Did I Mention Obama’s Black?

Did I mention that Barack Obama is black?

It seems that everybody else has.  Most of the people bringing up the race of the Democratic nominee do so in an attempt to explain away his potential loss.  Some of those mentioning Obama’s blackness are clearly in need of supervision.  Dick Meyer, writing for NPR, seems to fit into both categories.  It is his theory that the subconscious racism of undecided voters will be the determining factor in their ultimate decision to vote against him.

This polling indicates something else astonishing to the politically plugged in: Many undecideds haven’t really connected their negative feelings about race to Obama yet. Their view of Obama is unformed, and their negative feelings toward African-Americans could be easily triggered when they finally tune in.

edit

But some who have been doing recent research on race believe there is a current of racism that has not been triggered and that is likely to be — perhaps triggered intentionally by Republicans, but also as a natural consequence of the undecided voters finally focusing. And plenty of pundits and advice-givers think Obama is not doing enough to minimize or counter the racial impulses of undecided voters. (I am not convinced there is any way to spin this: What is, is.)

That someone who would suppose something might happen if something undocumented and unproven happens to happen, would then claim that his suppositions amount to the reality of “is,” obviously indicates a cerebral malfunction of some sort, resulting in seriously flawed thinking.  Yet, Mr. Meyer is not alone.   Time’s Karen Tumulty says John McCain is already trying to capitalize on America’s pervasive undercurrent of subliminal racism.  She says the following ad is racist.

While Tumulty believes the attack on Obama’s record to be fair game, the fact that Franklin Raines is featured is a problem:

This is hardly subtle: Sinister images of two black men, followed by one of a vulnerable-looking elderly white woman.

Let me stipulate: Obama’s Fannie Mae connections are completely fair game. But this ad doesn’t even mention a far more significant tie–that of Jim Johnson, the former Fannie Mae chairman who had to resign as head of Obama’s vice presidential search team after it was revealed he got a sweetheart deal on a mortgage from Countrywide Financial. Instead, it relies on a fleeting and tenuous reference in a Washington Post Style section story to suggest that Obama’s principal economic adviser is former Fannie Mae Chairman Frank Raines. Why? One reason might be that Johnson is white; Raines is black.

The idea that two black men being accused of unethical activity is racist, is in itself racist.  Washington Post linked Obama/Raines on more than one occasion, here, and, in an article on the candidates and the economy called “Tough Decision Coming,”  on August 28:

Two members of Mr. Obama’s political circle, James A. Johnson and Franklin D. Raines, are former chief executives of Fannie Mae.

McCain also released a second ad feturing Jim Johnson the following day.  The monumentally devastating impact on women, blacks and other minority victims of the sub prime mortgage crisis has been examined by The Nation, USA Today, The New York Times and The Boston Globe, to name but a few.  The role of racism inherent in the exploitation of minorities by the sub prime lending industry and its effects in the current crisis is the real story.  Since the referenced racism is so hard to see in the above examples, being mainly implied and inferred, one can only conclude that these are cases of personal projections, or, of the pot calling the kettle white.  And, yet, the attacks about imaginary racism against Barack Obama, just keep on coming.  From Ohio’s WYTV:

Monday afternoon, state Representatives Bob Hagan of Youngstown and Tom Letson of Warren met with reporters.
They argue many voters who call themselves “Democrats” or “Independents”, but won’t vote for Obama, have only one excuse, with Letson saying, “I would say that a lot of it is they’re not going to vote for ‘the black guy’”.

According to Politico, when asked what happens if Obama fails to win, Donna Brazile also got into the act:

“If he doesn’t, then Obama didn’t lose,” she said. “The country just wasn’t ready.”

Yet, none of these race card plays are as inexcusable as the one made by “comedienne” Sandra Bernhard in her re-vamped “Without You, I’m Nothing” show.  The New York Daily News comments on one of many intentionally provocative and controversial lines in the show:

The Republican V.P. nom would be “gang-raped by my big black brothers” if she enters Manhattan, Bernhard said. Palin is said to be making a campaign stop in New York next week.

Positively reviewed by the Washington Post and the DC Examiner, Newsbusters has a slightly different take.

Forgive me if gang-rape jokes don’t greet my ears as oddly and subtly positive, as the Examiner suggests, and forgive me if gang-rape jokes aren’t “a rotating sprinkler that a spectator washes in most happily,” like the Washington Post insists.

