Water bottle…woman fainting…and Barack Obama: What do these three things have in common?

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A supporter of U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) cries as she listens to him at the Tulane University during a campaign event in New Orleans February 7, 2008. REUTERS/Carlos Barria (UNITED STATES) US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2008 (USA)

One of the embarrassing episodes of Rudy Giuliani’s campaign was being interrupted in the middle of delivering a speech, by cell phone, supposedly from his wife. I say “supposedly”, because this happened around 15 times, apparently. You see, the whole thing was staged to make Giuliani look…like a dotting husband, maybe? I don’t know. All it did was deliver another torpedo to his presidential run.Then of course, Hillary was caught planting questions in the audience. None of this is unique to just these two; but what it reminds us, is that they are first and foremost, politicians.While on my drive to work, I heard the same Medved hour that this blogger did:

A radio talk show host uncovered the story and I heard it on Michael Medved today. Apparently, Barack Obama, in a variation of Groundhog Day (or James Brown), has a woman faint, asks for help, and then offers her a water bottle at most of his rallies. Kind of amazing, isn’t it? I’m sure if somebody asked him and Barack Obama were honest, he’d say: “Yeah, chicks dig it.”

Mike’s America mentioned about how Barack Obama’s supporters behave as if they were attending a religious revival, or bearing witness to the Rapture.

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A supporter of U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) cries as she listens to his speech during a campaign rally at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington February 8, 2008. REUTERS/Carlos Barria (UNITED STATES) US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2008 (USA)

Apparently, just like some televangelist laying on hands, Senator Barack Obama has a godlike effect upon some of his true believers….or does he?The number of incidents where a woman in the front row faints at his campaign rallies, is suspect; as is the manner in which Barack Obama responds, as if it were a unique, first-time occurrence.I will periodically update this post as I (or readers help me) find incidents on YouTube or newspaper articles on this. Here’s one for starters:

The Barack Obama water bottle incident, Feb. 4, 2008, at the XL Center in Hartford.

Commenters on this YouTube link are saying they’ve found as many as 7 different videos so far, of different campaign stops, with the same “woman fainting” sketch.

Curt adds:

Here is another one Word:

Update 22:01 From LA Times Top of the Ticket blog, dated January 8th:

As observed this morning by our colleague Maria La Ganga, who has spent so much time on the Obama campaign bus they’re thinking about engraving her name on a seat:

Barack Obama‘s first and only rally on election day came to a sudden and lengthy stop when a young woman in the Dartmouth College gym fainted, and was eventually rolled off on a gurney by emergency medical technicians.

At first Obama half-narrated the episode, saying soothing things like, “She’s OK,” “She’s talking.” But the longer she lay on the floor, the quieter Obama got, standing on the podium, arms folded, looking worried as the medical crew worked.

A gum-chomping Larry David, in town to help with Obama’s get-out-the-vote campaign, paced the edge of the student-filled gym, muttering. “How can I restrain myself?” he said to anyone who would listen. “I have such a great line…. Should I yell something out?”

Finally, he did: “Sinatra had the same effect on people!” “I was trying to break the tension,” he said later. “I don’t think they knew who Sinatra was.”

La Ganga reports that the audience didn’t laugh, while Obama seemed to snicker — and looked even more uncomfortable.
— Scott Martelle

UPDATE — La Ganga reports that the young woman who passed out is a Dartmouth student. The college would not release her name, but said that she was taken to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center for treatment.

“As far as we know, she’s fine,” said Genevieve Haas, college spokeswoman.

James Taranto at the Wallstreet Journal citing James Vicevich, the Connecticut radio talk show host who seems to have broken the story:

