Yes, we can.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

It's not about respecting viewpoints with those personalities. It's about no longer telling the American people that these blowhards should be looked up to.

I think the best way to turn people off from these "blowhards" is to let them be heard loud and clear, otherwise their followers simply see them as martyrs. But when you give someone like Bill O'Reilly a national audience, his popularity eventually fades and he soon wakes to find himself a laughingstock that fewer and fewer people agree with. People have to come to that decision on their own though. Trying to silence them actually has the reverse effect.

And I don't think that Obama is saying that you should look up to this man. He has made it clear that he disagrees with many of this pastor's viewpoints. I think he is simply saying "I'm going to give someone I disagree with the opportunity to be seen." And considering that millions of people already look up to this guy, I hardly think that this prayer is going to make much difference.

And hey, there is always that small chance that this guy will decide to make a political statement while doing this and say something really stupid. That might actually change some minds as to whether he should be looked up to or not. I've always felt that the best thing one can do is let these people keep talking and talking and eventually, given enough rope, they will hang themselves by saying something that nobody agrees with.