Palin, Obama, and the Problem of His Masculinity
Barack Obama has a real problem. He needs to start fighting a ferocious battle against the Republicans-including Sarah Palin. But she looks like a hockey mom, a soccer mom and a mom you would see walking the aisles of Wal-Mart. Any assault is going to look like abuse, despite the fact that she and John McCain taunt him daily.
She's also a girl-next-door white woman. If Obama gets too vicious with her, you'll hear the outrage and you'll hear what's felt but not voiced: just look at this angry black man attacking one of us. In attacking her, he's attacking me.
They'll brand him as another Jeremiah Wright. Obama is in the predicament every black man faces in this country: how to gauge the desires of whites, how not to offend whites in a way that's perceived as the stereotypical idea that deep down inside every black man, even the charming ones, lies a seething, hate-filled, resentful creature. Obama came to power precisely because as one who satisfied white criteria, he became a salvific and redemptive hero who existed to appease the conscience of whites: I am not a racist.
White women voters will feel violated. Obama staved this off by, in one respect, threatening to fire anyone on his campaign staff who made an issue of Palin's 17 year old daughter's (Bristol) pregnancy. He feared that his daughters would be dragged into the campaign and he did not want that. But he ought to have made an issue of it. These Pentecostal Evangelicals are rotten hypocrites. Can you imagine poor Chelsea Clinton had she been in that situation at seventeen?
Obama is in the unfortunate position of tapering his masculine authority just to the level where it won't offend whites. This is perhaps why this man-boy does not sound convincing when he musters anger. He sounds contrived and unconvincing, unlike, say, when he's talking about hopes and dreams.
But back to Palin. How does he take her on aggressively without frightening the sensibilities of the white women he's trying to win over?
Thoughts, ideas? I invite you to comment.
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wendyo
Kevin Abel
Red Star
ronnierayjenkins
Javed Jaghai
Mark Pritchard
Salon.com
Comments
I've heard this before--Obama can't become "the angry black man," but I don't buy it. His rhetoric has never been that of, say, Jesse Jackson or the reverend Al Sharpton and it never will be, because
he's not that guy.
If we need a reference to another black man who could be very angry and very righteous and still not come off as threatening, look no farther than Dr. King. Who, at his angriest, at his most righteous, still sounded so reasonable, and so RIGHT that eventually most were won over to his logic.
Barack Obama is who he is. That's a large part of what I admire so much about him--I really think he's authentically who he is and that shows. He's going to continue to be who he is (as he should.)
Now, Joe Biden--that man can get up a head of steam. Let him do the yelling.
Obama must stay focused on McCain and the issues. He must go after McCain for the disastrous policies of this Republican administration. McCain was in lock step with Bush and his cronies, including Phil Gram. McCain is complicit in the destruction of our economy by supporting the deregulation of the banking and energy sectors as well as the continuation of this costly and insane war.
Look, I'm willing to concede that a white vote cast for Obama says something about the white voter (and I have a whole post on that for you, in case you're interested) but it says NOTHING about Barack Obama himself.
And no one, not even HRC, will touch abortion. It's the political poison pill. Everyone understands that Obama is pro-choice, but that's not the issue. That's a given.
Anti-abortionists won't vote for him anyway, so who cares? This election is very rightly NOT going to be about abortion, or gay marriage, but about Iraq and the economy. And he's doing just fine there.
But the keys are
1. to damn with faint praise. Unless people are expecting John McCain would die in office, Sarah Palin will only face the 'onerous duties and challenges' of being a Vice President and let's admit it - that does not take much. Moreover, the current President illustrates that our nation will (re)elect someone with an efficient (political) war machine even in the face of proven incompetence.
2. need to go back to Bill Clinton's strategies ASAP, remembering - it's the economy, stupid, and
3. Speaking of Bill Clinton, yes, Obama DOES have a problem and he needs to fix it - fast. He just can't seem to answer questions talking as though it's person to person, creating that good illusion of intimacy that allows people to feel he's connected, and to TRUST an ambitious political climber (which all the candidates are, of course). In looking at how he answers things at several fora, he sounds like he's still teaching a bunch of law students back at U of Chicago. Sadly, even McCain can sound more folksy and connected, which was a source of great power for Dems from FDR to Bill Clinton. The swing voters of the great middle just don't want to feel like they're hearing that professional school high-brow professor (of the sort their path in life did not bring them to) - they want someone who keeps it at their level in focussing on their issues (and struggles - though there no one wants to be talked to as though they're losing out).
