Comments for "John Ashcroft Calls Obama "Osama"; Gets Booed." Video at VideoSift.com

By lesserfool

lesserfool (http://www.videosift.com/member/lesserfool) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 17:35:56 -0700

Ashcroft joins the ranks of countless Republicans who have found yet another way to show they have no shame.

By ObsidianStorm

ObsidianStorm (http://www.videosift.com/member/ObsidianStorm) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 18:53:35 -0700

Guy is so despised in his own state that he lost an election to a dead man...

By MarineGunrock

MarineGunrock (http://marinegunrock.videosift.com) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 19:32:57 -0700

Protect the United States?

Hell, by putting the Patriot act into place, the terrorists won.
By requiring that all liquids be in a clear plastic bag at the airport, the terrorists won.
By requiring a passport to get from US-Canada, the terrorists won.
By enacting a "Threat level" scale, the terrorists won.
By wanting a national ID card, the terrorists won.
By needed armed security at the Superbowl, the terrorists won.
By strip searching random 80 year old women at the airport, the terrorists won.
By making our nation start a world-wide war against terror, the terrorists won.
By even calling a good man "Osama" just because his name rhymes? The terrorists won.

Do you know why they won?

Because that's what terrorists do.

They put terror and fear of everyday life into innocent people's hearts.

That's why they're called 'terrorists'.

Hey, Dick. I dedicate my new avatar to you, asshole.

By captbarbiturate

captbarbiturate (http://www.videosift.com/member/captbarbiturate) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 19:52:29 -0700

^Powerfully written, especially from a veteran.

By omnistegan

omnistegan (http://omnistegan.videosift.com) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 01:14:30 -0700

At least that was an honest mistake..... probably.

By AceOfKidneys

AceOfKidneys (http://www.videosift.com/member/AceOfKidneys) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 09:33:15 -0700

Up vote for pretending the patriot act is a good thing

By uhohzombies

uhohzombies (http://uhohzombies.videosift.com) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 10:10:17 -0700

Excellent comment, Gun. 9/11 was our very own Reichstag Fire. We're just giving away our freedoms and begging to find ourselves under authoritarian rule one of these days.

"He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither."

By MarineGunrock

MarineGunrock (http://marinegunrock.videosift.com) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 12:32:31 -0700

Excellent quote, Uhoh.

By Zonbie

Zonbie (http://zonbie.videosift.com) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 13:42:38 -0700

Upvote for the classic "but if you don't sign for the Patriot Act, you hate America and kiss the ass of Al Quieda"

This someone reminds me of the old "if you dont support this, you're scummy commie" line of attack...

Awful,just awful...and that "clanger" he dropped, fruedian prehaps?

By dannym3141

dannym3141 (http://www.videosift.com/member/dannym3141) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 17:20:40 -0700

>> ^MarineGunrock:
Be even calling a good man "Osama" just because his name rhymes? The terrorists won.

Do you know why they won?

Because that's what terrorists do.

They put terror and fear of everyday life into innocent people's hearts.

That's why they're called 'terrorists'.

Not really with you on that one, chum.

Either he made a mistake (and i think he did), and we can simply blame the gods for making two major current issues rhyme. Or he did it on purpose, tongue-in-cheek (right or wrong, funny or not; that's the only way this would make sense and be intentional at the same time).

If the latter, it's not the first time someone has used rhyme, puns or word association to make a political joke and it certainly doesn't give support to terrorism. Such a joke insinuates that "it's easy to confuse the two, as both are evil/deconstructive to freedom", which is in fact an anti-terrorism sentiment.

My humble apologies, as the rest of your post was fine, however i think it's important to be carefull; by finding terrorism and pro-terrorism in every detail, the terrorists really HAVE won.

By bamdrew

bamdrew (http://www.videosift.com/member/bamdrew) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 18:27:54 -0700

Judging from his reaction I'd say this is a real gaffe...

Ashcroft did one honorable thing, and that was to very dramatically let the domestic eavesdropping expire in 2004, a move that almost brought down the house of cards when the rest of the story began to come out. http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/24/gonzales.hearing.ap/index.html

By Jinx

Jinx (http://www.videosift.com/member/Jinx) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:25:27 -0700

Am I the only one who thinks that wasn't a big deal? It seemed like an honest mistake to me. Freudian slip perhaps, but hes talking about the Patriot Act so its somewhat understandable it was on his mind. We've all slipped up and sometimes not said what we meant. You don't have to agree with him, but to debase his politics based on what could have just been a slip of the tongue seems petty. He messed up, he apologised straight away, there isn't anything to see here.

By MarineGunrock

MarineGunrock (http://marinegunrock.videosift.com) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:39:56 -0700

>> ^dannym3141:
>> ^MarineGunrock:
Not really with you on that one, chum.

Either he made a mistake (and i think he did), and we can simply blame the gods for making two major current issues rhyme. Or he did it on purpose, tongue-in-cheek (right or wrong, funny or not; that's the only way this would make sense and be intentional at the same time).

If the latter, it's not the first time someone has used rhyme, puns or word association to make a political joke and it certainly doesn't give support to terrorism. Such a joke insinuates that "it's easy to confuse the two, as both are evil/deconstructive to freedom", which is in fact an anti-terrorism sentiment.

