Sexist Jokester Headlines Obama Fundraiser [Update]
By SusanUnPC on July 12, 2008 at 11:06 AM in Barack Obama, Sexism
UPDATE: As Memeorandum.com makes clear, Daily Kos and other “progressive” blogs are ignoring this story. And, although Obama wanted Don Imus fired for referring to a woman as a “ho,” Obama’s prescription for Mac was, “I’m just kidding with you, man.” Obama told the crowd last night:
“… Bernie you got to clean up your act. This is a family affair… I’m just messing with you,” he said.
Original: What is astonishing about this report from Obama’s $2,300-per-person fundraiser in Chicago last night — we know he’s desperate for donations — is not just the crude “ho” joke that comedian Bernie Mac told (described below). It’s not just that, when he took the stage, Obama thanked “my great friend, one of the kings of comedy, Bernie Mac,” later offering only the most tepid, perfunctory criticism. One of the shockers is that the media reported, but failed to point out, the outright sexism in these comments from Mac’s routine:
“Having a black first lady is different: You’re still going have to do the dishes and the laundry and all that . . . you got to pick up the kids,” Mac said. “‘You didn’t pick up the kids?’ ‘I just came from Korea, talking about nuclear weapons.’ ‘You were on Air Force One and you couldn’t stop to pick up the kids?’”
That’s not all. Mac also said this, according to Mark Halperin:
Mac said he is a Democrat “born and raised” but added that “I’m a Republican at tax time.” …
He then talked about his wife who he’s been married to for 35 years, and how she just went through menopause.
“I can’t take it,” he said. “My house is so doggone cold all the time.”
I cannot begin to comprehend how that joke made Mac’s wife feel, or how humiliating that is to millions of American women who all go through menopause.
Then there’s that, besides Mac’s ignorance of how the White House daily chores are done by hired staff, he apparently is unable to comprehend that a female can offer more as a First Lady than doing the laundry and dishes, and caring for children.
Here’s the “ho” joke via Reuters’ blog (which also fails to tell the full story about Obama’s response). I had to search four news reports to find an accurate description because most of them — from the Washington Post to the Chicago newspapers — only delicately referred to the word “ho”:
The Chicago-born comedian and actor told what he said was a joke about his nephew coming to him and asking the difference between a hypothetical question and a realistic question.
To demonstrate the difference, he tells the nephew to go ask his mother if she would make love to the mailman for $50,000. The mother says she would make love to the mailman and anybody else for $50,000.
He tells the nephew to go ask his sister if she would make love with her neighbor for $50,000. She says she would make love with the neighbor and anybody else for $50,000.
So he tells the nephew: “Hypothetically speaking, we should have $100,000. But realistically speaking we live with two hos,” Bernie Mac said.
There was an awkward moment and nervous laughter from the crowd of about 600 people who had paid $2,300 each to attend the fundraiser at a Chicago hotel. One person objected to the word “ho” — derogatory slang for woman — and urged Bernie Mac to leave and make way for Obama.
In his speech, the Illinois senator, who hopes to become the first black U.S. president, said unity was essential in the Democratic Party. He said it should not be divided by race, religion, region, class or gender.
“That means, by the way, Bernie, you got to clean up your act,” Obama said. “This is a family affair.”
The Reuters report leaves out what Obama also said following his weak admonition to Mac. Halperin’s pool report has Obama’s complete remarks:
“That means, by the way, Bernie you got to clean up your act. This is a family affair… I’m just messing with you,” he said.
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