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Friday, July 18, 2008

Barack Obama

posted by on July 18 at 18:04 PM

Feminist, according to his sister.


Barack Obama is a dedicated feminist who “lives surrounded by women,” his half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, told a mostly female crowd at a Women For Obama event in downtown Tampa on Thursday.

Soetoro-Ng told the crowd that Obama helped rear her and now is rearing two daughters. “Those girls are what make him a feminist,” she said. […]

Her older brother “really was the man in our lives” after their parents divorced, when the two were growing up in Hawaii and Indonesia, she said.

She said he taught her to ride a bicycle, made her practice harder math problems and start an exercise program, took her on college visits and even gave her her first women’s health book - “Our Bodies, Ourselves,” a 1973 guide that came out of the women’s movement and focused on female sexuality, health and hygiene.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is pretty fucking cool.

RSS icon Comments

1

Erica,
You are a cheap date.

Posted by Editor's note | July 18, 2008 6:10 PM
2

"made her...start an exercise program"

Probably so she wouldn't look like this: http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2005/04/15/andrea_dworkin_narrowweb__200x266.jpg

Posted by Jubilation T. Cornball | July 18, 2008 6:16 PM
3

Pretty cheap, how much does kool aid cost these days?

Posted by Bob | July 18, 2008 6:17 PM
4

fuck the haters. obama rules, and he deserves props. erica's giving credit where credit is due.

Posted by tiffany | July 18, 2008 7:06 PM
5

Giving any young woman "Our Bodies, Ourselves" is the ultimate thoughtful gift. If you'd ever read it you'd know how fucking rad that gesture is.

Posted by bronkitis | July 18, 2008 7:27 PM
6

My apologies in the extreme. Erica I apologize to you. Your legitimate criticisms are just that. Damn it, you are so cool right now and I am so mad. I was born of rape and I don't know quite exactly how to respond with precision. That is not an excuse. Please accept my apology.

Posted by Mark in Colorado | July 18, 2008 7:37 PM
7

Erica, thank you for posting this. Obama '08!!

Posted by RainMan | July 18, 2008 7:41 PM
8

erica, i always suspected you would come around eventually. you have the basic intelligence to overcome your hothead feminista college indoctrination. welcome to adulthood. but never stop needling obama--he needs it, just like fdr needed eleanor.

Posted by ellarosa | July 18, 2008 7:51 PM
9

Who are you and what have you done with Erica?

Posted by pox | July 18, 2008 7:52 PM
10

*Sniff*

I'm going to pee sitting down from now on!

Posted by Frank Sinclair | July 18, 2008 8:48 PM
11

I bet he even lowers the seat after he's finished peeing. What a boychick.

Posted by kinaidos | July 18, 2008 8:59 PM
12

Erica, is this an attempt at sarcasm? Are you upset that Obama's half-sister referred to him as a feminist and then failed, in your eyes, to justify the claim? Why do you have to be one of those liberals who set Obama up in front of a firing squad everyday for any, tiny little reason? Who side are you on, anyway?

Posted by Mrs. Jarvie | July 18, 2008 9:08 PM
13

@12
Dude, wake you and smell the koolaid. Obama and the democrats have fucking folded. They are officialy the weasel party. Granted the Republicans suck more ass than a scat lover and no one in his right mind would vote for John Mcain but Obama knows this. He knows that no matter what shit he does, Mcain is fucking worse.
So any democrat is forced to vote for him and he is free to pander to the fundie nutjobs and corporate interests now. Hillary would've done the same thing X2 cause she's a worse idiot. And that's what happens when you got no competition (democratic candidate competition).
Fuck this shit. Find an independent next time with a proven record and back him. Mcain cannot be allowed to win and you will still have to vote for Obama desipte his traitorous role in FISA.
Just don't hold up the whole Republican OR Democrat concundrum. There are other candidates for President.
Repukes are conservative douchbags but Democrats are pandering fucktards. it's time they both got a kick in the nuts. Republicans first.

Posted by randomdude | July 18, 2008 9:29 PM
14

Damn, peoples.

You could cut the snark in here with a, uh. . . some sort of a snark-cutting device.

