Obama Loves Kanye: Oops, Una Da Bus

Hmm. As reported by Politico and meant to be off the record.

TerryMoran: Pres. Obama just called Kanye West a "jackass" for his outburst at VMAs when Taylor Swift won. Now THAT'S presidential.

Okay, let's see - well, he did take exception to their capitalist nature, among other things.:

Obama, who lost to Hillary Clinton in yesterday's New Hampshire primary, says he has been a Hip Hop fan for years. Although neither Jay-Z nor Kanye West have come out to publicly support Obama's candidacy, Obama has already talked with the two regarding ways in which they can use their music in a positive way, and also how to branch out and fill the gap between older generations who dismiss Hip Hop as a negative, inferior art form.

 "I've met with Jay-Z; I've met with Kanye. And I've talked to other artists about how potentially to bridge that gap. I think the potential for them to deliver a message of extraordinary power that gets people thinking (is massive)," Obama told Jeff Johnson during BET's political special What's In It For Us?.

Though he supports using Hip Hop as a catalyst for good, Obama is also aware of Hip Hop's negative side too, acknowledging that messages of crime and misogyny overshadow the many positive aspects of rap music.

"There are times, even on the artists I've named, the artists that I love, that there is a message that's sometimes degrading to women, uses the N-word a little too frequently. But also something that I'm really concerned about is (they're) always talking about material things about how I can get something; more money, more cars."

Comments

[J. K.]

Love it. Two deranged, power-hungry ferrets of popular culture are concerned about the image they might be portraying about how self-serving behavior can get you more good stuff.

Have to say, First Ferret is correct on Jackass Ferret, a mere shiver looking for a spine to run up.

[Bob]

At this point, I think it's safe to say that there's literally nothing that Obama could do (or not do), or say (or not say), that wouldn't elicit some kind of petty, sneering put-down from the wing-nuts.

[Conor Friedersdorf]

My thoughts exactly, Bob.

When criticizing bling culture earns one mockery on a conservative blog, all perspective has been lost.

[Dan Riehl]

Oh, that's right. I forgot. Liberals like Conor and his friend love hypocrisy. That's why they see nothing offensive in his "criticizing" it for, frankly, some pretty pathetic behavior - but he "loves" it cuz he wants the young peeples to come out and vote for him.

Nah, that stuff never bothers liberals at all, which is why Conor is down with it.

Thanks for clearing that up, pal....

[Chlamydia Shabazz X]

But at least he dint throw him una da BACK of the bus, cos he's not a RAAAAACIST!

[x11b1p]

um i hope maureen dowd has a statement out in the am that calls the 50% of obama that is white a racist?

[mark l.]

"When criticizing bling culture earns one mockery on a conservative blog, all perspective has been lost."

two words: sister souljah.

this is a political blog. dan, didn't break the story, just linked to it.

I have friends teaching inner city, urban schools. Kanye West is a god to more than a couple of these students, and he is the 'background noise' for almost everyone else there. the story is noteworthy...

of all the people who obama has tossed under the bus, this was by far the biggest. I'm not saying there will be repercussions, but given kanye's proclivity to insert himself into politics, I see a possible outcome which would involve very interesting words being exchanged. First runover victim with a legitimate following?

(conor-congrats on the realclearpolitics story. to be honest I didn't read it, but there is still something to be said in getting one's name listed among some pretty solid writers.)

[mark l.]

from more personal experience, hip hop is actually trying to establish itself as a culture on campuses.

http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2009/02/a_hip_hop_degree/

"Had Kanye West registered at Smith McNally College of Music, he might of not dropped.. The St. Paul, Minnesota music school will be kicking off their Fall 2009 semester with the first ever accredited college level diploma in the area of hip hop music and culture.

Coordinated and instructed by emcee and organizer Toki Wright, the Hip-Hop Studies diploma will give students the skills and the knowledge that are crucial in pursuing a career in the hip-music industry and community. The three semester program designed to be completed in a year will teach students the techniques in beat production and engineering, the language of rap and spoken word, as well as music history and theory."

this may come as a shock, but this isn't just another fad. it's something else...good and bad, but a lot more of one than the other.

[mark l.]

not to belabor the point, but

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sister_Souljah_moment

it actually has its own definition on wiki.

"In United States politics, a Sister Souljah moment is a politician's public repudiation of an allegedly extremist person or group, statement, or position perceived to have some association with the politician or their party. Such an act of repudiation is designed to signal to centrist voters that the politician is not beholden to traditional, and sometimes unpopular, interest groups associated with the party, although such a repudiation runs the risk of alienating some of the politician's allies and the party's base voters."

[Lisa Graas]

The final sentence in the quote stuck out to me in light of the fact that I was still reeling a bit at the thought of a political special called "What's in it for Us?"

[angstly yours]

Does anyone find it fascinating that Fox and Drudge (and obviously RWV) covered the President's 'jackass' comment; however, it doesn't appear that ABC, CBS, or MSNBC bothered to cover it? I understand that the comment was supposed to be 'off the record', but it's still news. Plus the President was right. You would think the latter three networks would break their collective back to show that.

[Lisa]

I respect the fact that Kanye publicly and privately apologized for his behavior and Taylor was gracious to accept the apology.