to a very mundane situation-VERY VERY TELLING IN A VERY VERY BAD WAY FOR OBAMA!

That's okay, the man will NEVER get elected President, nor should he ever be-he simply does not like people, does not like to answer to ANYONE ABOUT ANYTHING-DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO-

Obama is a joke, the anomoly candidate of 2008. He'll be gone thank god, after November, hopefully never to be heard from again.

THANKS AGAIN CHRIS, FOR A GREAT PIECE OF VIDEO, AND A THOUGTFUL BLOG-FOR ONCE!

This is a really bad item to have on the front of the Washingtonpost website. Regardless of whether Mr. Obama's treatment of the autograph-seeker was justified or not, the fact that we can write off this day as a "slow news day" when there could be much more relevant and insightful material for the front page such as a rundown of the situation in Tibet (just to name an extremely obvious example) is truly unfortunate. This may be more the responsibility of higher-ups than Chris Cilizza, but this is an unacceptably poor selection of topic.

I would just like to say to those of you who refer to Obama supporters as "Obama-Zombies" that disrespect towards someone solely because he or she holds a view different from yours is unnecessary and rude.

I support Obama, as do many other people in my life. This does not make me a "groupie", it doesn't mean that i and others don't take into account his actions, words, and what they all mean. I support him because, as a young person, he is the only candidate that has restored my hope in this country. He has shown respect for all of us and yet you treat him with disdain.

I feel that people should respect the decision i have made to support Barack. Is it somehow wrong of me to vote for a person that evokes feelings of hope? is it wrong for me to feel inspired by him? Because that's the message i'm getting. I could start calling you names; I could make fun of you for making the "wrong" choice by backing someone else...but i can't do it because unlike you, i try to understand others. So who do you like? Hillary or McCain? Why not tell us why? How about discussing the differences..the pros and cons of each...rather than bringing down Obama's supporters?

You call us groupies for standing by our candidate; for getting excited over this...but what about you? Do you rip your candidate apart when they have a bad news day? Do you seriously try to look at your candidate's view & the views of his or her's opponents with an open mind?

Stop embarrassing yourself and try accepting and listening to other views for a change. You might just learn something...and you might just find that respectful arguments about politics can be interesting, enlightening, and even fun.

Is this a joke? When do we get to see a video of Sen. McCain turning purple and yelling profanity at an 18yr old Senate Page. Give me a break. Talk about bias. I can't believe this is on the front page.

What was once a pocket of lucid writing and insightful thinking in an otherwise toxic blogosphere has officially jumped the goddanm shark with this post.

First Shillizza encourages the idiotic Clinton deadenders to cut-and-paste their fibs, now this. Woodward & Bernstein are in a bar right now, lamenting the sh1++y generation of "journalists."

Chris,

I don't normally write in response to the comments section, but I feel obliged to say something. First, let me say that your representation of the incident is notable, though the matter has been blown out of proportion by mostly the 24 hour news shows. Second, it is revealing to read the many insults being hurled on this site because the events publication. This reinforces my belief that Obama is seen by many as sacrosanct in the world of politics; apparently, he is not just a politician, but a superstar with defenders who take umbrage at stories they don't like.

This is the most riducilous story of the day. For anyone to try and question Obama's temperament over this is just nuts. Just shows you the media will try and find anything to make Obama look bad. Cazilla and his other media buddies need to get a life. Translation of getting a life: Start reporting some serious news stories.

mjno

Great comment about the kiss remark. Obama has been mocking and demeaning to Clinton throughout the campaign, why would anyone think giving stranger a kiss would be a good idea?

zona

Noticed, some Obama nuts are still epileptic over Hillary's Bosnia remarks. On the other hand, we Clinton supporters hardly get a chance to go ballistic over any one single statement of Obama because his contradictions and lies just keep piling up. There's hardly any time to reflect on one lie because you are hit right away with another one.

E.g.

Obama said he was for a single payer health system, but now opposes plans that cover every American.

He promised to repeal the Patriot Act, but then voted to extend it.

He promised to normalize relations with Cuba, but flip-flopped when he started running for president.

He rails against NAFTA in Ohio while his top economic advisor assures the Canadians his rhetoric is just "political positioning."

He promises to opt in to public financing if the GOP nominee does, but then breaks that pledge in real time.

He promises to withdraw from Iraq within 16 months, and now his top foreign policy adviser says that he's not relying on the plan.

At first he knew of no controversial remarks from his pastor. Then he knew it. Then he knew some but not others.

