Who calls Barack Obama "The Messiah" -- and why?

[Nova Land]

This thread is a spin-off from the thread "Who says that Obama is our smartest president ever?".

That thread is intended for examination of the claim that the media bombards us with hyperbolic claims about how intelligent Barack Obama is. But a number of off-topic posts in that thread are distracting from discussion of the actual topic. Therefore I am opening this new thread for the purpose of examining and discussing one such side-track: the question of who it is who refers to Barack Obama by labels such as "The Messiah", and what their reasons are for referring to him this way.

There are two distinct claims being made about this, and I'd like to see both of them examined in this thread.

Claim # 1. Claim # 1 is mine. In the OP to the thread, as background to discussion of who it is who is repeatedly referring to Barack Obama as the 'smartest president ever', I made the assertion that:

In the past, various right-wing humorists have referred to Barack Obama as "the Messiah" and "The Anointed One" -- part of a running gag in which they pretend that people on the left actually look upon and refer to Obama that way. A number of their listeners have actually fallen for the joke.

I did not think this was a particularly controversial assertion. Apparently it is. So in this thread I will present evidence in support of my assertion that people such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity routinely refer to Barack Obama as "The Messiah", "The Anointed One", and "The One" -- not because they actually believe that Barack Obama is the Messiah but in an attempt to mock Barack Obama and his followers.

Claim # 2. In addition to my claim that right-wing folks call Barack Obama "The Messiah" as a form of mockery", there is a separate claim which poster WithoutRights has put forward: that Barack Obama's supporters frequently refer to him as the Messiah.

This is the claim implicit (and often explicit) in Limbaugh's and Hannity's use of the term. It is also a claim which has been picked up and echoed by a number of people who have heard Limbaugh et. al. making these mocking comments and mistakenly believed the comments were serious and had a factual basis.

In my next post in this thread, I'll present evidence in support of my claim that prominent right-wingers frequently call Barack Obama "the Messiah" in an attempt to mock Obama's followers. Then, in my following post, I'll present the evidence posted so far by WithoutRights that it is Obama's followers who actually call him this, and will examine the quotes provided to see if they stand up to scrutiny.

I am responding to that evidence in this thread, rather than the thread in which it was posted, so that the claim and the evidence can get the attention they deserve without derailing the other thread. Since there are so many off-topic posts being made in the other thread, I would like to ask up front that people posting in this thread please stick with the topic of this thread.

 

[Nova Land]

My claim is that right-wing folks such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity often refer to Barack Obama as "The Messiah" and "The Anointed One" in an effort to add humor to their attacks on Obama and his supporters.

I think this is easy to show. Hannity's use of "The Anointed One" as a reference to Obama is so well-known that there's even a Wikipedia listing or it:.

The Anointed One may refer to:

* The Messiah, or in a Christian context, Jesus Christ
...
* Barack Obama, a term used by Sean Hannity when referring to Barack Obama

Limbaugh's use of the term is also easy to document. Here are some links to transcripts of Rush Limbaugh calling Barack Obama "The Messiah".

1. "Fainting Again for the Messiah?"

They're fainting again, by the way, for The Messiah. Again, yesterday afternoon in Bowie, Maryland, at Bowie State University while Obama was speaking...

When Obama was out there as the Messiah, all these people were swooning and fainting, and that's exactly what he said when it would happen during the campaign.

2. Obama's Strange Easter Remark

The Messiah said something. This just sounds strange. Let me find it. It's Obama talking about Easter...

3. "Imagine President Palin Doing This"

Hey, folks, let's pretend for just a second. Pretend that you are the smartest person in the room, the wisest person in the world. Pretend that you are Barack Obama, President of the United States. At this moment in time, what do you focus on?

... You're The Messiah! Tell me, what do you focus on? And what's the answer?

Gay marriage.

4. Rush Limbaugh: I'm shocked Obama 'was actually born'

"The two things about this that really shock me the most: one, that Obama was born at all. I thought it was a miraculous conception. And secondly, that his parents are actually mortals. Those are the two things I've really had a tough time believing. I mean, here they have presented this guy as 'the Messiah,' as 'the One,' and those people aren't born. They just descend from the heavens."

1. Does anyone want to dispute these are examples of Limbaugh referring to Obama as "the Messiah"?

2. Does anyone want to dispute that these are attempts at humor?

3. Does anyone want to dispute that a main point of Limbaugh's repeatedly referring to Obama as "the Messiah" is to try to paint Obama's supporters as the ones who consider Obama to be "the Messiah"?

 

[bikerdruid]

apparently, no one who is worth listening to.

