‘Those bold declaratives coming from his mouth while he's in direct conflict—from a Black man's mouth while he's in direct conflict—with people who look more like those representing the power structure scans differently, more threateningly, and I'm guessing that because of this he tempers those words in that format’
Henry Louis Gates Jr’s PBS series ‘America beyond the Color Line’ included a segment on ‘Black Hollywood’. The point was made that Black men cannot work as Hollywood agents because the milieu is so aggressive. ('I’ll crush you.’ 'You’ll never work in this town again’.) When Black men talk to whites like that it’s not accepted as hyperbole. The police are called.
Chiming in with Watson, above ...
LM, your gems of schooling on race in America are priceless and deeply appreciated.
I still wanna see that movie about the family reunion and the green house. America needs that movie.
brilliance out of the box, LM and exactly right, IMHO.
but'erstwhile colleague'?
I hope not.
One of my favorite lines he uses is "Just won't do" that sugary voice, the soft vowel sounds. Yup. Iced Tea, baby.
But it's not only that LM, evrything Bush and the Republicans have said over the last 7 years is very narrow and stark, Obama's language is open and poetic and appealing to the best in us.
I grew up in a Black Baptist family, with my preacher Dad at the pulpit every Sunday. He had the gift of inspiration, despite being formally uneducated for most of his life (he got his degree from Union Theological when he was on his deathbed).
I have to say that every time I see Obama, I'm reminded of my Daddy's advice whenever he let me stand in front and speak to the people: "be yourself, honey, just be complete and be yourself and they will be with you." I think the magic of Obama (which I am watching with great admiration, rather than being immersed in it as I was with the Dean campaign) is that he is completely himself, with all of the contradictions, he seems to be speaking from the heart because he actually is.
flubbed daay woid Terri...fixing...
Fixed! Thank you, madame! 
Sweet tea my friend.
Like a tall, refreshing glass of sweet tea.
That's how we like our tea below the Mason Dixon line.
My mother calls me a cynic. I'm not as impressed with Obama as some but that's because I spend a lot of time analyzing people and their actions.
With that said the man gives a damn good speech and is incredibly inspirational. I got goose bumps listening to his victory speech in Iowa. I don't get goose bumps.
I'm actually a fan of Edwards 'cause he's saying what I want to hear...even though I still can't get over the face he's an ambulance chaser...but i get Obama's appeal.
I get it.
And Hillary needs to be scared.
VERY scared.
Many years ago I had a roommate who came home one day with a puppy. He said he'd been looking at the pound and this puppy immediately struck him as a "special dog" -- which the puppy turned out to be: he had a wonderful, special personality.
When I first saw Bill Clinton on TV, back when nobody'd heard of him, I saw immediately that he had *something*, that he was a special dog.
I had some of the same reaction to Howard Dean -- the feeling that he was different and special, though of course in a different way. I responded very strongly to his straightforwardness, though over time I was a little disappointed that he wasn't as shrewd a debater as I'd have liked, and he seemed to keep hitting the same notes in the same way over and over.
Back in 2004, John Edwards was supposed to be the second coming of Clinton. He had a reputation as a charismatic and persuasive charmer, but I never got that from him. First, I had to get past his accent, which sounds weird to me, almost like a fake Southern accent; that was just pure narrowness on my part, since I'd never been exposed to that accent before. Furthermore, I admit I was inclined not to trust him because of his eyebrows, which are always arched in that trying-to-be-sincere way that always sets off my bullshit alarms. Plus he blinks a lot. Honestly, if he'd stop that with the eyebrows and frown a lot more to take the edge off his prettiness, I'd have more faith in him. I'm not talking about Edwards's record or accomplishments or his integrity, just my reactions to the superficial stuff about the way he speaks.
I might have seen bits and pieces of Obama, but the first time I remember really seeing him was on a late night show, probably Leno. He was so relaxed and non-self-important and he had such great answers. He's the only candidate this time around who's evoked that "special dog" reaction from me. It wasn't an immediate electricity -- it started with a small spark that night on Leno, and the current has been increasing with subsequent performances. He is really, really good at this.
Michelle Obama has it too. I heard a speech she gave and it was the most moving thing I have ever seen. An amazing woman. I want this couple in the white house.
I'm hoping Hillary is a goner, that Obama will get the nomination and that he'll choose Edwards as his running mate.
About the only thing we can be grateful to Cheney for is that he has redefined the power of the VP and made that office much more powerful. As much as I would like to see Edwards get the nomination and take the White House (because pretty much anyone who's breathing could beat the Rethuglicans come November)that isn't going to happen so 2nd best is to have him in the VP spot where he can lean hard on Obama to advance Edwards' priorities.
