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Obama on Letterman…Please Man Up, Barack…

Thembi Ford 22 September 2009 12 Comments

I’ve been trying to stay out of politics lately because the nutty racist underbelly of America (which has always been there) is a special brand of disturbing that makes me want to hibernate until 2012. I can’t look at Glenn Beck. No matter how chock full of humorous grammar errors they may be, I cannot look at crazy teabagger protest signs. I cant even find humor in the blatantly juvenile sexual double-meaning in the term ‘teabaggers.,’ itself. The one thing I can always do, however, is look at Barack Obama, especially with the beating he’s been taking.

I’ll always have a soft spot for him because he has such a great smile, is so personable, and is Malia’s daddy, but it’s a beating that he halfway deserves. While its obvious that at least a portion of the vitriol against Barack Obama is race-related, and of course I don’t like that, Obama and his administration have been a bunch of softies about pretty much everything for the past few months. You’d think that living with the knowledge that there are millions of people who’d love to put a bullet in your black socialist hide would make you a little less prone to brushing your shoulders off, but Barack is just fine and doesn’t have much to say about racism at all. Am I bad Democrat/black person/American for being mad that he’s cool as a cucumber? Am I the only person who wants to grab him by the shoulders and shake a some gangsta into him? Of course he’s saying what he has to say and the political climate requires compromise, but can we just fast forward to the end of his term when he uses his last few days in office to just wile out with Congress to give us reparations and establish International Wu-Tang Clan Day and stuff like that? Because not only is my president being punked daily by a bunch of racist lunatics and thereby not getting as much as he should because of it, since I’ve been watching the racism inherent in the health care debate unravel regular everyday white people have started getting on my nerves too. As soon as I see white girl in the club just being herself, doing the two-step wrong but trying hard, instead of my usual ‘white people dancing’ thrill I just think of the birthers and get annoyed. I know it ain’t right and it doesn’t happen by itself. Barack, quit playin’.

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12 Comments »

  • Dave said:

    am i right in assuming you’re writing off a second term?

    # 22 September 2009 at 11:32 am
  • Thembi Ford (author) said:

    Its way to early to really tell, but if an election were held tomorrow he wouldn’t be re-elected, and that’s the only gauge I have. Poor guy.

    # 22 September 2009 at 11:38 am
  • RiPPa said:

    International Wu-Tang Day?

    That doesn’t sound too bad. But you know, I really, really, really feel everything you’re saying. I just hate to hear it when people defend him taking an asswhoopin like he has. Like you said, we’ll see what’s gonna be said when it’s time to re-up. You can’t run to the dope man and tell him you’re a little short on the loot after he gave you a few Keys on consignment.

    # 22 September 2009 at 12:13 pm
  • Regina said:

    Hmmm, I’m going to have to ride both sides of this fence Thembi. I hear you and I agree (uh, I don’t know about that International Wu-Tang day that is a little scary) with you. BUT (UH, sorry Rippa) I think he has to stay cool.
    Unfortunately being “The First” at anything is hard because you don’t know how to act with no blueprint to follow, but you have to be an example for those to come.
    So while I want him to at least put a little bass in his voice and check some fools, we have to wonder if that will further his cause or hurt the Black cause as a whole.
    It should be about his policies but every day racism is front and center. Black folks want him to act black and get bout it bout it, white folk want him to act black and step back.
    He is taking heat either way. At this point I don’t know what the hell he should do, I’m just glad it isn’t me!

    # 22 September 2009 at 12:58 pm
  • [fung'ke][blak][chik] said:

    He can’t win worth trying. I definitely agree with Regina!

    # 22 September 2009 at 2:09 pm
  • Janet said:

    Haha. Mr. Obama is sounding a little like Tom Dubois from The Boondocks. I think he’s being real classy and can easily put some of these fools in their places.

    # 22 September 2009 at 4:27 pm
  • G.D. said:

    Its way to early to really tell, but if an election were held tomorrow he wouldn’t be re-elected, and that’s the only gauge I have. Poor guy.

    What makes you say that? His approval numbers are still north of 50% (and climbing back up, slowly) and there’s not a single nationally viable Republican contender.

    On what issues do you think he’s dropped the ball? What moves do you think he’s misplayed?

    # 22 September 2009 at 6:21 pm
  • first lady said:

    I’m not really upset at President Obama. What does bother is how the Democratic Party continually punks out. It’s the party and administration members that are shirking their duties by letting all sorts of foolishness continues unchecked.

    Why didn’t someone from the party publicly call out all this birther nonsense as having racial undertones? Why haven’t they really gone hard at all the dangerous propaganda being thrown around surrounding the health care debate?

    They have the power and leeway to ask tough questions and say when things are out of pocket, but for some reason, they don’t seem to want to.

    # 22 September 2009 at 7:03 pm
  • Sunflower Jones said:

    Agreed. Although I felt that way about him during the election and he seemed to make out pretty well then.

    # 22 September 2009 at 9:53 pm
  • PPR_Scribe said:

    Not being a die-hard political junkie, I had never heard of Rahm Emanuel before the President tapped him. Someone explained his role to me this way: “Rahm will be the ‘bad cop’ to Obama’s ‘good cop.’ He will say the bad-a**, angry things that Obama cannot. He will be the pitbull to Obama’s lovable (big-eared) hound.”

    I liked that and thought it was going to be a great strategy. But I have not yet seen this kind of thing from Emanuel or anyone in the administration. In this, Obama looks less “calm and collected” and more like a softie surrounded by softies.

    But I agree with G.D.–without a viable candidate that the majority of the party can get behind (and raise lots of money for), the GOP will have a difficult time taking over after one term. Not saying it would be impossible, just difficult.

    # 23 September 2009 at 7:51 am
  • Thembi (author) said:

    I didn’t thoroughly imagine a scenario where a full election were held tomorrow complete with a campaign and Republican candidate, and I don’t think that most of the country disapproves of him, just a very vocal fringe. What I do believe is that his supporters are nowhere near as catalyzed as they were 9 months ago. Softies are not motivating, and it’s hard for people who aren’t die-hard about politics to show up and vote when we feel blase about a candidate. I’d vote for himn a million times over for personal reasons, but I have the feeling that nowhere near as many people who cared in October are excited about him today. While Obama hasn’t mishandled anything the party and his administration haven’t shown themselves to stand for or stand up for a whole lot, and it’s disappointing.

    # 23 September 2009 at 11:49 am
  • Malcolm said:

    Being the “Jackie Robinson” of the U.S. Presidency is a gig I’d never want. Hopefully, once a health care reform bill gets passed, Obama’s biggest hurdle will be behind him. I’m sure the fringe on the right will stoop even lower to undermine his Presidency, but I think Obama can handle it. Even though some of the luster has come off Obama now that he’s in office, I don’t see any Republican being able to defeat him. I actually hope that Sarah Palin does run against him because that would ensure Obama a 2nd term.

    # 13 October 2009 at 7:17 pm

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