All things to all people *UPDATED*
Bookworm on Jan 20 2009 at 10:28 am | Filed under: Uncategorized
I’m listening to Obama’s speech. Yes, he doesn’t have a Texas accent, which delights the coastal elites. Otherwise, it’s a fairly standard speech, promising all things to all people: we’ll have incredibly strong national security, except we promise not to hurt the bad guys; we won’t rely on government to solve all our problems, except that we’ll rely on government to solve the economy, health care, education, infrastructure, etc.; we won’t change the American way of life one iota, except that we’re overheating the planet and hogging resources, and Obama’s government will make sure we stop those bad behaviors; and on and on.
If you want comparisons to Lincoln, Obama might do well to remember Lincoln’s warning that “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”
The media will kvell, of course, but this was not a great or memorable speech on its own terms, being hectoring, rather than inspiring.
UPDATE: Some asked me if Obama’s speech met the public’s expectations. My response: Depends which public. He could have stood up there and burped out the Star Spangled Banner and the Democrats would have hailed it as the second Sermon from the Mount. For those of us not politically charmed by his personality or politics, he also met expectations since, as I noted above, his speech was uninspired.
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Snow…
It is snowing up a storm here in eastern North Carolina. We got the girls new sleds a couple of years ago and this is the first time they will……
Ummmm . . . I can’t believe that pastor just ended the prayer with “when white will embrace what is right.”
I can’t believe it.
Wow.
Deana
The pastor must have been channeling Helen…
I was puzzled when he said something like “when yellow can be mellow,” wondering what he meant. Are Asians yellow? Are they normally uptight? erratic? wild?
I guess white people are forever evil and wrong.
Deana
I sort of lost him after he urged yellow people to be mellow. What was next? Purple people should burple? There was a tingle of senility in that speech.
Yes Bookworm.
I heard people actually laughing. I’m sure they weren’t supposed to but it is hard to keep a straight face when you hear garbage like that.
I’m with you, BW. He also got in some digs, as if Bush had done nothing. He is still afraid that people won’t think as highly of him as they should.
If anyone didn’t hear Juan Williams on FNC talking about the Pastor; he actually teared up. Lowery is 87 years old and apparently was a close associate of MLK. Therefore, anything he says is ok.
I wonder if Asian-Americans feel mellow about being called yellow? I wonder if Original-Americans (I don’t refer to them as native, because I am a Native-American) are ok with being called Red? I don’t know exactly who he was referring to when he spoke of Brown. Mexican-Americans? I do hope that some day the White can be right; but don’t expect it to happen anytime soon. He sounded a lot like Jesse Jackson, NTTIAWWT.
Sue, If you associate me with Dr. Joseph Lowery, then I must be “living right.”
And folks, The color sequence was truth through humor. You know, laugh so we don’t cry.
Helen -
I guess I just don’t find it very funny to denigrate people because of their race. Apparently you do.
Deana
…when polka dots can hip hop?
Deana, I said, present TRUTH through humor. TRUTH, you know: TRUTH!!!
Helen –
So you think that it is true that we need God’s help to work toward a day when white people will embrace what is right?
You think it is true that “yellow people” need God’s help to work toward a day when they are mellow?
Your sense of truth is skewed to say the least.
Deana
When chocolate folk can smoke?
Oh Danny . . . what you say is TRUTH. Chocolate folk would like to smoke, if only whites would embrace what is right.
“TRUTH through humor!”
To bad the bishop has one of those tin ears that seems to come with two-bit black Baptist oratory–the kind that sends white women of a certain age, like Helen, into spasms of ecstasy, but leaves people who actually like poetry stone cold.
“Mellow yellow,” my half-white (therefore superior to Helen’s) ass.
Is “brown can stick around” the new immigration policy?
[...] (See Collin Kelley’s blog) There are those who have criticized Rev. Joseph Lowery (See Bookworm and Shirley Buxton, who praise Rick [...]