Obama would be very foolish to ever accept Clinton as a running mate. He'd be pulling knives out of his back for 4 years while she set him up for a coup in 2012 so she could be president.
I'm not hearing the same things from Obama that you and Jesse are. Or more accurately, I'm not more inspired by him than by Edwards. Listening to the content, I prefer Edwards. And, I doubt that Edwards' words (and Clinton's, for that matter) are not meant to inspire. Obama may be more inspirational for many listeners, but I don't think the others aren't trying.
Nice ending to the essay. My parents have a Senator Blutarsky poster somewhere.
I agree that Obama is hitting all the right notes. Now. (Disclaimer: I've actually sent him money.)
But. It's still January 2008. He hasn't wrapped up the nomination yet, let alone the election. And he's young, and untested. Whoever gets the Democratic nomination is going to be subjected to a firestorm of Swift Boat crapola that will make 2004 look like a love-in. The GOP machine is a wounded animal, and though it may be doomed, it can still leave a nasty set of bite-marks, especially if it thinks it has nothing to lose.
I know Obama is supposed to have some kind of genetic preparation for this, coming from Chicago and all. But I have my doubts. We need a candidate -- and then a President -- who will be not only willing,/i> but eager to play by "Chicago Rules" with the bastards Bush has salted all through the Government. Can Obama do it?
Ah, crapola.
Tags OFF, dammit.
Yup Jesse Wendel nailed in the blog entry mentioned. And LM gave a great concurring entry.
Barack Obama does give speeches like a Leader, a (dare I say it?) Deciderer.
But ...
Did anyone actually listen to that clip from Animal House? Not the active voice part but the objective part, the goal?
Bluto:I'm not gonna take this. Wormer, he's a dead man! Marmalard, dead! Niedermeyer...
Otter: Dead! Bluto's right. Psychotic, but absolutely right. We gotta take these bastards. Now we could do it with conventional weapons that could take years and cost millions of lives. No, I think we have to go all out. I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part.
These two just gave a message of "We're not going to take anymore!" and "We're going to take down these bastards that ruined our lives!"
Obama is shouting out a message of Change and Hope and ... what else? Oh yes, an End to the Nasty Partisanship of BOTH sides and of Reaching Out across the Aisle.
His message (to me) is to reach to those poor folk that have been p!$$-ing in our breakfast for the past 15 years, have not interest in even approaching the negotiating table without a substantial kick-back, and would even then be on the look out to slide a shiv into the Demotratic Party's back.
Let me put it this way. If someone approached LowerManhattanite and told him the best way to end the the writer's strike was to to all those nasty tactics (Implying by the way that the WGA is equally at fault in this.) and to reach out to the studios and 'Hope'?
I would imagine that the swearing would be heard from coast to coast.
Clinton-fatique has finally set in.
And could someone please ask the pundits this question:
In light of Barack Obama's victory in Iowa, would you now admit that the Senator is "black enough"?
Bwaaahahhaaa, Admiral Komack:
In light of Barack Obama's victory in Iowa, would you now admit that the Senator is "black enough"?
The media has conveniently managed to not mention -- so far -- that Barack is even "Black" yet. They're saving that for later this year, when they can conveniently insert some homonym for "uppity" to his newfound Blackness.
I think some of you all are overthinking this stuff. Sure Obama's campaign rhetoric is light on actual policy substance. That's deliberate. And it's a winning strategy as Reagan and Bush demonstrated. But don't mistake Obama's stump speech for his actual policy gravitas. The man is a brilliant constitutional scholar. He knows government. And he has surrounded himself with many of the best and brightest this country has to offer.
I walked into this election year thinking that Edwards was my candidate for most of the reasons that made him the most popular pick in all the Daily Kos polls over the past year. Yes Edwards is more fiery in his rhetoric. He's channeling the more partisan populist tradition. But I really doubt there would be drastic differences between an Edwards or Obama Administration. We have several looming policy battles that will largely be fought out in Congress over the next couple years: Health care, tax policy, energy policy, education policy environmental/climate change policy. The next president will have a bully pulpit but the real action will be in Congress. The one area of policy where the next president will really have the initiative will be foreign policy and Iraq. And that's where I trust Obama's judgement more than either Clinton or Edwards.
Likewise I don't dislike Clinton. I think she'd make a decent president. But I'm really not interested in bringing back a whole bunch of 1990s era Clintonistas determined to get things right this 2nd time around. I currently teach HS science (mostly sophomores) and most of my students were born in 1992, the year Clinton was first elected. If Hillary wins they will be into their mid-20s before seeing a president not named Bush or Clinton. Heck, if Hillary wins and goes 2 terms then by 2012 no one under the age of 42 will be able to remember a president not named Bush or Clinton in their adult lifetimes.
