Deseret News | Obama is uniting groups to work for good of all

Reader comments
John Florez: Obama is uniting groups to work for good of all

Beg to differ | 6:00 a.m. May 4, 2009

I see more racism now than ever before. Just yesterday the Deseret News published a story about two "WHITE" boys found not guilty by an all "WHITE" jury for the beating of a "MEXICAN". I guess the problem I had with the article is this, why didn't it just say two boys were found not guilty and leave the color and nationality out of the article.....Racism is running strong and rampant in this country, don't be fooled!!!!!

slave-master neocons | 7:44 a.m. May 4, 2009

If we left the country to the racist neocons, we would still have slavery.
Instead, we have a black man named Obama as our president.
Is this a great country or what?

Chuck | 7:53 a.m. May 4, 2009

Only according to the media. It's all hype.

Comments continue below

New York Times Poll? | 8:20 a.m. May 4, 2009

Basis for opinion here is a New York Times poll. The NYT is "in the tank" for Obama. It's ridiculous. Their objectivity is non-existent. So immediately, I am suspicious of what follows. And I'm offended when people pull the "race card" whenever anyone DARES to criticize President Obama. So, I guess we're in for 4 years of "evernthing is wonderful" even as my taxes skyrocket, the natioanl debt soars past 10 Trillion dollars, and hundreds of millions are wasted in things like ACORN...and we're all sucked into massive Socialism and government control over our US industries and our lives. I'm sorry, but Im' not drinking that Kool Aid. There's plenty that Obama and his uber-liberal team are proposing that send chills down my spine. It should yours too.

Anonymous | 8:27 a.m. May 4, 2009

Beautifully written - but entirely false. Much like Obama's speeches, this article is feel-good but with very little reality.

Obama is a divider more than a uniter. This is why he dares to push extremist measures unsupported by most Americans, like abortionist-payback bills that would force doctors to perform abortions or lose their jobs, and would also force parents out of their minor teen's decisions entirely. He spouted "hope" and "change" and other positive ideas - until the moment he became president when suddenly it was more politically convenient to spout economic worries and dread so that he had every excuse to rush his political paybacks bill through the legislature by calling it "stimulus." Oh, meanwhile "apologizing" to each of our enemies for America's "arrogance" - never mind his arrogance for taking on that task - and slighting our best friends in the meantime through very poor diplomacy in Great Britain and elsewhere. All while avoiding any positive "change" and opting instead for even worse politics by engaging a cabinet full of tax-cheats.

Geeze | 8:58 a.m. May 4, 2009

When is America going to realize that Obama is the RACIST and he is separating the USA along RACE and Wealth lines? When will America wake up?

liberal larry | 9:31 a.m. May 4, 2009

It feels good to have a president we can be proud of.

Correction | 9:32 a.m. May 4, 2009

Obama is not the first African-American president - he is the first mixed-race president (his mother is white).

If you are going to wallow in group identity (hyphenated-American) politics, please be accurate.

To: Geeze | 9:54 a.m. May 4, 2009

America is awake and realizing that we are entering a new era of change, progress and growth for a better America. More prosperous and free for all with more equal justice. A better nation for us and a better neighbor to other nations. Open your eyes and get on board and do your part; don't be a free loader. We have a great leader in Obama, but he can't do it all, we need to pitch in too.

Obama not a uniter | 9:54 a.m. May 4, 2009

The Obama campaign, and now the Obama administration, is the one throwing out racially-tinged bombs. It was Obama who said, "...they'll tell you I don't look like the other presidents on our dollar bills, that I have a funny name". And then Obama's Attorney General Eric Holder hurls a bomb by calling us a "nation of cowards" for not talking about racial issues, then he himself contributes nothing to any discussion. They are just trying to keep you feeling guilty and therefore easily manipulated.

Anonymous | 9:54 a.m. May 4, 2009

The fact that the neo-conservatives will never accept a black man as president shows there are still that kind (you know the kind) running around causing division after division.

Obama not a uniter | 10:06 a.m. May 4, 2009

Frank Luntz and others have done studies on Democrat's and Republican's responses to some of Obama's rhetoric. They have identified issues that serve to divide America, such as bashing the Bush Administration and denigrating America for her many sins while traveling abroad. Obama seems not to care that his words and policies are divisive, he just keeps spouting off. He dismissed the "Tea Party" masses, as well. The only way he's a uniter is by hoping we'll all be herded like sheep into one big corral, making it easier to shift us into he new social order.

