Do you really think Barack had any idea what those words meant to his hip-hop constituency?  We have to be careful not to project too much onto his every gesture.

Dead Ex-Presidents's Wife.

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WOW. Hold on one second. I think this article is fine... up until the last paragraph. "99 problems" is reference (for those who don't know) to a Jay- Z song.. the complete line being "I got 99 problems but a *** ain't one." Ms. Harris- it would be an understatement to say this is offensive. Calling Hilary a *** (it seems to be fairly obvious to whom you are referring here) is not only weak, tired,and not a political point, but sexist. Again, I'm baffled, as an Obama supporter, at the ways fellow supporters feel they have the right to attack Hilary for being a woman. Not only that, but suggesting that Obama would be listening to this song in reference to his opponent shines a terrible and insulting light on a candidate who I believe knows a thing or two about oppression, including sexism.  

DId I miss some irony or satire in this post? I hope.

in case you missed the reference to *** in the comment above, its the word "witch" but starts with a "b"

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I actually spit the tea I was drinking all over the place. It was the type of reaction, I think, we had all been secretly waiting for him to make. And it played well with that crowd. From 8 to 80 they knew what he meant, even though everyone was looking at that gesture through there own lens of experience.

I talked to my grandpop today. He lives in my hometown of Philly. He's 82, and still in great spirits in spite of his health. He is a vet, having served in Korea, and dropped out of school in the 9th grade to help his family.

I asked him if he's going to vote. With his voice breaking, he said "I'm voting for Barack, I really like that guy." That did me well on a pre-election Sunday.

You will see major turnout in Philly, and Barack could pull it off.

"his opponents consistently use race and age to label him unqualified and inexperienced."

Who has used his race to label him unqualified?

Who has used his age to label him inexperienced?

other than crazy Republicans?

People have labeled him inexperienced because he lacks the experience that his opponents have. He had only been in the Senate 1 year before he started to run for president. He has missed more Senate votes in his 3 years in office than Hillary has in her 7 years. As the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee subcommittee on Europe, he has not chaired a single substantive oversight hearing, even though the breakdown in our relations with Europe and NATO is harming our operations in Afghanistan. Nor did he take a single official trip to Europe as chairman.

Hillary has already worked on healthcare. HIllary has battled the pharmaceutical industry, health insurance companies. Barack has yet to try.

Hillary has endured the Republican attack machine for 10+ years. Barack has yet to taste that pain.

Hillary has been briefed by members of the national security council for 8 years as first lady. She has served on the Armed Services Committee. She has fought for health insurance for our national guard when they come back from Iraq. What has Barack done?

Bravado? exactly.

Thanks for the long list of things, most of which, Hillary has FAILED at.  At best, Hillary is a disingenuous liar who may also have some positive things she wants to accomplish.

The requiste "experience" needed to become POTUS is well documented in the US constitution.  If you want 4 more years of substandard leadership, then by all means vote Clinton redux into office.  If you want someone who has fresh ideas and a new approach to politics then vote smart, and vote Nader...errr....Obama.

I love you Melissa!  You are so on point with your analysis!  Your students are truly lucky  to have an educator like you that truly cares and understands the many issues facing her students.  As a present graduate student myself, I have desperatley longed for such a mentor...I can only hope someday I will find her or him...In the meantime, keep up the good work!!!  

99 problems uuugh...

Clearly a cheap shot....Anywho

Sort of the unspoken conflict of the Obama v. Hillary war has been the black women flipping the bird at the pro-Hillary white feminists. Not that Obama exploited the conflict, but it is telling that the masses of black women defected en masse, from a candidate that would have otherwise been a shoo in to carry black women in substantial numbers.

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That was the greatest thing ever! Did you see the black guy in the orange shirt stand up and get his arsenio hall on! I mean, Barack's back was turned to him and homeboy still knew what that was about! I have to admit that I just love it when "we" can communicate with each other without having to always explain our "black code". I almost pee'd on myself and I even had to give myself some dap for that one!

BTW, Michelle, you are the SH!T...I saw you on Real Time and how they tried to play you but you kept your cool and stayed in the fight. I know Bill is usually only comfortable with black women when they're swinging from a pole or on their knees but you represented us college-educated women (Howard University Alumni '01) in the realest way imaginable! Keep on pushin' girl!

Oops, I meant Melissa...not Michelle! MY BAD!

Spaniard,

I wasn't listing HIllary's accomplishments. If you want that, I could go on and on. I was just listing some experience.

accomplishments:

helped get SCHIP which covers 6 million indigent children each year

helped get Emergency Contraception over the counter

helped get insurance for the National Guard coming back from Iraq

started a rape crisis center

As the chair of the board of Legal Services Corporation -She saved the concept of federal funding for legal aid to the poor. What has Barack done that is comparable?

