CNN

Jack,

Even though these folks have every right to protest, the messages they sent are these:

"You Lie" and "We hate you".

These protesters remind me of the many protests when the Federal government demanded that schools be DE-segregated. As a Baby-boomer, I would watch the people on the streets shouting against the Civil Rights Bill and desegregation! No different than these folks.

Again, they have every right to protest. However what's disturbing is that these are the same people who would call us, on the Left....

Anti-American and Un-Patriotic when we protested Bush. As I recall no one on the Left ever spewed hate towards President Bush!

Tragically racism is alive and well in our country.

That they can afford to go to a party and not have to sleep under the bridge after words. Obama supported the 1st bailout before the nomination AND also endorsed invasion of Pakistan lonnnnng before the nominating convention. I really don't know what they're talking about unless they're just positioning themselves to manipulate the $y$tem to channel SOME MORE of that 'goodne$$' in their direction . . . again. Life is j u s t s o h a r d w h e n y o u ' r e s u c h g o o d p e o p l e.

Andy of Sierra Vista, Arizona

The message I got is that education has been lacking in this country for a long time and intelligence has nothing to do with that education.

Jack, Some of the frustration about the government is real. But you have to look behind the scenes of the Tea Parties to see what is at play. Freedom Works and Americans for Prosperity, the sponsors of the Tea Parties, are the result of political manipulations by the Koch brothers of Koch Industries, the largest privately held company in America. Their father founded the John Birch Society, and Koch Industries is among the most heavily fined companies for oil spills and benzene releases in the U.S. . Their guiding principle is to support industry and corporate interests at all costs, so it's no wonder that along with the pharmaceutical companies, they were happy to foster and sponsor the Tea Parties. It's the same old story, big business versus the little man, the hard working American.

That the insurance companies will pay out a few million dollars to pay people to come out and protest on their behalf , have signs made,arrange for bus"s and parking,bandstands,food drinks,portable restrooms,etc!!! Protesting cost money,who do you think payed for everything ???

Jack,

I think it tells him ignorance is BLISS. The way these people attack President Obama is a disgrace. They have no common sense, they're either paid off in some way or they're a can short of a six pack. People who lost they're jobs, and the ones who have jobs but lost money in 401K's, ect. don't have the time or the money to spend on going to protests.. Who are these people? I think the tea baggers are intimidated by Pres. Obama because he's a Democrat and he's smarter than they are by far. I think the government representatives who spoke at this protest are also intimidated for the same reason. I hope their constituents remember their names and how they conduct themselves when they vote in 2010.

The only thing that these protesters indicate is that there is a segment of our population that can be easily manipulated by the Republican fear campaign. They show that they do not research the issues, but are convinced by sound bites from fear mongering politicians and radical TV and radio commentators.

It also indicates that the time of cooperation in this country is past. The Republicans have become a party of "NO" to anything. They would rather destroy this country than do anything to make it better. Are there any statesmen left in the Republican party? Is there anyone in the party willing to work for the good of the country?

Anyone can get a group to form up. The interesting part is what will happen next, if anything.

The protest is not over heath care of even the deficit, it's over the fact that a black man holds the office of President. The message I hear loud and clear is that there is a growing segment of the population that will oppose whatever this President does. They were in the crowd Saturday and are of the same mindset as the politicians in Congress that oppose the president. The name of the game is to attack the legitimacy of the Presidency itself. Rep. Wilson's actions in Congress, Rush Limbough and other talk show hosts represent that movement and give it credibility. As you say Jack, "It's Getting Ugly Out There."

Jack: The message is that there is a highly organized opposition who want their voices heard. Alternatively, President Obama received 53% of the votes last November and much of his promise was associated with Health Care Reform. Our democracy allows all voices be heard. Let it be known, however, that the loudest voices do not win. The disrespectful tone of the demonstrators speaks to malace in many of their hearts. Glad we have a President who takes the high road!

I don't know what message these people are sending to Obama but I can tell you anyone you talk to outside of America thinks America has an overwhelming amount of uneducated radicals.

I guess a more fitting question would be where were all these people from the fringe when the previous administration lied the country into war and systematically bankrupted the nation with deregulation and unwarranted tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans?

These are followers of Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Hannity, etc. You can't reason with these people. They want President Obama to fail, period.

The message is loud and clear. They opened the doors of the Nut House and let everyone out.

These people all have the very same motto. "Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up"

That the GOP is in such disarray that rather than put forth anything that people can support, it will pour gasoline on any spark of anger it can find to stir up its 'base' - which from the looks of things is a pretty ill-informed nutty crowd. I wonder, for instance, what 'tax' it is of Obama's that they are opposed to - the biggest tax cut for the working class ever? Do they not like the fact that they just got a big tax cut? What encroachment on their right to bear arms are they talking about? And then what about health care reform are they protesting? Death panels & coverage for illegal immigrants? It seems like they just make something up and then get all upset about it and head out and protest against it.

The message the tea partners are sending to President Obama is You are not white! You are a black man! But they do not have the guts to say it. Instead they mask it by saying they disagree with his policies. A sad comment on our times. All the demonstrators were lacking were their hoods. I would advise you to read Maureen Dowd's editorial in the NY Times yesterday.

Jack,
The message is that scare tactics, half-truths and lies can confuse concerned and somewhat gullible citizens. Obama is to some extent responsible for this response because he has allowed this furor to fester.
Coyness isn't going to work for Obama. Tim Russert would call for details, details and more details.

Where were these protesters when BUSH put our country in debt, rammed through legislation about Part D Medicare and started a war based on lies? They were home cheering him on. If Obama were white, many of these people would've stayed home. They can't accept a black man as their president.

Jack, I'd say that they're pretty much fed-up with all of Washington.
Bail-outs, GM ownership, trillions of dollars that have no tracking. Unaccountable loans. Pelosi's new Gulf Stream. $150K night's out in N.Y. City. Czars at last count 30. Wall Street bonuses. A Health Care Package that he can't explain becuase he's given development responsibility to others. The same old, and now tiring speeches. The over exsposure, frankly I'm weary of seeing his face and hearing him tell me how good he is. So far he talks nice, but is a terrible President.
Just for the record, I wasted my vote on him.

The only difference between this last weekend's march and the Klan marches of the 1920's; this time we got to see the faces of greed and bigotry.
Jim
Colorado

The message is simple: there's a lot of ignorant, racist people who have yet to realize the south lost the civil war.

The message is the protesters have a long way to go before they reach a majority.

It tells the president, and millions of Americans that there are still thousands of racist people who hold Washington to a double standard in tough times.

They need to get a hobby to take up the time!!

I do not think that the protestors send any type of message to President Obama. Any smart person would know they are just a bunch of angry Republicans who are upset that their candidate did not win the election.

The message the protesters sent to the world is proof that some folks in the USA can be manipulated by lies, half truths and innuendos. I guess 8 years of conditioning actually worked.

The protestors reveal only what partisan idiots they are. When Bush spend outrageous amounts of money on Iraq, they loved him. Now that a Democrat's in office trying to clean up the mess, it's socialism!

It's disgustingly obvious that these people are expressing their violent racism, Jack. None of this kind of garbage would be happening if Obama were lily-white like George Bush, no matter how awful he was.

That Republican lobbyist money goes a long way towards their "astroturf" movements.

I, too, would have joined the protesters if I was fortunate enough to have a job. The real message, behind the protests, is we have been ignored for too long. The working class need jobs and a government that will support us over the lobbyist's demands. We no longer feel we can get fair treatment from our government. The protesters are not only Republicans, but Independents and Democrats as well. They speak for the middle class though some have obviously said things that are overstatements or outright untrue. But to their defense, when has congress listened to the meek?

Mike, Michigan

It sends him the message that there are at least 10 thousand bat crazy Americans out there.

Dave
WA State

This is ignorance at it's finest. Most claims made by these conservative protesters are completely unfounded, and are just more of the nonsense spoon-fed lies that we've seen for the past 8 years

This government is "by the people and for the people". I think that President Obama needs to remember this. The demonstrations should help jog his memory.

Whats does this march tell me? That stupidity is alive and well in America!

TD

The protestors reveal only what partisan idiots they are. When Bush spend outrageous amounts of money on Iraq, they loved him. Now that a Democrat’s in office trying to clean up the mess, it’s socialism!

Again, the march on Washington was not about a black man in office. They are against some of his policies, not because the president is 50% black.

It says Tea Partiers are a bunch of freeloaders with nothing better to do.

It means the lunatic fringe is larger than we thought.

John in Newburyport, MA

What does it mean? That Obama is still considered "the other." That peasants with pitchforks will never accept his Presidency.

See how many stupid people this great country has!

The only these people are telling President Obama and the nation is that there are a lot of idiots in our country.

It means "we're mad as Hell and we're not going to take it anymore".

Lets see they were silent during the BUSH administration which created this whole mess to begin with, he turned a $500B surplus into a $1.3T deficit... yet they blame the guy, President Obama, that was hired to clean up the mess. Makes no sense unless you shine light on the real reason they are protesting the FIRST BLACK President... I report you decide.

It says that the failure of the American education system is starting to pay dividends for the Republican Party.

I guarantee you Wilson would not have said what he said if Obama had been a white president. With the rudeness in this country I think we're falling down the toilet.

nothing i doesn't matter because he's the pres. and thats all that maters

We've seen crowds and marches like this before, Jack.
They're called Clan rallies.

It sends the message that Fox news is brain washing them. I'm very happy to have a president that is trying to improve our health care and get us out of useless wars.

Robert

It shows him that their are still fanatics out there who want to obstruct any progress he is trying to make. Compare those numbers with the number of people who voted for him to be our President. I think we still have majority rule here in the US, right?

As sixty's adults Jack we witnessed what civil disobedience can accomplish.

But unlike the protests of our era where all walks of life, all different beliefs and personalities participated on a common ground these are totalistic, absolute, ideological thinking people who fear change, not accept change.

Because of this, they cannot really affect change. Though their voices must be heard and evaluated by a consensus of people. And if their single mindedness has value, should be a small part of an over all change.