 

[Nova Land]

Without Rights posted the following quotations into the thread examining the claim that the media bombards us with the message that Barack Obama is the smartest president ever:

"You are the instruments that God is going to use to bring about universal change, and that is why Barack has captured the youth. And he has involved young people in a political process that they didn't care anything about. That's a sign. When the Messiah speaks, the youth will hear, and the Messiah is absolutely speaking."

Louis Farrakhan
​

"He's our product out of the all-knowing quantum field of intelligence"
Eve Konstantine

"He is not the Word made flesh, but the triumph of word over flesh, Obama is, at his best, able to call us back to our highest selves."
Ezra Klein

"There’s something else going on. I think that Obama, his election to the Senate, was divinely ordered. . . . I know that that was God’s plan."
Bill Rush

When Without Rights was asked the reason for posting these quotes, which appear unrelated to the thread topic, WR replied:

It is unrelated to the title but not the opening post.

In the past, various right-wing humorists have referred to Barack Obama as "the Messiah" and "The Anointed One" -- part of a running gag in which they pretend that people on the left actually look upon and refer to Obama that way. A number of their listeners have actually fallen for the joke. My guess is that this is something similar.

The quotes I posted proved this to be false. Not only in the "messiah" aspect but also in the intelligence aspect, calling him a product of all-knowing quantum field of intelligence".

So, do the quotes Without Reason posted demonstrate that people other than right-wing humorists are referring to Barack Obama as "the Messiah"? Let's examine them one by one.

1. "You are the instruments that God is going to use to bring about universal change, and that is why Barack has captured the youth. And he has involved young people in a political process that they didn't care anything about. That's a sign. When the Messiah speaks, the youth will hear, and the Messiah is absolutely speaking."​

No, this quote does not. The quote mentions Barack Obama; the quote mentions God (aka the Messiah); but there is no equation of Barack Obama with God. A plain reading of this passage is that the speaker believes God is speaking to young people, encouraging them to be politically active. The particular political activity the speaker hopes they will engage, and which the speaker thinks is in line with God's plans, is campaigning for Barack Obama.

2. "He's our product out of the all-knowing quantum field of intelligence"​

No, this quote does not. It indicates that Obama is a "product... of the all-knowing quantum field of intelligence" (whatever that means). It says nothing about Obama himself being all-knowing or godlike.

If anyone other than Without Rights is having trouble understanding why the quote does not say Obama is the Messiah, let me provide a simple and perhaps more familiar example. Many people believe God is all-knowing and all-powerful. Many people believe God created the universe and all the people within -- that we are all products an all-knowing all-powerful God. And yet, when people who hold those beliefs say that Adam was created by God, they do not generally mean that Adam was God.

3. "He is not the Word made flesh, but the triumph of word over flesh, Obama is, at his best, able to call us back to our highest selves."​

No, this quote does not. Quite the contrary, it explicitly says that Obama is not "the Word made flesh" (which is Christian language for Jesus, aka the Messiah. Rather, Obama is "a triumph of word over flesh".

If one goes to the original source of that quotation, one can see clearly that it is a short article in which Klein is praising Obama as an eloquent speaker. The person to whom Klein explicitly compares Obama is not Jesus; it is Robert Kennedy.

4. "There’s something else going on. I think that Obama, his election to the Senate, was divinely ordered. . . . I know that that was God’s plan."​

Note to Without Rights: It would be good, before offering up things as evidence, if you took the time to look them up and check them out. If you had done this, you would have discovered that this is not by "Bill Rush", whom you erroneously attribute this to. It is by Bobby Rush, a congressional representative from Illinois (and one whose seat Barack Obama competed for, in the 2000 primary; congressman Rush soundly defeated challenger Obama at the polls).

In addition to being a congressman, Bobby Rush is also a Baptist minister. His saying that Obama's defeat in 2000 and his triumph in 2008 were part of God's plan is familiar Christian rhetoric. Saying that somebody is serving God's purposes is not, in Christian rhetoric, the same as saying that person is God.

Here is a link to a newspaper story in which this quote appears. (The quote appears on page 3 of the story, but I've started you at the beginning of the story so you can get used to the idea of reading the whole story rather than simply the parts that are fed to you.)

As you can see if you take the time to read it, this is yet another example of someone not calling Barack Obama the Messiah. And your use of it is another example of someone who has not actually bothered to look up the quote or to read it carefully passing it along as if it were an example of someone calling Obama the Messiah, when it clearly is not.

Which serves to illustrate my point:

(a) The people who have called Barack Obama the Messiah are primarily right-wing critics of Obama such as Rush Limbaugh.