The choice come down to someone who knows how to get things done versus someone who has a dream. Talk to some Deval Patrick supporters, they have experienced what it like after the dreamer gets elected.

we've had 8 years of charisma and not much experience, it's now time for competence and experience.

99 problems uuugh...

Clearly a cheap shot....Anywho

Sort of the unspoken conflict of the Obama v. Hillary war has been the black women flipping the bird at the pro-Hillary white feminists. Not that Obama exploited the conflict, but it is telling that the masses of black women defected en masse, from a candidate that would have otherwise been a shoo in to carry black women in substantial numbers.

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White feminists haven't fully accepted Black women and other women of color into their movement as evidenced by the many writings that complain of this maltreatment.  Also, many White (feminists) and women have been very disrespectful in diminishing the experience of Black women (i.e., Gloria Steinem, Gerry Ferraro, Roseanne) and feel that Black women are traitors to their gender by not voting for Hillary and voting with their race.  Why should Black and woman be two separate entities?

And @ Malia,

Yes, Obama knew exactly what he was doing.  I'm sure he knows that Jay's a supporter of his campaign that he's been phone banking (Ohio residents got a automated calls from Jay).  And months ago, Barack and Michelle were at an event and walked in there to "99 Problems."  That didn't get much press.

All the race baiting sickened many people and that is why many Blacks have defected as supporters.  Here's a website that tracks

...Here's a website that's tracking Billary's attacks leveled at Obama:  <a href=http://clintonattacksobama.pbwiki.com/>http://clintonattacksobama.pbwiki.com/</a>

You seemed to have missed these important words in my post...

"most of which"

and

"At best, Hillary is a disingenuous liar who may also have some positive things she wants to accomplish."

I'm unimpressed with that list of accomplishments when viewed in the light of how she has run her campaign, similar to a lying scumbag.  

I'm not going to waste any time listing Obama's accomplishments because I'm 99.9% certain that you aren't silly enough to claim he hasn't accomplished anything in hie life for himself or other poeple.  And besides, if you had read closely, you would have been able to determine that my prefered candidate is Nader and not Obama.

By the way, Deval Patrick's problems seem to stem from being a greedy, superfical corporate shill and not from being a "dreamer" as you have alluded to.  Maybe if he spent less time worrying about kickback to his former corporate cronies or upgrading the offical car to a Cadillac (the irony is thick!) he would have more support within the state of MA.

Barack Obama & Hip-Hop:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFSVG7jRp_g&NR=1

"Did I miss some irony or satire in this post? I hope."

Great post, ecramer.  I don't think you missed any irony in the post.  If anyone is to go so far as to believe that a favorite candidate could possibly be listening to a rap song that degrades ALL women, that speaks volumes about that person.  They've become so blinded by the negativity they're caught up in, they are getting a little disillusioned.  That comment is no better than the racist ones coming from the opposite positions.  It's time to regroup, stop the schoolgirl crush-gushing, and focus on the candidates and the issues.

Comparing the number of hits on You Tube as a signal of the solidarity of Obama's "base" is a stretch at best and seems to discount the voters' positions on the issues as the reasons for supporting him.

I thought Obama's gesture was corny and many other "young, urban, black and brown voters" probably thought so too--we support Obama because of his stance on issues that affect us, the historic nature of his campaign, his desire to change the way things are done in D.C., etc.,

Also, the reference to "99 Problems" was out of line.

Peace.

Its not only the young black and browns who got the gesture, its the youth in general who dont give a crap what their parents think and are totally immersed in hip-hop culture! Love it!

I'm glad ecramer posted. I couldn't find words to articulate my earnest dismay at this association. Pope Hutchinson over at HuffPost has grabbed this association and given it a strong airing, obviously basing the truth of it, the legitimacy of the idea in blogs from the black community of intellectuals.

Not that I've found many, or that more than one was sufficient for Hutchinson to launch another attack against Obama. Hip hop may be your cup of choice, but the blatant sexism is not received well everywhere. And, not in the places he must win.

I'm a die-hard Obama fan.  I like his ideas, his charisma, and his determination.  He definitely got my vote last week here in PA.  In fact, he carried Philly by two-thirds.  However, he's a politician like every other politician.  Brushing his shoulder was no different than drinking beer with bowlers or having a cheese steak while in Philly - it's plain old "playing to the masses", not much more.  I think that some folks take things for more than what they really are.  That is not to discourage the young people from getting on board, however.  I believe that one must do what one mist do at times.  If it gets the vote - OK.  Peace.