What we have learned from the past is that personal attacks may get you heard, but never gets you listened to.

That the Ku Klux Klan is alive and well. They just stopped wearing sheets.

Jack, everyone had a reason so I guess the message was that there are tens of thousands or reasons to protest. Message sent? IF YOU CAN THINK OF IT, WE DON'T LIKE IT. So what else is new?

The message is that the right-wing noise machine has the ability to stir the feeble-minded into action without purpose. These Tea Parties are nothing but an extension of Fox News, without a focused message other than they don't like the fact that they didn't win. If the growth of government really concerned them as they say, they would have been protesting during Reagan and both Bush's terms, since that's when government grew the most.

They protesters are letting Washington know that a large portion of this country's citizens' interests are not being appropriately represented. Unfortunately for them, a larger portion of the nation's citizens' interests will be supported by Obama's initiatives.

Libertarian wackadoodles - a very small but vocal minority who didn't vote for the President in the first place. Pay them no mind.

Jack,

The protesters in Washington show that many in our country are afraid of much needed change, have small minds, and are racists. Plain and simple. I think it's incredibly embarrassing and I'm said for our President.

It sends the message that hypocracy is alive and well in the right wing nuthouse. They accuse Obama supporters of drinking the kool-aid and they listen to Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh exclusively and act like they're getting the whole story. The fact is, they aren't interested in using facts, just in being angry.

It says what everyone ELSE knows!
That Americans are too STUPID to understand the Health Care reforms and, that Obama cannot EXPLAIN IT!!!
Nick. N.
Pasadena. CA.

The message is that they would rather believe a drug addicted white supremacist than the only person in the world who could possibly help them.

The message isn't intended for Barack Obama, it's intended for the Congress and 2010~

There were at least a million people there!!!

White america speaks out.

What you are seeing is an Unholy alliance of Republicans playing the Race Card,and racist playing the Republican Card. As an old whhite guy,these people make me ashamed.

10,000 people hiding their racisim behind the lies of big insurance companies and the Republican Party. They cant hold up signs that say get out of the White House so they are doing what they see as the next best thing. Watch your back Michael Steele...they will smile in your face until they dont need you anymore

The answer: one word: racism.

Were there any black faces in the crowds on Washington? This is the shameful face of racist hatred in our society.

It tells me that Republicians are insane, ridiculous and uneducated. Unfortunately, it makes all Americans look insane, as they are the people who are getting the most attention. It certainly looks pretty terrible for the rest of Americans who are not like this, especially in other countries.
Ontario, Canada

Jack ..........The only message they send President Obama is that we live in a Democracy where people can assemble and voice... their ignorant, misguided....racist rants......Thats all......they dont know what in the hell is going on anyway....

More like a lynch mob. Stirred up by Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and the like. Those media should have their licenses revoked.

I am 71 years old, and a lot of my elderly friends support Obama and are appalled at the Lynch Mob Mentality that is growing against him.

Jim Carlisle

It shows we have a large number of uneducated, ignorant, racist, morons among us. If FOX is what influences you , than your brain is FOXIDIZED and TOXIC, sorry, FOXIC!

It shows the little and loud republican party and their narrow minded thought on the issues or truth. Fox news viewers who can't think for themselves...

Washington, D.C.

What it showed me and the rest of the world is that in the U.S. the anti Obama crowd is uneducated, easily mis-led, racist, bigoted and are part of the sore loserism crowd. These people are so dumb they believe anything that the dreck over at that "other network" tell them just because of the sheer hatred they have for democrats, liberals, and a Black President. They WANT to believe whatever those losers over their tell them because it supports their view of what they want to believe not the truth

Jack,
Unless obama starts listening it obviously isn't a big enough message. And God bless these people finally standing up for their rights. It's not like our elected officials do.
Thanks
Andy

This proves that there were tens of thousands of gullible and naive people who had time to waste on a beautiful Saturday.

The message?

That folks who are rightly concerned about big government and waste are being conned into thinking that their fears are caused by Obama, Democrats, Liberals and HC reform.

Unfortunately, the tea partiers don't realize the same politicians who took an active role in getting us to this point are working the crowds against Obama.

These politicians just happen to be Republicans.

The message Jack: America is and always will be a racist, hatefilled nation. But...watch out WASP's...the country's getting browner day by day and there's not a damned thing you can do about it

nothing because it really doen't matter because he's the pres. not them

That we have freedom of speech. Where were all these dissenters when we went to war in Iraq? It seems like the goofballs are always against something that makes sense. It also says that tens of thousands of those among us have enough money to take a day off work or spend the bucks to travel to DC. I hope they visited the Smithsonian.

Their message is clear: A black man cannot and should not be the president of the USA regardless of his/her qualifications, aptitude and credentials.

Orobi, Houston TX

Of course there is a lunatic fringe on both sides - some are closed-minded, even blatantly racist. But make no mistake, there is a legitimate movement that sees the growth of government as unsustainable and feels it is a a 20,000-pound canary in the coal mine. Don't dismiss this so cavalierly.

They are frustrated that he ran as a centrist and has now taken a sharp left. There are many Republican Liberals who voted for him that are now disillusioned. We are not racist. We are frightened by the government takeover of businesses, healthcare, etc.. We have gone far from those embattled farmers on Concord bridge that led to a constitution that continually is ignored. We are angry that those on the left calls us racist. We will not be silenced by slander of that nature.

Just as you said, Jack, they are sore loser lunatics. I am proud to be a Democrat. We are so much saner.

It means the Democrats are going to lose a lot of seats in Congress
this coming election.

The message this sends is that the Obama administration obviously needs to start putting some money into the education system. If the lunatic fringe has grown to these proportions it might already be too late.

The message that I think President Obama is the same as I am receiving over the people who are protesting. And that is that all you see at the protests are white people. And they can not stand the fact that we have a black president. They just can not get over it. Shame on them.

Ann

Jack ,how many of them knew what they were protesting against? They just hate a black man in the oval office.Just look at their faces,i wonder which US they live in.
Oliver MA

It means that there is more than one side to the story. I am watching the political events from a liberal Democrat's perspective and some of their complaints seem very rational. I don't get the one-sidedness of things right now where only the President/Administration is right and everyone else is wrong. If the Administration calls them "stupid" like other groups I guess they are calling me stupid, too.

I know you won't accept this post, but it is nice to vent about a right (freedom of speech) that is being eroded by recent events.

Ten thousand people marching on Washington to express their distaste for everything Barack Obama has tried to do in the past eight months tells me that there are a lot of very uninformed folks in this land who listen to Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and yes, your colleague, Lou Dobbs. Racism not a part of it? Yes, and when you kiss the frog, it will become your Argentine soulmate.

The message is that the same wealthy contributors who funded the disruptive, and misinformed, idiots at the town hall meetings will stop at nothing to pander to the insurance industry.

These people actually help Obama. They are radical fruitcakes that spit out their vitriol in the guise of fiscal responsibility. Not one of these radicals were protesting the amount of money that was spent on the Iraq war which put us in this position in the first place. Glenn Beck's vitriol spurs them on (Why on earth did you at CNN at one time have a relationship with him in the first place?). As a Democrat I want to tell them to keep it up, the people see them and come over to us because they can not stand their extremism.

I'm sure the message didn't influence President Obama one bit. He is shut out from the real world and apparently does not want to listen to "THE PEOPLE"

I hope it is telling him that he should beef up his security detail because this is not about Healthcare or Govt spending but it is about the fact that they don't want him in office and will do anything and I do mean anything to get him out of offfice. Please listen closely to the writting on the signs.

These people are closet racists. They can't quite figure out why they're mad, they just know they don't like Obama. And they don't quite know why they don't like him, so they protest anything and everything he says and does and refuse to be a part of the solution.

The message is simple, Jack:
"Anyone but the black guy"!
After the 8 year nightmare we had with next to no resistance, we are now complaining about a guy who wants to help Americans.. Seriously, c'mon, now!
I'm Kind of disappointed that the media tip toes around this whole thing, you guys hint at it, but refuse to come out and say it.

Those ten's of thousand protesters seem to be all white people.If the protesters were a more diversed group I would consider their grips.They seem to be the same group of angry people who lost the last election.

These demonstrations are part of the culture of fear Republicans are constantly trying to reinforce. This is not responsible political discourse, these protests do nothing more than scare reasonable people away from supporting positive change.

That racism is alive and well in the United States. When President Clinton tried to reform Healthcare you didn't see this type of protest. What's the difference between then and now? It's simple, black and white.

Jack,

They show frustration, but mostly unfocused anger, sometimes fanned by outright ignorance, unfortunately all too often directly fostered by the right.

Billy Hamilton
West Hollywood, CA

Seems like the ratcheting up of political discourse to me. Applying the 'racist lens' to these over zealous conservatives is similar to the 'propoganda lens' applied to Obama's schoolhouse lesson. Any means to distract from substance of debate.

Rule of the day: Discredit at any cost – damn the truth. Media helps to propogate

The photo they are touting as their "millions of marchers" is more than five years old it doesn't include the National Museum of the American Indian which opened five years ago.
These false flag, false war, false patriot, false god, pet goat publicans use false a photo to phony up their false premise. Because their message is this; car washes and collection jars are good enough to raise money for the local child whose family can't afford the cancer treatment. What is this god they worship? Capitalizing on human suffering is just good business?

it sends the message that there are still a lot of stupid people out there that will never vote for him no matter what he does.

The protesters are encouraged to call President Obama names, paint pictures etc. by the GOP. Where were they when President Bush was in office.

I believe it tells everyone that ignorance has it's own movement...

Well jack it means That all the liberals will say that the republican party is nuts and the democrats are the answer however he better get health care reform through or we will give him the boot next time!!!

Its ridiculous that these easily manipulated fox-fools are making so much racket in the first partial year of President Obama after sitting on their hands for 8 years of Bush driving the country into a ditch. I'm deeply offended.

Just look at 99. % of them were white. Were was they 8 years ago when bush drop this pile of mess in are laps

It tells him that Americans are less intelligent than he gave them credit for. To think they will understand that saving the banks and auto industries prevented a full blown depression equal to or worse than that of the thirties, was a serious mistake on his part. America is no longer the home of the brave and we are all diminished by it.

