But the game has, in the words of Slim Charles, gotten more fierce. I just read a lovely piece by Adam Serwer on Obama and race. I love a piece of writing that makes me reconsider my own opinions. As some of you know, I vacillate about whether Obama's opponents are using his race against him. Serwer argues they most definitely are:
The Britney ad is a result of the ongoing meme in this election that Obama's success, like that of "overpaid black athletes," is an affront to hardworking white people everywhere. The ad never mentions Obama's race as the source of his celebrity, but it doesn't have to -- it's been part of the campaign long enough for the point to be implicit. In short, this ad is Geraldine Ferraro's attack done "right," in the sense that it does not directly implicate the McCain campaign as exploiting racial tensions.I'm not so sure that this is as intentional as Serwer argues. Still, it's a fairly smooth piece of argument. Check it out.
The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood 
Oh, it's intentional.
two blondes, phallic towers, etc.
It ain't confused McCain doing it, it's the ones who did the Harold Ford ads.
Before you're The One, you have to get by Jesse and Pam at pandagon first, and I'd hate to think you deep-sixed Steve Gilliard....
At some point there'll be an ad with Obama's face superimposed on a background filled with minarets. It's only a matter of time... maybe hours. This shit will only get worse. It's as intentional as it gets.
Wondering about a potential reunion between Mos Def and Talib Kweli?
...is Blackstar going to make a new album?
Mang, that was a toothsome bit of analysis. You had best defend your black blogger turf.
If we are going to make The Atlantic a Wire analogue, I guess Ambinder has to be prop Joe.
Is it too obvious for Andrew to be Omar?
Damn you, "moniker," you beat me to it.
Ta-Nehisi: have you heard something?
If you are The One, can you tell me why black people keep telling me that I smell like a wet puppy?
Heh. The One? Are you and Oliver Willis going to hold a Caged Death Match on pay-per-view? BTW who will play the white guy and the blond in this little series? Can't the Atlantic put McArdle in a wig and keep Douthat out of the sun for a few days and they might do.
Actually, you've grabbed the Black Nationalist Nerd title so I think we White Folks can let someone else be the totally cool black friend. (Its going to be a little hard to have you over to the house for dinner, but maybe we can do that over bloggingheads tv? A sort of Dinner with Friends ala Web 2.0)
Jesus! I'm a genius. I've healed the racial divide in one blog comment! It took Nixon to go to China. So I guess it will take a very White Guy to bridge the racial divide. Whoa! Is that the Nobel Committe on my caller ID?
BTW Serwer is right. It's intentional.
I DO NOT TALK LOUD!
Trust me, that elusive, evanescent lollipop of "The One-ness" they hold out is ultimately for suckers, however juicy.
(Oh, and congratulations on being an "Atlantic Blogger". I once pitched them a piece on the folly of corporate diversity when I was one of the "Ones". The editor said he loved it, but didn't dare buy it, lest it draw attention to their own less than noteworthy record.)
In the end, however, it is about the goods, well articulated, and, on this day, this guy Serwer's got em'.
Good thing this ain't a zero sum game, no matter what "they" make it out to be; we'll all be "The One" again another day, God willing.
Ambinder is perfect as Prop Joe. And Andrew as Omar. I guess that would make Bush Mayor Royce and Obama Carcetti? This analogy keeps getting better and better...
Iowneenkno T, I think I look too much like Benjamin Jealous to be "The One". Also I have the burden of being the only black and Jewish blogger, which inevitably means I'm going to have to blog about Steve Cohen and Nikki Tinker. It's all ahem...very tragic.
I think Serwer's most important is not that the ad is racist, but that it is intended to bait Obama and his supporters into charging it with racism.
Trust me, that elusive, evanescent lollipop of "The One-ness" they hold out is ultimately for suckers, however juicy.
(Oh, and congratulations on being an "Atlantic Blogger". I once pitched them a piece on the folly of corporate diversity when I was one of the "Ones". The editor said he loved it, but didn't dare buy it, lest it draw attention to their own less than noteworthy record.)
In the end, however, it is about the goods, well articulated, and, on this day, this guy Serwer's got em'.
Good thing this ain't a zero sum game, no matter what "they" make it out to be; we'll all be "The One" again another day, God willing.
If you want to analyze an ad, you have to ask why whoever spliced it together chose the shots they did, why they enter and exit when they do, why did they move from this shot to that, and how they framed each clip.
The Hilton/Celebrity ad is certainly edited in a way to lead the viewer toward race. It doesn't matter if it's leading the viewer or the Obama camp to respond, they are reacting to the same editing decisions. Remember, every transition, every choice of footage, etc. was *chosen* to be where it is. They have hundreds of hours of material to choose from. They chose these 30 seconds for a reason.
That holds for Obama's ads as well.
I do a fair bit of print media. If there's something in one of my pieces that evokes a mental image or an emotion, I know about it and put it there. It's almost never accidental.
"I love a piece of writing that makes me reconsider my own opinions."
That's pretty much it - why I've made Ta-Nehisi's digs part of my routine for a while now.
If they did reunite, it would be the worst album ever. Mos fell off the face of the earth, Kweli was never good to begin with.
Hmmm, I don't think you can be The One. Billy Dee might be The One but not you.
You might be Number Six.
Thanks for the link to Serwer's post. Good points. I'd like to hear Serwer and Joe Watkins discuss this issue. Watkins on "Race War":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IghEkuL8Dic
Can't figure out why the black girl in your office talks so loud?
...well???
Razib,
I think you'll find that was a joke. I'm sure there has been a test which 'proves' black people are more funny, just like the tests which 'prove' black people have a lower IQ.
How are AMac, Sebastian and beng? They only seem to post on the Atlantic when it's about race and IQ.
If it's true that you played Dungeons and Dragons, then you are the black go-to guy I've been looking for.
Is it Cultural Appropriation for a white guy to play a female Drow?
I think Serwer nailed it. This whole thing can be summed up in the old Chris Rock joke:
Q. What does a white man with a penny hate most?
A. A n-gg-r with a nickel.
That sentiment is what the cocky, arrogant, presumptuous tags on Obama are meant to exploit. And the "Obama's a celeb" is a more subtle continuation of the same thing. And look for more to come. My guess is after the conventions, when more people are engaged and more of Obama's demographics start responding to more of the polls, Obama is going to run up a little more of a lead on McCain. And I can assure you if that happens, the McCain campaign is going to be a lot less subtle.
I think you'll find that was a joke.
so says the one without a sense of humor (evidenced by their lack of irony).
Yes Razib, your irony passed me by.
Probably because previously your sense of humor consisted of redirecting people you disagreed with to an interracial porn site.
But my ironic response to your ironic response of Ta-Nehisi's ironic post was missed by yourself also.
Ironic, no?