Liberal demonstrations were always mostly about what Bush DID or was DOING...

[Bicoastal]

...but Conservative demonstrations seem overwhelmingly obsessed with who Obama IS--or rather, who they imagine him to be.

As it seemed to me, most of us hated Bush's deeds first and foremost, and then grew to dislike him personally. But I get the feeling that these conservatives hated Obama personally before he ever accomplished a single thing or enacted a single law as President. After all, he's only been in office for 8 months--and they're already speaking about him the way we spoke of Bush after 8 YEARS of bullshit.

Let's take the Birthers as an example--they've certainly been out in force among the Teabaggers. To be a Birther, you have to imagine that young Barack Obama and his family forged a phony identity starting in grade school, and managed to force thousands upon thousands of public and private citizens into keeping it a secret over the next 40-odd years, on the offchance that he someday would become President. To accept that tale of near-otherworldly deceitfulness at face value, a birther would have to think that either that Barack Obama is the single most brilliant criminal mastermind the world has produced in 6000 years of civilization, or Satan incarnate.

And as much as I hate Bush II's Presidency, I'm pretty ambivalent about his childhood. Who could hate on a little kid, no matter who he grew up to be? Well, conservatives speak of Obama's early life as if they were sci-fi nerds talking about Anakin Skywalker--that is, a young Darth Vader being raised by Communists, Muslims and other dark and shadowy foreigners.

In other words, these are pretty dark waters these people are swimming in. Herein lies the danger today--it's not merely that they're anti-President Obama. They're anti-Obama, period.

[Louisiana1976]

1. Well said--to the birthers and other teabaggers it doesn't matter....

what Obama did or is doing--it's all personally against him.

[tekisui]

2. Liberals were against bush actions and policies.

You are so right, the loons are against imagined enemies. That is why, if you listen to beck carefully, you will see he is non-specific in his fomenting of hate. He is just ambiguous for it to be directed towards virtually any pre-conceived prejudices.

[liberal N proud]

3. This is never pointed out in any of the talking heads rhetoric

[HawkerHurricane]

4. There are some things in common...

in spite of offering money and fame, the Republicans haven't found anyone who witnessed Obama's birth in Kenya/Indonesia/NOT HAWAII.
Nor have they found anyone who admits to serving with GW Bush in the Alabama National Guard.

[Kaleva]

5. Prior to the 2000 election Bush was accused of...

being a coke addict
a deserter from TANG
of having paid for a girlfriend's abortion
of being a member of the Bush crime family
of beating his wife
of being a drunk
of drugging a couple so he and some FBI buddies could have sex with them
of being a party boy in college (true)

Not trying to defend Bush here or trying to minimize what the birthers are doing to Obama but there already was a great deal of hatred towards Bush prior to him being sworn in as President.