Pat Duncan
Obama has made intelligent choices in almost every case where an interpretation of his ideas, motives, past accomplishments, and passions have been in question, either by the GOP, or by the Dems. who want to analyze things until the "cows come home." I'm sick to death of the questions that arise, inspired by either race, or some bit of rhetoric taken so far outside the intent of this man, that he becomes the thing we fear most in ourselves: " Coward, with a master to serve." Obama has the humanness to express surprise at the insults leveled at him, he also shows a deep concern for civility in any contest. His attention to the lies leveled at him warrant a low, quiet gathering of intellectual power. A strategy that keeps his soul intact, while helping us to understand the optimism endemic to his solutions.
If I've got a problem with anyone's masculinity, it's Sarah Palin's. Yeah, I know wife, mom, ex-beauty queen, but she's being advertised as some great step forward for women, when in fact she's a huge leap BACKWARD. She's an enthusiastic misogynist and is and would be a horrible proponent of women's rights, both reproductive and otherwise. She's ready to condemn her own daughter to a shotgun marriage to a young man who stated he doesn't want children. I have a feeling there are going to be certain resentment issues in that household. It's going to be tough holding that marriage together, economically OR financially.
When it comes to my own interests, I'll vote for the ticket that includes two pro-choice men, one of whom feels that a woman should have the means to escape a violent relationship and authored the Violence Against women act. Balance that against a woman who made women pay for their own rape kits(!) As a rape survivor, I feel a lot more "violated" by Sarah Palin than I ever have from Barack Obama.
The economy is definitely back on the front burner here, but I disagree that Palin can be safely ignored. She needs to be cut off at the knees, and when it comes to the issues, I think Biden's going to have plenty of opportunities for it, and I hope he nails her the way the women on The View nailed John McCain.
Further, Obama's story doesn't resonate with many Americans. My kids are TCK and go to an international school. When friendly adults in America ask them what school they go to, the answer (an international school in Moscow) takes the adult aback. Sometimes I can feel the adult backing away from the Mom-to-Mom school chat that she might have initiated if the answer was the local public school.
A good analogy is being in a parking lot. If you're driving a Ford, people thinking of buying one might ask you how you like it, fuel economy, etc. If you're driving a Ferrari, they think Wow! and go home and tell their family, Guess what I saw today? Obama's a Ferrari. Most people find it easier to imagine themselves in a Ford. Many have or have had Fords and they were okay cars.
So, what Obama needs to do is play to his strengths. Make this a race about the issues, not the personalities. You want to get where you're going faster? You choose the Ferrari.
It should not be Obama who attacks Palin. It should Biden and other Democratic surrogates. And this is a strategy that applies to all presidential candidates, and not just Obama, given the predicament he is in that you cite. The candidate always stands above it all, focusing on the positive and inspirational, while surrogates character assassinate the other candidate. This tactic is employed effectively by Republicans because they have more of an infrastructure and discipline amongst partisans to do the hit job.
And Obama should focus his fire on McCain and not give Palin any more attention. He should ignore her because she's not going to be president. The only issue is a matter of McCain's judgment in picking someone wholly unqualified to succeed him should something happen to him as president. His does have to be careful when hinting at that.
But the whole issue of race is the unspoken of issue of this campaign. And Democrats should be on the offensive here and repel any attacks that smack of fear mongering and make Republican actually afraid of being labeled racists which they are not. Perhaps they are comforted by being able to exploit certain sentiments (resentments, prejudices, fears) of white Americans that can backfire on the candidacy of an African-American. But with that, there is little that Obama can do.
If he loses, it will be America that loses. The world will judge such a loss harshly and diminish even further America's standing the world.
But Obama is a young man. He can run again in the future and, my own prediction, is that he will, indeed one day be president.
me to contribute to his campaign each week and to volunteer as well.
I am 65 y.o. and the last time I was this involved was in 1960 when JFK ran - and then I wasn't old enough to vote. I am not alone in this. The number of individual contributors is over 2 million and the
number of volunteers is staggering. I thought his response today to the economic crisis was forceful, thoughtful, and a remarkable contrast to John McCain who appeared all bluster and no substance.
As the election draws near and we have the debates I think you will see Barack close the deal.
Barack is his own person. Besides being brilliant and charismatic he
is disciplined and has run an extraordinary campaign.