It's a simple message. The President has more nuts, lunatics and racists on his hands than he or anyone else would have suspected. I would like to have been there, as an Obama supporter, but someone told me once not to argue with idiots, that from a distance it is hard to know who's who.

That the right as a whole, hates black people, and that they want the rich right to get far richer while they lose their jobs, homes, cars, and life savings, because they will never accept a black person as being in charge of anything above a white person! American refuses to learn from the past!

The protests would be taken more seriously if the lunatic fringe stayed home. Half of the people at these protests look like they escaped from an asylum. The fact that Obama's approval rating just went up to 58% back up this thinking.

The Tea Party Express march proved that the desperate Republicans will encourge and include the lunatic fringe. Divisions in our society and especially in our Congress have turned our country into a nation of screamers and yellers; I pray that it doesn't turn into physical violence.

Kris Ingram
Springfield OR

The message is clear... not of the protesters but the intent.

Health Insurance wants to preserve their 20% (cost + expenses) take on the $2,400,000,000,000 healh care industry.

They have paid 50,000 of their employees to blog, attend protests, and recite pre-written speeches.

Just like the insulting and proposterous Newsweek article asking if being prejudice is a "born trait", these teabaggers are sending the message that we should not trust our president.

This will blow over once the bill has passed or failed.

I do not trust health insurance, and personally think they are committing bad faith and culpable under State law for bad faith behavior by lying and causing others to spread lies to impact the availability of health care.

The teaparty trail ended at Washington and it's all a lie bought and paid for.

At the very lease noise that will be heard but probably not listened to. That's what always happens in DC.

Jack...the message I would hope President hears is that we have a tiny, tiny handful of racists and nut bags in America–and that he pays attention to them at his political peril...The shrillness and tenor of their vitriol belies their pretext-that they are talking about legitimate issues.....whereas it is a perfect match with the blind hatred of racists.......... should pay them no mind!

What all of these protesters are saying to the President is: SLOW DOWN!! this attempt to ram so much "change" down our throats so quickly is getting quite old. What these protesters are saying to the President is it's time to listen to all of us, not just your liberal special interest groups, George Soros, and Daily Kos. We saw all sorts of left wing protests while George bush was President. I don't recall the media being all that concerned with the "fringe" that showed up to those protests, nor were they all that concerned about the nasty signs, the calls of fascist or HItler. When it's directed at a Republican, the media and the left seem to be OK with that. But, don't you dare use that same rhetoric against a liberal Democrat, and suddenly you are a mob or the fringe. I applaud CNN for giving this protest as much coverage as it did. It's unfortunate that much of the rest of the media chose to downplay it or ignore it altogether - something they never did when it's a pro-abortion rally or an anti-war rally.

It sends the message that less than one-hundredth of one percent of the population showed up at a right wing sponsored event to try and drive the rest of the country off course on health care and to get attention. Which seems to be working since you are asking this question. The event was hosted by Fox News' Glenn Beck, need I say more?

Tom in Iowa

These thousands found nothing the past 8 years that upset them. They loved the wars, loved the stock market bubble, loved the housing bubble and now all the fun is gone. It must be Obama's fault that they are sooo unhappy now. It is just terrible that they have to pay some taxes and may have to pay more in the future. And it must be Obama's fault. boo hoo.

The official Washington DC Fire Department estimate says only 60,000 showed up at that anti-American Insurance Industry rally last Saturday.

That's less than 1/50th of ONE-PERCENT of Americans, and only about THREE PERCENT of the crowd that FoxNews and the Insurance industry had predicted. And that's after six long months of 24/7 promotion by both.

Here's the message, Jack. It looks like the so-called "sleeping giant" turns out to be a "comatose midget".

no one beleives Obama anymore. He's a good used car salesman but a poor president. Face it -the jobs are gone, he cant get a healthcare bill, he cant even get kids parents to listen to him. I voted for him but he's a failure. He's had more than enough time to do something constructive

I watch the tea party march this past weekend, and I really have one question about this event and that is where was all the minorities, I only saw whites with some good concern posters and a lot of degrading posters about the president of the USA. Make you wonder or ask what was the real motive about this cause.

Why don't you report on the demonstrations by people who are FOR healthcare reform, and FOR the public option? There was a demonstration in downdown L.A. on Sunday and several others in the L.A. area recently. I haven't heard anything on the news stations about any of this. You seem to just do the "tabloid" type reporting on the most inflamatory type demonstrations by the fringe right.
I think the majority of Americans want healthcare for every citizen. I wish you'd get out your journalist news reporting, and get the other side on the air.
Thanks,
Suzanne
Los Angeles, CA

TEA ..Take Everything Away..Social Security (Communism in the 30s) and Medicare/Medicaid ( Communism in hte 60s) are the biggest hitters for taxes..The TEA party folks will want these prorams done away with .. Be careful who you listen to.

Jack- It is sad to see the Republican party manipulate their members so well with lies, obfuscation, fear, and most of all, hatred! Give Obama a damn chance! I don't recall the last administration giving so much effort and consideration for the common man-unless that common man was rich and influential and padded the greedy pockets of his 'bought' politician! It makes me sick to see such arrogance from a party that has no agenda, except to spread such disdain for our President, and his valiant and tireless attempts to right the wrongs and turn this country around...straighten out, Republican party! Be a part of the solution-and if you can't?...GO HOME!

Jack, I am from white and the Deep South, these people forget or have not learned "Ignorance can be cured,stupid is forever "!
They simply allow their inborn prejudices to over whelm t what little knowledge they have!
Its a racist issue!

Plenty of people have showed up to Obama's rallies-im sure the amount adds up to somewhere in the thousands-and only some estimates say tens of thousands-some say just a couple of thousand

It tells me these people have been sleeping for the past eight years, where were these people when Bush was running up deficits? This country has truly flipped on it's head.

They tell him that we have a lot of people in this country who will believe anything that Rupert Murdoch tells to believe.

More people went to the Redskins football game than the rally. However, the protest does send a message to congress to be fiscally responsible. Many there were protesting the spending polices of the last 9 years. We went from a $150 billion dollar annual surplus, to a 1.4 trillion dollar deficit in that time. The total deficit doubled from 5 to 10 trillion under the previous administration. Some were protesting the most socialist administration in our history's policies-the Bush/Cheney actions of bailing out wall street. This wasn't a pro Republican rally-it was a fiscal rally about our nation debt, and the direction of health care. Health care needs to be taken care of now-15% of small businesses did not give raises last year, instead workers got to keep their health care insurance. A recent poll of large businesses revealed 30% were planning on laying off workers to cover the company's health care insurance plans.

The message being sent is the message they've been sending for the past 3 weeks. They're illogical idiots who don't understand 70% of what has happened recently, and yet they see a reason to march on washington in protest of complete lies that was spoon fed to them by republicans.

Those protestors don't amount to much. If there had been a minimum of a million in the march then the rest of us may have taken notice. It was nothing more than a Fox News Promotion

Hey Jack;
You are asking what message the demonstrations send–you should be asking who is paying for those demonstrations.
One woman said she traveled from Washington state to partake–and she is unemployed! How did she pay for the trip? Is it insurance companies? It is the GOP?
You need to ask questions!

Jack-
It shows us exactly how powerful unregulated lies can be once more. Why the lies in the media MUST be stopped. Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, all lied about by the last administration and backed by mass media. We should expand the Truth-In-Advertising law to include the media and talk-show hosts. After all, they are SELLING themselves to advertisers and the people. They make money from hate-speech and lies. People then DIE from those actions...just like yelling fire in a crowded theater.

The message is obvious; the protesters at Washington were organized and used by the opponents of President Obama (You know who they are.) to convey their message that if they don't get things their way, they're gonna do everything in their power to ensure that he will fail, not caring about the full repercussions of what could happen should that come to pass, but caring only for their interests.

Jack,

It doesn't PROVE anything. It only shows that there will always be thin ends on any bell curve. You would probably have the same sized group of people with different names if John McCain were elected President.

Eric
San Diego, CA

It is ashame to see so called Americans act like this with the signs defacing Obama half of them are racist, half just right wing fanatics that dont want to see the President succeed they will not win back the Presidency this way America is shameful for

They are sending the message that they are proud of their ignorance, bigotry, hypocrisy and tendency towards violence while claiming to be religious. This message is clear to the rest of the world. If these nutcases (Republicans) continue spreading lies, we'll have no allies remaining except the Taliban and Al Queda.

Even with the idelogical disagreements with Dubya, never did the Democrats in Congress ever show this level of disrespect for him. Those in the GOP expected all elected officials to tow the line and show public support for our president in a time of war. So why do they condone and participate in the disgraceful protests now? Are we not still at war? Those in the GOP show the rest of the country just how dangerous and racist their far right fringe is and more improtantly how much they are allowing their party to be controlled by this small, but scary, part of their base.

No problem with the act of protest, but the behavior of the protestors sends the message that Republicans are very angry and ignorant people. I don't think anyone holding a sign that says: "The zoo has an African lion and the White House has has a lyin' African" is interested in anything but hateful, partisan rhetoric. None of these people were going to vote for Obama anyway, and I doubt they are impressing many Independent thinkers. They're playing with fire.

They send the message that there are still a good number of ill-informed, wrongly angry (or possibly still frustrated that they lost the election) people out there who will oppose anything and everything the president proposes. The protesters also send the message that the era of decent, even-minded republicans such as John McCain is disappearing fast, and is quickly being replaced by nutjobs and racists, fueled by the idiocy that is manifested in forms such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, among others.

The protests tell Obama something he already knows – to ignore them.

These "tea party" and "birtther" types are just like the loonies who plotted and carried out all manner of violence against black students during the integration of schools in the late '60s. It just burns them to the core of their hateful beings that the president is a highly thoughtful and intelligent black male.

Please stop lying with the tens of thousands garbage! Try 1.5 to 2 million people protesting against out control spending.