Posted by NapoleonXIV | July 18, 2008 10:48 PM
15

That IS really cool, thanks for posting it.

Posted by Kristi in Kitsap | July 18, 2008 11:41 PM
16

Kinda makes the time he called that female reporter "sweetie" a little overblown now, huh?

Posted by seesaw | July 19, 2008 12:23 AM
17

I read "Our Bodies, Ourselves" when as a teen guy I wanted to understand how girls worked. Far better study material than Playboy and Penthouse. Though perhaps not as much fun.

Posted by Big Sven | July 19, 2008 1:02 AM
18

Aww, that's sweet.

Posted by raisedbywolves | July 19, 2008 4:07 AM
19

@11, I have installed a warning buzzer under the toilet seat which goes off if I've left it up more than ten seconds. To leave it up would make me a moral rapist.

I have thrown out all my porn (even that made by Candida Royale), and will no longer masturbate. If I see a woman walking towards me on the street, I will avert my gaze upward, lest I be a visual rapist and check out her breasts and/or ass as she walks by me.

Finally, the only sports I will watch is Olympic ice skating and gymnastics, and instead of quoting movies like CADDYSHACK and MAJOR LEAGUE, I will now quote STICK IT and THELMA AND LOUISE.

I hope and pray my male bretheren will join my in my quest to totally respect women.

Posted by Frank Sinclair | July 19, 2008 6:11 AM
20

Erica, are you trying to be sarcastic? Or do you really think its cool Obama gave his half-sister her first copy of "Our Bodies, Ourselves"? Or are you mocking his sister for somehow insinuating giving someone "Our Bodies, Ourselves" makes a feminist? You needle based on hair-splitting things so often I'm honestly unsure if you're sincere or mocking with this post.

For the record, I do think its cool although I was a solid Obama supporter all along based on other reasons. NOW and NARAL gave him good scores, he has said he wants to appoint justices in the mode of Stevens, Ginsburg, and Breyer, and that was good enough for me, my reasons to preferring him to Clinton or Edwards never hinged on womens' issues.

Posted by Jason | July 19, 2008 6:56 AM
21

@4 NO SHIT! You all are fast to give ECB crap for pointing out the flaws in Obama's run, yet first on board to give ECB more crap when she does the opposite. Something here feels hypocricical, and it is not Erica.

Posted by Gabe | July 19, 2008 7:56 AM
22

...and all of you spell better than me.

Posted by Gabe | July 19, 2008 7:57 AM
23

@21, speaking for myself (and perhaps a few others), it's not that I would turn on ECB for pointing out good things about Obama.

The problem lies with the fact that, after belching so much vitriol into the air about him, it's hard to take seriously a post where she suddenly anoints him "feminist," which, as well know, is to ECB what The Order of Lenin was to a Brezhnev.

And the reasons she cites are suspiciously ironic so as to lead me, a gentle reader, to the conclusion that she thinks the whole thing is ridiculous and she wanted to snark about it.

And, on top of it, ECB's post was poorly enough written that none of us can really be sure we got her point. Gabe, if ECB wants to say nice things about Obama -- and mean them -- I'm not going to give her any crap.

Carry on.

Posted by Jubilation T. Cornball | July 19, 2008 8:04 AM
24

If posts like this don't convince anyone that ECB is one of the more insufferable twits writing anywhere on a regular basis today.....I.....well......words fail me. Which is rare, believe me.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is pretty fucking cool." Jesus H. Motherfucking CHRIST on a goddamn POGO stick - what are you, ELEVEN years old?

Posted by Not amused, disgusted | July 19, 2008 8:05 AM
25

@ 17: you need all three for a comprehensive study.

Also, I too am unsure whether ECB is being sarcastic or sincere. Erica, do you plan on revealing the truth? Or are you (as I suspect) just kicking back & enjoying all the speculation?

Posted by Mike in MO | July 19, 2008 8:59 AM
26

@23: Jubilation, I might be a breeder rube, but am not immune to irony. Thanks for pointing it out, though.

Posted by Gabe | July 19, 2008 9:08 AM
27

Isn't it better to give someone the benefit of the doubt? Erica, of course, was never a McCain supporter and McCain is now Obama's only opponent. If that makes her an Obama supporter by default, OK, whatever it takes. But if Erica wants to praise Obama a month after her favored candidate dropped out I will refrain from looking for ulterior motives and take her at her word.

