Is Harold Ford Jr. always so polite?

[berner59]

He's is so respectful of anyone interviewing him..."yes sir...Mr. Russert..." it's so refreshing. I know he's more moderate than I would like but it's the only way he'd win in the south...what a wonderful senator he'll make!!

[KingFlorez]

1. He's polite, but he lets people know he's not a pushover

At times his politeness comes off as almost condescending

[Raffi Ella]

9. "At times his politeness comes off as almost condescending "

I agree.The little I've seen of him I haven't warmed to.I'd vote for him based just on the fact he's a Dem/where he stands on the issues but I gotta admit that I don't like him all that much.

[Marie26]

14. Me either

There's something fake about him.

[Catherine Vincent]

2. He's aware that he is on tv.

Who knows how he really is off camera. :)

[SouthernBelle82]

10. That is true

And in public the same way. I'm sure he's like anyone of us regular folks and can get a temper but he knows when to not show it and everything. Every time I see Ford he is very polite. One time though in the House when mean Jean Schmidt called Murtha a coward he was on the democratic side saying "say it to Murtha's face!" I liked that. I just wish he didn't abandon John Kerry.

[verse18]

3. He's from the South.

I'm not a native Southerner, but I live in Memphis now and most kids would get an evil look or back-hand to the mouth from their parents if they didn't say "sir" or "ma'am" That's how they do things.

[bullimiami]

4. there are a few black congresspeople that i wish would get so mad

that they lose their politeness.

harold ford is one. barack obama. my own rep kendrick meek.

heaven knows they have just cause to be angry.
it is truly amazing though that they are able to keep cool under such trying circumstances.

i recall kendrick during a hearing on iraq or some other intel thing a few years ago. there was such obvious lying and republican posturing and he just kept on ... steady, unflustered. I got so mad I wanted to throw a brick through the tv.

[iamjoy]

5. Showing Anger Solves Nothing

especially when you are black.

That's sad to say, and it's not fair. If a black person shows anger, he/she comes across as an Al Sharpton or Cynthia McKinney. And while some of us may love them, these two are not exactly popular overall.

But look at how well respected Barak Obama is. And he does speak out about what's wrong, just in a dignified way.

[bullimiami]

12. i think you have it right. 'especially whey you ae black'

and i dont think that is fair or reasonable.

they have to (or learned to) behave better than their adversaries because of their race.

[Just-plain-Kathy]

6. I remember when Barack Obama

interviewed Condi Rice during the 9-11 commission, he spent most of his (limited) time fawning all over Rice and telling her what an honor it was to speak with her. ...I loved him during the ‘04 DNC, but after the Rice interview, I was not impressed.

Knowing how the GOP manipulates their base through the media, I can’t help but believe that Obama has been getting so much recent media only because the GOP knows their bigoted base would never vote for a black man.

The same goes for Hillary, they know their base would never vote for Bill Clinton’s wife. Just as we would never vote for Laura Bush. If they felt Hillary had a chance in ‘08, they would do more to block her from winning what seems to be) her uncontested senator run.

[AlCzervik]

7. his parents raised him right imo. I remember when good manners were the norm.

[NashVegas]

8. All the South Uses 'Sir' or 'Ma'am'

And sometimes, "missy."

[Annces]

11. One DUer posted this on southern politeness

"Certainly. What I'm saying is there are significant cultural differences in what is considered civility. I've found since moving to the south that this culture has perfected an infinite number of ways of saying 'fuck you' without ever voicing an obscenity, and if you call them on it there's a wide-eyed "Why would you think that?" response. "

I had to copy and save it out for myself, because it describes one of my relatives to a T, and I had never known this was such a southern thing.

[Lurking Dem]

13. The most frequent one of those

is adding "bless his (or her) heart" to the end of a sentence.

Yes, we are very polite down here. But we aren't pushovers. :P