It isn't just Americans who are hungry for hope and inspiration. It's the rest of the planet. While I have no doubt that any of the Dem candidates would do an admiral job of repairing the damage Bush has wrought in terms of sentiment towards the US. I do think that Obama is by far the best candidate for that herculean task. I've spent a lot of time living and working in Latin America and people of a certain age from that part of the world still speak wistfully about Kennedy. He was inspirational and gave them hope despite not doing a whole hell of a lot other than mess with Cuba and start the Peace Corps.
Obama could be the most inspirational ambassador to the rest of the world that this country has seen since...well I don't know...since Jefferson maybe.
Remember the 1980s term "Reagan Democrat?" Reagan brought about a watershed shift in American politics by capturing a major slice of the Democratic constituency. Of all the viable Democratic candidates I think Obama is the only one capable of and actually creating a whole new class...the "Obama Republicans."
oh, the black enough argument is just getting rolling folks. there is a nut job on another list I am on for Democrats abroad, that has declared she will never vote for obama because the media is calling him african american and he isn't really and can't really understand the slave experience or racism. sheesh.
what can you say to people like that?
Obama is shouting out a message of Change and Hope and ... what else? Oh yes, an End to the Nasty Partisanship of BOTH sides and of Reaching Out across the Aisle. His message (to me) is to reach to those poor folk that have been p!$$-ing in our breakfast for the past 15 years, have not interest in even approaching the negotiating table without a substantial kick-back, and would even then be on the look out to slide a shiv into the Demotratic Party's back.
Actually I don't think it is. Obama is a brilliant political observer who has been playing this game longer and at a much higher level than any of us here. There is absolutely no doubt that he knows who his friends and enemies are in Congress. And he knows his history. I'm sure he knows better than any of us that the Republican minority is already gearing up to spend the next 4 years obstructing every progressive policy initiative coming out of the next white house no matter who the next president is and no matter what tactics they use.
No, I think you are missing the point. Obama isn't literally reaching across the aisle to the Mitch McConnells and James Inhofes of the world. Rather, he's speaking figuratively and speaking out across the American political divide to those centrist low-information voters who've been leaning Republican since Reagan. And I think he has a better chance of bringing them over than either Hillary or Edwards at this point.
I'm thinking about things like down ticket races in places like here in Texas. Where some lonely Democratic Congressional candidates will be taking on the Republican machine in Republican-leaning districts. Who would you rather have on the stump with you in those kinds of races? Hillary, Edwards, or Obama? From what I've seen so far I think the answer is pretty obvious.
oh, the black enough argument is just getting rolling folks. there is a nut job on another list I am on for Democrats abroad, that has declared she will never vote for obama because the media is calling him african american and he isn't really and can't really understand the slave experience or racism. sheesh.
Yeah, right. What's she going to do? Vote for Mitt Romney?
This is exactly what I'm talking about. Germany is getting a serious case of Obama-mania
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.c...crush-on-obama/
Multiply that by 100-fold around the world if he wins in November.
I haven't trusted Obama since before he became Saint Barack, and as much as I wish there was some substance to the man, I cringe every time I hear the fake black Southern Baptist preacher persona he affects. I remember how uncomfortable he was visiting black churches on the southside of Chicago when he ran an arrogant and futile campaign against Bobby Rush. No amount of Michelle's black bougie bonafides were gonna put him over on the southside.
Now he's on a national stage, all shiny and new, his preachifyin' perfected with just the right touch of Martin coming in at the end of words like "policy" and "candidacy". His campaign props all in a row...
I walk my dog around the neighborhood ——Barack's neighborhood——and there are precious few Obama '08 signs or bumper stickers around here. That may change as the Illinois primary approaches, but for now he still hasn't gotten over on the southside.
Kent, that's what we told her, but she said she will stay home. which is pretty damn dumb.
Some good points, but there's the ongoing problem of the GroupNewsBlog again: The story is too long! If you all would invest just a little bit more time into your writing to make it more precise, crispy, to-the-point, you would be much more successful in making your voices heard. OK, Winston Churchill once defended an overlong speech with words like "I didn't have the time to make it short", but do you have the same problem, too?
:-/
OK, OK, I now checked the other stories of the last days and it seems this was just a single incident of falling back into old habits. All in all, there's much improvement. And I especially like to see that Sonic is trying to follow in Steve's footsteps and took over the task of reporting on military issues. Y'all, keep up the good work!
