“We can’t afford to be divided by race,” Mr. Obama said. “We can’t afford to be divided by region or by class and we can’t afford to be divided by gender, which by the way, that means, Bernie, you’ve got to clean up your act next time. This is a family affair. By the way, I’m just messing with you, man.”
Later, an Obama spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, formally repudiated Mr. Mac.
At Obama Event, a Comedian’s Jokes Fall Flat
By JOHN M. BRODER
CHICAGO — It is one of the iron rules of politics: you have more to fear from your friends than from your enemies.
On Friday night, the comedian Bernie Mac, a longtime friend and supporter of Mr. Obama, set out to entertain a crowd at a $2,300-a-head Obama fund-raising event with humor touching on issues like menopause and prostitution. But by the time Mr. Mac was wrapping up his remarks, some in the crowd had turned on him, and when Mr. Obama took the stage, he told the comedian to “clean up your act.”
In his routine, Mr. Mac said Mr. Obama should watch the 2003 movie he made with Chris Rock about a black president, “Head of State,” to prepare himself for the dirty tricks the opposition will play on him if he wins the White House.
“People like rumors,” Mr. Mac said. “They’re going to say things like, ‘You was at the club with Lil’ Kim, and you and Kanye West got into a fist fight.’ You can’t get upset. You’ve got to keep hope alive.”
At another point in his standup routine, he began: “My little nephew came to me and he said, ‘Uncle, what’s the difference between a hypothetical question and a realistic question?’ I said, I don’t know, but I said, ‘Go upstairs and ask your mother if she would make love to the mailman for $50,000.’ ”
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Newsvine
Furl
Google
Yahoo
More to come, no doubt
We wanted a black president, but some of us didn't realize what this would entail. In the US of A, to be "black" means to be in some way anti-American, thought of as a radical, angry and disgruntled, less patriotic, anti-white. There's simply no way a black man can be elected without actively distancing himself from the unique aspects of our culture that white folks don't generally understand.
Having said that, I think Obama is in danger because he seems to want it both ways. He's not going to be adored by black America and white America at the same time, it just ain't gonna happen. That's why our so-called black "leaders" are typically preachers, people who can speak truth to power without having to appeal to a broader base than their congregation, who can piss off whites without worrying about being voted out of office.
Not to mention, he's not, in the usual sense, an African American, and although he's very close to our culture, it's not what he was born to. He's going to keep hitting these sour notes, these little missteps that remind us he's not exactly one of us.
I want Obama to win. But I do expect he's going to keep having to sell us out because that's the nature of the project he has undertaken. His words have to broadly conform to the American psyche, the one that thinks black culture is by nature pathological. Even so, he messed up here by saying, "I'm just messing with you, man." Own your words, Obama. Some of us may not forgive you, but we'll vote for you anyway, because we know you're leagues better than the other guy. But don't act like you're just kidding. Claiming you are is a lie, and makes you guilty of what I've defended you about before -- talking down to us.
You know, Barry, I'll tell you what, just be white for now. Come by for Thanksgiving, we'll celebrate and hook you up with some cornbread and collard greens.
"That's why our so-called
"That's why our so-called black "leaders" are typically preachers, people who can speak truth to power without having to appeal to a broader base than their congregation, who can piss off whites without worrying about being voted out of office."
I don't believe this has been a blessing except in a few instances.
Did I read the story wrong, or did the audience get mad
at Bernie?
This sounds a bit like the Eddie Griffin/Black Enterprise/Earl Graves brouhaha, doesn't it?
Gina M at What About Our Daughters has a hilarious take on this.
LOL
You know, Barry, I'll tell you what, just be white for now. Come by for Thanksgiving, we'll celebrate and hook you up with some cornbread and collard greens.***************
I had to laugh at this.
OT: Did you watch Daughters of Legacy on CNN
Just wondering.
The former Washington state
The former Washington state legislator, Dawn Mason, served collard greens, cornbread, macaroni salad, fried fish, pound cake and lemonade at her fundraiser for Obama this past Wednesday. Some of us ain't waiting for Thanksgiving. (:~)
Interesting, but differing viewpoints.
I want Obama to win. But I do expect he's going to keep having to sell us out because that's the nature of the project he has undertaken. His words have to broadly conform to the American psyche, the one that thinks black culture is by nature pathological. Even so, he messed up here by saying, "I'm just messing with you, man." Own your words, Obama. Some of us may not forgive you, but we'll vote for you anyway, because we know you're leagues better than the other guy. But don't act like you're just kidding. Claiming you are is a lie, and makes you guilty of what I've defended you about before -- talking down to us.*****
It's very funny how folks can see things differently. You see it as a Black/White issue.
Reading over at What About Our Daughters, they see it as Obama not being able to straddle the world of being ' cool' to the Black Entertainment Industry and Black Women.
Same incident. Two totally different viewpoints.
I think WAOD has it right.
I think WAOD has it right. It's about the world of being "cool" in the Black entertainment industry. Not gender issues as some articles would have us believe. And not exactly race issues. Though, part of being "cool" in the Black entertainment industry is by being anti-mainstream America if not explicitly/implicitly anti-white.
Bernie's right about the Head of State movie, though. I watched it again a year or so ago, and it was like deja vu.
And oddly, xigxag and ptc are both right about the "so-called" black leadership. MLK started a new baptist congregation precisely because he felt the other two weren't progressive enough, hence Progressive Baptist. A big part of his disillusionment with the Black church, and why it's not all that accurate to say the CRM came from the institutional Black church, is that the pastors who should've been able to speak truth to power didn't. By institutional, I'm making a distinction between what most churches and church associations did and what church members did in their lay time. Not to mention that not every CRM activist was a church-goer.