This "defending Obama" stuff is getting quite old…
As someone who is highly skeptical and critical of the Obama campaign, I am truly annoyed by the number of times per week that I’m forced to defend him from ridiculous Right wing attacks. This time around, Senator Obama is being forced to respond to rapper Ludacris’ recent song about the upcoming election. But I digress…
True to form, conservative pundits are feigning indignation at the release of Ludacris’ lyrics. As always, with regard to hip-hop, their reactions are overblown and disingenuous. Anyone remotely familiar with hip-hop rhetoric understands that Ludacris’ request for a presidential pardon and desire to "paint the White House black" was intended to be playful and hyperbolic. His remarks about Hillary being irrelevant and John McCain being old may have been harsh, but you could scarcely find anyone on either side of the aisle who questions their accuracy.
Besides, wasn’t it just last week that we were told to "lighten up"
about that New Yorker cover?
While Ludacris’ use of the "B-Word" to describe Hillary Clinton is inexcusable, it is inexplicable why these same critics aren’t angered when their conservative peers use the same language to describe the New York Senator. In fact, one of the most popular clips on the Internet in late 2007 featured an older white woman asking Senator McCain "how "do we beat the ***?’" Although McCain indicated that he respected Senator Clinton --after enjoying a good laugh-- he demonstrated none of the moral outrage and public posturing being requested of Barack Obama.
Although no one contests the fact that they barely know each other, conservative pundits are also demanding that Obama "distance himself"
from Ludacris. The idea of treating every celebrity supporter as an official surrogate sets us on a ridiculously slippery slope. Does this mean that we have to hold John McCain accountable for all the lyrics of ABBA, his self-described "favorite groups"? Does this mean that George W. Bush must renounce the behavior of Brittney Spears, who offered her unequivocal support after 9/11? It’s safe to say that such matters will never be high on their press secretaries’ to-do list.
Unfortunately, Senator Obama is well aware of this absurd double standard, but has elected to publicly censure Luda out of political expediency. By dissing the rapper (and, by proxy, hip-hop culture) in public, Obama can allay the anxieties of White voters who still question whether or not Obama "shares their values." More sadly, like the Bill Clinton-Sister Souljah controversy in 1992, Obama can remind White voters that he’s not scared to put Black people in their place.
Ironically, if he wins the election, Obama just may have Ludacris to thank.