But Charles, you’re half brown…will you stick around? Or if you’re a red man…so, where did you get a head, man? Headless red men? Or did he mean headhunters? Goodness gracious! I would be offended, but maybe that’s just the hypersensitive Frenchie in moi.
I did like the Rev’s exhortation that Whites will embrace what is Right (oooo…and it hasn’t even been four years, yet), but why should we discriminate? “Conservative” is a big tent.
Hey, the Rev. left out rainbows?
I know that Helen will agree that President Obama is half white and half black.
She’ll also agree that only whites can be racists.
So, what will happen if Obama’s racist half makes war on his mud-people half?
(The presidential bathroom sink, January 21, 2009. Obama’s left side is his mud-person today:)
Mud-Person Obama: Ouch! You knicked me with your razor.
Racist Obama: Yeah, yeah.
Mud-Person Obama: You’re not going to apologize?
Racist Obama: What for? Why would I apologize to myself?
Mud-Person Obama: Well, I’m our BLACK half, you metrosexual racist cracker! Apologize!
Racist Obama: =Sigh= Don’t we have a secret meeting with Cheney in a few minutes?
Mud-Person Obama: Say you’re sorry, or else!
Racist Obama: Or else what?
(The White House breakfast nook later that morning:)
Michelle Obama: Honey, why is your face bleeding?!
President Obama: It’s nothing, I just knicked myself a little is all.
Michelle Obama: A “little?” I count. . . .six, seven, nine, 12 cuts! And your nose looks broken in two different directions! What’s going on?
President Obama: You wouldn’t understand. It’s a black-white thang.
>>I wonder if Asian-Americans feel mellow about being called yellow? >>
That would be the Asians whose enrollment in Berkeley is limited because they were succeeding way beyond their “percentage” and Berkeley was afraid they’d soon become an all Asian campus?
Oh yeah…we hope they feel mellow. As long as they stay in their place.
Ya gotta wonder how those oppressed yellow people reached that point…
Ice Cream,
ONE OF THE BEST EXPLANATIONS OF WHY OBAMA WON THE ELECTION
From a teacher in the Nashville area
“We are worried about “the cow” when it is all about the “Ice Cream”
The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade this year. The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest. I decided we would have an election for a class president.
We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote.
To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members. We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have. We got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot.
The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids. I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support. I had never seen Olivia’s mother.
The day arrived when they were to make their speeches.
Jamie went first. He had specific ideas about how to make our class a better place. He ended by promising to do his very best. Everyone applauded and he sat down.
Now is was Olivia’s turn to speak.
Her speech was concise. She said, “If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream.” She sat down. The class went wild. “Yes! Yes! We want ice cream.”
She surely would say more. She did not have to. A discussion followed. How did she plan to pay for the ice cream? She wasn’t sure. Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it. She didn’t know. The class really didn’t care. All they were thinking about was ice cream.
Jamie was forgotten. Olivia won by a landslide.
Every time Barack Obama opened his mouth he offered ice cream and
52 percent of the people reacted like nine year olds. They want ice cream.
The other 48 percent know they’re going to have to feed the cow and clean up the mess.”
Helen:
“Living right” or Rev. Wright’s oratories. This ‘humorless’ speech smacked of racism to me.
Given a choice, I am going with green-serene.
Charles:
Thanks for another wonderful script. Always so enjoyable and this one reminds of the film with Lily Tomlin and Steve Martin (title escapes me at the moment).
Actually, I laugh so I don’t smash things.
And if want truth through humor, has Teddy Kennedy finally dived back under the bridge to meet Mary Jo?
I wonder if Asian-Americans feel mellow about being called yellow?
If that was the worst thing blacks called Asians, that’d be fine by me. Unfortunately, that’s not the worst thing.
Danny 19: you people need to stop, you’re killing me here.
Mike 24: Brilliant.
And if want truth through humor, has Teddy Kennedy finally dived back under the bridge to meet Mary Jo?
When God offs Ted, I’m celebrating.
Sadie: The film was “All of me.” Great movie.