It Matters
January 17, 2008
Did you know Barack Obama was black?
Honestly, he is. Although you wouldn’t know it because it doesn’t matter.
Let me tell you something. It matters.
The suits he wears matter. The people standing behind him when he talks matter. The height of the podium matters. The car he pulls up in before he gives the speech matters. Is it an American car, or a Japanese car? That matters. Is it an SUV? That really matters.
It matters what he smoked in university. It matters what people think of his religion, whether he is or isn’t a Muslim. It matters that he is confident. It matters if his family fought in any wars and on whose side. It matters than he has no facial hair. Abe Lincoln would never get elected now.
It matters that he is not disabled. Franklin Roosevelt couldn’t walk, but there are only two pictures of him in a wheelchair. He had to be propped up before he could be photographed or make speeches and he had different sets of leg braces to match the colour socks he wore. Because it mattered.
Theodore Roosevelt was shot in 1913 while walking up to give a speech. He worked the shooting into the opening joke, delivered the whole address and the bullet stayed in his body for the rest of his otherwise natural life. But people know about the incident because that mattered.
And those were back then. The scrutiny is much greater now.
If you’re trying to become the most powerful head of state in the world, it all matters. Obama Barack is black and it matters, just like his teeth and his accent matters. It’s not a political issue, sure, but people say it didn’t matter than John Kennedy was a Catholic. I wonder how many people voted for him because it didn’t matter.
Get over ourselves.
15 comments
It matters over here too. People refused to vote for Michael Foot’s donkey jacket and Neil Kinnock’s bald head.
If people knew what Gordon Brown got up to with his glass eye after hours, they wouldn’t vote for him either.
I came here all prepared to be serious and compliment you on your versatility. Your posts consistently make me laugh, you introduce me to great concepts (the one I’m thinking of is “aware” http://www.thisisthis.org/2006/01/13/cleaning-up/), sometimes you make me feel a bit sad (but in a nice way) and now political commentary.
But then Scaryduck got here before me and all I can think about is what the fuck Gordon Brown does with his glass eye. Shudder.
Great post.
It does matter, as much as it mattered that Ming Campbell was of a certain age. It gets complicated when these things are tried to be diminished (Gordon Brown’s inherent dullness) or played on (Hillary Clinton’s teary escapades – wow, that’s going to come back and bite her on the arse). Obama’s camp are doing well at the moment neither to play on the black thing nor to ignore it. Can’t say the same for his wife, but there you go.
Thanks Wendy. Mighty flattering.
Thanks Scary. Flighty mattering.
Sam – Didn’t Teary Escapades play for Chelsea?
BANG! Still got it.
Tomorrow: Serious retorts to funny posts.
Of course it matters. He’s giving a speech in Harlem’s Apollo Theather. Because it matters. Because the black vote matters. Because the poor vote matters. Because all the Dems who hate Hillary and need the next fake for-the-people-by-the-people talking-head matters.
And when Obama gets questioned about being black enough and answers “well, I arrived for this speech late enough, didn’t I,” when a white man who says the same line to gets construed at racist it matters.
All these politicans who stand there at the podium promising whatever you want to hear with their family standing proudly behind them, the families that gets ignored during those endness nights campaigning so that daddy/mommy can “save the country” which is really code for “have my name in the paper so that the public can remember me and i in turn can control them all the other $shit that is beyond controll” well, that matters.
Excellent post, btw. Love your writing style
Thanks Aimee, nice of you to take the time to say so and stop by. I agree with you about the double standards of racism, and was worried about being accused of the same.
But honestly it makes no difference to me. Some of my best friends are running for president. Again with the jokes. Welcome all the same.
I can’t run for president any more, it upsets me that I’m going to lose the grandest title I may ever have in 6 months.
Cliff wrote: “Some of my best friends are running for president.”
ker-ching! Another line (amongst many) that convinces me to burn my blog just out of sheer inadequacy. Of course, I would need to print it out and burn the facsimile of it, but it would be tantamount to doing the same thing in my own little mind. Gah (as I believe it was trendy to say some time ago as a expression of disappointment or frustration).
Gah. Ga. /ga.
Sam – Rubbish. Have you thought about Minister of Defence?
Jonners – Also rubbish. But thanks. You write because you have to, same with me. Should we all have a big vote about who writes the best blog and then we all stop writing? Hell the fuck no. I hate to piss on your burning blog, but I got lucky with that line. Besides which, you write very well and you’ve got one of the best banners I’ve seen.
Cliff – you got lucky with that line? That sounds like an interesting story. Do tell!
And Jonners – what Cliff said. Not the best friends/presidents thing.
Out of respect for the line, I can’t do that.
all-cay me on the elephone-tay
yeah it sure matters. pity he’s not a gay black woman with a speech impediment and adpoted drug addicted kids
Uuuuummmmm…..
I got nuthin’.
The political machines are as fractured as the public and it’s clearly showing. They canLt even hold preliminaries without everyone and everything getting all ticked off. Imagine a political party suing a state because that state scheduled a caucus for a date that does not provide the biggest advantage to the party. It’s ludicrous to think that the political parties think they can alter the Electoral College. But they’re both trying, really hard.
I should like very much to go to sleep this evening and not wake up until this time next year. Whatever passes for my spiritual well-being cannot handle a very dirty, ugly, nasty, mean, fraudulent election. Seriously, another election like 2000 or 2004 and I will have suffered serious damage to my faith in mankind. I’m not talking about the outcome but rather the deportment of those involved, thiose commenting, those running, those reporting, and those who think they run the show.
WOW. Sorrry bout the rant, Cliff.
Maybe I should consider cryogenics….
I could say so much about why this is such a great post – well actually I can’t, which is why I’ll have to settle for great post Cliff.
America would never elect a gay black woman with drug-addled relatives, they like their non-white middle class male candidates to display their blackness or their womanness or their mormonness as a fashion accessory, something palatable that makes them feel like they’re being all melting pot and accepting. It’s like the big deal John Major always used to make about being a comprehensive school lad, no university education, etc, etc. He was still a ponce in a suit.
Leave a comment. Play nice. I will turn this blog around.