The Obama that much of the right is against is invisible because he is not real.

Gingrich put it succinctly,  I think [Obama] worked very hard at being a person who is normal, reasonable, moderate, bipartisan, transparent, accommodating — none of which was true….He was authentically dishonest. Gingrich is saying that what Obama says he believes, and even what he actually does, are cover-ups for some secret agenda. Maybe it is Kenyan anti-colonial behavior, what ever the hell that is;  maybe he is hiding that he a Marxist, or a Socialist; maybe, as Romney inferred, Obama isn’t really an American.

As an aside, When Clint argued with Obama, what I found most surreal, was the imaginary Obama swearing. I want to be clear here, I like swearing, Fuck!, I even like to swear – I am not saying that swearing is evil, or bad – but I have never heard Obama swear. I have never even heard about Obama swearing. If Clint was arguing with Rahm Emanuel or Dick Chaney, it would make sense, but only Clint’s imaginary Obama swears. End aside.

I have never had anybody tell me – personally, face to face, in a conversation –  that Obama is a Kenyan anti-colonialist, but I have had several conversations where people have said that Obama is a Marxist or a Socialist. At first I thought they were saying this to be argumentative or saying that just to piss me off, but I have come to believe that they actually believe it. Not that they have really thought it out, not that they even want to think it out.

Sure, part of it is good old fashioned racism. But a racism that is powered not by Obama’s blackness but by the fact fact that, as a half white man, he has chosen to identify as black, to marry a black woman, to live in the black area of Chicago. He has chosen to be different, to be the other. It is xenophobia as much as racism. On this subject, atleast, many of Obama’s detractors are a little deranged.

And this derangement has led the Republicans to build the major theme of their Convention – with signs and chants – on Obama saying you didn’t build that. To take the reasonable – If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all the companies could make money off the Internet. The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together – and simplifying it to the point of being a lie and then being outraged. Outraged at something Obama didn’t say, outraged at their projection on the invisible Obama.