(b) Their purpose is to mock Obama and his supporters, by pretending that his supporters regard him as a Messiah-like figure.

(c) A number of people who have heard this claim made repeatedly have taken it seriously, and have repeated it themselves (as Without Rights did) without realizing it is humor and 'not intended to be a factual statement'.

 

[Tricky]

Rush, as well as other pundits, mostly right but including left wing, often coin insulting names for the politicians they don't like. Keith Olberman used to do this too. Occasionally those epithets make it into this forum (we used to have a member who always referred to Hillary Clinton as "Snipery".) That's just politics. I think that those of us who like to engage in rational debate will eschew these insulting appelations in the interest of civil discussion.

Then again, "Sick Rantorum" is my favorite.

 

[Nova Land]

Rush, as well as other pundits, mostly right but including left wing, often coin insulting names for the politicians they don't like. Keith Olberman used to do this too. Occasionally those epithets make it into this forum (we used to have a member who always referred to Hillary Clinton as "Snipery".) That's just politics. I think that those of us who like to engage in rational debate will eschew these insulting appelations in the interest of civil discussion.

I agree with what you say. But I would like to request that you make this point in another thread, rather than in this one.

This thread is intended as a place to discuss a particular question: whether it is supporters of Barack Obama who commonly refer to him as "the Messiah" (as some claim) or it is critics of Barack Obama who commonly refer to him this way (as I claim).

It should be noted the two claims are not mutually exclusive. I believe I have demonstrated that this label is commonly applied to Obama by Limbaugh and Hannity; but it is certainly possible it is also commonly applied to Obama by Obama supporters.

So far I haven't seen any convincing evidence of the latter. But that's what this thread is for. I would welcome contributions from you, either presenting evidence on the matter, critiquing the evidence I've presented, or critiquing the evidence Without Rights has put forward. But please try to stick to the topic. Thanks!

 

[Unabogie]

Yeah, I confess to calling Sarah Palin "Snowflake Snookie" on more that one occasion.

 

[Tricky]

I agree with what you say. But I would like to request that you make this point in another thread, rather than in this one.

This thread is intended as a place to discuss a particular question: whether it is supporters of Barack Obama who commonly refer to him as "the Messiah" (as some claim) or it is critics of Barack Obama who commonly refer to him this way (as I claim).

It should be noted the two claims are not mutually exclusive. I believe I have demonstrated that this label is commonly applied to Obama by Limbaugh and Hannity; but it is certainly possible it is also commonly applied to Obama by Obama supporters.

So far I haven't seen any convincing evidence of the latter. But that's what this thread is for. I would welcome contributions from you, either presenting evidence on the matter, critiquing the evidence I've presented, or critiquing the evidence Without Rights has put forward. But please try to stick to the topic. Thanks!

Okay, well I'll back off, but I have to say that I have never heard any Obama supporter refer to him as "the chosen one" or "messiah". If these terms are not exclusively used by Obama detractors, it is certainly overwhelmingly one-sided.

 

[A'isha]

It's also at least partly projection and/or hypocrisy on the part of certain right-wingers.

Just look at this cover for National Review, when Sarah Palin first came on the scene in the 2008 election.

 

[JoeTheJuggler]

Yeah, I confess to calling Sarah Palin "Snowflake Snookie" on more that one occasion.

I confess, I too have heard Unabogie refer to Palin as "Snowflake Snookie" on more than one occasion.

 

[Ladewig]

3. Does anyone want to dispute that a main point of Limbaugh's repeatedly referring to Obama as "the Messiah" is to try to paint Obama's supporters as the ones who consider Obama to be "the Messiah"?

I will go so far as to speculate that Limbaugh might be trying to get his listeners to believe that President Obama refers to himself in those terms. After all, in another thread, I pointed out that a Harris poll in 2010 said that 24% of Republicans agree with the statement that "Obama may be the Anti-Christ." Painting him as a blasphemer makes it easier to label him as not really being a true Christian.

 

[Nova Land]

I will go so far as to speculate that Limbaugh might be trying to get his listeners to believe that President Obama refers to himself in those terms.

Very good point.

I have not had the free time to be able to listen to either Limbaugh or Hannity in quite a long time -- not since last summer. But I think you are right; when I have been able to listen, and when I have heard them make "Messiah" references, that did seem to be one of the implications. Or so I vaguely think I recollect.

Can someone who is a more regular listener to Limbaugh than I am address this? If this is true, it would be good to have confirmation.

 

[Noztradamus]

~~~~~~~
. After all, in another thread, I pointed out that a Harris poll in 2010 said that 24% of Republicans agree with the statement that "Obama may be the Anti-Christ."
~~~.

