Joe Biden pt. 2

Hmm... he's apparently more prone to racist statements than I was originally aware of. Not anything "too bad," (because it's okay to be "a little" racist, right?) but still it would be an interesting three months with Biden as VP nominee.

Racist drivel

This article is extremely racist, and clearly written by a disgruntled Hillary supporter. I especially hate this section:

3. Most successful black candidates have undergone a "hazing"--military service, an impoverished upbringing, etc.--which makes them acceptable to whites. Tolerating Hillary could be that hazing.

That's right. Black candidates need to be "hazed" to get elected - why don't we just send him out to the field and let Massa whip him for a while? This is terrible and I don't know how it gets published in something like the HuffPo.

Otherness and Sen. Obama

For once, I absolutely agree with Michael Crowley:

Peter Beinart argues that race is holding Obama back in the polls, and urges him to take a high-profile stand against race-based--and in favor of class-based--affirmative action to assuage white fears.

That might be a good start. But it doesn't do much about myths that he's a Muslim and a foreigner who doesn't love the flag, etc., and I suspect those things are tied up with the race question in a way that such an affirmative action gambit wouldn't remedy.

I have always thought that the "otherness" problem for Sen. Obama is a problem that candidate would face. He's just happens to be tied into "Muslim." No Black candidate would be considered sufficiently patriotic aka grateful for America.

Tyra Banks as Michelle Obama

When I first heard that Tyra was going to be on the cover of Harper's Bazaar dressed as Michelle Obama, I took a deep breath and thought "Lord, I hope she isn't too crazy," because as anyone who knows anything about Tyra, the girl is a bit crazy.

But, I just read the article, and this was very moving:

When asked about the symbolism of the first black president of the United States, Banks pauses for a second and starts to tear up. "When Barack won the nomination, I just started bawling. I started calling all these people, and everybody was talking to me like I was crazy. They're like, 'Well, he hasn't won yet,' but I'm like, 'Yes, he has, because he's gotten this far.' I think he gives everybody so much hope."

She grabs a tissue. "I did a talk show, and we were testing racism with little kids. We showed them a picture of a black man in a suit and a picture of a white man in a suit. And we asked, 'Which one can be president?' These kids were all of different races — black, white, everything — and not one of them said that the black man could be president. Not one. So what gives me tears is if Barack Obama wins, kids are going to say that a black man can be president, too."

The thing I love most about Tyra is her authenticity and confidence. Like Michelle Obama, she's a great role model. Also, the pictures I've seen so far look good.

Updated Here are more Tyra as Michelle pictures.

Bob Schaffer: worst candidate?

Seriously, is Bob Schaffer running the worst campaign outside of John McCain's? Now even his own son is dooming his candidacy. By the way, the son appears to be a complete douche-bag. Guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree...

I love Toby Keith

I'm a huge fan of country music, and I love how Toby Keith responds to critics of his song "Brought to you courtesy of the Red, White and Blue":

Keith still bristles at how the song painted him as a gung-ho right-winger when he's a lifelong Democrat. It also associated him with a war he never supported.

"First of all, you can't go make everyone understand what you do. Most people who talk about 'Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue' never even heard the song. If you read it word for word, you know what it means: Let's go out and get the people responsible for 9/11. They attacked New York, they attacked the Pentagon. They came and killed a bunch of innocent Americans. Now, two years after that song comes out, we go into Iraq. Now, all of a sudden, I'm responsible for the Iraq War. I can't go tell everybody to listen to the words and tell them I have nothing to do with the Iraq War. ... My philosophy on that is I think we need to take care of Afghanistan and get Osama bin Laden. But I'm not going to apologize for being patriotic, and wherever the troops go, I'll go there and play.

Word. Also, I know there is some controversy over his song "Beer for my Horses," but I really don't think it's racist. The guy in the video looks Italian, not Black. Also (and these are some graphic links), I think it's pretty clear in the song that he's referring to the Old West, not the Old South way of justice. That said, lynching was very uncommon in the Old West, so I think it's definitely not something I would have put in my song.

Things I wish I had written

The Debate Link on a Rasmussen poll finding that 53% of Americans thought that Sen. Obama's "dollar bill" comment was "racist":

It is interesting to me that White voters considered Obama's words to be racist, given that they don't pass the general threshold of racism in American public discourse, which is that nothing can be racist unless it explicitly and overtly expresses malice and hatred towards a racial group. Obama's comments were way to subtle for that, but presumably were covered under the "Black speaker" exception where anything that a Black person says that ties to race or otherness automatically is presumed to be a playing of the race card. And that gets transformed into "racism" because there is nothing more racist than a Black person ever insinuating that there is anything racist in what White people do.

Word.

Hmm... not sure about this

While I'm happy to see Sen. Obama respond forcefully with the truth:

I was in union, Missouri which is 98 percent white - a rural, conservative. and what I said was what I think everybody knows, which is that I don't look like I came out of central casting when it comes to presidential candidates. But that I think that what people are really concerned about, what they're looking for is fundamental change on the economy, things that are going to help their families live out the American dream.

I'm not sure I would use the term "central casting." Just because it implies auditioning, acting, celebrity, etc. However, I can't think of a better term, and these people are much smarter at the spin game than I am!

"When Race became an issue"

Katharine Q. Seelye, of the NYTimes claims:

Whether that works or not, this will mark the day that race officially became an issue in the 2008 general election.

No, race became an issue as soon as Sen. Obama decided to run. The whole crypto-Muslim thing is only an issue because he's black.

Barack Obama is "Arrogant"

Mark Ambinder portrays the Republican's latest attack ads like this:

It works not because of the fact of thing -- windsurfing is not an elite sport -- but because it allows partisans to feel superior and allows Republicans to begin to build an entire narrative around their opponents' purported elitism. BTW: you can see the train of thought: Obama --> full of himself --> arrogant --> celebrity --> self-possessed --> doing things for himself, not for the country, BTW: What type of shoes does McCain wear"

Mark misses an important aspect of the attack - its inherent racism. The Republicans are trying to portray Sen. Obama as an "Uppity Black Man" who doesn't "know his place." Michelle Obama is also "ungrateful," "angry" and "bitter."

So in other words, the Obamas are nothing but Angry Black People who are not content with all the riches that the White People have given them, but who are also trying to steal something away from the White People. Somehow they think that they Deserve the Presidency. Which they haven't earned - and which, they actually can never earn.