But very very sad.

And that goes for both Cuomo and Jesse Jackson Jr.

annie, I'm trying to decide if I have respect for you as a reporter or not. Sometimes you sound really articulate, but sometimes you sound like a high school reporter let loose in the big leagues. "touching displays of emotion" is one such time.

Perhaps you could have just let this incredibly negative story speak for itself without adding your own little dig? Saying your just an arts writer doesn't absolve you...

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuck_and_jive)

Shuckin' and jivin' (or shucking and jiving) is a slang term primarily used by African Americans. It refers to the speech and behavioral mechanisms adopted in the presence of an authority figure [1]. Shuckin' and jivin' usually involves clever lies and impromptu storytelling, used to one-up an opponent or avoid punishment [2]. Such behavior is believed to have originated in the era of slavery [3].

If it's in Wikipedia, it must be true!

"Refers to a person being so horny or in the midst of a sexual drought, that he/she is obviously emitting sounds only a dog can hear because no one else has been responding.
I'm so dog whistle right now that I'm ready to call my clingy ex."

Are you saying @6 might as well be dog whistling, since nobody's going to buy the idea that Cuomo didn't intend "shuck 'n jive" to have a racial meaning?

None of this should be seen as an attempt to divert attention from the central tenet, though- Cuomo has got to be thrown off (under?) the bus in a big public way. Hills could gain points if she handles this unfortunate situation decisively.

How do you - or Kleefeld - determine that this is "in apparent reference" to Obama?

Reporter Karlin doesn't go there. Rather the opposite: it's in reference to retail politics NH-style vs the air wars of larger states.

So, for example, "in a coon's age" actually does refer to raccoons. But you'd want to be careful using the phrase in a discussion about Obama. Or "call a spade a spade." Also not racist in its origins, but something you'd want to avoid on general principle in a political discussion that may or may not relate to Obama. There are literally hundreds of common phrases and words that can fuck a person up when there's a TV camera pointed at them.

"We think the primary voters just got spooked." "Obama doesn't stand a ghost of a chance in Bensonhurst." "It's a jungle out there."

And, of course, the easily misunderstood, "Like all Black people, Barak Obama is a lazy, stupid, and untrustworthy." In some parts of the country, that's just another way of saying, "Pass the salt, please."

I don't know why I even consult Urban Dictionary.

He's earned the right to be drug through the mud for a while, until the Next Person says the Next Stupid Thing. But that's about it.

And I thought Annie did well by trying to draw a conclusion from statements by two different rogue ass-hats working for the two leading campaigns.

Even if they're both ass-hats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ARQqKPaDf8

(courtesy of Ms. Kelly Tilghman)

"Dog whistle" was popularized in commentaries on George Bush's frequent use of expressions designed only to be understood by evangelicals, implying he's either one of them or, further, is actually on a mission from God. As in, pitched so only dogs can hear.

I'm seeing this all over the place though, especially with Hillary Clinton. Male chauvanism is just oozing out of the mouths of all sorts of people you would think would have some self-reflection. Horsey's editorial cartoon this morning is a case in point.

Ok, aren't all politicians clever liars? They lie by omission all the time. Isn't that how they manage to speak whole paragraphs without actually saying anything substantive?

Combine Erica's stuff with Josh's Clinton slanted crap and its more like 10x as much Clinton slanted crap.

I don't agree with everything Annie Wagner writes, but it sure is nice to see somebody writing something from the exterior of Clinton's colon.

@44 The word is nigger.

There will be plenty of racism and sexism (or both, depending on the makeup of the Democratic ticket) in the Dem vs. GOP race--let's leave that tar to the Rove machine and be prepared to fight it instead of doing his work for him.

I haven't been able to find it on youtube (specifically the "kid" reference) but here's where I heard it

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brad-wilmouth/2008/01/09/donna-brazile-hints-bill-clintons-obama-attacks-racially-offensive

Personally I'd like to see it for myself to judge so if anyone else knows where to find it...I really was asking if anyone heard or saw it so I could take a look myself.

Nowhere here did Bill Clinton call Obama a "kid". He refers to "Senator Obama." Furthermore, her statement that his saying "this whole thing is the biggest fairytale I've ever seen" as being somehow racially insensitive is the exact kind of debate stifling that some around here have accused the *Clinton* camp of doing.

I think it's totally appropriate for WJC to make arguments involving the voting record of his wife's opponents. My goodness- that's half of what all good political debate is about (policy arguments being the other half.)

HRC is fighting for the presidency of the United States. I don't think what Bill said in that "fairy tale" quote was inappropriate at all. Nor would I consider it inappropriate (as Obama has done many, many times) to discuss HRC voting record.