Dan Texas

That the lunatic fringe has become the mainstream of the Republican Party and is easy prey for the right-wing media grifters. Among other things, follow the money.

The level of ignorance demonstrated by these folks only amplifies the Predident's message to students last Tuesday – stay in school, set your goals and work hard. If you don't, you will likely end up underinformed, easily manipulated by right wing whackos and marching in Washington for no good purpose.

It almost looks like a KKK rally. I think most of these people are racist and the health care reform is an excuse for them to bash President Obama. Its a shame.

Why don't we call this what it is? The SORE LOSERS EXPRESS. Although Democracy is hard to define exactly, we do know that the plan is that the majority rules.
Here is a message to the 10's of thousands – YOU LOST – GET OVER IT!
It truly is amazing to watch the dying machinations of the Republican Party. I hope soon we can really say the Party is over.

President Obama is being politically correct by saying that these protest are NOT racial motivated. We saw the same thing with the first Black Baseball player, Football players, etc... Why would the first black President the most powerful man in the world not be treated the same? Racial divide is alive and well, better concealed, but alive and well.. It's sad, but we still have a ways to go... Bush after 8 years and all that he did, was not treated this badly

Hi Jack. I think that you have it wrong. Looking at these signs it appears that the protestors are angry at ALL polticians in general not just the President. This would throw the racist card out. I would hope that Washington would get the message to stop spending our tax dollars like they are water and root out the corruption that is permeating both sides of DC.

I think the message that was sent to President Obama from the marchers is that we need to get health insurance reform passed in a hurry and that there should be strong mental health coverage included in it. Because from what I saw it looks like a lot of those folks need mental health coverage.

These low information voters are hanging on to misinformation being doles out by the Republicons hell bent on taking down Obama at any cost. A real shame. I wish they would focus their efforts on True Health Care reform and real change and accountability in America. Where were they when Bush was funding endless wars on behalf of the tax payer? Where were they when funding was being doled out by irresponsible risk takers on wall street while they average Joe can't get a break!! Give me a break!!

I was at work...............working.........so I could pay for my health care insurance premium, mortgage, home owners insurance premium, car insurance, electric bill....ect, this month............sorry I missed all those people who are so willing to cut off their nose to spite their own face. If I had been there, I wouldn't have been with the "Tea Bagger" group.

What it means for the president Jack is that hundreds of millions stayed home. The Nat Park Service considers any gathering above 50,00 to be large, tens of thousands doesnt sound like 50,000.

Jack, you question should have add tens of thousands of white people.

Unless the media believes the hype, that if you are not white than you are un-amercian. Or the only opinions that matters in American is the voice of white people.

To Obama this should remind him of the republican national convention

The message is very clear Jack... He is doing something right! People talk about you when you are doing something good! They are going to find the most minute things about his presidency because they can't find anything else!

Terrence
Lafayette, LA

Jack, calling these farces "Tea Parties" must make the real patriots roll over in their graves. These people have representation, they just can't face the fact that the nation has moved past their idea of what government should be.

I'm all for protesting wasteful spending, but where was this anger when Bush was wasting billions of taxdollars? If they didn't protest it then, they have no right to protest now.

As I watched the march over the weekend, I am reminded that some in this great nation of ours cannot come to grips with the fact that an African-American is now President. Where were the tea parties when former President Bush lied to us about weapons of mass destruction, about not waterboarding and hiding the facts regarding the impending economic crisis?

If Obama or his advisors believed that his ascension to the presidency would result in everyone singing "Kumbaya", then they've gotten a dose of racial reality. Too bad – we could've done alot more in the past 8 months.

Jack,

This just means that these people have no respect for the presidency and the man that over 50% of the country elected to be in that office. These protesters are listening to what people like Rush Limbaugh are telling them and other commentators from the far right. They need to grow up and get educated about the issue, and stop being blind sighted by their partisanship. It's time we stop this bickering between the two parties. We are all Americans therefore we need to work for what's better for the country. John F. Kennedy once said, “Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”
Richard,
Allen, TX

Jack you said the protesters brought their ignorant friends, you're wrong. They are all ignorant. People who elect, support, and donate money to an official who can't control himself at a joint session of our congess, shouldn't have the right to vote! Why don't these people wear their little cute white uniforms anymore?

Simple...Still there are tens of thousands of IGNORANT people out there!
Cindy
Nevada

We are not Democrats or Republicans or Independents. We are Americans saying "STOP!" This is too much government, too much spending, too fast. When will you understand that it is about much more than just President Obama and his policies?

Tens of thousands marching against Obama should send him the message that fear and racism are alive and well in America. No matter how much he thinks his Presidency has changed the world, racism will take decades, if not longer, to remove itself from our political process – remember if Obama we 18 years old in the early 60s he couldn't even vote for president, let alone run.

It means Republicans are much sorer losers than Democrats.

The message it sends is simple: It tells the world that this country is full of idiots.

Most of those nuts blindly follow the hate message spewed by Limbaugh, Hannity, Mark Levin and others like them.
Disagreeing with the President's policy is fine, I myself do on a number of issues, but these Nazi comparisons and other nonsense just seems to be an excuse for the real reason that these people hate this President. It might just have something to do with race?

Jack, I looked very hard and long at the crowd out protesting. I might have missed them, however I did not see a lot of people of color out there. I certainly did not see a lot of Blacks. What does that say? It says folks can't get over a mixed race guy won the WH and it also says we have stepped back to the sixties. Scary, i think I am headed back to Australia.

Will
Scottsdale, AZ

PS. Folks, reading your comments I am gratified that so many of you see through these Tea-baggers. There is fear out there, bred by the extreme far-right of the GOP.

I still have hope that we, the People, will not fall for their hate and lies!

God bless America!

It says that those same tens of thousands who didn't like him as a candidate still don't like him as president and will not like him, no matter what he does or why. It shows that having a black president and a non-conservative president is something the right in this country is not ready to admit or accept. By marching so early in his Administration they are showing that they are not going to give him any opportunity to prove himself as a good or bad leader. They simply don't like him, never liked him, never will. Pitty.

It says the Bush/Cheney program of "dumbing down America" was successful.

Jack-
What I have noticed is that after eight years of people being afraid to protest the war in large numbers out on the street, that democracy is back. Who cares what they are protesting at least we have left the years of hand selected Presidential audiences behind us. I say freedom of speech and assembly are back on track.

This one's way too easy, Jack. The presence of so many people from precisely the economic group President Obama most hopes to help at a march protesting his efforts to do so reinforces my longstanding belief that we should never underestimate the stupidity of the American people. And in this particular case, an unhealthy dollop of racism as well.

The sad message to Obama is we have tens of thousands of misinformed people who can't seem to hear his message or don't want to hear his message.

Nancy
Tucson, AZ

These are the same PUPPETS that shot at the clay pigeons (abortion, gay marriage, axis of "evil", etc.) the BUSH/RIGHT WINGERS threw out, as a smoke screen to pass their ILLEGAL activities.

The way that I see it, tens of thousands protesting against Obama does not mean a thing! Because many more than that voted him into office and were there to see him be sworn in. Those folks who were out there protesting against him were those who more than likely also voted against him to begin with.

Also, these forlks are now quick to say that Obama is a liar...where were those same "righteous-want-to-be" folks when BUSH was talking about weapons of mass distruction?

S.C.F.
St. Croix, USVI

I think whatever message they were trying to send was drowned out by their hatred, displaying white-faced pictures of their president and nasty rhetoric inciting others to hate.

It is really quite sad to watch America deteriorate to this level.

Jack I just have one thing to say.... Where was the so called TEA Party when Pres. Bush spent Trillions of dollars in Taxpayers money fighting an illegitimate war? If I were Obama the message I would receive is... What a bunch of hypocrites.

Marg
Toronto Canada

Jack,
You did not mention that this march was organized by lobbyst andGOP house majority leader Dick Army. It should be noted Dick Army's company is funded by healthcare industry. The message conveyed by these terrorist fringe clans to the White house is they do not like African American as the President of United States-

The message is: The repub's. base was present doing their usual work, taking commands from their same old tired play book.

That the Klan has a lot of new inductees, and that the coffers of hate groups across the country are swelling!

I am so sick of all the crap,we should all get behind our leader,what a plate full he got handed when he walked threw the door....a war that has lasted longer than anyother was,and we should not be there in the first place...yep that is what we needed more of the same s.......that we have had for the last 8 years NOT. Can't remember seeing such out of touch people in my life....

Jack,

If we keep things in correct perspective here, this was simply a "million moron march" on Washington but they did not get a million people. It was composed of a minority of extremists in this nation who do not represent the majority of the country. These were the kind of people who will believe anything their GOP representatives tell them as well as the paid propaganda adds on TV. The only message that this march should send to Washington is the fact that it is not possible to fix "stupid".

HD in Phoenix, AZ

Jack, The message they sent to President Obama and the world is that the United States still has racial boundaries and how ignorant some Americans are. At times like this when we have a president who somewhat knows what he is doing is tolerable... but the fact that he is African American is not tolerable to the ignorant racist of this country. If he was a white man no one would be objecting.

they're demonstrating what ignorant looks like.

These are all the bigots that the McCain/Palin ticket indoctrinated. remember how McCain had to calm down the chaos he induced? One hillbilly called then Senator Obama: "a,a,a,an ARAB!"..McCain had to denounce this as he realized how out of control their negative rhetoric was backfiring on them.
These are those people Jack. Marching to the tune of bigotry and hate. These are the most ignorant of all Americans..."they walk amongst us"...too scary!

The messages sent to president Obama by the outrageous protests is that America really wasn't ready to accept it's first black president. I hate pulling the race card Jack, i really do but this is the elephant in the room, and it makes me oh so sad. What do children do when they don't like some new kid in the class. They poke fun, they don't play nicely, and they make stuff up, just to have something bad to say.

Two words Jack,
"paranoid lunatics".

The message is – "if ignorance is bliss then this country is euphoric"

The Message being sent is nothjng but hate! Republicans didn't rally over a record deficit under bush, the harsh conditions at Walter reed or the handling of a war over oil. What it is sending is a wake up call of how health care is needed because we have 10 thousand people marching on Washington that need professional help who can't afford it!