  • Montecito, Calif., Sept. 8, 2007. “A woman standing in front of the stage appeared to faint as Obama spoke about Iraq,” the Associated Press reported. “The candidate paused and asked the crowd to make way for firefighters. One supporter shouted, ‘You’re a good man,’ leaving Obama momentarily at a loss for words. ‘Well, I’m not the only one stopping to help her,’ he said, sounding almost embarrassed.”
  • Madison, Wis., Oct. 22, 2007. “This excitement mirrored the aura in the room that grew throughout his speech,” reported WISN-TV. “Before the senator arrived, students were tossing around an inflatable cow above the crowd. Three people fainted in the midst of all the enthusiasm.”
  • Hanover, N.H., Jan. 8, 2008. “Barack Obama’s first and only rally on election day came to a sudden and lengthy stop when a young woman in the Dartmouth College gym fainted, and was eventually rolled off on a gurney by emergency medical technicians,” the Los Angeles Times reported. “At first Obama half-narrated the episode, saying soothing things like, ‘She’s OK,’ ‘She’s talking.’ But the longer she lay on the floor, the quieter Obama got, standing on the podium, arms folded, looking worried as the medical crew worked.” Minneapolis’s WCCO-TV has video showing Obama handing a bottle of water to the Dartmouth damsel in distress.
  • Hartford, Conn., Feb. 4, 2008. “And when a woman appeared to faint in the standing-only VIP section in front of the podium, Obama paused his speech for over a minute as he directed the crowd to make way for an EMT team and tossed a bottle of water from the stage,” reported the Yale Daily News.
  • Seattle, Feb. 8, 2008. “Climate change, the Iraq war and Obama tossing a bottle of water to a woman about to faint all received big cheers,” MSNBC.com reported. “As Obama told the crowd to part so that the woman in question could leave and called for help, a young girl in the crowd shouted out, ‘What a man!’ The audience roared with laughter (although the press that has seen this happen before rolled its eyes).”

UPDATE 22:29 LMAO! Anyone want to go over there and burst his bubble? Oh wait…his first commenter already did that. Actually…the comments section is entertaining too.

I suppose it leaves me open to charges of O-worship, but I was impressed last evening with the moment when Barack Obama noticed a woman fainting near the front of his audience. Most of his speech was pretty much his standard stump speech, so full of vocal dynamics and rhythmic shifts that it has now been set to a kind of music. Actually, I think that video does a nice job of filling in a certain gap in our understanding of the Obama phenomenon. A lot of the young people who came to Hartford were drawn by somebody whose appeal was a blend of performance ability and idealism. Bono with no band. Obama uses cadence and repetition (matched up with imagery) in ways that are very familiar to people immersed in popular culture.

But back to the fainter. You always look for a moment where a candidate has to go way, way off Caroline_kennedy_20406_2 script and respond to something the handlers could not have prepped for. A lot of politicians woud have noticed. A lot of them would have stopped long enough to say, “I think this woman needs some attention!” Obama went a little bit further. He really stopped. He wasn’t going to do another thing until he felt this situation was under control. He walked over. He instructed to crowd to give her some space. He found a bottle of water up on stage and tossed it down to be offered to her.

Behind me, a bunch of college kids, up from Yale, started chanting, semi-hunorously, “Relationship skills! Relationship skills!”


UPDATE 02-16-08
1130hrs PST

Breitbart has a rundown of these “fainting spells”

UPDATE 02-18-08

As requested by Word, almost the whole hour of Medved on this subject & the perjury story that came out today.

[audio:https://floppingaces.net/Audio/medved0218081hr.mp3]

Here is Medved stringing together all the audio of the water bottle incidents, you can really hear how similiar each one is listening to this segment:

[audio:https://floppingaces.net/Audio/medved0218082hr.mp3]

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Maybe he draws these type of people. Mass hysteria isn’t new. Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and JFK had the same ability although with slightly different effects on people. That said, Barck is still human and still untested from stress and politics. All it takes is a little political Judo to take him down.

I thought you were going to talk about the practice of bottling and selling to liberals what most people regard as free, bottled water. The feinting angle, that’s cool also, the chicks like it. I heard a little of Hannity on Friday, he was doing his man in the street skit where he asked serious questions — the results were worthy of any comedy show, except they actually meant it.

Agree, Obama will likely fold up like an ‘overinflated cheap air suit’. But will anyone care at the revival meet?

Actually, I’d say it was time to put lithium in the bottled water.

From what I have seen and heard so far I honestly think the ‘rats will make either gender or race the main issue. It would serve to cover up their real agenda (socialism, communism). To all those who say they are going to stay home I say the ‘rats are counting it.

Obama offers hope to a demographic that needs hope; is hopeless. More important question is why is this demographic hopeless; in need of hope?

It’s mainly do to the fact that G-D has little space in their lives. Must have something or someone to have faith in.

Not missing the point, but I actually do hope it’s all an act. The alternative is too frightening.

Sinatra had the same effect on people!

Actually, the first person that comes to mind for this ‘women fainting in the audience’ schtick (at least for me) is Hitler. Didn’t he start having an ambulance posted outside his speeches just for that reason? But as far as I know those women weren’t plants.

At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, I wouldn’t be surprised, too, if they have hired actors planted in the audience. Oprah is behind the scenes, remember.

And, yes, it’s also possible as someone said, that since many of these people are “empty” on the inside, that they could easily fall prey to this messiah-like orator.

Wordsmith, do happen to know which hour Medved will be doing a story on this? I’ll be sure to be tuned in. Maybe it will say on his website.

