Obama Re-election Campaign Aides: I See White People
At the WashEx, Byron York writes about Richard Wolffe's new book, The Message: The Reselling of President Obama
In April 2012, the Obama re-election campaign posted a photo of a staff meeting on its Tumblr account. The aides in the picture were young, casually dressed, and enthusiastic -- and nearly all white. The campaign took heat on the Internet for a remarkable lack of diversity, particularly since the staff was working to re-elect the first black president in U.S. history.Now, a new book filled with inside information from the campaign reports that top Obama aides were also taking heat from key donors and supporters.
...Wolffe writes that influential black supporters were unhappy with the lack of black aides in top campaign roles. The supporters were so unhappy that they forced the campaign to search for African-Americans to fill senior roles in the effort. After months of searching, the campaign found exactly one.
That person was Broderick Johnson, a former lobbyist and personal friend of the president.
The lack of black staffers, both in senior and lower-down roles, proved embarrassing for the campaign, Wolffe writes. For example, with no blacks to supervise ads targeting African-American audiences, the results could be remarkably off-key. When the campaign produced its first black radio ad, one aide recalled to Wolffe, "It was like something out of Soul Train from the 1970s." With funk music behind it, the ad played sound bites from Obama speeches followed by a chorus singing "We've got yo' back!"
via @instapundit
At DragonCon this year, I went for a '30s gangster look, with suit and tie, fedora and Thompson subgun. I looked real enough to scare some people - interesting, because the same people don't even notice the Atlanta PD there, for real - but my appearance wasn't the real killer.
It was saying, in a stage voice, "Hey. We're doin' pret-ty good. You got a 'community organizer' from Chicago in da White House. Whattayou tink a 'community organizer' from Chicago is?"
Puzzlement, then the "A-ha", but no objections. Maybe I made someone think without them locking up at the idea.
Radwaste at September 19, 2013 5:22 AM
I still can't understand why the media insists on calling him "the first black president". He's BIracial. That doesn't make him "black".
Flynne at September 19, 2013 6:40 AM
The wages of nose-counting. I laugh. I wonder why the EEOC didn't sue the campaign for its intolerable lack of diversity.
Cousin Dave at September 19, 2013 6:49 AM
Flynne, I used that arugument too and got called a racist. Because, you know, it's only racist if you're white and you criticize ANYTHING about Obama. If you so much as mention his white heritage, in addition to his black one, you are apparently completely dismissing his black heritage. You must also apologize for being white, or you must put his "blackness" on a pedistal. Anything less, is racist.
I find it's more actually fitting to refer to him as "your Majesty" these days.
Sabrina at September 19, 2013 8:29 AM
Flynne and Sabrina, I find it hard to believe that you don't know that in American culture, historically, the "one drop rule" meant anyone with any black blood whatsoever was considered black. The vast majority of "black" people in America are mixed-race. There are very few straight-off-the-boat-pure-bloodline Africans.
It's not the same in other cultures, but in America if you're part black, you're black.
Not sure why you're pretending not to know this.
NicoleK at September 20, 2013 7:21 AM
I didn't know that, Nicole. So then, by that reasoning, we're ALL black. Because the cradle of civilization is in Ethiopia, right? That's were we ALL came from, right? The human race originated and spread from there, right?
So then what's the big damn deal?
Flynne at September 20, 2013 9:04 AM
Amy Alkon
https://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2013/09/obama-re-electi.html#comment-3927421">comment from FlynnePinker, from "The Blank Slate":
Amy Alkon
at September 20, 2013 9:31 AM
Flynne, it is absolutely idiotic. But it was law.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-drop_rule
There were slaves who were so white they were mistaken for family members by visitors. Ellen Craft is a well known example, look her up, her story is awesome.
"Black" people who looked white would sometimes pass as white to avoid laws against black people. This was called "Passing" and black people considered it despicable.
It is all totally absurd.
NicoleK at September 20, 2013 11:10 PM
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