The Tea Parties in D.C. and across the United States tell Obama that we're fed up with his lies, out of control spending, proposed taxes on the wealthy, health care reform that will increase the deficit, fund abortion, allow illegal aliens to receive health care, bailouts, tired of programs that provide "Cash for Clunkers", "Cash for Energy Efficient Appliances, "Cash for First Time Home Buyers, no COLA's for Social Security recipients and promoting socialism! You name it, this Administration is doing it! Biggest fault is the bleeding job losses and lack of job creation! Sick of Obama blaming Bush! No one told Obama he had to choose Bush's path! Obama has a mind of his own and made his own choices! Time to own up to his mistakes! He's broken almost all his campaign promises; in essence, he's the biggest liar and deceivor in history! Also, spending taxpayers money to defend himself against the release of his proper long form birth certificate! He's the most dishonorable president on record!

They send the message that all of Rush Limbaugh's listeners have just showed up. These are radicals that hope Obama fails at what ever he does. Obama ran on the premise that he would revamp health care and the people that voted for him, the majority of Americans, expect him to do just that.

These marches are, in my opinion, the greatest argument for education reform in recent decades. If the so-called "protestors" had any ability to think and reason for themselves, they would see that they are being manipulated by right-wing corporate interests, and the facts are definately not on their side. I do suspect however, that these demonstrations will wane as football season moves along, and the undereducated participants will opt to drop their message in favor of their 52" flat-screens.

President Obama deserves a chance to show what he can do. People who look to government to blame should look in the mirror instead and get out and do something good and accept some responsibility for our present condition. Where were these people when we passed the trillion dollar mark on Iraq spending a few years ago? This hate and fear mongering is America at its worst.

The protests over the weekend showed that the right wing in this country has already started the next campaign..

These same people were silent while the last admin doubled the debt.
These same people were silent while the last admin started a war with no plan to pay for it.
These people were silent while the last admin passed a prescription drug bill that will cost over $700 Billion with no plan to pay for it.
These same people were silent while the last admin gave the wealthiest huge tax cuts with no plan to pay for it.

These same people apparently think all our nations ills started after Obama was worn in..

They are sending the message that they have no respect for anyone, and they obviously do not know what they are talking about. If they would just sit down and watch a reputable show (unlike FOX NEWS), they may become more informed. They are listening to people like Steele who misquote the President immediately after his speech.

It tells me President Obama should add amendments to the Patriot Act and attack a country that had nothing to do with 911. Nobody marched on Washington when President Bush enacted the Patriot Act and started the Iraq War. Apparently President Obama hasn't learned that we are silent if you attack our civil liberties and thousands die in a needless war.

What the march on Washington shows is that many Americans still don't get the fact that we will go bankrupt if we don't change our current method of health care in this country. Also, the republicans continue to bus in robots to attend these events. It is time for democrats to get off their butts and counter-protest these right-wing nuts in the streets.

Jack,
Not a damn thing. A good portion of the people in the country voted for Obama and one would think during this decision all which he would bring along with that famous change commitment. Now we find ourselves watching these tea parties play out in protest. I would be curious to see how many of these tea party people are the same people who voted him into office and who were freaking out celebrating his victory election night. I can accept Republicans doing these tea parties, but what is amazing to me is any democrat or Obama fanatic that after being so brainwashed by his campaign now has a second thought on the matter. How convenient it is for one man to be so popular one minute and then be a periah the next. Well if you voted for him don't complain. You get what you pay for. I for one support him and want to give him a shot. I live with the decision of my vote...we'll see what the next 4 years bring, and BTW I AM A REPUBLICAN.

The message they are sending is not what they intend. It is that they are ignorant, selfish and hate filled. I have never seen so many people like that in a pile before.

Becky

I think the message that the massive demostration was trying to send to the president was 'SHAPE UP"
I know that Obama is a citizen because he was born in Hawaii after it becane a state of the Union. I don't think they really meant it when they said he is a socialist and compared him with Hitler. But, we both know that when people get incesed, the will use hyperbole.
Obama has to think beforre he speaks because too often has he had to take back his statements; Does he realize how many seniors he has alienated when he said if there is a deficit he will take it out of Medicare and Medicaid. We have been paying for medicare through the years. He had better not touch that because he needs the senior vote much too much. He also should stop using scare tactics to try to get HIS realthcare system through. Scare tactics don't work! and neither will the race card work. Tell Mr. Obama that if we the pwople were racist he would not now be President Obama.

It only shows that the Lunitic Fringe think they are the Majority! Sooner or later they must realize that nothing Obama has done will EVER come close to the last 8 years of hell our country went through. They are just brainwashed, right wing, Glenn Beck infested nut jobs with nothing beter to do then show how much they Hate America. Just because they are on the right doesn't mean they are Right, and it seldom does.

Finally acknowledgement of the loyal opposition! Focus on the message and not the fringe activists. These folks are Americans also and deserve the same concideration for disemination of their views as those on the other side. Thankfully the issue of racisam was not intjected into the work up as is the norm for CNN when the oppositions message starts to resonate.

It's incredible that we have so many hateful people in this country. These people would rather make up and believe these incredible lies, just so they don't have to help their fellow Americans out. It's disgusting that our country has come to the point that people feel that it is ok to be so disrespectful to the President of the United States. It seems like the Republican party and it's followers do not want the traditional government "for the people by the people", but a government that is paid for by corporate America. The Dems need to satnd up and make the needed changes in America, because clearly, no matter the issue, the Republicans will be against it.

The protesters in Washingon DC appear to mainly "WHITE", where is the rest of America. I think there were more people at the Ohio vs USC game on Saturday, must have been more important. Tens of of thousands of people is not a very large number anymore.

Jack, it means we have 10's of thousands of racist bigots who are too ignorant to read the bill and realize they are being lied to. The Republicans in Congress that spread this stupidity are about as un-American as you can get. Actually, treason enters my mind. Joe Wilson is a disgrace to the Army, the Congress and America in general. If the President fails, we all fail and they are too dumb to see it.

I wonder what planet Mari from Salt Lake was living on the past 8 years. She claimed that no one on the left ever spewed hate towards George Bush. Or...perhaps Mari was making a joke.

These Americans look nothing like the corrupt media have attempted to portray them as. I saw common hard working, tax paying Americans who have been ignored. The proof of that was displayed by the lack of coverage by the state run media outlets such as CNN, NBC, ABC and CBS. The corruption in the cesspool known as Washington is not just limited to politics, the media sleeps in the same bed. One only has to look at a poll released today showing that nearly two thirds of the people don't trust what the media reports as being factual. There needs to be protests in front of these media outlets that continue to push ideolgy despite the truth. The majority has awakened.

The message I think the protestors are trying to send to Pres. Obama is that they are angry and frightened. These people are not very well informed and they are easily influenced by those who wish to prey on their fears and prejudices. People do not all agree about health care, bailouts, the war in Afghanistan or any other issue, but rational people have well thought through arguments and facts to support their opinions and know how to express them appropriately. These protesters are not thinking, they are reacting. They want the president to know that what they are hearing frightens them.

Hi Jack,
As I watched the protestors on tv this w.e. and heard the comments being made by people from my state – I was reassued that Ignorance is growing!!!

The ridiculous statements made by so many of the protestors regarding taxation without representation to the swastikas painted on their signs demonstrates to me what I have been thinking all along...

Too many people are too easily influenced by a lot of loud noise and little to no substance. The scare tactics have worked and to listen to "respectable" Republicans on tv not answering the questions when posed to them regarding the death panels and other ridiculous claims makes these people believe the fear mongers even more.

John McCain really disappointed me when he would not come out and say that Death Panels were not a part of this reform bill. I ask him HOW could he do that??? I am so disappointed and have lost any respect I had for him before...

It shows the president needs to do something about talk radio and right wing tv, it spreads hatred and discontent. Where were the marchers during the Bush years??????? Something is not a lie just because the other side wants stricter guidelines. Keep drinking the kool aid. As bad as I thought Bush was I would never disrespect him like they have. And to all Seniors, be glad there was a democrat in office when medicare was passed and social security, the other side called us socialists and communists....sound familar ?????????

The message the president should take from these types of protest is that he is on the right path for change. If change was easy, it wouldve happened a long time ago. People fear change for no reason. Nobody knows what will happen until we give it a chance. There is nothing new that will come from any changes that the president proposes. There has always been a deficit. Why not try something new? WE as a country have come back from many bad decisions but we tried them and learned from them.

Jack there is only one word that describes the behavior of these citizens.... Racism ! Where were they when Bush was doing illegal actions and the whole country show their displeasure in Silence. And he had 8 yrs of this behavior. Did any one person marched to Washington? The media did more in reporting Bush's dealings
but the country remain angry without doing anything. We are more racist people than we are willing to admit.

Just look at any of the pictures of those thousands...they're all white! It's all an underlying racist attack on the man, NOT his policies, NOT his being a Democrat, NOT his views!! Just listen to those morons Hannity, Beck and that druggie Limbaugh. They're quietly telling folks that they should hate THE MAN, not his policies. I ask you, where were these 'true Americans' when Bush lied about the WMD in Iraq and doomed over 4,000 of my colleagues to death over his wanting to capture Saddam for trying to kill his father?!?

Obama will now know who all the ignorant people who elected George Bush are. They can't comprehend how doing nothing would cost more than passing healthcare. The rising cost of healthcare will bankrupt this country more than any amount of spending. We will never get out of this recession if we spend a sixth of our money on healthcare.

It means there are more uneducated people than I thought in this country. The time they wasted protesting, they could have picked up a book and learned about how backwards their views are and how Obama is trying to help the middle class, which is on life support right now.

Jack,

The message these protestors sent to President Obama and the rest of the world is a big fat sign that says Village Idiot Convention: Bring your hate message and ugly signs...and you could be on T.V.!