First of all, Sandra doesn’t have any “big, black brothers,” and anyone who equates black maleness with gang rape does not deserve any.  The invocation of D. W. Griffith-esque imagery of lust-crazed black savages hell-bent on ravaging a white woman, at the behest of another white woman, no less, is too irresponsible to justify the energy and creativity it would take to channel the generated vitriol required to denounce it properly.

The sudden increase in the number of baseless cries of racism on Barack Obama’s behalf are more than troubling, they are as scary as they are creepy and wrong.  If, and when, Obama loses, it will be because he is the lousiest candidate imaginable and the American people will have woken up to the fact that they have become the victims of the world’s largest scale practical joke.  Racism will have nothing to do with it.  Racial manipulation by ill-intentioned political pranksters with no regard for the potentially devastating consequences of their misguided and irresponsible actions will be behind the door of the house upon whose steps blame should be placed.

And no one will be laughing.

PUMA

Just Say No Deal

Eat Crow? Eat This!

Some Obamaniac (which I think might be far too kind a term in this instance, since it gives her implied credit for having some brains) named Lea Lane has posted one of the most offensively clueless pieces (article is too dignified a word) that the Huffington Post has ever sunk low enough to print.  This ridiculous post is based on the supposition that now Hillary Clinton supporters are so desperately needed by Camp O, that his supporters should do anything to appease us, even lie, placate and condescend.  While belittling every legitimate concern of, and without mentioning PUMA by name, Ms. Lane encourages her fellow Obots to suck up.

If you’ve been an outspoken Obama supporter from the beginning, it’s time to make amends with Hillary supporters you know. Arguing with, or browbeating them to get on board is counterproductive, but showing you’ve come around to respecting Hillary may ease their hurt enough to do the trick. (Even if you don’t mean it. This is politics.)

Take a flying leap, Lea.  Your candidate sucks; deal with it.  And if you get in my face and try to make a case for his sorry behind, no matter how nice you try to pretend to be, I’ll make you understand exactly why that’s such a very, very, bad idea

Sweetie.

Ya schmoo.

PUMA

Just Say No Deal

Hecklers Get In Obama’s Face

Only two days after Democratic nominee Barack Obama exhorted his followers to “get in the faces” of his detractors, the Senator was hit in the face with the cold water of a dose of his own medicine.  International Business Times reports that at a rally at the University of Miami, Obama was heckled.

He was speaking inside an arena at the university in Coral Gables, Florida when about a dozen people began to wave homemade signs.

Among the signs were handwritten messages which stated “Blacks against Obama,” “Obama for Gay Marriage.” Obama has come out in support of civil unions but not gay marriage.

Another one read “endorsed by the KKK.” One stated, “Jesse Jackson hates Obama.” The signs all had the words Michael Warns written at the bottom.

A visit to Michael Warns website leads one to be directed to another website, michaeldefeatssatan, complete with a funky Marvin Gaye intro.  Though I haven’t done enough of Michael’s website perusing to be sure, my initial impression is that he’s along the lines of a younger Rev. Manning.

Makes you wonder what’s up with Obi-Wan-NaBePresident and Florida’s black population, though.  It was in St. Petersburg, on Aug. 1, when Obama was heckled by 3 young men representing the Uhuru Movement, who held up a sign saying, “What About The Black Community, Obama?”

Obama is rarely heckled, in fact, when the U of M protest began, Obama seemed more concerned with getting back to his prepared TelePrompTed speech than anything else.  Perhaps that is the cruelest cut possible from the double edged “get in their face” sword.  When it comes back at him, it throws him off-message, leaving him dangerously vulnerable to contracting “foot-in-mouth” disease in front of the cameras.   But like Donna Brazile’s mother surely could have told him, “Only have your supporters do unto others that which you are prepared to have done unto you.”

Or something like that.

PUMA

Just Say No Deal

Dear TelePrompTer People

Dear TelePrompTer People:

As I’m sure you are aware, one of the presidential candidates in this year’s election is inordinately fond of your product.  While most politicians, actors, spokespersons and others in the public eye have occasion to make use of your products, there are those rather informal situations where it is preferable to project a more impromptu image.  Let’s face it, sometimes a full TelePrompTer setup is impractical.

