Remember the "first time [really] proud of country" flap?

Remember how MSNBC deliberately clipped out the word "really," giving the quote a very different meaning?  Well now the AP is doing the same thing, intentionally or not:

I'm getting more than a little sick of the way black folks get talked about like we're exotic foreigners in our own country-- like there are all of these strange secret customs we have or something-- oh, and anything one prominent black person does is suddenly a "black thing." You see, I don't know anything about "fist bumps" but, I could could tell it was just some cute little thing Obama and his wife do. Is it just me, or is the over analysis of "the bump" as something exotic and foreign something that we would never see for a similar moment between white people?

Oh-- and it's fine to call black women "baby momma" since I think some random black person said that once and so that's how we all like to think of ourselves. Yeah.

I know this has been discussed before but not with the video of Pat Buchanan attached to it.  I’ve been waiting since this morning for this bit of video to become available.  

The fist bump, dap, or pound has been in pop culture for several decades now.  I remember my bothers doing it in the seventies.  However, back in the day it came with am with an arsenal of moves and turns that would defy and mystify many people.  I myself never participated in the ritual because I deemed it unlady like and it just didn’t fit me.  I do have some reservations about Obama doing it as well.  Its fine by me, I grew up with the fist bump, dap, pound and now according to Faux News terrorist fist JAB as part of my everyday life.  

Doubtless most of you have already seen Dave Weigel's take-down of the Very Serious Larry Johnson, proprietor and agent provacateur of the anti-Obama hate site No Quarter.

As a former blogger-bombthrower, I have my own thoughts on Mr. Johnson, and needless to say I think we should all be prayerful (even those of us who are mostly irreligious, such as myself).

Last Tuesday, as we all know, was an historic occasion and a night of joy and celebration for the Obama Nation.  For my wife, Mary Lou, and myself, it was also the end of our hosting a series of Tuesday night social gatherings for watching the votes come in, listening to speeches by the candidates and the analysis of all of this by the pundits of CNN and MSNBC, and breaking bread with other people who share our enthusiasm for Sen. Barack Obama and his message of change and hope for the future of the USA.  

She had no idea what it meant.  She'd heard some other kid say it and decided it was the worst insult she could throw at me.  I ran into the next room and told my father, a professor in a small Northern college town, what she had done.  I had never known him to get angry before, but he exploded out of his chair and ran to my sister, grabbing her in a way I'd never seen, and screamed to her that she should never, ever use that word, no matter what.  The impression stuck with me.   Suddenly, race went from something we weren't aware of to something that clearly permeated our lives in extremely powerful ways.  While it wasn't my father's intent, there was a big sense of "otherness" born out of that moment.

(Just to let you know, I'm writing this out of joy at Obama's nomination tonight! More below the fold, of course.)

The Daily Kos missed it. The Huffington Post missed it. MSNBC missed it. Today, Barack Obama did something that will change the face of the campaign.

He touched my heart!
Today, he defended his wife.
I am a long time Hillary supporter. I am a Democrat and demand change, but today, Barack touched my heart.

What did he do?

"Why didn’t he write a book about the joys of basketball?"

When I first saw these on a search, I thought they were a joke. But, no, they were both published. Obama appeared last year on "This Week." The date of the interview. The subjects. How Gorge proceeded. April 16, 2008 was strongly foreshadowed by this meeting.

This interview provides further proof why ABC should have made Steph recuse himself. Notice again, this is May 2007. And notice the points he brings up which Hillary later indeed did bring up. The interview started with the military, is the country ready for him, and yes, Obama was asked how much of his 'cool style' is because he is black.

Is "Elitist" code for "Uppity Negro"? by Pearl Jr.

March 16, 2008

This diary is an effort at brainstorming a response to the coming Rightwing meme.

You can find a whiff of it here fronted this Sunday am on MSNBC:

Obama may face grilling on patriotism
No flag pin, no hand over his heart: Is he exposed?