Gray -
Kiss off.
Normally I'd listen to someone who made such a suggestion. We like to listen to our readers, and after all, writing too long is a known issue for writers, and it is something we tend to work on around here especially.
But then I decided to check you out. Your blog is a veritable hotbed of bitching, moaning, griping, and complaining that bloggers don't dedicate their lives to making you happy. Shocking, that.
Lots of folks on your shit list, from closing comment threads early, to... oh hell, I'm not even going to bother to list them all. It's enough to say, you know how we should run our blogs and write our posts, and you're not shy about telling everyone how it should be done, going back years and years.
So Grey... kiss the fuck off.
You are not now nor will you ever be the prince of how we write, nor will we ever -- I can't say this enough -- EVER -- write a single post with your corrections or requirements in mind. Never.
If you want to hang around, you're welcome, but don't ever, ever, ever, tell us how to write our posts again.
Signed,
The Editor & Publisher of GNB (and that ain't you, buddy)
Jesus H Christ, where the fuck do these people come from... Like I need some pedantic motherfucker checking LM's copy for length now, and telling him it's o-fucking-k? Kiss my damn ass! And it isn't enough that he checks it and says we're too long. Nooooo. Then he comes back and says, oh, sorry. He was WRONG. We meet his goddamn standards and we're fine now.
Damn!
Kent,
How is Obama a "brilliant constitutional scholar?" What has he written or litigated? Don't get me wrong, I like the man, I know he's smart, and I know he was one of Prof. Tribe's favorite Con Law students. But those things don't make him a brilliant scholar. Maybe I've missed something.
Here's the deal--
Obama is rising when the GOP is completely crackng up. The old "cloth coat" members are fleeing in droves, they loathe Huckabee, Bush, and St. McCain for differing reasons. And are looking for a Democratic they can embrace.
And it's the "kid" Obama. He's soothing, a fabulous campaigner, he promises change, he has a vision of a UNTIED States, not a fearful US Empire quaking in dread fear of Islamofascism (a laughable term--fascism is a derivative of Christianity--OUCH!).
And Obama has Elvis. He can and DOES light up a room, an event. LIke Bill Clinton, like Ronnie Reagan pre-Alzhimers (1980).
Being supremely smart and progressive isn' enough. It has NEVER been enough. Otherwise we'd be talking about former presidents Adlai Stevenson and Henry A. Wallace. Consequently, Edwards and Clinton are going to get beaten like a drum, although both are supremely qualified to be pres. But they ain't got no Elvis.
And the GOP doesn't have anyone. Most are too nuts (Paul, McCain, Guiliani, Thompson, Huckabee, are all manifestly unfit to serve) or too fake (Romney). Romney is an articulate Bush. He'll take care of Wall Street, but the rest of the country will continue to rot. And NONE of these guys have anything close to Elvis--more than a few probably use their personality as their form of safe-sex (eeeeu! I know).
So, the Dems start with a major advantage--COMPETENCE. And then, they have a candidate with real star power.
IF Obama has coat tails, (and if Dean has really rebuilt the Dem grassroots), it could be a major realignment of US politics in November---something perhaps larger than the Reagan Revolution (which was short-lived).
Sit down, buckle up and pass the popcorn. It's going to be one hell of a ride.
...and for me (not much of a TV vieweer) it's also been inspirational reading Obama's books.
Reading Dreams of my Father and also some of his opponents' writing, there's a very striking contrast.
The man can tell a dramatic story, with incredible turns of phrase, even when it's a slightly fictionalized autobiography. On top of that, the cultural reach of his actual life experience, as described by him is stunning.
Obama has that je ne sais qua, that charisma, that ability to connect deeply.
Kent, I like your comment about your friend's old Texas gramps very much.
jesues I guess if something dosn't happen in DC. or new york it didn't happen right. if you are wondering about what obama did look at his recored. Major acomplisments from off the top of my head. All police interagatiosn are video taped in IL now, improved and expanded health care for children, a major ethics refoem bill, low income tax credits, antiracil profiling law and death penlity refom.
Ya I guess he did nothing. before that he worked as a community orginzer firghting for the rights of low income residents in chicagos houseing projects. a voters rights and discrimination attorny, ran voters registration drivwes.