RedShirt | 10:15 a.m. May 4, 2009

To "slave-master neocons | 7:44 a.m." why are you such a racist. You, along with much of the media show your racist bias. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." By making a big deal or continuing to state that Obama is black and using that as an arguement, YOU and the media perpetuate racism.

Also, if you read your history, you will find that if it wasn't for the conservatives (neocons are liberals) the equal rights movement would have never moved beyond a movement, no legislation would have passed and become law.

It's good to see | 10:16 a.m. May 4, 2009

that racism in the form of 'slave-master neo-cons' above is alive and well. Funny how the keepers of the agenda keep the topic fomenting. Yeah, I know, that's a big word.
The first step toward a racism-free society would be to declare an end to the race-baiting terms.

Anonymous | 10:26 a.m. May 4, 2009

President Obama is staying true to his campaign promises to unite the country that the conservatives have divided.

Cosmo | 10:54 a.m. May 4, 2009

Maybe we can have an "Obama Plaque", placed on all church buildings in America, like the Caesar's did.

@ 10:15 a.m. | 11:12 a.m. May 4, 2009

RedShirt, why are you such a racist?. You hate as much as this guy does to.

Bill O'Reilly's definition of Fairness: "Speak not ill of Obama least he and his appointed minions refuse to appear on ... The Factor."

Remember, Grasshopper: It's all about the ratings.

ka-ching-ka-ching-ka-ching!

@RedShirt | 11:26 a.m. May 4, 2009

You don't have the right to re-write history. It was the Conservatives who fought civil rights every step of the way. Goldwater refused to vote for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and didn't even mention civil rights in his campaign speeches. The Dixiecrat congressmen (by no possible definition liberals) filibustered it for months, dismissing ML King as a "commie subversive." LBJ and the liberal Democrats brought about Civil Rights reform, with the help of some liberal Republicans. I know. I was there. In Washington. At the time!

RedShirt | 12:40 p.m. May 4, 2009

To "" you should read "The GOP Is the Party of Civil Rights" in the Wall Stree Journal. It lays out how Republicans have pushed for more civil rights for minorities, and the Democrats have stopped it.

Also, according to Newsmax, in an article titled "Republicans and Civil Rights" it states that "In the 26 major civil rights votes after 1933, a majority of Democrats opposed civil rights legislation in over 80 percent of the votes. By contrast, the Republican majority favored civil rights in over 96 percent of the votes." Next, when you look at the voting for the Civil Rights Act, it came out like this "Republicans favored the bill 138 to 34; Democrats supported it 152-96". Again, a higher percentage of REPUBLICANS supported it than Democrats.

Hmm..if you read those two articles it makes it appear that the Republicans have done more for civil rights than Democrats, especially when looking at voting records.

Lets not forget that Senator Robery Byrd, a Democrat, was a member of KKK, not exactly a civil rights friendly organization.

Reason | 2:00 p.m. May 4, 2009

Florezs glowing praise of Obama is nave at best. Its true that Obama was able to understand the conditions of our times, but not in the way that Florez means it. Obama realized that many Americans understanding of our history and our Constitution is woefully inadequate, so he had a chance to move ahead with his anti-freedom, anti-national-security, anti-capitalism agenda.

Obama is skilled at projecting an image of a uniter and healer, pretending to openly listen to opposing views, while behind the scenes he uses hammer-fisted techniques to force compliance and silence opposition. His carefully-crafted-but-phony image continues to fool a lot of people, including John Florez.

neocons and hatred | 2:05 p.m. May 4, 2009

These are indeed tough times for the hate-filled neocons.
Like Gerry Spence wrote (about their hero, Rush Limbaugh) "A people-hater adored by people-haters."

Neocons hate everybody different than them:
Blacks
non-english speaking
non-Christian
those that believe in live-and-let-live
and the list continues to grow each day.

@RedShirt | 3:09 p.m. May 4, 2009

You completely missed my point. The liberals pushed civil rights and the conservatives opposed them -- consistently. Party labels had nothing to do with it. Southern "Democrats" were actually Dixiecrats and are fiercely Republican today. Northern liberal Republicans are all Democrats today (e.g. Arlen Specter). The Goldwater conservatives OPPOSED civil rights as "communist inspired evil." I KNOW. I WAS THERE!

