A Nice Day to be Barack Obama, but Not a Nice Day to be a Garbage Man
It's a great day to be Barack Obama. The Great Plotnik likes him a lot. Last night at Tiapos, Mississippi Motorhead, a Southerner by birth, asked whether we think America will vote for a black man? Plotnik said he thinks Obama is not the kind of black man America is terrified of, and anyway fewer people hate Obama because he's black than hate Hillary because she's Hillary.
Sure it's early. Sure everything can and will change drastically, time and time again. But Obama's speech last night was the first one Plotnik has heard in decades that got him up off his chair. This is happening to a lot of people.
RAIN! It's not a great day to be a garbage man. But through rain or gale, lightning or thunder, dog still must pee. So out went Plotnik and Mischief this morning, one bundled up from top of head to mid-thigh, one not even noticing the awful weather. Garbage cans are tipped over everywhere, their contents strewn, it's the kind of wind trees can come down in. One did.
The dog doesn't care. The dog is omni-focused. The dog has a brain like a sesame seed. Must go out. Must pee. Must sniff everything. Why? Me no care.
OK, Plotnik has just realized he's doing a New Dog on his readers. It's bad, he knows. He'll stop. Must stop. Must stop talking about dog. Must be philosophical. Ooh. Have idea:
Look, Plotnik thinks Hillary would make a great president. She's capable and she's also female. Men have been screwing the country up for a long time, he'd like to see a woman's tush on the seat of power. But he can't help thinking about all the people, like his brother, who hate her just because they didn't like her husband, because she wouldn't make cookies or whatever the hell idiotic thing that was in the 1990s.
It may be that racism is something that is harder to speak about openly. But Plotnik has heard many, many more people express disdain for Hillary Clinton than for Barack Obama. Maybe 50-1.
And a Hillary election would mean no more Bush and that's good, but it would also mean absolutely no changes whatsoever, except in the Nancy Pelosi-administrative victory kind of way. The country needs a lot more help than another commission appointed to investigate the last commission. Maybe Barack is the man. Maybe he has a chance. Must hope.
posted by DAK @ 8:46 AM
8 Comments:
My limited perception is that the more conservative branch of liberals here in NYC are more into Hillary than Obama. I sure hope we can get together on this so the Republicans don't take advantage again of our divide.
sorry, 'anonymous' is dan (or Ted Danson is you catch the Curb Your Enthusiasm reference).
This is a very, very interesting string of comments. Traditionally in America, a black man would threaten Joe and Jane Six Pack more than a white woman. I'm not convinced Hillary threatens most people as much as they just don't like her.
They didn't like John Kerry either. You either like people or you don't. America liked Bush. Iowa voters liked Huckabee. This has been Hillary's problem from the beginning and it won't go away.
Back when Bill was prez a very conservative workmate of mine had an "Impeach Hillary" bumper sticker on his wall. I think the far right would MUCH more prefer Obama than Hillary. And it might have more to do with the gender thing than we suspect.
I agree with Karen - my biggest fear is that this is going to get blown again and we will end up with Huckabee since he can sure talk pretty.
I think Hillary would be OK, but the mood is for something different, sort of like Carter was after Nixon. Obama fits that, and maybe even Edwards.
Lots to think about here ~ I would love a woman president, but Obama is so exciting and doesn't accept money from corporations. This is going to be an interesting year and Two Buck Huck (thanks, NY Times) is not the real choice of the GOP machine. 2008 will be fun indeed...
Please—all I can think about when the name Huckabee is mentioned is that movie - I Heart Huckabees. Just can't take it seriously. But then I never thought we'd elect a movie star either. (Boy, was that ever a long time ago.)
"I'm not convinced Hillary threatens most people as much as they just don't like her. "
yes, but think of WHY people don't like hillary. people say she's stuck-up, unemotional, controlling... e.g., she doesn't perform her gender very well. can you imagine someone calling the male candidates anything like that? nope. they would say "confident, nonpartial, powerful." those are precisely what we look for in a leader.
the male candidates are criticized all the time for not performing THEIR genders, too. everyone called kerry a pansy and the #1 critique against obama is that he's "inexperienced." it's like they're 17 year old boys behind the bleachers. bush is an idiot but he wears cowboy boots and swaggers and acts like a frat boy.
obama does NOT perform his race in a way that people would expect. he in no way fits the "angry black man" stereotype. since americans don't LIKE angry black men, this works to his advantage. americans do, however, like barefoot, pie-baking, sensitive, subservient housewives. this is why people feel threatened by hillary and not obama.
women's college education at work here.
I'm with Bronwen re: assessing how Hillary is being negativel characterized, and how male candidates would never be negatively characterized in the same way (that is, the adjectives would be positive for the very same traits that she's being damned/scorned for).
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