He's not the Anti-Christ. he's just a naughty little boy

 

[Snide]

Very good point.

I have not had the free time to be able to listen to either Limbaugh or Hannity in quite a long time -- not since last summer. But I think you are right; when I have been able to listen, and when I have heard them make "Messiah" references, that did seem to be one of the implications. Or so I vaguely think I recollect.

Maybe, but I'm not so sure. A local sports radio guy, Dan Barreiro, calls Joe Mauer "Baby Jesus" as a way to mock the local fans who, in his mind, went too ga-ga over the young man, before he even really proved himself. When Brett Favre came to the Vikings, he piggybacked off of Mauer and called him "Baby Cheesus," again making fun of the local fans' seeming worship of the guy. So I think Rush could just as well have been mocking Obama's supporters and little more.

But then, Barreiro probably thinks more highly of his audience's intelligence than Rush does of his.

Can someone who is a more regular listener to Limbaugh than I am address this? If this is true, it would be good to have confirmation.

Can't help you there.

 

[Nova Land]

Well, six years ago this thread was a spin-off of the thread "Who says that Obama is our smartest president ever?".

Today I'm bumping it as a spin-off of a post by sunmaster14 in his "SNL Tribute to Obama" thread in which sunmaster wrote:

... the liberal media, which includes most of the entertainment industry, saw Obama as some sort of messiah.

Six years ago I presented evidence in the 2nd post of this thread that the claim about liberals calling Obama the messiah was an attempt at humor by right-wing talk show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, and not a true observation about liberals or the liberal media. Rather than re-post that evidence in a new thread, I thought it would be simpler to bump this one.

I'm surprised anyone still thinks that what Limbaugh, Hannity, and others said about liberals thinking Obama is the messiah is factual, but if sunmaster seriously believes this then here's a chance to present evidence to support the claim.

 

[Bob001]

My claim is that right-wing folks such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity often refer to Barack Obama as "The Messiah" and "The Anointed One" in an effort to add humor to their attacks on Obama and his supporters.
.....

Of course, "the Messiah" was a right-wing sneer. There's no dispute. It's self-evident. Obama's supporters certainly never called him that, and in fact his supporters often were critical of his relatively moderate positions on most issues. What are you trying to prove?

ETA: I failed to note the date of the initial post. Never mind.

 

[sir drinks-a-lot]

Well, six years ago this thread was a spin-off of the thread "Who says that Obama is our smartest president ever?".

Today I'm bumping it as a spin-off of a post by sunmaster14 in his "SNL Tribute to Obama" thread in which sunmaster wrote:




Six years ago I presented evidence in the 2nd post of this thread that the claim about liberals calling Obama the messiah was an attempt at humor by right-wing talk show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, and not a true observation about liberals or the liberal media. Rather than re-post that evidence in a new thread, I thought it would be simpler to bump this one.

I'm surprised anyone still thinks that what Limbaugh, Hannity, and others said about liberals thinking Obama is the messiah is factual, but if sunmaster seriously believes this then here's a chance to present evidence to support the claim.

I agree that when the right wing media refer to Obama as "the Messiah", they are mocking the left for fawning over Obama. They're not claiming that people on the left actually utter the words "I think Obama is the Messiah" - of course they don't. The right wing pundits are just making fun of what they see as an almost worshipful view toward the Obama family by many on the left, a view which I also hold. I'm not sure what sun master's view is, but seeing that he prefaced the word "messiah" with the phrase "some sort of", I think his thoughts may be similar.

 

[sir drinks-a-lot]

If these are the claims:

In the past, various right-wing humorists have referred to Barack Obama as "the Messiah" and "The Anointed One" -- part of a running gag in which they pretend that people on the left actually look upon and refer to Obama that way. A number of their listeners have actually fallen for the joke.

Barack Obama's supporters frequently refer to him as the Messiah.

I'd mark them both as false.

I'd say the following, edited version of claim 1 is true.

In the past, various right-wing humorists have referred to Barack Obama as "the messiah" and "the anointed one" -- part of a running gag in which they pretend that people on the left actually look upon Obama that way.

 

[Ranb]

I've encountered the "We're gonna get ours now that Trump is president" from some wackos on the IMDB webboards.

Ranb

 

[A'isha]

I agree that when the right wing media refer to Obama as "the Messiah", they are mocking the left for fawning over Obama. They're not claiming that people on the left actually utter the words "I think Obama is the Messiah" - of course they don't. The right wing pundits are just making fun of what they see as an almost worshipful view toward the Obama family by many on the left, a view which I also hold.

Meanwhile, people on the right actually do call Trump the Messiah, so this appears to be yet more projection.