Yah, this is obvious | 3:26 p.m. May 4, 2009

I've never seen America so united. Give me a break!

RedShirt | 3:53 p.m. May 4, 2009

To "neocons and hatred | 2:05 p.m." when you start talking about neocons, it makes me glad that I am a conservative. Neocons, aka liberals that are too conservative to be called liberals, really have messed things up.

Unfortunately, most people don't know the difference between neoconservative and conservative.

@ "3:09 p.m. " | 3:55 p.m. May 4, 2009

@RedShirt | 3:09 p.m.

Democrats were NOT the party of civil rights until recently. Check your history dude. Even many of the Democrats still in office were KKK officials in their earlier life. They've just realised it is another wedge they can use to stay in office, so now they embrace it.

re: Redshirt | 4:09 p.m. May 4, 2009

I get a big kick out of people like Redshirt who like to call themselves "conservatives."

What this has come to mean is basically:
"I think I am/We are better than you - so there!"

Well, the elections in '06 and '08 clearly indicated just how much "better" neocons are than the rest of we normal people.

LOL!

RedShirt | 4:57 p.m. May 4, 2009

To "re: Redshirt | 4:09 p.m." I am glad that the neoconservatives got kicked out. Once people get a taste of what liberalism means, hopefully, there will be some true conservative leadership out there to dig us out of the hole that the liberals are so quickly digging for us.

Undermedicated RedShirt | 5:10 p.m. May 4, 2009

RedShirt's been breaking his medication in half again. (next time take the whole tablet, Red)

He's forgotten the dire mess the previous "true conservative leadership" the Cheney/Bush administration has put us in.
But that's how the radical right works its magic.
They forget the 11th Commandment: THOU SHALT NOT B.S. THYSELF.

LOL!

RE: Undermedicated RedShirt | 6:05 p.m. May 4, 2009

How about the mess Bush and Cheney had to deal with?

And still they kept the US chugging along and it's head above the waters,

you know:

the tech bubble burst,
the worst terrorist attack ever on america soil,
natural dissasters like hurricanes,
dealing with the looming financial and housing problems inspite of having an unhelpful democratic congress the last two years, (unhelpful due to hateful partisan politics of democrats for the 2008 election)

in light of all that all that Bush and Cheney actually did a pretty good job.

Now Obama and liberal democrats are making things even worse.

And no outstanding reading of speeches off teleprompters, or fixed or managed press confereneces will change the reality of that.

obama's unity | 8:53 p.m. May 4, 2009

He is uniting the opposition to himself.

People voted for him either in hope or in disgust at the previous administration. Finally we will all find him to be an even worse choice than Bush. Then we will look around for a Third Party candidate in hope and in disgust at the current administration.

oh please | 10:24 p.m. May 4, 2009

Disgruntled Republicans, look very hard for a third party candidate. May I suggest Alan Keyes. Sincerely, A Democrat

Reason | 12:10 a.m. May 5, 2009

Re: RedShirt: Thanks for your regular contributions to these forums. Your wisdom especially stands out in contrast to another regular who contributes nothing to the discussion and offers only taunts and insults. This other individual makes only himself look bad. Consider it an honor that you are attacked by the likes of him.

And on the topic: Its a concern that many people dont see Obamas destructive plans for what they really are. Obama is not just another liberal most of whom in their hearts I think truly care about our country. Rather he is a person whose views and plans, if fully carried out, could seriously undermine freedom and bring our country to its knees. His views scare even some liberal politicians, but they are hesitant to speak up against their own partys president.

RedShirt | 7:40 a.m. May 5, 2009

To "Reason | 12:10 a.m." thanks. I remember that there was a talk by a GA once where they admonished the younger generation to read the newspaper. The reason for this is to be able to understand better what is going on. I had started to read the paper just before that, and it is amazing what you learn and can see going on.

You should join in the forums here. All it takes is organizing news items when you see them, and slowly putting the pieces together.

Add your comment

Comments are monitored. Any comments found to be abusive, offensive, off-topic, misrepresentative, more than 200 words or containing URLs will not be posted.

Words Remaining

E-mail address: For internal use only. We may want to contact you to publish your comment (not your e-mail address) in the newspaper or for a separate story idea.