Posted by RainMan | July 19, 2008 9:20 AM
28

@27, I'd like to sell you a bridge....

Posted by Jubilation T. Cornball | July 19, 2008 9:36 AM
29

@28: How much?

Posted by Gabe | July 19, 2008 10:04 AM
30

Just buy me a G&T (Hendrick's) at the next Slog Happy and it's yours :-)

Posted by Jubilation T. Cornball | July 19, 2008 10:13 AM
31

Well....that's easy enough. Done. Now was that the Brooklyn Bridge, or a bridge between like minded people? I know the second kind is harder to buy, but that's what I was hoping to get.

Posted by Gabe | July 19, 2008 10:25 AM
32
Posted by Jubilation T. Cornball | July 19, 2008 10:27 AM
33

SOLD!

Posted by Gabe | July 19, 2008 10:33 AM
34

...wait, I get the girl too, right?

Posted by Gabe | July 19, 2008 11:11 AM
35

Erica you don't have any credibility or respect when it comes to Obama.

Don't bother being nice now. It's cheap, flimsy, transparent. Positive ECB Obama posts sound like fingernails scraping a chalkboard.

Go back to hating Zipcar and plastic bags and please please please just leave Obama alone. You've done enough already. Thank you.

Posted by enough already | July 19, 2008 1:25 PM
36

And here I thought we were building bridges, or were we buying them, or jumping off of them?

Fuck it, Jubilation I owe you a drink and you owe me a girl, okay?

ECB has the right change her opinionated point of view. So do you. So do I.

Where's that Bridge I baught? I'm gonna make a rope swing.

Posted by Gabe | July 19, 2008 1:35 PM
37

Obviously a better choice than McSame.

Posted by Will in Seattle | July 19, 2008 2:27 PM
38

"fuck the haters. obama rules, and he deserves props. erica's giving credit where credit is due."

woo-hoo he gave someone Our Bodies Our Selves.

Like that equates to being a leader, or organnizer, or achieving anything politically for women?

Y'all are bought so easily.

And oh:
reporting facts pro con isn't being a hater.

"Belching vitriol" in the form of criticism or reportage or setting forth an opinion that is not kool aid gulping about the God Obama isn't being a hater.

Being sarcastic, if ECB was, isn't being a hater.

Being straight, if ECB was, and really thinks this is cool, isn't being a hater.

I wish some of these Obama folks would get to a point where it is okay with them to say something about him other than woo-hoo, woo-hoo, see how great he is, you cn sound like little children worshipping Spider Man.

My opinion: um, it's nice his sister vouches for him. But not a big deal. He hasn't done much he ever talks about about feminism. MAinly, he's called black dads out on being AWOL. That is about 100,000 more "cool" than the fact he was a good brother. He was a community organizer who gave it up because he was frustrated he couldn't get anything done and in his own words had not accomplished much.

Now we allhave high hopes we will (a) win (b) win big (c) win with like 60+ Democratic senators do (d) he magically turns into an executive that is as great as FDR or Lincoln, although there's absolutely nothing in his experienc eor background to date showing greatness other than rising fast in politics thru having a "good back story" an (e)that he actually brings about huge changes. Even though to date in his career, he hasn't.

So yes it is cool he gave a copy of Our Bodies Our Selves. But it's silly to venerate him for it.

Especially when he basically said in the campaign that HRC had ddone nothign her whole life and was running on the fact she was married to Bill when this was untrue and was fairly sexist (typical: diminishing women's role when they are married to someone more powerful) and in fact (a) she helped start Children's Defense Fiund (Obama never accomplished anythign like that (b) she was a political partner in ARkansas and helped him reform education (Obama: no accomplishment like that (c) she was political aprtner and advisor to Bill helped elect a D twice the only time in our lifetimes (Obama: never accomplished anything like that) (d) she helped strategize and fend off the right wing attacks to impeach Bill (Obama doesn't even cite one single fucking law case he ever worked on, he apparently has no accomplishments as a lawyer) and (e) she went into a new state and impressed them so much she blew away the Republican twice with huge majorities both times including doing great in upstate New York (Obama: he sort of did that once, in Ill. Congrats to him).