I vote for who I believe in, and I truly and strongly believe in Obama. If the majority of women see things as I do, then there's no need to worry. The majority of the people I know, women and men, feel the same as I do (well, most of the people I know are liberals... but some republicans and non-partisan people I know are voting for Obama because of Palin).
I think Obama should take the high road when dealing with McPain and his sidekick. If he stoops down to their level, then he will be seen as the same. However, if he takes the high road, by using his intellect, character, education, and experience, he can take them down. You can say the same things by using other words and styles... by taking the high road.
I don't agree with the position that Obama should stoop to the Repulicans' level. It would just become a mud slinging brawl if he does. He's far too intelligent and classy to do that, IMO.
I also think it's a stereotype to think that white women will vote for Palin if Obama goes after her. Please give women more credit than to think that they'll vote for a crazy person, just because she's of the same color and gender.
You write: "She's also a girl-next-door white woman. If Obama gets too vicious with her, you'll hear the outrage and you'll hear what's felt but not voiced: just look at this angry black man attacking one of us. In attacking her, he's attacking me."
You are correct about this for certain people in extremely rural areas or parts of the South. For example, where I live, you would be 100% correct. In other areas, not at all.
There is a huge variation of culture and thought process in the US that for some reason, many are not aware. The proof is in the "election pudding" of 2004 or in the close race we seem to be experiencing against all rational thought and self-preserving behavior.
People have different voting patterns based on their personal fears derived from their individual experiences of life. Unfortuntely, the Republicans know that the most fearful and naive of the electorate vote for the powerful to take care of them. As we experience their reality, they seem not to have enough sense to do what is best for themselves. They think they are doing what is best for themselves and their famiily. It is really a very sad dichotomy. Unfortunately, racial bigotry is little more than fear of "others" and for some, this fear overrides all else. We are evolving, but we are not there yet...
Thinking that all white people are the same and are prejudiced is no different than a white person feeling the same about black people.
Barack addressing anything Palin says automatically diminishes him, simply because he is running for President and she for VP. Biden will dispense with Palin handily in the debates, because he is more experienced, classier and more intelligent than she is and he just plain knows more. Barack will dispense with McPain as handily because of his integrity (and McPain's lack thereof) and generally being more comfortable in his own skin and (need I say it?) just naturally smarter and more articulate than McPain.
I look forward to watching Biden devour barracuda with fava beans and a nice Chianti, and watching Barack gently stir McPain into such a cantankerous rage that he'll be exposed as the cranky, stubborn 50s throwback he is, for all to see on national TV (a la his recent squirm-fest on The View.)
I don't think we have any cause for concern in the racial context with Barack. He knows who he is (smart, savvy and focused) and who he is not (a streetfighter.) Those who call him to "fight" are missing the more effective and subtle strategy already employs (think Mohammed Ali vs Foreman.) I trust him; I trust his assessment of what's required to win in November, and I trust his ability to follow through and do it. It doesn't serve him to have people putting the "fight" mentality out there; it only serves to fuel the gossip mill which is already bent on making him into an underdog, when he is nothing of the kind.
I trust our next President implictly. I invite us all to do the same, and to take his lead by following him along the high road and leaving the riffraff to the gossip mongers in the "press."
I hope also that Palin continues to dig a bigger hole for herself. Her ignorance and hypocrisy speak for themselves.
After the last 8 years with an incompetent, war-mongoring, fascist, terrorizing criminal who's been playing the role of President of the U.S., I can say that I now detest Republicans very profoundly. I now know that I am a liberal. Georgie isn't the only one who's helped me figure this out, either. Most of the Republicans I know are of the same mindset as Georgie, McPain, and the others. I used to think there wasn't much difference between Republicans and Dems, but now I can clearly see that people who side with the Republicans are of one mindset, generally speaking, and people who side with the Dems are of another. I am on the side of the liberals... no doubt about it. The people I know who are liberals are on the same wavelength as I am... caring about themselves and others, caring about the environment, caring about animals and the planet, not being interested in their own agendas to gain personally and to take advantage of others to get there, wanting happiness and well-being for all, etc. The Republicans I know are the exact opposite... in favor of killing innocent people in Iraq and other places, thinking they need to hoard millions of dollars, wanting all the control, wanting to push their ways on others, etc.
This time, I can say that I CLEARLY know who I want to vote for... as I truly believe in Obama and what he is about.
I have all the confidence in the world that Joe Biden can deal effectively with Palin, should she not prior to the VP debate melt in the rain, metaphorically speaking.