With that in mind, as well as the future of our country, I would like to suggest a few innovations you might consider.  First, perhaps a collaboration with Apple might develop a new “iProd” or “iProne,” a hand held device with multiple capabilities, allowing a user, say, a politician, to have immediate, discrete online access to answers from his campaign headquarters during small gatherings.  With such a device concealed in a breast pocket, and small, pocket-mirror sized screens placed discretely around the room, say, propped on the visor of an unsuspecting reporter’s baseball cap, such a politician need never be at a loss for an appropriate answer to an unexpected question.  The magnified TelePrompTer script, with the addition of remote scrolling capabilities and a speakerphone function make the “iProne” far superior to anything currently available to a harried politician on-the-go.

(*If the snooty Apple people don’t go for it, try the snooty BlackBerry people.  TeleBerry works just as well.)

Next, how about a marriage of TelePrompter and Ray Ban for fashionable question-and-answer assistance in stylish eyewear?  Mounted inside the lenses like small mirrors, TeleBanTer would likely sell itself.

The same would be true of a merger between the capacities of your product with those of a hearing aide. MiraclePrompt would be ideal when visual screen access is restricted.

Finally, one never knows when a presidential candidate might be called upon to engage in negotiations of a more intimate nature for the good of his country, like they do in those political spy thrillers.  On those occasions, proper equipment is a must.  For more intimate engagements, TeleBraTor would give Cyrano de Bergerac-style instruction, as well as spur-of-the-moment interrogation techniques to an intrepid lover/undercover operative, while distracting an unsuspecting, yet potentially suspicious and dangerous partner with heretofore unknown levels of pleasure.

Please feel free to further explore these suggestions as soon as possible, if you would.  No potential world-leader-wannabe dependent upon your products and services should ever be forced to face a hostile interview unprepared again.  As I said earlier, the future of the free world, nay, the entire universe, could depend on it.

Thank you.

PUMA

Just Say No Deal

Obama, McCain Ready For Some Football? Who Cares?

Don’t think anybody cares which presidential candidate you would rather watch a football game with?  Fat lot you know.   Do you think some people, like Associated Press/Yahoo will use any metric to try to make it seem like Barack Obama is the “people’s choice?”  Me, too.  Do you not care about the football watching companion preferences of the average yahoo who took the poll?  I feel your pain.

Obama was the pick over McCain by a narrow 50 percent to 47 percent, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo! News poll released Friday that generally mirrored each presidential candidate’s strengths and weaknesses with voters. Women, minorities, younger and unmarried people were likelier to prefer catching a game with Obama while men, whites, older and married people would rather watch with McCain.

C’mon, let’s be honest.  When I’m ready for some football, I don’t want to have to listen to Barack Obama stutteringly pontificate about the history of football theory and the ramifications of it’s implications on the socio/economic dynamics vis-a-vis the corporate American infrastructure.  Nor do I think that three or four hours in the company of John McCain, for any reason, would be particularly pleasant.  If I had to do it, okay, but, come Sunday, Johnny Mac probably shouldn’t waste any time sitting by the phone waiting for an invitation from me.   Just saying.

The poll did show that Obama still has problems with those pesky Clinton supporters, but the AP writer was quick to point out a trouble spot for McCain, too, to balance things out.

With Obama struggling to win over former supporters of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the poll had worrisome news: 35 percent of them would rather watch with McCain, well above the 23 percent figure for all Democrats.

There was also a danger sign for McCain: About three in 10 voters are still undecided or say they may switch candidates. That group leans narrowly toward Obama as their football companion.

I don’t want to watch football, or have dinner, or take a hot air balloon ride or anything else with either one of them.  I don’t even want to see another one of their commercials during a football game, or any other show, for that matter.  Even if I did, that doesn’t mean I would vote for them.  Thinking back on all the pleasant afternoons and evenings I’ve spent watching sports in the company of friends, strangers, friends of friends, one or two fair weather friends, a few drunks, a couple of acquaintances and at least one witch I really can’t stand to this day, I can’t think of one time when I thought to myself, “Gee, what a wonderful president that guy/girl over there would make.  Wish I could vote for him/her.”  Considering this new poll, maybe I should give those boisterously enthusiastic guys and gals a second look.

And a note to the pollsters trying to find creative new ways to measure these uninspiring candidates’ popularity, I don’t think anybody wants to see either one of them naked, either, btw.

Besides, isn’t Obama’s game basketball?

PUMA

Just Say No Deal