tuckergurl

Obama For President!

I felt all special because my buddy, Barack Obama sent me a personal email saying that he was launching an exploratory committee for a presidental run. It turns out he sent this email to all of his "friends" on his mailing list but I will take any personal attention I can get.

So it's official! Obama is running for president. Yes, he only said that he was creating an exploratory committee but we all know that no committee is going to tell him not to run. This is his time and not even Hillary Clinton is going to stand in his way. Salon has a great article about this announcement. (I stole this cartoon from there.) This quote was particulary inciteful:

What is history-making is the life story of the handsome 45-year-old man facing the camera. Little more than two years removed from the Illinois state Senate, Obama -- the Hawaii-born and Ivy League-educated son of a Kenyan economist -- is the first African-American ever to embark on a serious quest for the White House. Unlike Colin Powell, who bobbed near the top of the polls in 1995 before bowing out of the Republican presidential race, Obama has the confidence to act on his ambitions rather than becoming sidelined by indecisiveness. Unlike Jesse Jackson with his epochal primary and caucus victories in the 1980s, Obama is not a protest candidate dissed and dismissed by party insiders, but a mainstream contender with a plausible route to the nomination and the White House.

I 100% agree with this statement. Jesse Jackson was never a candidate that people took seriously. Yes, he has the history as a civil rights activist but he was not someone that all of the US (even rednecks) could get behind. Alan Keys ... don't get me started on that one. I do not think that Colin Powell was going to run but it would have been interesting to see how that would have turned out.

I am working on this campaign in some way. Believe it! It is so hard to believe that this is happening so soon but I do think that this is the time for him to run. People really want a change and I think he has a great shot! Many more blog entries to come about this ...

My Day of Testosterone

Let me begin by saying that I have a hard time saying that word, testosterone. All of my diction training in high school falls apart when I have to say that word. Why is that? Oh, my LP would have a field day with that one.

It all began at 11:15am when Barnes and Noble.com emailed me saying that the reading Barack Obama was doing was being moved from 7pm, as originally advertised, to noon. I immediately freaked out. I had planned to leave work early to get a seat. Noon was only 45 minutes away and it was in the middle of the day! Luckily I work at a cool place so the minute I read this email out loud, my co-workers screamed, "Run, run, run!" So off I went!

I have not written about my love for Barack in a long time so some new readers may not know about it. I was actually becoming disgruntled there for a while. I had discovered him fairly early on. (Though I will bow down to the Illinois citizens who really knew his greatness before most of us.) So when the Democratic National Convention happened and he became a HUGE star, I felt a bit like the secret was out. It's silly but I was never good at sharing. Obviously I had to get over it, especially if I want him to be President!

When he first got elected to Senate, he was kind of wishy washy. I can tell he is the kind of guy that really needs to be liked and a lot of his political career is going to be grappling with that issue. In interviews he would tell people not to talk badly about the President even though it was clear that he disagreed with what he was doing. He finally got over this and now is open about his desire to pull out of Iraq amongst other things. I was glad when this shift happened. I do not keep very many people on pedestals so losing him would have been hard.

But back to the reading. I knew I would not get a book signed and I was right. There were about hundred or so people who came early to get wrist bands for an autographed copy of his book. I want to reiterate this point to you all. Wrist bands ladies and gentlement! This was like a rock concert! Thankfully, I was at least able to get in and hear him speak.

It was a little tough to not get my book signed. Mainly because that thing would have been worth a lot of money! But also because there were all of these people ahead of me who had never even heard of him until he was Oprah the day before! You are so not worthy of a signed copy of his book. So not worthy.

Anyway, he came on stage and people were screaming! It was kind of crazy. He apologized profusely for not being able to sign everyone's books. He called New York his first love that he did not marry. (He went to Columbia and lived here for 5 years.) He talked about the title of his new book, The Audactiy of Hope. I wish I could give you a blow by blow but it really comes to my mind in pieces. I can't really remember because I was kind of stunned to be in the same room with him. I just admire him so much.

Later that day, I had another rush of testosterone when I saw The Departed. I really liked this movie. It was a lot of fun and had a lot of intense male energy. And so many good performances! Leonardo DiCaprio is not really my thing usually but he was fantastic and most importantly, pretty yummy looking in this movie. I now understand why Giselle can not walk away from this guy! Alec Baldwin and Mark Wahlberg are hysterical in the film also. Matt Damon was great though I would have liked to understand his character a bit more.

I love Scorsese for what he is. He is not a subtle filmmaker in any way. If he wants you to know what's written on an envelope, he will show you the envelope a hundred times to make sure you did not miss it. There will be a whole scene around this envelope to confirm that the slow group did not nod off and miss it. His movies are long and gory. His female characters are lame. But when he's on, he's on. I think he might have peaked with Goodfellas but The Departed is his best movie in a long, long time. I have not seen a Hollywood film that I was that entertained by in a long time!

So that was my day of testosterone. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

The New Era of Obama

Many people have sent this article to me and thanks so much. I love Barack Obama. It has been a long time since I have said so. Let me remind y'all again.