Your piece got me thinking about something I used to think about a lot: the crisis of masculinity in this culture. I hope you don't mind that I used your essay as a jumping off point for my own.
Douglass kept his own priorities straight. After the Civil War it appeared that universal suffrage was out of the question. It would either be universal male suffrage or universal white suffrage. The woman suffrage leaders were divided on whether the Civil War entitled black men to get ahead of white women in the queue for a federal suffrage amendment. Those who favored seeking woman suffrage first noted that white women on the whole were better educated than black men.
Douglass made a good case that black men needed the vote more than white women. And as a post-Civil War gesture it was more appropriate to give them the vote. He prevailed.
What the country got was universal male suffrage in the north. However, Jim Crow laws denied black votes in the south until the 1960s. The GOP abandoned its Lincoln legancy by the 1916 election - John E. Milholland, the first Treasurer of the NAACP, was a rare surviving Lincoln Republican. This left southern blacks open to FDR's appeal. McCain invokes Lincoln when seeking to appeal to black audiences, but the GOP turned its back on Lincoln 100 years ago.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with Obama's 'voice' or his answers. I don't want a pitbull as either a President or a VP. Watching McCain yesterday, he just seemed angry and almost out-of-control. Let him keep it up. People will begin to see.
My sister is non-partisan and has said she is not voting in this election. She absolutely can't stand Bush or McCain and is completely fed up with the crap that has been happening the last 8 years... the same as most of us feel... but she also said she's not sure about Obama.
I've been working on her lately to show her that we need her vote so that change can truly happen in this country and that Obama is much more evolved than the politicians of late.
I'll keep working on her and others who are undecided or not motivated to vote at all!
Palin energizes McCain. He comes alive just as Palin energizes and excites the crowds. It's not what Palin knows or does not know. George W. Bush certainly didn't know anything about running the country when he campaigned.
When will the Democrats get it? The American people do not respond on an intellectual level. That stuff is for those who follow politics closely and pay attention to what's up. Voters respond emotionally: To charisma, to charm, to quips and jokes and "Hey guys, I'm one of you."
If the Obama campaign does not begin right now today this moment with short tough ads that punch hard below the belt— that go after McCain's weak spot, the economy, they will lose. Now is the time, with the economy falling apart, Wall Street tanking and Americans scared to death. If Obama cannot summon the killer instinct, which I think he does not have, let him take Biden with him. Here's another example of one person's energy stimulating another's, giving Barack the confidence he needs to not just reach for the brass ring but GRABBING it. Daring anyone from taking it from him. Biden learned to be street smart tough when he was growing up. Barack did not.
So yes, Barack has a problem. But the people that make his ads are at fault for not following the masters of winning through merciless 'Madmen" commercials. If you're spending that much money on ads, for cryin' out loud do it to win. High mindedness can wait for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The reason a lot of people are paying attention to Palin is because she still is a topic of curiosity... the new kid on the block. Once people get used to her and get sick of her, she'll be yesterday's news.
What the media and polls fail to address is... WHY are people paying attention to Palin? Is it because they are so enthralled by her that they will choose to vote Republican, just because she's a woman? Or, are people who are liberals and independents JUST curious to see what she's about?
Just because people are paying attention to Palin DOESN'T mean they agree with her and her ways and will vote for her party. The simple element of attention doesn't tell the whole story.
The REASON is what's important.
Let Joe Biden and especially Hillary duke it out with Palin. Unless, Hillary wants to run against Palin in 2012, she needs to be out on the campaign trail eviscerating Palin on a daily basis. Let the GOP try and call her a sexist. And last, but not least, don't underestimate Palin's increasingly obvious ability to do herself in as evidenced by her series of interviews with Charlie Gibson - I can hardly wait for the Vice Presidential debate.
Obama does not seem an angry man. As he had a White mother, I think of him as a person of mixed ancestry (I deny the existence of race as we are all out of Africa). However, he identifies Black and has married a woman who identifies Black. Obama also does not seem like a petty man.
For that matter, Biden does not seem petty. Palin does seem petty, mean-spirited and spiteful.
We have a situation here were McCain and his second wife had an affair while he was still married to his first wife. In my eyes, Cindy Lou Hensley is a tramp and a spoiled brat. However, to criticize them is to invite the spectre of Clinton's marital mishaps.
I rather rambled but I think Obama is in a bad space largely because the Palins and the McCains are basically bad people.
to do with Sarah Palin:
give her enough rope.