Oh he was also a lecturer of constitutional law at the University of chicago law school (had a friend who had him as a lecturer...said it was the best class he ever had. My buddy whent form wanting to practice busneess law to beign a civil rights attorny due to those classes.)
yes he lsot to rush, understand that the distric is very croked...as msot chicago districts are. Rush is at least on the take from the telecom industries
Shit, man, it's only January 8th and already you've written one of the top 10 blog posts of the year. No one else could ever possibly find the parallels between Barack Obama's speaking style and that of Bluto in Animal House. Truly the work of a master. (And I'm an Edwards gal.)
moonglum--
there's no denying the corruption in Chicago politics, but then don't you have to agree that Obama's two successful campaigns, the last one with the full backing of the Chicago machine, were tainted as well? Obama was openly mocked on the streets during his campaign for Rush's seat. He had his head handed to him--deservedly so.
Bobby Rush is far from perfect, but Saint Barack isn't without blemish--he's always been a shill for Big Coal and his unholy alliances with the Republican thugs downstate could bear closer scrutiny.
With the exception of videotaped police interviews, everything Barack accomplished in office was quite calculated: he looked for minor good government issues in order to forge bipartisan alliances with the Republicans.
His brief time "community organizing" is open to debate. His written account is heavily fictionalized. Too many people in the trenches in Chicago never heard of him until he ran for office.
Maybe I should just put out of my mind the rough draft version of Barack Obama that I've known for 12 years and embrace the new, improved 2.0 release.
Nah, I'll wait till he walks on water.
I think your bullshit detector needs new batteries.
It is style over substance.
What did Obama accomplish again in Congress?
Yeah.... nothing.
It is saddening to me that after a presidency of an actual idiot, who cannot even speak one proper english sentence correctly (I swear - not one!), that we in America are fallen so far that we sway and swoon and orgasm at a high school level debate team speaker...
redrabbit: the primary run for us senate Obama was oposed by the chicago machine. he beat teh establishment canadate in the primary...sure they supported him in the general, what else where they going to do, turn towards keys?
americangoy: by the same standared, what has hillary acomplished, what had edwards acomplised.....edwardes mabey a little mroe. hillary has done less than obama, unless you count being married to a president as an acomplishemnt. hillary anit bill, and well bills time has passed.
Oh wait hillary did accomplish soem things, she helped liberman get reeleceted, and she pandared to the right by attacking the video game and entertainment industies....real winner there.
stickler: "Whoever gets the Democratic nomination is going to be subjected to a firestorm of Swift Boat crapola that will make 2004 look like a love-in. The GOP machine is a wounded animal, and though it may be doomed, it can still leave a nasty set of bite-marks, especially if it thinks it has nothing to lose."
BINGO, we'll see what happens if Obama is nominated and has to face the ReThug chainsaw. Who was his last GOP opponent? Oh yeah, Alan Keyes! Jeebus, my cat could have beat him.
And if elected we'll see if Obama can do more than just give a purty speech. I haven't forgotten how he threw Gays under the bus in South Carolina.
Marek, I agree with you completely. Nothing more I have to add - you said it best.
moonglum,
I stand corrected. The Daley machine did indeed back another candidate in the primaries.
Gay vet..and how will hillary survive it, a good number of dems, a lot of indpendents and all republicans allready hate her
"Jesus H Christ, where the fuck do these people come from..."
Well, from the old Newsblog, of course. I was there when you were still commenting, not writing stories. I'm still a commenter (that's why my blog is a mess, and I think i made it quite clear that it isn't supposed to be more than some occasional rants of mine), but you're calling yourself editor now, even though it looks like this made you somewhat lose the ground under your feat. Well, Steve didn't hesitate to use some healthy four letter words every now and then to vent some anger, too, but I can't remember him spewing off such an amount of vitriol on such trivial an occasion. However, you, the allmighty editor of the GNB of course have the right to set your own standards. And of course you are totally right to defend your fellow bloggers tooth and nail when some runaway commenter dares to criticize the content here. Totally unbased criticism, of course, cause everybody can look into the archives and see that the GNB didn't ever have any habit of overlong stories. Nothing exceeding the length of a small Shakespearean play there, for sure!
Pls accept my heartfelt apologies for being such a "pedantic motherfucker". To make amends, I will leave you alone here and concentrate on harassing other liberal blogs (judging from the low rate of complains, there must be lots of masochists who don't mind some criticism in comments). And, sry, but I can't follow up on your demand to kiss your "damn ass". I have a pathological phobia about picking up a horrible brain desease.
Doc, again, sry, and I want to conclude with a personal remark: Get well soon!
Well, I had an eery feeling that Doc wasn't his usual self when I wrote the post above, and I expressed this in a quite cynical way. Now Doc has come forward with the sad news that he's a chronic pain patient, and this makes me feel ashamed about my ironical comment, which is looking horribly insensible under these new circumstances. I can only apologize, and I wish Doc the very best for the new year, especially some positive developments for his health issues. Keep up the great work!
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