I love how this article begins:

MOST politicians spend their careers working to overcome flaws. Then there are politicians like Barack Obama.

So charismatic that his greatest challenge has been trying to play down expectations during his first Senate term, Mr. Obama's enviable plight was neatly underlined at a black-tie dinner here last weekend, as President Bush facetiously tried to roast him.

"Senator Obama, I want to do a joke on you," the president told the audience at the annual Gridiron dinner, an event where politicians and the press mingle to make fun of one another. "But doing a joke on you is like doing a joke on the pope. Give me something to work with. Mispronounce something."

Keep in mind that President Bush had no idea who Obama was before his famous Democratic Convention speech in 2004. I remember a journalist asking him a question about Obama and Bush looking almost pale thinking the journalist said Osama. Barack must get that a lot.

What I find interesting about this article is what is not being said. It seems strange that the writer did not address race. In some ways, I can understand why she did not. Barack is a beloved by everyone and that has nothing to do with race really. He is intelligent. He has integrity. He is straightforward. I for one really miss the days of having politicians we can be proud of. As a person who has just travelled abroad, I can say that people in other countries hate Bush. Hate him. And I sick of people telling me so.

I do think the fact that Obama is black is something to mention though. Many people are looking for a voice that is not a 50-70 year old white male in office. It is why so many people have so much hope in Obama. Obama as "The Great Black Hope" is something that might later be his downfall. Addressing that fact would have made this article a bit more complex.

Obama's Wisdom

"We had nothing before the Hurricane and now we have even less."
These are words from a woman Barack Obama met in Houston. I really hope this disaster is a real wake up call to people about poverty in this country.

Listen to my hero, Barack Obama, speak on Hurricane Katrina. This is his first podcast and he will be doing more. He makes some great points (and I know I'm biased). One crucial one is the fact that if it took us this long to respond to a hurricane that we knew about several days (if not months or weeks, depending on who you ask) in advance, how are we going to be able to respond to another major terrorist attack?

He will be our President if I have anything to do with it. Oh yes, he will.

Obama at Knox College

Why oh why couldn't Barack Obama speak at my commencement?! I think I would have died. Well, as usual, he had inspiring words.

Vanity Fair

You should check it out because there is spread about my favorite man in the world, Barack Obama. Also, Kirsten, the co-director of Deadline, is in a photo taken by Annie Leibovitz, with Michael Moore.

I have to say that I think that being photographed by Annie Leibovitz is just about the coolest thing in the world!

A Happy Thought!

Barack Obama is going to win tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow! I forgot about that. I am in a good mood.

One woman I met today who works at the Kerry/Edwards headquarters in the middle class black part of Orlando went on and on about how evil Alan Keys is and she should know, she used to work for him. My favorite quote was, "Alan doesn't win anything. Don't these people get it. Do they think that black folks are so dumb that they are going to vote for the wrong black man by mistake!"

Obama and ME!

My friend, Kibra calls him "The Great Black Hope" and you all know how I feel. But two nights ago, I got to see Mr. Barack Obama in the flesh. I will explain.

I'm Just A Negro

In the Sunday New York Times, there is an article to add to the debate: to be African-American or not to be. Alan Keyes had this to say about my favorite person, Barack Obama as to whether or not he's African-American:

"Barack Obama claims an African-American heritage," Mr. Keyes said on the ABC program "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos. "Barack Obama and I have the same race - that is, physical characteristics. We are not from the same heritage."

"My ancestors toiled in slavery in this country," Mr. Keyes said. "My consciousness, who I am as a person, has been shaped by my struggle, deeply emotional and deeply painful, with the reality of that heritage."

Mr. Keyes's comments reflect the views of a number of black Americans... Many argued that the term African-American should refer to the descendents of slaves brought to the United States centuries ago, not to newcomers who have not inherited the legacy of bondage, segregation and legal discrimination.

Do we really need to have these kinds of conversations anymore? Are we still going to have a back and forth as to who can really claim the term African-American, especially in such a public forum as a national television show. I guess Keyes is trying to divide the African Americans who are planning to vote for Obama. I don't know how many of them watch "This Week". Nice try.

Aarguments like these are just created to divide the black community. It aids in keeping us down and it bothers me when it is being used for political gain, especially by an African American man. There is a larger class discussion to had here as well but I just don't think I'm in the frame of mind to have it,

Sex, Lies And Death

The Village Voice has a fantastic article by a black girl. (Her name is Ta-Nehisi Coates. You do the math.)

The first section is about the down low phenomena. I have always thought the whole "down low" phrasing was a racist one. Why are white men closeted and black men hiding in shadows? My favorite quote from this funny and insightful article is:

"If only to verify our existence, every so often media announce that the sky has fallen on black America. The latest cause célèbre for acolytes of Chicken Little is a reported rise in the "down low" lifestyle. Media outlets as diverse as The Advocate, USA Today, and The Oprah Winfrey Show have gathered their crack reporters to bring you the latest on this grave and gathering threat."

Somehow in the same section she also writes a great bit about how reporters try to convince themselves that Barack Obama is not black and though it is oversimplifying things a bit, it's good for a laugh.