President Obama Monday compared his relentless negative campaigning to that of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, suggesting the accusations lobbed back and forth in the 1800 campaign justified his own resort to the low road.
Speaking at a fundraiser Tuesday in New York City, Obama indicated the attacks on Mitt Romney, which independent observers have branded as in some cases false, were in the grand American tradition of politics.
And this phase of the campaign I think you’re seeing a lot of negative ads and a lot of contrast ads — although when people start saying how terrible it is I just have to remind them that take a look at what Jefferson and Adams had to say about each other, and democracy has always been pretty rough and pretty messy.
Indeed, there were some scurrilous accusations made in the campaign of 1800, in which Jefferson defeated Adams, the incumbent president.
But many of the attacks often cited are either unproven to have occurred or were not necessarily directed by the candidates, although Jefferson did condone some of them. Obama is presiding over a centralized attack machine aimed at Romney.
That nasty campaigns have been conducted before hardly justifies dishonest, mean spirited campaigning today.
What’s more, Obama has presented himself as someone who wants to bring “civility” to politics, specifically criticizing negative campaigning and creating an image of himself as a new kind of politician who was above such tactics.
Obama’s invoking of two of America’s founding fathers to describe his own actions is of apiece with his previous efforts to liken himself to Lincoln and and Martin Luther King.
29 thoughts on “Obama Says Jefferson and Adams Were Nasty Campaigners Too”
Next thing you hear he will be comparing Mooch to Abigail Adams.
Well said, Keith ! Yes, his civility speech made him rise in the polls once but I don´t think it would be a good idea to try that trick again.
Oh, he’ll try it. I bet he does.
The hubris of this guy is unbelievable. He’ll use any means necessary to justify his actions and squeal like a stuck pig when Romney throws it back at him.
I am beginning to think the President believes in reincarnation.
There is nothing this “president” would not stoop to hold onto power.
Power hunger, and desperation is thy name. Good luck with that.
I’m fairly certain, Adams and Jefferson didn’t speak to each other for a dozen or so years after the election.
In other words, Obama is willing to not speak to the other side after this election.
what ever happened to reaching across the aisle?
In his new ad he says trickle down didn’t work…is he calling Regan a failure?
Re: Trickle down…..Obama said that top down economics does not work…. what I say is top down government for sure does not work.
Sounds like Axelrod & Co. are grasping at straws again…it’s a sure bet Obama has never picked up a biography of Jefferson or Adams. Seems like just yesterday that the Composite-in-Chief was campaigning on being a ‘transformational’ president in the model of Ronald Reagan. What we are seeing now is the ‘real’ Barry Soetoro – Chicago gangsta street thug.
It must be working though unfortunately, he seems to be gaining the swing states…….
Don’t believe the polls. Most pollsters are using some strategy that oversamples Democrats 10 to 1 and they do not sample likely voters. Rasmussen is the most reliable pollster.
You are absolutely correct Susan.
They have Obama ahead or even in Ohio.
Every poll should come with the sampling percentage.
Some polls have only sampled 500 people, and who knows whether they actually know what’s going on.?
Mark Twain stated that there are 3 types of lies:
Lies, damn lies, and statistics.
The polls fall in there somewhere.
Susan’s correct about the polls. Mots of them are trying to make news and influence voters, rather than reflect the current voter sentiment. Rasmussen is indeed the most accurate and reliable. In any case, I actually WANT all the polls to be giving the Dems the edge and a false sense of hope. I would love nothing more than all the polls and talking heads to go into this election thinking the O has it in the bag and then watch them all cry on election night when Romney wins in a landslide.
typo = most, not mots
Has he channeled Mother Teresa yet?
He can’t do that ~ she was pro-life and followed the teachings of her church.
What I’ve been hearing from one faction of Obots is that our founders were nothing but a bunch of racist old white men who built this country on the backs of slaves. Then King Kardashian turns around and uses our founders as a justification for his negative campaigning. Guess he’s trying to have it both ways…
By the way, Jefferson and Adams were great friends, despite their differing political philosophies. When Adams appointed political enemies of Jefferson as payback for losing the election, they parted ways. A fellow signer to the Declaration of Independence, Dr. Benjamin Rush, brokered a reconciliation years later. The Adams-Jefferson letters that resulted from that reconciliation gives us all a view into the history of our founding. Amazingly, these two great men died on the same day, July 4th, 1826 – 50 years to the day after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
There is no comparison of the political battle between two patriots of our founding to today’s political climate. Adams and Jefferson both loved America, they just had different political philosophies. Obama is no patriot and he has made it very clear that he doesn’t love this country as founded.
After the above remarks to the NY money interest, he made an appearance on Sesame Street to talk with some kindergarten kids. Here’s a little of what he related there.
Obama: OK kids, today’s letter is: C. Do you know words that start with the letter C? Here are some examples that I use daily and are worth remembering. Let me help you with your lesson. C = Chicago thugs; Cheap shots; Cabal; Coarse; Cockiest; Creep; Crackbrain; Criminal; and Constipated.
Kid: President Obummer? Doesn’t Civility begin with a C?
Obama: No Johnny. The One has removed inoperable words and changed definitions to suit The One’s purposes. Now sit down and complete your vote by mail form.
They certainly redefined the word ‘Liberal’
Jefferson? Adams? Whats next? Does he challenge Romney to a duel? Wearing a powdered wig? He better go back to using the teleprompter quickly. At least TOTUS stopped him from sounding like a mental case.
Has Czippy been trying to wean himself from TOTUS as he gets ready for the debates in two months?
http://freebeacon.com/over-the-line-2/ The village is missing an idiot. Contact Sen. Reid’s office for more information on whereabouts.
Unbelievable ~ couldn’t believe even Harry Reid would stoop so low when I heard this today. But, then, things are going to get even uglier between now and November.
From everything I read about what Obama is saying in his speeches, his problem seems to be that his racism is coming through loud and clear.
How sad is that?
As far as Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, this past July 4th, I watched the clip of President Reagan’s July 4, 1986 speech. Near the end of his speech, he discussed these two founding fathers:
http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1986/70486c.htm
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