Obama is fake – I think Oparah was behind the whole… I guess that;s what hollywood does.. Obama should be an actor not president.

This is the song that Obama reminds me of.

http://www.hamienet.com/midi7595_Superstar.html

Barack Obama, Superstar.

Who are you, what kind of change are you are talking about?

Barack Obama, Superstar,

Who are you, what kind of change are you are talking about?

Barack Obama, Superstar

Who are you, what kind of change are you talking about?

Adoph Hitler could really rally those masses, and Olde Joe Stalin could make them walk barefoot through broken glasses, And Ho Chin Minn, he could bring the crowd in, and that Po Pot he know how his words could make them hot…

Now do you believe?

Now Marshall Applewhite made them think that they were going to go to Heaven on a comet, and David Koresh he sent his faithful on a path to Armageddon. And of course we all know about olde Jim Jones. His people did what he told em and that Kool-aid got overflowin…

Now do you believe? (the mesmerized crowd shouts back Yes we Believe) Now do you believe?(louder) Yes, we believe! Hallelujah now get that sister some water (the front row of women then faints).

Barack Obama, Superstar,

Who are you, what kind of change are you are talking about?

Barack Obama, Superstar

Who are you, what kind of change are you talking about?

Now do you see yourself as as Che’s Second comin… Or maybe you set yourself up on a path even higher. Perhaps you do see yourself as the new Messiah, start a new religion with you as its idol.

Do you believe?

Cults of personalities well they very rarely end well and with yours it could set the earth a trembling… For when you come unglued as all cult leaders in the end do, you could push that nuclear button and set the earth afire..

Barack Obama, Superstar,

Who are you, what kind of change are you are talking about?

Barack Obama, Superstar!

Who are you, what kind of change are you talking about?

Barack Obama, Superstar!

Turing America into one big Manson Family

Barack Obama, Superstar!

Turning America into one big Manson Family

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/1472/Cult_o1.mid

You gave me fortune

You gave me fame

You me power in your god’s name

I’m every person you need to be

I’m the cult of personality

Look into my eyes, what do you see?

Cult of personality

I know your anger, I know your dreams

I’ve been everything you want to be

I’m the cult of personality

Ahhhhh the 90’s.
Let’s go back further…

Please allow me to introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste…

The cure for the mysterious disorder causing women to faint at the Barack Obama rallies ( Obamaplexy )has been discovered!

http://oldgloryradio.podbean.com/2008/02/16/mysterious-fainting-at-barack-obama-rallies-identified-as-obamaplexy-cure-found/

Steve,
Oh my gosh…I went on a half hour tangent after listening to the Jesus Christ Superstar video on You Tube!!! (I have to admit I LOVE that movie!) Anyway, a very apropros change of the lyrics on your part.

Barack change=Socialism…yep, that about sums it up in my personal synopisis of his idea of change!

Old Glory, that was a great Barack commercial!!! I’m sending it to everyone I can! Hugely funny!! Thanks!

This one’s for Scott…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNHkOryXosI (Sympathy For The Devil)

Chris, thanks. In hindsight, I was wrong though. There is just no way I can see his Lord Barack holdin’ a general’s rank and drivin’ a tank.

Not that there ever was any, but there is no doubt, Chris…..you are a cav man
😀
[bow in salutation]

This is so fake I can’t believe people buy into this. Fainting for Obama is part of the show. It was even done outside in Santa Barbara in a cool breeze. I find it to be a cheesy attempt at getting an emotional response and to humanize the candidate. Saying it’s so obvious that nobody would ever try it doesn’t hold water. Forging documents was obvious too, but they did it. When it comes to politicians they will do anything.

I’ll put it up

Wordsmith,
Is the audio up from Medved today on fainting women at Obama rallies? I missed the first part of the show today! Darn!

Put the audio up for ya.

I’m not surprised to see these folks fainting. Many of these people have waited in lines for hours without keeping themselves hydrated (lest they should have to leave the line for the lady’s room). Many of these folks are over-excited, exhausted, dehydrated, and to make things worse, some of these rallies are in enclosed spaces like auditoriums…the room is hot, etc etc etc.

Fainting at rallies is not uncommon, especially when the energy level is so incredible as they are at these Obama rallies. This man is very popular. He’s an excellent orator with a lot to say, and he has come during a time when most Americans are VERY angry.

Small wonder there are a few folks passing out.

Having said that, I’d be curious to learn how many are passing out at Clinton and McCain rallies. These candidates are speaking at hundreds of these things…maybe thousands, now…and this idiot wants to make something out of a few dozen attendees passing out?

hmmm.