I believe all of this debate and media time has given fuel to the movement against the President – maybe because he's Black; but definitely because he is going against the grain. They are trying (albeit successfully) to chip away at him and his credibility to give the appearance that this Administration is failing and is trying to convert our way of life to a Communistic society. This is merely a vendetta against a man who reached rock stardom in epic portortions and are trying to make an example of him – no matter how unreasonable they seem.

President Obama isn't making the US weaker...the American people are making us weaker by putting our blatant disrespect and lack of unity and indignant behavior on display for the world to laugh at.

I heard Obama talk about lies in his address to the joint session. We know we have to show our concern and let people see if these are the fanatics the media describe or the ignorant the President and his spokesman say.I know Fri the immigration loopholes were taken out–I know after Palin the panels for end of life counseling were taken out. Abortion subsidies are coming out we are told. Hmmmmmmmmmmm and none of these were ever in there!

With the government in such dissary and dampened by ineptitude, I'm sorry I voted for Obama. I wish I could take my vote back.

President Obama isn't stupid. Of course he'll say he doesn't think racism is motivating these marchers. We know better. I feel sorry for them as they fight against their own best interests. The question should be "What message are these marchers sending to the rest of the world?"
Then the answer would be truly obvious. We're idiots.

The message it sends is the one they already know. It's "SILLY SEASON!" The Circus was definitely in town, so grab your popcorn back from Terrell Owens. Although I agree with most of the issues that go unnoticed, I disagree with many of the economic decisions of both The Bush and The Obama Administrations. Signs like “Bury Healthcare with Kennedy” are incendiary and divisive. Who in their right mind wants to be associated with the Million Moron March?!

The message was simply, "Listen to us for a change". I'm sure Obama will not listen because he believes he has the viasion to make it all better for everyone, regardless what they want.

It doesn't help that republicans are so intransigent but I don't think that's
it. It's more like "put up or shut up."

It says that there are a bunch of people out there that live in the echo chamber of FOX news and conservative talk radio. The GOP let their blather go unquestioned because it got them vote & riled up their base. But now they have created a monster - they can't disavow anything that their base believes. I would put a challenge to CNN - anytime that you have a member of the GOP on, ask him or her to state clearly for the record - yes or no - "Was Obama born in the United States?" "Is he a Muslim and should it matter if he were?", " Does it say in the constitution that the government has the power to protect the general welfare of the United States?" "Is medicare a 'government run program'?"Why did they drive up the deficits & debt under the Bush administration?"

These people are sending many messages - and they are very concerned about what is happening in the country that once was the envy of the world. Rather than feeling good about being able to provide for your family, have a decent education, live in peace, etc., we are certainly having a time of it. I would only hope that not only President Obama but the entire Congress sit back and take a look at what has happened. Perhaps plans have gone astray, but we sure need to get this ship sailing on the right course.

If anything, it's clear that President Obama needs to step up and do what's right for the ENTIRE country and not kowtow to the few misinformed and misrepresented constituents of those politicians that are more interested in retaining office than what is best for their family, friends, and neighbors.

The huge crows this weekend was directly due to loss of creditability for the Obama administration. The trillions of unnecessary debt to be repaid by our grandkids is beyond the average person's belief. I had never heard of the trillion dollar term until this administration propped up wall street. there has been no transparency the Present administration pledged.

Return the unspent stimulus money to the treasury and some creditability can be achieved.

Jack,
We can dance around the subject of why so many people marched on Washington Saturday, but the main reason is because Obama is African-America, and those people cannot believe the fact that we have a black president. It is sad to see so many racists in this country...

The protesters are not all loons but misunderstanding messages from skewed views of media. The rest of them are religious extremists. I think they need to go back to school and learn the basics of history, math, science, and english.

Jack, When .0003% of the country shows up for a protest, it doesn't demonstrate much.

Jerry Wilson
Broken Arrow, OK

The "tens of thousands" who marched against the Obama administration this past Saturday did NOT add up to the "tens of millions" of Americans who comprise the SILENT MAJORITY who support this administration. The media–especially CNN–has to stop blowing this all out of proportion because from where I sit here in a small mid-western town, the country is NOT on the verge of another Civil War over health care/insurance reform!

So all these Loons who were bussed in by Corporate Think Tanks, on behalf of the insurance companies, got together for a day. I saw one moron, who held a sign that said “Grow a Brain Moran”. This thing was hyped to death and if you did as well a publicized reverse rally for Health Care, for a Stimulus and against what these fools stand for, you'd get twice the numbers. Count me as unimpressed. Now if the media could minimize the numbers of these yoyo's, the way you marginalized Bush protesters, I'll call it even. Can’t you focus on something as equally important, like Britany breaking a nail?

Of course there's a racial undertone. Fun thing about that now though, is that you can get some of white Americans to see and voice it.

We'll never see the president address an undertone though. So, this is the game we play in meantime.

Resentment/hate.

The message here is: the extreme Right wing is always better at being loud, getting people out, and grabbing media attention. As usual, they make it looks as though they represent a larger number of Americans than they really do (I hope). Democrats, moderate Republicans, and moderate Independents are too often the real "silent majority." "Civil discourse"? Not likely anymore.

This march signifies the disgust American citizens have with Republicans , Dems and the cooperate media. No matter how you all paint the picture we see this for what this is ....a destroying of our constitution enough is enough

Not all, but I would say a large percentage of people who show up at these rallies are somewhat racist. I personally think that they are hiding behind politics, public racism has become taboo. Honestly who wouldn't want a public option if it lowers the overall cost of health care. As you can see jobs are unstable and retirees are getting their benefits slashed and prices raised as well. If you know that the insurance companies are doing things that are unfair, why not have public option to lower your cost. Lower cost of health care could out weigh the taxes that everyone is complaining about. Just looking at the rallies, it looks like the rich have found a way for the middle and lower class to do their bidding. Think about that. I would have more respect if they would just come out of the closet and really say what is on their mind. Stop hiding behind issues!

These people are displaying the fact that they have already "prejudged" President Obama and do not care for anything he represents. Their minds are closed. Mostly they represent the "Status Quo". Everyone knows they exist. They are a small segment of society that voted against Obama from the start. Now they have faces. They either are ignorant of the argument, culturally fearful, or have something to lose if the system gets fixed.

I was there. We hope that our numbers would send a message. It was not just health care. It was the whole Solcialistic move this country is taking. There were birthers, anti-abortion, health care, immigration, taxes, left wing czars and advisors and a host of other issues. There was no anger, no violence, just people expressing their constitutionally given rights to assemble and dissent. Thomas Jefferson said "When the people fear the government there is tyranny. When the Government fears the people there is Liberty". We want to keep our liberty.

I think it shows nothing but ignorance. I would be amazed if even half those people even had all the facts on what it is they are protesting against. I think it's nothing but a new age resurgence of racism...

It must send the message that He's damned if he does and he's damed if he doesn't. He must feel like a pricipal at a school for people for people who are to mentally slow to breathe on their own. I feel for President Obama. I've never seen anybody have to fight through so much hate, just to help those who are hating.

Jack, it's obvious these are all calculated attempts funded by some whose sole aim is to oppose whatever is called reform without considering the consequences down the road; the world is simply getting unrealistic and it's a shame that some in United States are moving towards this direction. Imagine the young guy in fron still holding the 'You Lie" poster; what future are we building!

The "tens of thousands" who marched on Washington make it very clear that no matter who is in power, republicans are definitely the party of negative rhetoric and have a very limited ability to participate in a civil debate.

Jack – Obama is the result of swing voters voting against something they did not understand, rather than voting for his agenda. It was obvious to me that he stood for socialism and surrender. Worse he is corrupt. Chicago politics invade DC. His health care plan needs to be stopped. I do believe the pebdulum is swinging back to the right. I hope we "thrp the bums ouit" before nationalized medicine becomes a reality.nowdid not know is

The president may not want to call the march on washington racist so I will say it for him. Since the day Obama started running for president until now he has had a wall of haters trying to block every move he makes. Didn't happen to Son of Bush when he started blowing up a country that had done nothing wrong to this country. Didn't happen to daddy Bush when he decided to blow up the same country for an even worse reason. No the outcry came when a black man became president. Its a damn shame. Get your guns and guard your white women because Nat Turner has been raised from the dead.

The message we hope to send to President Obama is that we, the silent majority, are listening and watching, but to date have not heard, nor found, a creditable voice among the Congressional talking heads. The sheep we elected last November are following the ewes to defeat in the next election. Prepare yourself for a new look in the house and a third of the senate.
Bruce, far Western NC

For the people who ask "where were these people in the Bush years"... the answer is we were busy playing the bipartisan politics game that is tearing our country apart at the seams. If you talk to the protestors they will be the first to admit that they should have been protesting Bush in the streets when he wouldn't protect the border and when he started the stimulus package.
However wrong we were for missing the bus on protesting Bush... TWO WRONGs DON'T MAKE A RIGHT. Bush was wrong- Obama is wrong- Congress is wrong. Wake up America- Root out the corruption. UNIONS AND SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP ARE RUINING US.

You know, Jack, it is very hard to figure out exactly what message this group is trying to send. They say they want the government to stay out of their lives, fewer taxes, or that they want "their country back" (whatever that means)...the list goes on and on.

Whatever their message is, it is totally clouded by the fact that Saturday's crowd, along with those at the angry town hall meetings this summer, were overwhelmingly White with very few – if any – minorities in the mix, but God forbid that anyone plays the "race card" with them. If they believe that the issues they are protesting are detrimental to ALL Americans, why is it that ALL Americans are not being represented in their rallies?

The message that the these radicals are sending with their Nazi and other insulting signs is that they have not gotten used to losing the 2008 election yet and that they are acting like a bunch of spoiled brats being that they are out of power now.

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid should make every member of the House and Senate have to vote up or down on their behavior to put them in a bind. If they vote against it, then they will lose their base while if they vote in favor of it, then they will lose voters in middle America the next time that they are on the ballot!

