"Obama's word play

Posted: Sunday, February 03, 2008 10:20 AM by Chuck Todd

From NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan

Lately Obama has been pulling from a very colloquial lexicon, riling up his audiences to words like “okie doke,” “bamboozle,” and “hoodwink.”

They’re always given in context of what his opponents are trying to do to his record.

“They’re trying to bamboozle you. Hoodwink you! That’s what they call the okie doke!” and “They’re trying to okie doke you,” Obama says regularly at events.

Note the usage of “okie doke” as both a noun and a verb.

Last night in St. Louis, there was a new word for the crowd and the press corps to learn.

“Don’t let ‘em hornswoggle you,” Obama shouted out. The acoustics of the stadium left many of us reporting on him scratching our heads. Did he say “Cornswaggler?” “Hornswaggle?”

[Obviously, as of just before Super Tuesday the reporter hadn't caught on yet, something none of the MSM would manage to do. A major media lapse? Imagine that.]

I misread your post. Apparently, Obama was counting on black audiences to catch his drift, as he's used the identical series of words in a number of primary venues, with no one in the MSM the wiser.

Urban legends and quotes pulled from reputable news sources are not the same thing. (Was there anything I posted which seemed unverifiable?) Urban legend is black folk believing that whites imported AIDS to the U.S. to kill them (per Rev. Wright). In New Orleans, this belief was rampant, not only in the poorer neighborhoods.

And yes, I do believe Michelle Obama used the language employed by Denzel Washington in his portrayal of Malcolm X to rock the black vote. There's entirely too much coincidence in the phraseology. Why is this such a stretch?

Also, you're right about no one in this country being owed black votes. This includes Barack Obama, toward whom America's black community was notably lukewarm until...South Carolina. That's when it all hit the fan. If blacks had widely embraced Obama prior to the unwarranted attacks on the Clintons, the dynamics of this race would be a whole lot more palatable. The urge for one black to vote for another in such an historic situation is pretty understandable. (A caveat here: this urge, ideally, would be leavened by a close look at the candidate's qualifications and character, apart from any considerations of race.)

You ask, "How is your line of argument any better than the "pile on" that resulted in women in New Hampshire voting for Hillary because she cried?"

The difference here is that Hillary Clinton's famous teary moment appeared entirely spontaneous to many women, not at all calculated, nor directed at any opponent. It was an unrehearsed moment which simply made her seem more accessible. Also, Clinton didn't end by getting 90 percent of all women's votes in a spirit of "Well, now we're gonna show those awful men who've betrayed us all these years." This is an entirely different dynamic.

You know, it would be really nice if more Obama supporters were able to understand that many Clinton supporters simply believe she is by far the best candidate. I, for one, believe Clinton's had an uphill battle all the way, thanks in large part to horribly biased media coverage. This can be terribly frustrating, something you likely understand.

Thank you ever so much for your post. It is quite comforting in this supercharged atmosphere to read the words of someone who is actually thinking and not just reacting.

You ask: "Aside from the paranoid AIDS comment, what did Pastor Wright say that was so outrageous, false, or hateful?"

Well, the bump and grind bit featuring Bill Clinton, and by extension Hillary, as users of the black community, meets all three of your criteria. Why couldn't Obama have addressed the pillorying of the Clintons as an example of the divisiveness we desperately need to get beyond?

You say: "Just what we need.....another white middle-age, middle-class broad telling us what to think. Like we don't have enough already.I could go on about this insufferable arrogance all day..."

You might want to take a look at your own insufferable arrogance. This sort of sexist condescension isn't exactly aiding your cause.

That was one of the most heartfelt posts I've seen here on salon.com. Thank you for taking the time to express at length the thoughts and feelings which so many of us are having so much difficulty getting across.

There is no bottom for the MSM. Pond sucking scum is too polite a term for these vile creatures. They make Joseph McCarthy look like St. Francis.

You would make a fine prison matron. Just a thought.

If no one else says it, I will: thank you for a heartfelt post which speaks for a whole lot of voters. You have coherently expressed the unease which this outpouring of wearisome, anachronistic white guilt is causing in many of us. Perhaps only those who have lived in real world, integrated American communities will recognize the validity and fairness of what you are saying. The irony here is that the Adoration Of Obama is actually objectifying him and by extension, all blacks.