Such A Brouhaha
By Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy on July 16, 2008 at 11:36 AM in ACORN, Barack Obama, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, New Yorker, Race, Racism
All over a cartoon. A satirical cartoon at that. The one Obama didn’t care about before he cared about it. Yes, I am referring to the cover of the New Yorker which dared to depict The Emperor and Empress Obama in anything less than a devotional homage. How DARE they?!? Never mind that the cartoon was clearly ridiculing the rumors that fly around the Internet about Obama. Why let a pesky thing like intent get in the way of one’s self-proclaimed martyrdom and victimhood??
Why, if a big huge stink is NOT made about the cover, people might actually read the ARTICLE inside! And they might, just might, see that this Emperor, just like George Bush, is wearing no clothes.
So instead, let’s just ratchet up the furor because heaven knows, NO other politician has EVER had a satirical cartoon done about them in the history of politics – ever! That’s why this one is so shocking! And no doubt, RACIST! Because they are making fun of Obama!!!!! How COULD they?!?! Don’t they know that this is unprecedented?? Oh, wait – it’s not.
You can go to this website, Political Humor, and see cartoons about all KINDS of politicians. The difference there is that the cartoons are mocking the actual people pictured, not the nebulous blogoshpere and its potential for rumor-mongering. (There are far more sites than this one – I just found this one first, and quite easily.)
But that wasn’t the point. Well, it is kinda the point with Obama – to blow something completely out of proportion and twist the message behind it.
We saw that time and time again during the primaries, like with the Bill Clinton remarks in SC that they twisted in an attempt to paint him as a racist. But the point in this particular instance was to distract Obama’s lemmings, I mean, followers – no, uh – SUPPORTERS from reading the article inside. Now, the material in there is not a surprise to those of us who are thinking – uh, informed voters, but it might well be to those bandwagoners in the Obama camp. It paints a picture of Obama different from his carefully crafted image as an outsider, a new voice, the reincarnation of JFK and MLK (gag me). Unlike the articles we have sought out to get all of the pieces of this puzzle, this magazine, a national, respected, magazine, puts it all together in one place (and honestly, went fairly easy on him from other sources I have seen, particularly those in Chicago). We can’t have that, can we?? Not according to the Obama camp.
What this article, “Making It“, makes clear was the calculated ascendancy of King Obama, the meticulous way he cultivated relationships to move him further along his path to what he wanted all along – the presidency. This was no accident, no fluke – Obama has been planning, scheming, and working for this day. It recounts just how he got this far, who helped him, and how; upon who’s backs he has climbed, and on who’s throats he has stepped. What is also clear is his opinion of himself, and it is mighty high indeed. Oh, yes – he knew he was going to be King, I mean PRESIDENT:
Almost as soon as he got to Springfield, he was planning another move. He was bored there—once, he appeared to doze off during a caucus meeting—and frustrated by the Republicans’ total control over the legislature. He seemed to believe, according to colleagues at the time, that he was destined for better things than being trapped in one of America’s more notoriously corrupt state capitals.
And he did not always get along with his colleagues in the State Senate. In fact, he had quite the acrimonious relationship with State Senator Hendon, and the two almost came to blows (here’s a surprise – Obama started it) on the floor of the IL senate. I bet you haven’t heard that before, right? Oh, no, he is always the consummate professional, isn’t he? No. No, he isn’t. Raise your hand if you are surprised at that!!! Yeah, I didn’t think so.
How about that Community Organizing experience he touts so much? The platform upon which all of his subsequent experience rests? Well, he had this to say about it:
…And for the most part I would say I wasn’t wildly successful. The victories that we achieved were extraordinarily modest: you know, getting a job-training site set up or getting an after-school program for young people put in place.