At first the "union" that brought him into this world was caused by the bridge crossing/civil rights movement in Selma which, by the way, actually happened 5 years afterwards. Long after he was born.

He flattered Kennedys by crediting them for funding his father's arrival to US when the Kennedys had nothing to do with it.

Don't even get me going over the questionnaires he has filled indicating positions he has completely contradicted during this campaign cycle.

List keeps on growing.

I'm not a media basher in general but this piece merits a little bashing...The Post needs to think twice about what it puts on the front page. This was the most inane commentary that I have read all election season...slow news day I guess. Better to write nothing than this dribble!

Wow this may be the dumbest post you have ever had. When you have to explain to people the questions you think the video should raise, you are pushing a narrative clearly not shown in the video. I thought you were a journalist? Get out of your beltway bubble and post on real news.

You have got to be kidding. This is a valid news story? Obama was not rude to this "strange" persistent man. In fact, under the circumstances he handled the situation very well and made me feel even more confident of my support for him.

Loving Obama

EXCELLENT RESPONSE FROM OBAMA...the guy could have been a schizo ready to do serious harm so that the quick brush-off became imperative in view of the obvious lapse in security! GO BARAK HUSSEIN!

money matters

this is why Obama will win

(if he is not murdered)

we read this treatment of a good person and we contribute

so where are the Clintons' donors?

you waste zeros and ones for free, can you give the Clintons money?

ooops.

The Clintons have shown that they will not hesitate to say anything or to cross any lines for more power and more money. The Clintons records during and after the White House speak for themselves:

- Most number of convictions and guilty pleas by friends and associates
- Most number of cabinet officials to come under criminal investigation
- Most number of witnesses to flee country or refuse to testify
- Most number of witnesses to die suddenly
- First first lady to come under criminal investigation
- Largest criminal plea agreement in an illegal campaign contribution case
- First president to establish a legal defense fund.
- First president to be held in contempt of court
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions from abroad
- First president disbarred from the US Supreme Court and a state court

Before Bill left office, he gave favors in exchange of money... For example, shortly after beeing pardonned by President Clinton, fugitive financier Marc Rich had his ex-wife giving $400 000 to the Clintons library foundation: Source:
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,98756,00.html

The Clinton foundation received recently a $31.3 million donation after Bill expressed enthusiastic support for the Kazakh leader's, undercuting both American foreign policy and sharp criticism of Kazakhstan's poor human rights: Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/us/politics/31donor.html

Let's press the Clintons to release all their records (tax returns, White House records, list of big donors to their foundation) so that we understand what lies below the tip of the iceberg.

The negative campaign of Hillary is representative of what the Clintons are; corrupted politicians with a lot of connected friends in the party who owe them and in the lobbying business who hope to collect for their favors to Hillary's campaign and/or to the Clinton's library foundation which is a money laundering machine.

This story points to three things:

1) First, as the comments section shows, the only people who think this reflects poorly on Obama were already rabidly pro-Hillary -- which certainly raises the question of where Chris Cillizza's coming from if he thinks this is newsworthy.

2) More broadly, it's deeply embarrassing that the Post put this on the front of their site. It's not even a slow news day. Today, Elizabeth Edwards called out McCain's health care plan, and Obama got the endorsement of Lee Hamilton, co-chair of the 9/11 commission. How this story manages to ace out those stories -- hey guys, remember the issues? -- is a sad reflection of the media's fixation on the horse race, at the expense of any kind of discussion of issues.

As an Obama supporter, this article is simply annoying. But if I opposed Obama's candidacy for intelligent reasons, I'd frankly be offended to read an article like this that trivializes the decision not to support Barack.

3) Finally, the video provides a healthy reminder to all of us that Obama is risking his life more than any other candidate in recent history. The Secret Service can only do so much to protect you. In that sense, this video is a reminder of Obama's courage -- as well as the endless patience and courage that it takes for *anyone* to run for the presidency. For that, the candidates all deserve our admiration and respect.

What an embarassment of a blog post. Total non-story, a guy was overly aggressive and Obama STILL took a picture with him. Cillizza=total hack. How about, I don't know, the issues? Why would you care about that though when you can drum up some horse race hysteria. Thanks, Chris

I see nothing wrong with Obama's reaction. I just wonder why the Secret Service didn't remove this obnoxious and possibly dangerous man.

John McCain divorced his first wife when she got disfigured in an auto accident, and then married the rich woman who he was having an affair with, Cindy. Cindy took McCain from his bureaucratic position in D.C., where McCain was riding his father's coat-tails, to Arizona, and her money turned McCain into a politician. No matter his irrational temper, his two-faced approached to lobbyists, his active cancer, and his tendency to fall asleep. Whoops. I am commenting on the wrong article.

