Obama refers to self as a "mutt," does this change anything?

[Pardalis]

You realize our president elect was the same man who mistakenly referred to America as having more than 50 states, and talked about giving child asthmatics "breathalyzers"?

I hope you don't presume that Obama is immune from saying wierd things................

That wasn't my point.

I think this is somewhat a microcosmic example of what his presidency will be, and what his attitude towards different issues will be in terms of problem-solving. The dog thing may be frivolous by itself, but it shows that he took the problem seriously enough to think it through, he even has sought himself professional advice about hypoallergenic dog breeds, he understood what it meant and what it implies, and why, and will consider this fact in his choice of dogs to buy to his daughters.

I don't see Bush doing that about anything.

 

[ProbeX]

The electorate has gifted itself with a brilliant, clever man.

I just wish he'd get some speech therapy to deal with this nervous "ah" habit. It's a little tedious.

 

[LawnOven]

Man, we are just so not used to a guy who can enunciate his words properly and has a non-awkward sense of humor are we?. Obama's the was the real maverick in this election. I think I'm going to like this president with a sense of humor thing.

Further in America, being a mutt is a point of pride.

 

[Pardalis]

So what's a pooch?

 

[LawnOven]

Another word for 'dog'.

 

[ProbeX]

So what's a pooch?

A poodle smooch.

 

[Pardalis]

A poodle smooch.

Oh, what they call a dog lover?

 

[ProbeX]

Oh, what they call a dog lover?

Precisely!

Dog lover=pooch
Mixed breed person=mutt

So if pooches and mutts are people, now what do we call dogs? ... Oh wait. Dogs already have a name

 

[Tricky]

Unfortunately, the concept that so-called miscegenation is wrong or even criminal, still exists in this country and in the world. That Obama can now joke about it shows how far we've come, but there are still pockets of racial hatred.

 

[kallsop]

I just wish he'd get some speech therapy to deal with this nervous "ah" habit. It's a little tedious.

That also makes his slow talking even slower. The "er"s and pauses and slowness qualify Obama for the Seinfeld "slow talker" club. I can take a shower and eat breakfast before Obama finishes a sentence.

 

[T.A.M.]

That also makes his slow talking even slower. The "er"s and pauses and slowness qualify Obama for the Seinfeld "slow talker" club. I can take a shower and eat breakfast before Obama finishes a sentence.

It is funny. Some people such as yourself, find his speech annoying, or difficult to tolerate, yet others, such as myself, have no problem with it.

To me, his at times broken speech, is a sign of contemplation...a sign of at least not being completely rehearsed at all times.

One could say the same about Palinese...for sure.

TAM

 

[Jeff Corey]

I thought he called BillO that? Or was this a different time?

It was at the end of this interview, but it has been cut out since I first saw it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMyNk8J1c8g

 

[Ausmerican]

It was at the end of this interview, but it has been cut out since I first saw it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMyNk8J1c8g

So it is indeed both. He called BillO a berk in one of his poems on Countdown and then told Olbermann what berk meant.

 

[dudalb]

I thought he was going to start doing Bill Murray's "Did You Cry When Old Yeller Died?" speech from "Stripes".

 

[Radrook]

If he was joking he didn't smile. He was dead serious. Neither was there any laughter from the audience as was the case with the Nancy Reagan remark when both he and the audience acknowledged it as a joke. In fact, there was a dead silence in the audience
and many of those in attendance were looking down at their papers as if ashamed.

Actually, the statement itself isn't as weird as the necessity Americans seem to have of taking it as a joke in order to preserve the traditional one-drop status quo.

BTW

Obama had a mother as well. One whose death I am certain sorrowed him deeply and who just happened to be white. Maybe-just maybe it was a remark made in her honor. Possible? Or is that too far-fetched?

 

[ProbeX]

That Obama can now joke about it shows how far we've come, but there are still pockets of racial hatred.

Or atleast how far he's come.

 

[ProbeX]

That also makes his slow talking even slower. The "er"s and pauses and slowness qualify Obama for the Seinfeld "slow talker" club. I can take a shower and eat breakfast before Obama finishes a sentence.

As a fast talker and a near pathologically impatient person, it's all I can do to keep myself from jumping through the tv screen, tugging on both of Obama's ears and screaming "Just say it!"

 

[Darat]

I'm always amazed at the general ignorance of USA folk, especially in regards to their own high culture. Being a connoisseur of USA culture it was immediately obvious to me why the President elect used that particular word when talking about acquiring a dog.

 

[UserGoogol]

If he was joking he didn't smile. He was dead serious. Neither was there any laughter from the audience as was the case with the Nancy Reagan remark when both he and the audience acknowledged it as a joke. In fact, there was a dead silence in the audience
and many of those in attendance were looking down at their papers as if ashamed.

Actually, the statement itself isn't as weird as the necessity Americans seem to have of taking it as a joke in order to preserve the traditional one-drop status quo.

He's a mutt and he's black. The two are in no way mutually exclusive. He is of mixed ancestry, therefore he is a mutt, but some of that ancestry is African and he has comparatively dark skin and he identifies as black, therefore he is black. And in so far as this is a joke, it is not a joke in the "lol I'm not really a mutt guys, I'm totally black like the life-giving soil" sense; it's a joke because it's a play on words, since mutt in the sense of dogs and mutt in the sense of humans are somewhat different concepts, and therefore this is a humorous thing to say. If people were uncomfortable (and they did seem to awkwardly look at their shoes as you note) it seems quite likely that it was because people are uncomfortable about race in general getting mentioned out of nowhere, not because they are uncomfortable about that particular racial designation.

 

[Ausmerican]

He's a mutt and he's black. The two are in no way mutually exclusive. He is of mixed ancestry, therefore he is a mutt, but some of that ancestry is African and he has comparatively dark skin and he identifies as black, therefore he is black.

Is there anyone on this planet that is not of mixed ancestry? As to Obama identifying as black, I think it more likely he identifies that he is identified as black.

Consider. He was raised in Hawaii where it would be as easy to identify as islander or brown if you prefer the color coding. Then Indonesia, again brown. Then Kansas, damn near lily white.

He was, for the most part, raised by a white mother and then white grandparents. Culturally that would tend to make him predominantly white.

However humans are visually based creatures and so, whatever he has identified himself as, he has been identified as black his entire life.

I would hazard a guess that his grandparents were asked if he and his sister were adopted more than once. Not out of racism. Just because, at this point in time, one does not generally assume that a white couple raining a young black man and a young brown girl are their biological family.