Wow – you can see why that experience, all 2 -3 years of it, are so foundational for the rest of his political life, and certainly for the presidency. I would go so far as to say he has already demonstrated some of his “extraordinarily modest” legislation since he got into the U.S. Senate, all two pieces of it (post office naming and helping out in Congo). Oh, it just gives me shivers to think what modest things he can accomplish as president!! I am sure the list is endless of the mediocrity he can bring…
Another aspect the article exposes it just how Obama came to be at Trinity United Church of Christ. You know he isn’t a native of Chicago (though one of the Obamabot talking points is how offensive it is that Hillary Clinton isn’t from NY yet is a senator from NY), and that was an issue. Where else to obtain your bona fides but your church, right? Well, certainly for the young Obama:
Obama seems to have been meticulous about constructing a political identity for himself. He visited churches on the South Side, considered the politics and reputations of each one, and received advice from older pastors. Before deciding on Trinity United Church of Christ, he asked the Reverend Wright about critics who complained that the church was too “upwardly mobile,” a place for buppies. Though he admired Judson Miner, he was similarly cautious about joining his law firm. Miner once told me that it took “a series of lunches” and hours of discussion before Obama made his decision. At the time, Obama was working on “Dreams from My Father.”
Notice anything missing about how he choose his church home? How about FAITH?? Or THEOLOGY? Um, no. No it was all about which church was going to help him the most politically. Theology and faith seemed to have little to do with his decision.
Apparently, the same was true of where he worked – it was what the church, and the firm, could do for HIM, not what he could do for THEM. JFK is rolling over in his grave, no doubt…
So, yes, if I was Obama, I imagine I would want a big huge smokescreen, too. A well orchestrated, “Look Over THERE!” By completely twisting the point of the political cartoon, he has made the issue the cover, so the issues raised within the covers are discredited at best, and ignored at worst. He has made the point the cartoonist, not his own history and his claw and nail climb to the top. Now, even if any of his army actually read the article, they would be able to dismiss any fact that was the least bit critical (or true) because of that darn cover. The one about the rumors. The one making fun of us out here, not the Obamas. It is clever, I’ll give him that. And is certainly in keeping with how he has run his campaign, and his political life. But it is also dishonest, manipulative, and insulting. If you actually read the article, though, you will see that is just SOP for Barack Obama.
Oh, one last thing – I got the following the humorist, Andy Borowitz, and thought he summed it up nicely:
Obama Releases List of Approved Jokes About Himself
Bid to Help Late Night ComicsSaying he is “sympathetic to late night comedians’ struggle to find jokes to make about me,” Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill) today issued a list of official campaign-approved Barack Obama jokes.
The five jokes, which Sen. Obama said he is making available to all comedians free of charge, are as follows:
Barack Obama and a kangaroo pull up to a gas station. The gas station attendant takes one look at the kangaroo and says, “You know, we don’t get many kangaroos here.” Barack Obama replies, “At these prices, I’m not surprised. That’s why we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”
A traveling salesman knocks on the door of a farmhouse, and much to his surprise, Barack Obama answers the door. The salesman says, “I was expecting the farmer’s daughter.” Barack Obama replies, “She’s not here. The farm was foreclosed on because of subprime loans that are making a mockery of the American Dream.”
A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says, “Why the long face?” Barack Obama replies, “His jockey just lost his health insurance, which should be the right of all Americans.”
Q: What’s black and white and red all over?
Barack Obama: The New Yorker magazine, which should be embarrassed after publishing such a tasteless and offensive cover, which I reject and denounce.A Christian, a Jew and Barack Obama are in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean. Barack Obama says, “This joke isn’t going to work because there’s no Muslim in this boat.”
And there you have it. Jokes can still be made about Bill Clinton and Monica. Jokes can be made about McCain, including his time as a POW. We have seen the number of so-called jokes about Hillary Clinton. But Obama is off limits, people – except for these five jokes above. Got it, people??
by Ronald Scott
* More novels by 
* 
(
)
- You'll have access to 18 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, and books, as well as ultra-fast Web browsing with Amazon Silk -- faster than iPad. Full e-mail and document access and a keyboard. Fire can transmit what is on your screen onto a connected TV or monitor without an accessory. It runs Flash (iPad doesn't). 