I think you pretty much said it all when you wrote a relatively slow newsweek. Candiates don't lose the right to their personal space and their right to say no just because their running for public office.

Thank you, Chris, for helping fill the vast empty canvass that Obama is. Who is this guy? What does he think? How does he feel? We are only know getting to find out.

Some are saying, well, he is only human. But obviously we expect our Presidents to be a little more than that. Why else would we mince Hillary over whether there was actual sniper fire in a place that was clearly a war zone. We could just as easily say: well, it's human to forget or it's human to embellish a little bit.

I am really amused to read the hypocrisy of these Obama supporter to whom even Hillary's sneeze is evil but who immediately rush to wrap Obama up in humanity when he turns out to be just as flawed.

This is not a news story and I am can't believe it is front page on Washington Post. Obama had reason to be concerned about this man's behavior and I am amazed the secret service didn't step in sooner. Repeated attempts by anyone to get that close to a candidate should have worried his security detail. I thought Obama acted very cool under the circumstances. I'm not for McCain but would not have criticized him in these circumstances either.

So Obama is a little cold to an obviously obnoxious jerk.

You've shown an ability to write something out of nothing. I guess it's a skill journalists need once in a while.

This is the second time i've watched the clip and i tried to view it with as little bias as possible.

Upon first viewing this clip i was astonished at how this man managed to get so close to Senator Obama...he was practically chasing him into the building. This alone could justify Obama's uneasiness and annoyance with the gentleman. In fact, it makes ME a bit uneasy to see that Obama's secret service entourage allowed this somewhat fanatic individual within such a personal distance to the Senator.
Secondly, I did not see anything in the clip to make me question Obama's temperment. In fact, taking into account that this man was not keeping a respectful distance nor acting in a respectful manner, i'd say that Barack Obama handled himself rather well.
Just because you've finally caught the senator on tape being anything other than friendly does not mean he has a poor temperament--it means he's human, just like any other average person. Do you take kindly to being badgered, harrassed, or annoyed? How about when you're having a bad day? or when you haven't been able to get much sleep? Would have been as respectful to that guy as Barack Obama was? I doubt it.

Now please, I must insist that people who post comments about Barack Obama leave out any ignorant remarks they have to say. I especially resent the fact that someone actually posted, "Barack Hussan Obama."---and, the english freak in me wants to scream at them partly for the fact they didn't even spell it right.

So, let's all stop being ignorant and start trying to understand and treat eachother--and ALL the candidates--like human beings.

Now CAN WE PLEASE focus on issues that are actually important?

If this is all you've got Chris, your day job is in serious jeopardy of being lost. Do you wonder why your adversing dollars are falling off the cliff?

Next time, just leave the blog blank instead of embarrassing yourself and costing your paper readers.

> Wag the Blog: A Question of Temperament?

I'll stop reading the fix. Manipulative headline.

Chris Cillizza and wash post owe an apology !!!!!!!!

Talk about a non-story! If anything Obama was overly polite. The Secret Service let the guy off easy.

---------------Billary-----------------

-----------marines or army-------------

Bill says hillary tried to join marines
Hillary says she tried to join the army

....investigate this Chris Cillizza.....

Having watched the video, reviewed the transcript, spent countless hours following the current presidential campaign, lived in the City of Philadelphia for 20 years and given the preesent matter careful consideration, I can only come to the conclusion that this is the dumbest, least relevant story I have seen to date. Man, you reporters need to take some time off. Frankly, were I in the Senator's shoes, my emphasis and diction would have been considerably less restrained. What does it say about Obama's character? Well, he's a lot more tactful than we generally are here in Philly.

Let's be honest here. At an intellectual level it doesn't seem like this should be a story. But looking at the video one sees Obama in a unique, ruffled light. THAT is what makes this news. Frankly, he is not a flattering sight. This might really hurt him. He sounds like a petulant celebrity.

---------------Billary-----------------

-----------marines or army-------------

Bill says hillary tried to join marines
Hillary says she tried to join the army

....investigate this Chris Cillizza.....

This is simply stupid.

---------------Billary-----------------

-----------marines or army-------------

Bill says hillary tried to join marines
Hillary says she tried to join the army

....investigate this Chris Cillizza.....

---------------Billary-----------------

-----------marines or army-------------

Bill says hillary tried to join marines
Hillary says she tried to join the army

....investigate this Chris Cillizza.....

