Patterico's Pontifications

2/16/2008

Fainting for Obama

Filed under: 2008 Election — DRJ @ 8:23 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

James Taranto and others have noticed a peculiar coincidence that people seem to be fainting with regularity at Obama rallies. (Video here.)

Fainting fans have become so common that some have speculated whether it is for real. One fan fainted at an event attended by Larry David who laughingly attributed it to the Sinatra effect. Unfortunately for David, no one laughed.

I don’t know what the truth is but here’s a thought: Most of these incidents occurred in large venues with packed-in people who probably had to wait a long time for Obama to appear. Most were wearing coats or sweaters and it’s conceivable that there was limited air circulation and no air conditioning. (One event was in California in the bright sun.) In other words, it got hot and someone fainted.

Or it’s the David Beckham effect.

— DRJ

17 Responses to “Fainting for Obama”

  1. James Taranto and others have noticed a peculiar coincidence that people seem to be fainting with regularity at Obama rallies.

    DRJ, what immediately came to mind when reading that sentence was footage of the Beatles’ US concerts…young girls screaming so hard they cried and fainting.

    Paul (bcc0a7)

  2. I had the same thought but after mentioning James Dean, I’m trying not to date myself.

    DRJ (3eda28)

  3. Paul,

    I have a cousin who is a couple of years older than I. She went to see the Beatles in the US and talked about it like it was a religious experience!
    but to be fair when I saw springsteen in concert on the River tour I understood my cousin’s point 😉

    voiceofreason2 (2cdd84)

  4. Horsepuckey. People do not faint in America unless they need an ICU and six pints of blood. Obama fainting is drama. Just like he is.

    nk (6ef207)

  5. Well, we’ve had news of Gorbasms, now we’ve got Obamaswoons. The circle is complete.

    Steverino (3cbef4)

  6. Actually, people do faint at these stupid rallies all the time.

    They usually were dehydrated when they got to the event, and stand there forever waiting for the featured speaker, and then when he gets there they yell and scream and get excited and fall over.

    I’ve seen this many times since 1996. MANY politicians look for the fainters and make sure to call some lackey to get water to the guy, in order to generate a bit of heroic leadership, I guess.

    But no, this is not Obama’s campaign, probably. They are doing a great job, but Obama hasn’t faced the GOP yet. We’ll see if he stands up to heat in one of the hottest elections ever. He’s never really been tested before.

    Jem (4cdfb7)

  7. This is the song that Obama reminds me of.

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

    Barack Obama, Superstar.

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

    Barack Obama, Superstar,

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

    Barack Obama, Superstar

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

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

    Now do you believe?

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

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

    Barack Obama, Superstar,

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

    Barack Obama, Superstar

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

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

    Do you believe?

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

    Barack Obama, Superstar,

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

    Barack Obama, Superstar!

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

    Barack Obama, Superstar!

    Turing America into one big Manson Family

    Barack Obama, Superstar!

    Turning America into one big Manson Family

    Steve (4af310)

  8. This is the song that Obama reminds me of.

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

    Barack Obama, Superstar.

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

    Barack Obama, Superstar,

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

    Barack Obama, Superstar

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

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

    Now do you believe?

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

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

    Barack Obama, Superstar,

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

    Barack Obama, Superstar

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

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

    Do you believe?

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

    Barack Obama, Superstar,

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

    Barack Obama, Superstar!

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

    Barack Obama, Superstar!

    Turing America into one big Manson Family

    Barack Obama, Superstar!

    Turning America into one big Manson Family

    Steve (4af310)

  9. What is it about those Americans who need to Idol worship?

    Barack Obama, Al Gore, Paris Hilton, Britany Spears, Oprah Winfrey, Bruce Springsteen, The Beetles, George Clooney, Hannah Montana etc ad nauseum?

    Are these Americans lives so empty and hollow that they need some Idol to make them feel alive?

    Entertainment is nice to have when there is nothing to do but seriously, why the need to Idol worship?

    syn (eb1ff1)

  10. The cure for the disorder, Obamaplexy, the malady strinking womem to faint at Barack Obama rallies has been discovered!

    Obamaplexy

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

    oldgloryradio (62135a)

  11. Or don’t stand there for long time and lock your knees to help you stand up. We were warned about it in the Army. Still, there was always someone who would lock knees and faint.

    kimsch (2ce939)

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

    You gave me fortune

    You gave me fame

    You me power in your god’s name

    I’m every person you need to be

    I’m the cult of personality

    Look into my eyes, what do you see?

    Cult of personality

    I know your anger, I know your dreams

    I’ve been everything you want to be

    I’m the cult of personality

    Greg (4af310)

  13. NK–it doesn’t take anemia to faint. I once fainted while waiting to be seated for supper at a restaurant.

    It was nothing about the restaurant. It was all about the fact that I had spent four hours without a break at the pool during summer vacation. (This was when I was in college.) IOW, sunstroke.

    kishnevi (e2eeba)

  14. People faint at rallies all the time. Any time you have a lot of people standing there’s a chance someone will faint. The larger the crowd, the greater the chance, and Obama’s crowds have been large.

    Fainting at Bill Clinton speech:
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=u7jSjNpOaiI

    Fainting at Hillary Clinton speech:
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=78rfAAjriBo

    George (a0f043)

  15. These people aren’t fainting because of Obama-mania, but because with prolonged standing, such as one might do at a crowded political rally, blood is pooling in their legs, leading to an exaggerated nerve response called vasovagal syncope. I am a medical student in training to be a pediatric cardiologist. I was 10 feet from a woman who fainted at an Obama event in Youngstown this week, and I can tell you she was not reacting to overwhelming love for the candidate but to simple physiology.

    Jeff in Ohio (f07569)

  16. Jeff is right. Vasovagal syncope can occur in otherwise healthy people. But I still believe that the fainting is due to hope-amine, a chemical produced in the brain, the overproduction of which can lead to Obama-mania with all the attendant side effects.

    nk (798403)

  17. If it happens all the time with crowds, why isn’t it happening with McCain and Clinton with such frequency? I don’t think the benefit to the campaign is worth the staging, but people who excuse it as just standing for long periods, should be able to say why it happens with such frequency to Obama. And, why it is always only one person and a woman.

    EK (f2635d)


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