White Media's Nevada Call
Barack won more delegates than the Clintons, but white media gave Nevada to the Clintons. Is it because the Clintons are white? Because otherwise the competition was for who got the more delegates. That is how you win the nomination, right?
But white media did not want Barack to get the momentum. They want the Clintons to build on their New Hampshire momentum.
First they called him Osama. And that was not just Fox, that was also CNN. Then they said Hillary was inevitable. Then it looked like he might win Iowa. Then they said if he wins all four of the January states, the race might turn competitive. Unbelievable. Now they have gone ahead and actually snatched away a victory from him. Election results don't count. The people decided Barack won. The white media decided the Clintons won. (If Clinton 08 wins the presidency, and the two Clintons move about separately, which one gets the Air Force One?)
This is so utterly blatant. This is unacceptable behavior.
Tim Russert Measures Up
Tim Russert: Bill O'Reilly's Lower Case Cousin
Old Media Is The Reason Obama Is Lagging In The Polls
Jupiter And Obama
Pig In The Barn, Ailes At Fox News
Race, Gender
JFK, Obama Parallels: Catholic, Black
Fox, Barack, Islam
Rush Limbaugh: Idiot
Advice To Keith Olbermann
Keith Olbermann
Media Smear On Obama's Name
Wolf Hitler, I mean Bitler, Blitler, Whatever
Bill O'Reilly, Bill O'Rama, Whatever The F___ His Name Is
Barack, Fox, MLK, Mandela
Bill O'Reilly: A Right Wing Gadfly
Big Speech, Mother Ad
I think Barack has to do three things to try and seal the nomination on February 5.
He has to give a big speech on race one day before the South Carolina primary. This has to be about taking race relations to the next level, and it should have a MLK tone that uplifts not just blacks but also whites. He has to not only gain big chunks of the black vote in South Carolina, but if that gain is not the right way, he risks a white backlash on February 5. The speech should be to immunize against such a backlash. Besides there is not much point in having a first black president who will not take a serious look at race.
The speech I have written is at the bottom of this page: JFK, Obama Parallels: Catholic, Black.
The second thing he has to do is run this Mother ad all across the country. This is my favorite Obama 2008 ad of all. This is not saying to white America, look my mother is white. This is about presenting a full picture of who he is. His father who did not raise him, hardly knew him, can be seen on his face every single moment. Why can't the mother who actually raised him be seen in a TV ad?
Barack's mother died young at 53. She was quite a pioneer woman. She was into microfinance for women in the poor countries decades before Yunus bagged a Nobel for the same. She was a casualty to the health care system mess in the country. And she is the number one reason why Barack is so big on universal health. And that story has to come out. His full story has to come out. In 1992 the Clinton pollsters found out most Americans thought he had a rich father, because they reminded him of JFK, and so Bill Clinton started talking much about the father he never met. Well, today, most Americans don't have the slightest clue about Barack's mother and that has to be corrected.
Obama 2008 has to put more money into this one ad than any other. That will make all the difference on February 5. Personally I find it fascinating that the dude is biracial. You need someone of his quixotic background to try and heal the very real racial wounds in this country. My experience has been most people would rather not talk about race. It is like most people would rather not take Calculus 301. It is hard stuff for anybody. White people are that way, black people, brown people. Nobody wants to talk about race in too open a way. But most everybody realizes it is a big issue and there is an understanding that progress tends to be slow. But people do want to make progress. They do want to move beyond the angst.
You necessarily need someone of Barack's background to help take race relations in America to the next level. And so it is fundamentally important that Obama 2008 makes total effort to get word out that his mother was white, she was beautiful.
If Barack's mother had been black, that would be nothing wrong. But even I would be less likely to think he could do big things to improve race relations in America, everything else being equal. Everything else equal, someone of a biracial background I believe can do more.
Let's blanket these United f____g States with this one ad. It gives a full picture of Obama's background, it highlights his signature issue of health care, and it is reassuring on race. And at 30 seconds it is easy to digest. And it is beautifully made. The aesthetics are sharp.
Mother
Barack's Mother Makes An Appearance
Barack Has To Talk Much About His Mother
The third thing to do is raise big bucks online every day after the South Carolina primary.