So on the whole the thesis that her career was worth nothing was false and sexist so on balance, I wouldn't be saying he's such a hot feminist leader, he is pretty good for sure like all liberal dems but at bottom he'll make an antifeminist argument when it suits his political needs.

So venerating + adulating etc. based on endorsement from the candidate's own sister = stupidity.

Pls. make a note of it.

Posted by PC | July 19, 2008 2:59 PM
39

SOLD!

Posted by Gabe | July 19, 2008 3:10 PM
40

Just looked at these comments. To clarify: No, I was not being sarcastic. I think it was a cool thing to do. And his sister said he was a feminist; I did not "anoint" him anything.

Posted by ECB | July 19, 2008 4:22 PM
41

PC #38:

If you expect people to note and give a shit what you have to say, how about boiling down your brilliant posts to under 500 words?

Posted by Kaypro | July 19, 2008 4:42 PM
42

Thanks for posting this Erica. I'm surprised at the level of kneejerk hysteria in response.

Posted by asteria | July 19, 2008 5:30 PM
43

Thanks for posting this Erica. I'm disappointed but surprised at the level of kneejerk hysteria in response.

Posted by Big Sven | July 19, 2008 5:41 PM
44

Damnit. NOT surprised. I was not surprised.

My proofreading sucks.

Posted by Big Sven | July 19, 2008 5:43 PM
45

@40, point taken, ECB. But since you did not contest her assignment of the title, are you in agreement that he is, in truth, a feminist? Or are you merely signaling satisfaction at his happy tilt in that direction?

Posted by Jubilation T. Cornball | July 19, 2008 6:16 PM
46

Dan Savage advocates for the Iraq War in The Stranger--Oct. 2002

"War may be bad for children and other living things, but there are times when peace is worse for children and other living things, and this is one of those times."

"In the meantime, invading and rebuilding Iraq will not only free the Iraqi people, it will also make the Saudis aware of the consequences they face if they continue to oppress their own people while exporting terrorism and terrorists. The War on Iraq will make it clear to our friends and enemies in the Middle East (and elsewhere) that we mean business: Free your people, reform your societies, liberalize, and democratize... or we're going to come over there, remove you from power, free your people, and reform your societies for ourselves."

Posted by ................... | July 19, 2008 10:18 PM
47

I thought ECB was giving credit where due. All that stuff his sister said was very nice. I thought we were going to all join hands and sing "Work It" by Missy Elliot*, but apparently not. People still want to hate ECB for her past crimes and slap the olive branch out of her hand, and PC still wants to hate Obama for saying something he never said. Wooooo hoo!

*I don't want to sing "Kumbaya" and I won't.

Posted by Phoebe | July 20, 2008 12:25 AM
48

I'm surprised at the level of kneejerk hysteria in response.

You are? In an ECB comment thread? I'm with Big Sven.

Posted by Mike in MO | July 20, 2008 10:58 AM
49

We won't support ball-less NO-Bama and will re-defeat him in November!!!

Posted by clintonsarmy | July 20, 2008 1:57 PM
50

I am surprised at the level of knee-jerk anti-ECB hysteria here.  I expected to see a few die-hard haters buried among pleasantly surprised reactions, not the other way around.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is pretty fucking cool.

It doesn't get much less ambiguous than that.

I'm well aware of ECB's track record, and granted, she's largely brought the hating on herself.  That's no excuse for hating on her for always zagging, and then hating on her more more when she finally zigs.

This was a simple, sincere, and frankly brave post, and all y'all who are so blinded by ECB hate that you can't see that, you have become exactly what you loathe.

Posted by lostboy | July 21, 2008 10:33 AM
51

@50, I'm sorry lostboy...I know you feel passionately about your point of view, but the irony and snark that pervade the output of both posters and commenters has made it impossible to tel real from fake when it comes to the intended meaning of words.

I was certain she was being sarcastic. But, as I said in my post, if she was not being sarcastic, then I'm not going to crucify her for zigging.

Posted by Jubilation T. Cornball | July 21, 2008 11:14 AM

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