The unanimity of the criticism of this inept attempt to raise questions concerning Senator Obama's possessing a temperament suitable of a President displays the intelligence and discernment of your readers, qualities not apparent in Mr. Cillizza's rationale for bringing the issue to our attention; "this episode is sure to raise questions in some circles about Obama's temperament -- and whether he is suited to the pressure-cooker of the presidency."

Has anyone so argued? Who? Where? And would any reasonable person find reaching such a conclusion to be justified?

Your readers have provided the clear answer to the last question: No

If Obama had simply and resolutely stuck to his no this wouldn't be a story. What makes this a story is his whiny "I won't be smiling". There is something distastefully childish about it.

"Is this even news? Give me a break."

I couldn't agree more...

This is not a story, Chris. Obama was annoyed, but did not lose his temper. There is no story here. I thought that Obama and the Secret Service agents were quite patient with the man in question. This man would exhaust the patience of anyone.

---------------Billary-----------------

-----------marines or army-------------

Bill says hillary tried to join marines
Hillary says she tried to join the army

....investigate this Chris Cillizza.....

Billary

marines or army

Bill says hillary tried to join marines
Hillary says she tried to join the army

investigate this Chris Cillizza

I wonder what the tapes of the first encounters between Garfield and Charles J. Guiteau would have looked like. After all Guiteau claimed to be a supporter of Garfield and essentially shot him because he didn't get a political patronage appointment. The secret service should have stepped in and acted sooner in this case. This guy's conduct was a lot worse than Guiteau's initial conduct and should have sent up red flags. Obama displayed a lot of patience.

I've never left a comment in a forum like this before, but I am moved to comment here by the inanity of your highlighting this incident and suggesting that it truly raises any serious character question. You and your editor ought to apologize for framing it in this way. It makes you look like either an overt Obama-hater or a journalist utterly desperate for a juicy story.

snap1 said: My two cents:
1. The reflective news here is not Obama's demeanor, but the fact that Cillizza reported it, and that the WaPo put the link on its front page.

2. Most comments point out that this was not worth reporting. What is surprising however is the fraction of very opinionated comments for and against Obama.

3. I am not going to read the Baltz' and Cillizza pseudo-reporting for a while. The hope is that when there are substantive speeches on policy by the candidates, WaPo will emphasize them more than the latest quasi-presidential burp and stumble.

___________

I agree wholeheartedly with your three cents. Anyone else care to join? We could make this a Boycott of Sense.

I think articles like this are a great example of why 24/7 news services are not ultimately useful. In order to achieve ratings, there's always pressure to come up with some dramatic "breaking news," including the days on which news is neither dramatic, nor breaking. I wouldn't call this news. It looks to me like someone who has gotten a lot of media attention and is annoyed at certain paparazzi-style characters following him around.

So this belongs on Washington Post's front page, eh?

Well, at least you had the prudence to note that it was a slow news day/week. Let's see. Eisenhower had a temper, but that didn't present him from running D-Day. Carter wasn't exactly a lamb. Bill Clinton is famous for his temper. He managed to do okay, other than his silly dialliance. Why don't you give it some thought, come up with really critical indicators of what it means to be a good leader? Like having a long-range time perspective. Like being smart. This may come as a great surprise to you, but we actually have some reasonably good ideas as to what to look for in potential leaders. Go to the web, to to the library, review some of the literature on leadership, and then come back with some substantive questions.

Chris,

How could you stoop so low? Is this Fox?

Obama was WITHIN HIS RIGHTS AND THEN SOME to protect himself. For all we know, this guy could have had a gun.

Remember JFK? RFK? Lincoln?

Last time I checked the blogs, there are more than a few lunatics out there who wouldn't mind pulling the trigger. (But they DARE NOT if they have even a pea brain.)

This is insane, yellow journalism. What has happened to the WaPo?

If this non-story grows legs I think I'll vote in another country.

C'mon, Brother! Obama is clearly the coolest customer and cucumber of the three still in the race for the O.O. If - a huge IF - had gotten near McCain, Johnny Mac would've terrorized HIM. and if he had tried to approach Hillary, Bill would've sicked the Ragin' Cajun on his behind. Puh-lease. April Fool's indeed.

Hats off to my fellow citizens for recognizing a dolt with a byline. One of the most encouraging set of comments I've read in years.

What an idiot - once he said yes he should have smiled for the camera. Now the guy with the wife who teaches fourth grade has the only picture in the world of Bam-bam not smiling - that's gotta be worth some