MANY did not like the politics of George W. Bush. There was a LOT of controversy regarding how he won his first election. Bush detractors DID NOT court the lunatic fringe the way the Republican Party has done in the last few months. I believe the motives of people marching against Obama in Washington, DC, are thinly disguised racism. If the nasty rhetoric continues you will see a equally nasty backlash. Can we please maintain some sort of decorum or are we destined to behave like the 'Ugly Americans' many other nations believe us to be? I am a white female, educated, over 50, and a registered independent voter.

There is nothing suprising aabout all the people whogathered to protest about how much they disagree with president Obama and the things he is trying to do. he has taken on a lot and there are a lot of Republicans out there that want to see him fail. The people who spin are doing a good job. Too bad it isn't going to help all the people who need help.

It means once again the media is doing a great job of creating mass misconception on our important political issues . They'd rather sensationalize conflict than analyze options for resolution.

Orlando, FL

The protests should send Obama the message that we don't
want the government managing our health care and running
up a big national debt that we do not have the money to cover.
Is he deaf, or does he not care what so many people think?
They thought when they voted for him that we would have change...
not socialism.

Jack,
I will tell you what it says. That the people of this country are sick and tired of public taxpayer money going to bail outs, healthcare and the like without any of our public officials of either party telling how it is going to be paid for. And President Obama is being disingenuous at best by saying a) that health care will not cover illegal aliens and b) that he will not sign this bill if it add one dollar to the federal deficit. . I will ask you where is the money going to come from? The answer is clear , on the back of the middle class. While I do not agree with the comments of Congressman Wilson or the lunatic fringe of the extreme right at all, it is about time that people get involved and President Obama is giving everyone who opposes him a grand platform!!

Some of the protesters have legitimate concerns but it will be difficult to hear them because of all of the other nuts that showed up. Many of the protesters are simply people who still struggle with CHANGE. They are really scared of Difference and think that it means that one is better than the other. Obama has to do another speech on race so that many of his followers can begin to challenge others on their stereotypes and racism. Everyone needs to be challenged on their ism's.

It says that there are about 1000 nuts per state!

The message is a Braveheartesk, loud, passionate yell of------"FREEDOM"!

I dare say that these people are the result of disinformation found on talk radio or certain cable news stations[Fox]They get news in soundbites rather than reading indepth about issues.

The message the Tea Party members are saying is," There weren't enough of us during the election process to elect McCain to implement our ideas and ideals, and we're still seating over the loss and just can't let it go. Obama 365 Electoral Votes McCain 162 Electoral Votes. It wasn't enough then and it still isn't enough now!

I think the comments on your blog are also reflective of the politicians in D.C. who are in total denial. The mis-reporting / under reporting done by CNN, HLN, MS-NBC, etc. speaks volumes. This was the largest public gathering ever, yes even greater than the "millon man march", etc. The mis-reporting / censorship by the "off-stream" media and lack of intelliect by your audience is the real story. Yep, keep your heads buried in the sand with your hands held out for a hand-out. How is it working for you and the rest of the duped Obama voters thus far?

Obama will be one and done, after his first and only term is over.

It should indicate to President Obama that there is some serious nuclear fallout in some areas of the country needing immediate attention before the entire nation loses all sense of reality.

It might also be wise to check the water supplies in some of these areas as something has to be causing these mental lapses.

The message is clear as daylight, look at the racial make up of the protesters. Many " real americans" are still not ready to accept that they have a black president. It's only the fake americans who have accepted this. Thank god there are more fake americans than real, for if not, we may be facing a civil war.

The protesters who marched on Washington are primarily telling us one thing: If you get your information from a bunch of sources that share a consistent bias you'll believe just about anything.

If you get your information from Fox "News", The Drudge Report and the Wall Street Journal, you'll actually take as fact the six-pack of lies that include 1)Obama isn't a natural born citizen 2)our president's health care plan would provide care for illegal aliens 3)offering someone a chance to talk to a doctor about end of life choices = death panels 4)having a government option for health care is the same as socializing all of the U.S. health care system, 5)you don't already have someone between you and your doctor– an insurance or HMO that has profit and bottom line that it's accountable too - whereas a government service would be accountable to....voters and 6)that it's not incredibly immoral AND unpatriotic to leave 46 million of your fellow citizens uninsurance and probably 80 million at risk for bankruptcy and poor heath for being underinsured.

When you get your "news" from sources that all share the same bias, you do Democracy a disservice by being poorly informed citizens who are intent on shooting true health-care reform with a shotgun to the face. If you don't understand why combining "for profit" and "health care' is immoral, you don't really understand capitalism anyway. Ask most of the people who've dealt with insurance companies, they can explain to you why the two don't work well together.

I would have liked to hear from these people, just what exactly is the problem with fixing the awful state of health care in America.
Each and every opponent I know are deep rooted racists. Dangerous children.

The message that I got is that there are a lot of frustrated people who are dissatisfied with our Socialist President Obama's attempt to turn the United States of America into the United Socialist States of America with his policies and actions since he was inaugurated.

People are also concerned about historical comments, writings, and publications by our Socialist President Obama and his associates that reinforces the belief that he is leading the country toward Socialism and Marxism.

60-70,000 out of 330 Million Americans? Not much. It says $1.4M per day that insurance company lobbysts spend doesn’t buy a whole lot of knuckle draggers. It would be better spent on actual insureds. Then maybe we wouldn’t be so appalled by their out of control greed.

Obama is wisely remaining above the fray, but we all know what this is about. The left hated Bush because of what he'd done, the right hates Obama because of who he is. There is a segment of this country, represented by that charming congressman from South Carolina, that will never accept having a black man with a Muslim father as president. Period. If Republicans and Teabaggers want to be taken seriously, they need to speak out against the Birthers, Militiamen, and Secessionists who undermine the national debate with their xenophobic antics. As Americans, we have a racially divisive past. The only way we can move forward is by exposing, discrediting and marginalizing those who embrace the absolute worst in us.

Jack,

See many blacks in the blocks of white protesters? I think we are seeing right wing white guys who cannot believe we elected someone who is not completely white to the office of President!
I was told don"t vote for him he will raise you taxes!!!! My taxes have gone up but only at the local level. These people believe what the believe and the truth does not matter. I do not know when we will grow up as a Nation!

The bottom line is that these protest are simply about race and race only. These people can't and will not accept that a black man is president. The are under the guidance and have been hyptnotized by the Limbaugh, Hannity, and Beck talk shows. They want Pres. Obama to fall and wont stop until he does. When Pres. Bush was running the country I didn't see any protest against him.

These are sore losers, that refuse to accept a black man as the president of the United Sates of America. We will mobilize against these hate mungers. We could mobilize millions of just as comitted Americans in his support on any saturday. They cry for attention, as the father of five the more attention they get the more they cry.

Jack, the highly paid shills at Fox news have done a great job with their fear mongering and fact-challenged promotion leading to this event. I searched the crowed looking for a person of color and couldn't find one among the thousands. Hmmm. And yet, with all the vitriol and degrading postors of President Obama, they all deny racism is involved. And pigs can fly.
It reminds me of the infamous KKK marches in Washington DC in the 1920s.

They are the misinformed, brainwashed wing of the Republican Party reminiscent of Nazi Germany but in this case the stooges of the sick insurance industry and gunslingers.

Whatever the message, he is not listening. He and the Democrats have their agenda and they are not listening to anyone. If some people have a different opinion, they are labeled as "unAmerican" by Pelosi and her goons.

He's only been in 8 month ..this bill is tyring to help the have-nots...this bill will be cheaper than the iraq war all together, and it helps American citizens. Is there a liltle bit more to why everyone is so against this President and everything he is trying to do?????????????

Jack Tens of thousands protest Pres, but i bet not one of them voted for him, so these are the people that never liked him in the first place. and that doesn't much, just Tens of thousands of the millions that voted for Mccain.

The only message Obama should take is that he must be doing the right thing if he is driving the wing nuts crazy. The rest of us, however, better make sure that our message gets through too. We have let the crazy right, the Christian right, the war mongering right, and the incredibly selfish right drive the conversation since 1980. Progressives, liberals, sensible conservatives, humanitarians, and moderates have been drowned out far too long. If we don't speak up loudly and soon these crackpots will be running the country.

Jann
Brunswick, GA

The massive protest is telling Obama that we will no longer take anymore of his stomping on our Constitution.. Enough already with all the taxation and bailouts.. He cannot keep blaming any other administration for his constant mistakes and travesties he is inflicting on our nation..

WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH.. WE WILL NOT TAKE IT ANY LONGER.. WE WILL VOTE ALL OUT WHO DO NOT STAND UP FOR WHAT AMERICA IS AND WAS FOUNDED ON... WE MUST ADHERE TO OUR CONSTITUTION!

It's amazing how many ignorant people on this site seem to think everything is about race. Obama's radical agenda would be disturbing no matter what color he was.

The message? We need to build more mental institutions. Too many insane people running around the streets.

Jack, where were these guys during the last 8 years? During unpaid programs and giving tax break only to the Rich where were they then? Sound kind of fishy to me.

The republican zombies are on the lose. Simply catch phrases such as death panels, socialism,communism, Obama will showup and take your guns. President Obama hasn't even had time to much of anything. It took bush 8 years to run the country in the ground. I was 100percent behind bush until we all figured out that our neighbors were more likely to have WMD than saddam. These people don't think they just respond to catch phrases like preschoolers

It shows that out country obviously needs "big government" to help us in the way of education. The many photos of picket signs with misspellings, historically incorrect information and flat out ignorant assumptions is a huge exclamation point for us. If this ridiculous march didn't open the eyes of those with some sort of brain and whose eyes aren't already being held closed by the right winged extremists, I don't know what will.
The swell of racial tension in this country is rising and making me seriously fear for the future of my children. Make it stop, please.

The message is that racism is alive and a strong undercurrent in the current political discourse. It's time we stopped ignoriing the elephant in the living room and start calling the racism out. Isn't this just what bin Laden and the terrorists love seeing ... the hated America tearing its own self apart and not living up to the equality guaranteed to all? Another good argument to keep the middle eastern countries from embracing democracy.

