"Barack is one of the smartest people you will ever encounter who will deign to enter this messy thing called politics." —Michelle Obama
Deign: to condescend reluctantly and with a strong sense of the affront to one's superiority that is involved : stoop
A little bit of advice to the Obama campaign: it's never a good idea for anyone connected to a campaign to use the word "deign" when describing their own candidate.
(h/t Ed Morrissey)
When McCain backers consider labeling conservative opposition to His Maverickness as "McCain Derangement Syndrome" (MDS), I wish they'd get a clue as to what Derangement Syndrome really is.
Consider a measure passed in Battleboro, VT this Tuesday:
"Shall the Selectboard instruct the Town Attorney to draft indictments against President Bush and Vice President Cheney for crimes against our Constitution ... [and to] arrest and detain George Bush and Richard Cheney in Brattleboro if they are not duly impeached, and prosecuted or extradite them to other authorities that may reasonably contend to prosecute them?"
Now that, friends, is derangement.
"[F]or the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country..." —Michelle Obama
Ok, everyone's heard the quote. The rebuttals almost write themselves.
People need to take a step back, and understand the spirit in which Michelle's statement was intended. It was no more than an attempt to connect with her audience. It must be understood that speaking dismissively of America is a bonding ritual among liberals. Nothing says to a liberal audience, "I'm one of you," more than expressions of disdain for America.
When reading Michelle’s statement in the cold, impersonal medium of print, it's easy to miss it’s meaning, and mistake it as a gratuitous slap at America. That's not what it was at all. She was just working the crowd, getting them fired up to rally behind Team Obama.
Her husband tried to spin her statement, for the sake of damage control, explaining, "What she meant was, this is the first time that she's been proud of the politics of America." Of course that came off sounding lame, because Michelle was talking about America in general, not about American politics.
What her husband should have said, but couldn't, is: "Lighten up, people. My wife didn’t mean anything by it. Of course she's been proud of America—every time liberalism has triumphed. But you must understand, she had to say that she was never proud of America: In the circles we travel, that’s just how you roll.”