My humble apologies, as the rest of your post was fine, however i think it's important to be carefull; by finding terrorism and pro-terrorism in every detail, the terrorists really HAVE won.

What I was going for there was that according to Ashcroft: Obama = Osama = death + destruction for all of America.

By sirex

sirex (http://www.videosift.com/member/sirex) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 05:12:30 -0700

i agree with MG's first comment, but i do think this was a real mistake, you can hear his voice tremble a little as he trys to put an apology together.

you're right though, the terrorists have won to some extent. Before 2001 noone ever gave terrorism a second thought, but now your chances of being affected by it are as small as ever, and you'd think it was the biggest threat the world has ever faced. The media has always been the biggest weapon the terrorists can wield.

By dannym3141

dannym3141 (http://www.videosift.com/member/dannym3141) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:21:51 -0700

I see your angle, that makes sense, however i do hope you seen mine (although someone clearly hasn't.. 1 downvote). I think the most important thing to do now is not relate anything & everything to terrorism, because then they're winning in 2 directions!

And someone doesn't agree, remarkable.

By honkeytonk73

honkeytonk73 (http://www.videosift.com/member/honkeytonk73) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:10:41 -0700

ASScroft

By sbchapm

sbchapm (http://www.videosift.com/member/sbchapm) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:25:41 -0700

I'm an Obama man, and I have to admit, I've made the same mistake. Once again this proves if this man gets elected it's going to be after encountering some serious obstacles. The man is black. The man's name is Obama. His middle name is Hussein for fucks sake. I mean I wake up amazed that the same country that elected W twice (I know, I know but 2004 was much much worse) is on the edge of electing a black man named Barack Hussein Obama. I'll be so proud of you America if you don't fuck this one up.

Oh, and Ashcroft. Well, he's a very bad man.

By MarineGunrock

MarineGunrock (http://marinegunrock.videosift.com) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:28:26 -0700

Yes, after watching it again, it does seem that he made an honest mistake, the way that he stumbles after the slip...

By quantumushroom

quantumushroom (http://www.videosift.com/member/quantumushroom) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:39:44 -0700

Osama doesn't hide what he stands for and the media doesn't hide his agenda.

By Xax

Xax (http://www.videosift.com/member/Xax) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:40:19 -0700

I have no doubt it was an honest mistake, but Ashcroft is a douche, and hearing everyone in the room boo him was pretty funny.

By cheesemoo

cheesemoo (http://www.videosift.com/member/cheesemoo) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:48:28 -0700

Holy hell MG, is that a record for most upvotes on a comment?

Edit: as of now, yes. Yes it is.

By therealblankman

therealblankman (http://www.videosift.com/member/therealblankman) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 23:55:28 -0700

Ashcroft seems genuinely flustered and embarassed by this gaffe, but does the author and implementer of the obscenely mis-named "Patriot" act get a free pass?

HELL NO!

By FishBulb

FishBulb (http://www.videosift.com/member/FishBulb) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:32:00 -0700

I'm sure I would hate this guy if I knew him but that was a genuine mistake. I'd forgive even Howard if he slipped up in that manner.

By pmkierst

pmkierst (http://www.videosift.com/member/pmkierst) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:02:19 -0700

I use to think Ashcroft was a total git. I still do, but now I have come to believe he might be different sort of git then I thought he was. Sure he is a religious idiot who mixes up morality and law, but of the lot that was in there, I think he might be one of the few that had ethics, even if I didn't always agree with them. I guess it is all relative.

By honkeytonk73

honkeytonk73 (http://www.videosift.com/member/honkeytonk73) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:58:41 -0700

I somewhat agree pmkierst... Ashcroft was one of the very few who stood up to Bush and Gonzales (while deathly Ill and essentially incapacitated in hospital) against renewal of the warrantless spy program. Of course his efforts ultimately failed when he and his deputy were pushes aside and Gonzales was knighted to be torturer in chief.

By DrPawn

DrPawn (http://www.videosift.com/member/DrPawn) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:23:44 -0700

I hate this guy.

By choggie

choggie (http://www.videosift.com/member/choggie) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 01:12:40 -0700

again, republican and democrat=same monster
Taking sides is a fools errand-after all the applause for MG's comment, and after 6 years past 9-11 and the unconsciousness associated with that event (by design), most monkeys still think in playing the games a retrograde system of government which has been controlled for decades now, that they have some say in their future within that system.......most people have been groomed to be told what and how to think-why do you think there are only a handfull of people who believe 9/11 was a false-flag op, and the rest stand and jeer and deride from the comfort of the crowd???......
Fear.

So Asscrop slipped his Freudia, big fucking deal. I watched some hearing last night where Obama had the floor....He's a slick-ricky tool, but if he loses, the same folks who brought you the patriot act, have plan B, C, and D of necessary, regardless of who is elected-

The next revolution??? Try Dissolution, we lost our chance when hippies became lawyers, politicians, lobbyists and others who work within the same defective system......

By punk225

punk225 (http://www.videosift.com/member/punk225) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:51:38 -0700

>> ^uhohzombies:
Excellent comment, Gun. 9/11 was our very own Reichstag Fire. We're just giving away our freedoms and begging to find ourselves under authoritarian rule one of these days.

"He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither."

"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both"
--Benjamin Franklin