These protests remind me of Hitler & Gobbels actions in Germany in the thirty's when they would send out goon squads (s,a. (later Gestapo) to disrupt and even beat up people to quell opposition. This included fear by repeating the big lie..death panels ,the Jews are responsible and must be eliminated. This sounds familiar now with the dirty tricks of the Nixon years. Bech,Palin, Limbaugh,Karl Rove and Chaney. If the Democrats are socialistic, then the Republicans are the faciasts.

They're basically saying the same stuff they've been saying even before the nov election. You Lie, You're not a an american, you will kill grandma, you're hitler, socialist, terrorist, You're not like us. etc.

First you really need to analyze the groups. More than half didn't vote for him and a good chunk were birthers / deathers / tenthers. Willing to bet alot of them work for the insurance industries too. And when a few were asked they seem to think that the insurance co's should voluntarily make adjustments, and the government shouldnt have any say. (as if they'd do such a thing without arm twisting.) Then theres the ones who complain about the czars, despite the fact that presidents long before him appointed them as well. And these people seem to be oblivious to the fact that bush drove the country into the ditch, economically, and used the constitution like a kleenex. Maybe the protesters should wake up and go after Bush/Cheney for the last 8 years before they start going after obama.

Freedom! Every American is tired of the Federal Reserve, the patriot act, our government slowly turning our country socialist and losing more and more rights day by day. We are tired of big government

It's shameful that so many people care so less about other's who do not have access to health care. These people protesting fueled by halftruths and flat out negligent propaganda .These rants are so ridiculous not to mention bred by unsubstantiated facts. Simply mind boggling so many followers display radical temper tantrums. I imagine most of these protesting have not bothered to get any facts, instead believe the nonsense that has been spewed from far right organizers. I would bet the farm that many of these people had no problem with the billions of money spent on a the Iraq war which has been the greatest intrusion of our government since Viet Nam. These people need to do research from reliable sources and not simply listen to radical windbags! It's as if these people marching believe the Insurnace Giants are there for the people ?? Please, protesters think for yourselves instead of following some brainwashing group who is only out to dicredit a good caring President!!!!

it does not matter. you can protest all you want and have rallies all you want be lets take a look at the big picture:

1.) nothing will change.

2.) the only reason you protest is so you have someone to blame for your issues other than oneself.

3.) and all republicans would rather be part of the issue rather than be part of the solution and that is there only motivation for these worthless protests.

The message the marchers are sending is that forty years ago, Klansmen paraded in white robes with hoods; in the first decade of the 21st century, they are wearing invisible robes but the bias, bigotry and hatred still exist. These are people who, by and large, are outraged that a black American has risen to the office of President of the United States. The size of the crowd of marchers on Washington this past weekend is infinitesimal compared to the electorate at large. Eventually they will be assimilated into the vast majority that believes we are blessed to have a president of such intelligence, dignity and leadership regardless of the color of his skin.

Jack
The thousands of Saturday protesters represent the beginning of the awakening of the great "silent manority". People that have heretofore been quiet are starting to vocalize. They want their voices heard.
Granted, some of the lunatic fringe may have been there with their irresponsible drum beating and they should be ignored.
I like President Obama, don't think he's a liar, but I don't think we always get the entire story.
This health care bill is so far reaching and so costly that its impossible for the average citizen to digest all the comments made by either side. The truth is somewhere in the middle.
The "death squad" comment is absurd, but I think the coverage for illegals comment was not a lie, but a probable half truth.
The president claims the bill will not add to the deficit, but if thats the case cuts are being made elsewhere.
As a senior, I want to know where.

Jack, The President and Robert Gibbs are 99% wrong. The root cause of this issue is perhaps the most profound and potentially virulent racism in history. We have preachers praying for death, followers carrying guns to Obama events. DeMint instructing Glenn Beck to step up the rage to a level it has never been, a mastication severed finger. It's racism on steroids.

The fact that many of these people were dressed up like George Washington, Martha Washington and Thomas Jefferson while shouting we want our country back, makes me wonder if racism is the elephant in the room. President Obama would have been a slave under those administrations. I am disgraced by the obvious hate for our president who has only been in office for 8 LONG months. God HELP America!!

First of all I thought it was ridiculous that people who call themselves americans wouldn't allow there children to watch a speech by the president of the united states merely talk about the importance of education,something parents SHOULD be doing anyway,and now everyone thinks that the president is trying to take there healthcare.I don't know the actual figures of the cost not only in lives but taxpayer dollars that the wars in IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN cost but where is the uproar about that ? We need to handle issues that definitely concern America and stop fighting about issues that don't.

Jack,the Republican have found a pot they can keep stirring and get exactly the results desired. Uninformed,no desire to find out what's going on around the rest of the planet.The healthcare reform work in progress would catch the US up to the level of ALL of the other industrialized countries. You know Jack,those socialist countries like Germany and Japan. There were no big Republican protests when the patriot act was allowing our e mails and phone conversations to be intercepted and recorded for later use in a data mine. Sorry,that was a white Republican president,that was ok. Nothing our intelligent,forward thinking African American president does will make the dim bulbs happy.

They're sending two messages, Jack. First, racism. Notice how the crowd of protesters is 99% white. Second, greed. Notice again how most of the protesters are older. My wager is that many of them are on Medicare or some government pension. In other words, "I've got mine, and I don't care about you". How pathetic Americans must look to the rest of the world.

I imagine that the message President Obama will take from the "astroturf" protesters is that he will continue to try to find a way to frame the message of his goals for America so that the protesters can come to understand that they are continuing to be misled and incited to act out against policies that would benefit the majority of the folks who were in Washington. Those who incite are most interested in finding a way to regain power and control so that they can push America down the dangerous and destructive path of the Cheney/Bush years. The inciters laugh up their sleeves at those they have been able to rabble rouse on their behalf. President Obama will continue to reach out to all Americans who believe that the American dream belongs to all of us!

What this says to me is there war fear card been punched so they are moving onto healthcare. Where were these poeple when thousands of americans lost there lives fighting a country that did nothing to us but defeat someones dad?

I hope at the Bush li rary they will ofer classes in fear mongering taught by Bush, Cheney and Rove.....

Could it just be that ordinary American Citizens are afraid of where their country is being taken.
Could it be that they are sick and tired of people campaigning to get into office on lies.
Could it be that people are worried about losing their jobs when no-one at the top seems to give a crap.
Could it be that all the money that WE THE PEOPLE loaned the banking industry to help with the mortage relief is not being spent to help WE THE PEOPLE.
Could it be that a bloated healthcare bill will probably be crammed down everyones throats whether they want it or not just to get his name on it or for payback to a murderer who bought the chosen one a dog.
It could be a lot of things, but one thing I am sure of is that people are getting pissed off with being lied to by this government and being called racists for standing up for their rights.
The racist card is getting worn out, try something else.

Obama can take it. I worry about the message being sent to our kids. These adults are teaching them that it is OK to be rude and disrespectful to anyone from their teachers clear up to the President.

Marlyn New Cumberland, Pa

There are multiple explanations:

1. fear and misinformation funded by insurance lobby and spread by republican party.

2. right wing extremism

3. racism

4. old fashioned politics

Jack, it shows that we are more divided than ever. It shows that Republicans are nuts. And I think the President is being modest. Racism IS fueling some of this mess. Why are 99% of the protesters white? Most of the Presidents in the past are accused of not doing enough and breaking promises. Now, we have one that wants to get stuff done and they have the nerve to complain... Just amazing.

But don't be fooled by their numbers. What about the forward-thinking MILLIONS of young people like myself that put him in office? Aren't we suppose to hold the future? What does THAT show?

yeah these are the same 10,000 idiots that sat and cheered while bush/cheney lied us into a corporate war that lined the pockets of all the corporate cronies with ties to bush/cheney that used political affiliation and loyalty to the gop to get contracts... also when the gop controlled all branches of governemtn and treated our treasury and government to enrichen and favor all the corporate crooks the robbed this country of it's treasury and circumvented our constitution ... lets remember when bush came into office, clinton left him 580billion surplus, 8 uears later bush/cheney/gop spent 6 trillion and did nothing for this country... now we have all thedse rightwing idiots complaining about obama when it was bush/cheney/the gop that spent us into a deep red hole of debt and robbed us of our treasury and constitutiona; checks and balances... yeah they sat on theur asses while the real crooks, fools and fascist corrupt adminstration screwed this country over... so much hypocracy it's laughable at their sort biased sightedness

The thousands SHOULD mean nothing to Obama. The problem is that those thousands WILL bother him. He is trying to be friends with every person in America. He needs to realize that he can't make friends with everybody. Obama is letting the minority control the country even when his party controls the Senate, Congress and White House. He needs to put his foot down and see that the other side of the aisle does not want to cooperate. The problem is that these ridiculous protests and town meetings are what make the news. Obama doesn't see that the other 70% of this country isn't insane.

It sends the message that after so many years of Republican indoctrination and false propaganda, they still have the ability to frighten the old, rile up the bigots, and create havoc–even when they're NOT in office,

President Obama has (sadly) become the President of spoiled children who have never grown up, and can be led around by their fear, their prejudice, their religion, and those who wish them anything but good...

If more people don't start reading the TRUE FACTS for themselves, we'll see far more ignorant, sign-carrying dumbbells who waste their money on bus trips instead of saving it for their retirement funds or their childrens' education.

We're becoming a hopeless nation, Jack. Why would anyone with as much common sense and love for what's right, ever again WANT to be President of a nation like ours? God Bless the Americans who USED to be the backbone of this country; I fear we are quickly dying off, and those who are left will destroy the remainder of those who can still read, and still want the best for ALL of our fellow citizens.

That racism will never go away, the far right has the Republicans by a stranglehold, and will never let them go, until anyone one who can think for themselves completely leave the Republican Party!!!

I am shocked to see how racist people here are since the day Obama became president I have never seen a day pass by when people have not said anything bad about him and on petty issues. Bush took eight years to bring this country in its current state at least give Obama sometime to fix it. Give him a chance to work and then decide Bush did more harm to the country and its people and everyone is still paying for his mistakes no one seems to be bothered about it or talk about it which clearly shows that RACISIM is so much amongst the people.