Slog - Comments on It's Obama Day!

Comment by puhleeze

puhleeze — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:45:41 -0800

Way to be the sheep and not a shepherd.

Comment by kim

kim — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:49:12 -0800

girl, i've been listening to that shiz on my ipod for the last couple weeks on my walk to and from work. i don't ever want it to end. i only allow myself 3 or 4 chapters a day. it makes me feel warm inside. i love how naked it is.

Comment by really

really — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:59:38 -0800

a billion... really? I think not.

is there any book that's been read by a billion people, white or otherwise, outside the bible and the koran? Maybe the phone book if you count them all together.

Comment by Jen Graves

Jen Graves — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:03:14 -0800

Sorry, I meant a trillion.

Comment by john

john — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:03:39 -0800

hyperbole = literary device

(maybe only 500,000 which makes it totally unimportant)

do you correct spelling in blog posts?

Comment by John Bailo

John Bailo — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:05:31 -0800

How come he never "Dreams" of his brother who is living in a shack in near poverty? Or how about sending some money...something...

Comment by elenchos

elenchos — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:08:52 -0800

I wasn't planning on reading it but maybe now I will.

(John Bailo, what exactly is wrong with you, anyway?)

Comment by Ziggity

Ziggity — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:11:58 -0800

@6: So . . . you're either the executive director of an international non-profit poverty fighting agency or a giant asshole.

Comment by Mike in MO

Mike in MO — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:17:54 -0800

@ 8: My money is on "Giant asshole"

I'm reading it too. I haven't gotten to the angry young black man part yet, but I'm anxious to get there.

"Anger is a gift."

Comment by Stephanie

Stephanie — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:19:33 -0800

That book was my first real exposure to Barack...and I fell in love with the way he thinks. His honesty and self-described struggle to become more self-aware was enough for me to believe.

I can NOT wait for tonight.

Comment by Brendan Kiley

Brendan Kiley — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:19:57 -0800

How about Toni Morrison, for starters?

Comment by tsm

tsm — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:20:01 -0800

George Obama says fuck you, John Bailo.

[George] said that he was furious at subsequent reports that he had been abandoned by the Obama family and that he was filled with shame about living in a slum. �It seems there are people who want to destroy me and my family,� he said.
�They say I live on a dollar a month, but this is all lies by people who don�t want my brother to win.�

Comment by w7ngman

w7ngman — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:22:30 -0800

John Bailo is a conservative troll.

Comment by The Incredible Sulk

The Incredible Sulk — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:28:56 -0800

Lindy West give ecce homo bite of giant alien fungus, ecce homo eat fungus, freak out, John Bailo out, ECCE HOMO BECOME JOHN BAILO!

JOHN BAILO WILL TROLL SLOG, SAY CRAZY STUPID SHIT ALL THE TIME, NOT BE FUN SPOOF TROLL LIKE INCREDIBLE SULK, BE REAL GENUINE ASSHOLE TROLL!

And no, I don't feel like letting it go.

Comment by Jen Graves

Jen Graves — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:31:05 -0800

Brendan: Toni Morrison isn't a bestseller. She's an English class writer. Hence, my distinction from academia.

But you said for starters: What else?

Comment by jonns

jonns — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:32:47 -0800

it's also Felix Day! Hurrah!

Comment by jonns

jonns — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:33:00 -0800

it's also Felix Day! Hurrah!

Comment by John Bailo

John Bailo — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:39:19 -0800

Sorry, I meant to say he was living in the penthouse suite at the W hotel. Here's a picture of his digs:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/barackobama/2590614/Barack-Obamas-lost-brother-found-in-Kenya.html

Comment by Just Sayin'

Just Sayin' — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:40:12 -0800

I've also been listening to Barack reading his own book to me, on my iTunes and it's really great.

Comment by DOUG.

DOUG. — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:40:14 -0800

To Kill A Mockingbird.

Comment by Hernandez

Hernandez — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:46:22 -0800

"What�s the last book that a billion white people read that was even marginally about race, and that wasn�t treated academically?"

Harry Potter. Duh!

Comment by Jen Graves

Jen Graves — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:48:17 -0800

I have no idea what Hernandez is talking about, so I will consider myself clueless on that score.

But to you others: No literature, people. Nothing assigned in English class.

Comment by Brendan Kiley

Brendan Kiley — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:50:49 -0800

Are you nutball? Toni Morrison has been the Oprah book-of-the-whatever several times over. She spent around four months on the best-seller list (for Beloved, I think) and once had two different books on the best-seller list at the same time!

Comment by Brendan Kiley

Brendan Kiley — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:53:20 -0800

Plus, Tavis Smiley. For another.

Comment by elenchos

elenchos — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:53:35 -0800

John Bailo, I really want to know what is wrong with you. Come on.

Comment by Will in Seattle

Will in Seattle — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:54:13 -0800

Already read it, great book.

What do you think of the sequel "How I p0wnd GWB and his clone McSame"?

Comment by Jen Graves

Jen Graves — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:55:42 -0800

From Nutso: Maybe you're right about Toni Morrison. I'll give you Beloved, at least.

And then what? Again, let's try to avoid English class.

Comment by Mike in MO

Mike in MO — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:57:20 -0800

To Kill a Mockingbird underscores Jen's point (english class or not). It was a LONG time ago.

Comment by Anthony Hecht

Anthony Hecht — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:58:15 -0800

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis is about race, class, and football, and it's great.

Comment by Jen Graves

Jen Graves — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:01:51 -0800

Brendan Kiley: Did I just hear you say "Tavis Smiley"?

My point is that I think white people don't generally pursue race as a subject for extended consideration or extended discussion. A literary abstraction, maybe. A morality tale, maybe. I think Barack's presidency could seriously change that.

Comment by eyeroll

eyeroll — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:04:57 -0800

Bailo-

That's just an entranceway photo. Have you ever been outside this country? They're not all McMansions. You're done.

Comment by DOUG.

DOUG. — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:14:47 -0800

The Namesake.

Comment by Mahtli69

Mahtli69 — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:16:48 -0800

The Color Purple? Autobiography of Malcolm X?

Comment by Brendan Kiley

Brendan Kiley — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:17:40 -0800

I know�Tavis Smiley I was kind of kidding about. But Alice Walker, for sure. And Cornel West has been on the best-seller list and he is an academic.

I agree that Barack's presidency will fundamentally change race relations in America, but many more white folks pursue race as a subject for extended conversation (for good or for ill) than you know. I reject your generalization!

Comment by keshmeshi

keshmeshi — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:29:30 -0800

George Obama lives very well for someone in Kenya. Only filthy rich Africans live in conditions that remotely resemble an American middle class lifestyle.

Comment by the shelver

the shelver — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:50:46 -0800

Not that your point is not taken, Jen. But, Richard Price?

Comment by john

john — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:16:20 -0800

It's Felix Day, too!

Comment by LMSW

LMSW — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:50:54 -0800

What's with the marginalization of academia? How many commenters have attended school beyond high school? What percentage of people who make decisions and influence the course of society have at least a few years of college? I suspect both numbers are relatively high (though you wouldn't necessarily know it from the output of either) The question, JG, is what does this distinction imply?

Comment by Mr. Viking

Mr. Viking — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:34:24 -0800

You're right Jen. A remarkable book. Obama's not Faulkner but the man can write. Remember: He wrote this. Not some staff minion or ghost writer. And while you can't discount Obama's ambition, this isn't a campaign document. He wrote it after graduating from law school. I do think the final portion about his time in Kenya goes on too long. But the rest is revealing, amazingly candid, and, the biggest surprise of all, a good read.