Mega Walk For Change
We did a walk for change thing back in Spring. We have to have a weeklong walk for change leading to February 5. The largest grassroots movement in history has to decide it is now or never. We have the largest grassroots army of all others put together. We have to unleash and be done with this nomination thing by February 5. We have to knock on doors like crazy.
Phone banking is key. All the retails tools are key. We have to do it all.
Don't take me beyond February 5. I am ready to take on the Republicans.
Race: How I Deal With It
My number one way is the 2.0 way. My Nepal work and Obama 2008 work have been in 2.0. And it is in the 2.0 space that my very young company is taking shape. 2.0 space makes possible a post-ISMs individual group dynamic. Bruce Lee experienced racism in Hollywood, and he went to Hong Kong to do his work. I have gone into 2.0.
There is another angle to it. Race and gender fascinate me. Group dynamics is a major thing I bring to the table for my work. And there's nothing like race and gender to get your juices flowing on group dynamics. The average person prefers not to talk race and gender. I seek every opportunity to get to talk. It helps me with my work strengths. Delving into gender helps me with the work of inventing a corporation, how about that?
2.0 Penetrates DL21C
2.0 Screen Time, 5.0 Face Time, Of Racialism, Progressive Group Dynamics
And then there is the personal space. I don't think it is possible for someone like me to get close to the racists and the internalized racists. With the rest, you go with chemistry. If you get along, you get along, if you don't get along, you don't get along. Personal space is private space.
And then there is policy: race as it impacts politics and the policy sphere. Health care is a hugely complex issue. Race is more complex than that. And gender is more complex than race. Globally speaking, gender is a bigger issue than race, in America race is bigger than gender, and hence Hillary for Vice President.
I propose the spectrum to navigate all three as the other policy issues. The spectrum is 1-10. A 5-10 has to be an electoral majority. I think it is possible to create a permanent progressive majority. The beauty of the spectrum concept is it also allows you to be a compassionate progressive. You build a 5-10 coalition, but you also make the 1-4 feel like you really truly have heard them.
Barackface: How To Play The Race Card In South Carolina
Barackface: Race, A Few Different Angles
Barackface: Race, NYC, Future, Globalization, Internet, Glass ...
Barackface: Race, Gender, Progressive, Conservative Divides
Barackface: The Spectrum/Dialogue Concept Is Key To Power
Barackface: Landscape Talk
Barackface: The Spectrum Concept: Wide Applications
Bill Clinton Lied
Is that news?
Barack And Iraq
Barack opposed the Iraq War in 2002 when it was a very risky thing for him to do. That is the recond.
So why has he voted for all the funding for that war? That is what a responsible Senator does. If the troops are out there, does not matter you disagree with the war, you vote for funding. You seek to end the war politically, by winning a presidential election, the democratic way, the people power way, not by leaving the troops high and dry in a desert.
He said in 2004 right before the convention that he was not sure how he would have voted if he had been Senator in 2002. He said that to boost the Kerry-Edwards ticket that he was endorsing.
Bill Clinton understands all this. But he is going to try and muddy things regardless.
On the other hand, if Clinton 08 wants to erase the Iraq gap with Obama 08, why does not Hillary simply go ahead and apologize for her 2002 vote rather send out her husband to lie?
Viral Emails
A lot of nasty stuff has been going around over email. That has to be countered. How do you do that? You issue rebuttals and you send out your own viral emails. One thing you can't do is you can't ignore these attacks, however ridiculous they might sound.
The Fairytale Metaphor
There are racial overtones to that. If you are not white, you are not to be taken seriously. That is the suggestion.
I have had people say about this blog, oh, it is so funny, it is like The Onion. This blog is a fairytale, it is not to be taken seriously. Does not matter that it has allowed me to go to some pretty high levels of political conversation in this country.
In The News
Obama Fights Back Against Bill Clinton Washington Post accused former President Bill Clinton of distorting his words ..... harsh words for Bill Clinton ....... The former president "has taken his advocacy on behalf of his wife to a level that I think is pretty troubling" by making statement that are not supported by facts ...... An e-mail chain has suggested he is hiding his Islamic roots. It says he was sworn into the Senate on the Quran and turns his back on the flag during the pledge. ....... As dozens of Obama supporters shouted "Harlem for Obama," Clinton's supporters tried to drown them out by shouting "Hil-la-ry!" .... chiding the former New York City mayor at a news conference for his 0-6 record in the early primaries and caucuses.
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