Roberts again criticizes Obama for "exotic" trip home to Hawaii
SUMMARY: On NPR, Cokie Roberts asserted that Sen. Barack Obama's vacation to Hawaii "makes him seem a little bit more exotic," and characterized Hawaii as "a somewhat odd place to be doing it," despite also asserting, "I know that he is from Hawaii, he grew up there, his grandmother lives there." Roberts previously criticized Obama on ABC's This Week, stating that Obama's vacation in Hawaii "has the look of him going off to some sort of foreign, exotic place."
During the August 11 edition of NPR's Morning Edition, NPR news analyst Cokie Roberts asserted that Sen. Barack Obama's vacation to Hawaii, where he was born, "makes him seem a little bit more exotic," and characterized Hawaii as "a somewhat odd place to be doing it," despite also asserting, "I know that he is from Hawaii, he grew up there, his grandmother lives there."
The Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported on August 9 that "[a]fter delivering a campaign speech, Sen. Barack Obama's first stop on his Hawaii vacation was a visit to his grandmother's Makiki apartment, where he also lived during his youth."
Roberts also criticized Obama during the August 10 edition of ABC's This Week, acknowledging that "Hawaii is a state" but stating that Obama's vacation there "has the look of him going off to some sort of foreign, exotic place."
From the August 11 edition of NPR's Morning Edition:
RENEE MONTAGNE (co-host): Now, Obama is spending the week on vacation in Hawaii. He's taking a vacation, he says, because it's, you know, good for his family, but is it a good point in the presidential campaign?
ROBERTS: It's a little rough to be doing it at this point although, he -- you know, I think he is feeling somewhat secure, but Hawaii is also a somewhat odd place to be doing it. I know that he is from Hawaii, he grew up there, his grandmother lives there, but he's made such a point about how he is from Kansas and, you know, the boy from Kansas and Kenya and it makes him seem a little bit more exotic than perhaps he would want to come across as at this stage in the presidential campaign.
"Foreign" and "exotic" two days in a row. Those comments are beginning to seem racially tinged. Cokie's from the South and she knows how to use code words.
Ann Coulter tonight on Bill O'Reilly tried to compare the use of Barack Hussein Obama to the use of J Danforth Quayle.
Except that they aren't the same at all. Dan Quayle went by a nickname of his middle name. As a result, when you say his name in a more formal way, you say J Danforth Quayle, just like one might say Richard M Nixon. Barack goes by Barack.
There's no reasonable excuse to use his middle name. Any use of it is an excuse to smear him and paint him as foreign and dangerous.
It's classic Rove. Attack and define down your opponent's greatest strength. In this case it's Barack's amazing ability to connect with the vast majority of the people. So they cast him as a celebrity, not like you or me; exotic.
Now if the GOP hadn't used race, and so many other wedges (gay marriage, affirmative action), to get elected in every campaign since 1968, I'd be willing to write off all of this mumbo jumbo about his exoticness as nonsense. But the right has earned their lumps on the issue of race. So, I think Barack should address race in frank and honest terms, just like he did in PA. He never does better than when he faces these attacks straight on.
-- It's classic Rove...So they cast him as a celebrity, not like you or me; exotic. -- roundhouse
It's not limited to Rove/GOP. It's also connected to those practicing tawdry politics...like Hillary Clinton. Reference the headline at Huffpo, "Leaked Clinton Camp Memos:Paint Obama As Foreign".
Cokie Roberts? The first time I read the comment about Obama it was kind of a head scratcher...why would she same something so utterly stupid. I chalked it up to a blathering talking head.
Repeating the comment moves it beyond the air-headedness of a stupid reporter...it points to something more deeply ingrained...and a completely ignorant statement to boot.
Could be...but don't count her completely out of the race just yet.
No, I'm not predicting a Hillary resurrection...but she still has a breath. It may be a death rattle...or just the wheezing remnants of presidential aspirations.
Obama won't get a first ballot nomination without the super delegates support and it only takes a small number of mutineers to disrupt the plans of Obama and his supporters.
Unless I've missed some late breaking info...allowing and tacitly supporting the act of having your name placed on the ballot is a strange way to holler calf rope.
Yeah, I know what she's "said" about supporting Obama for president...yet, I'm more persuaded by her actions. I hope you're right. Obama as president won't be the end of the civilized world...and it would suit hell out of me if the Clinton's were swept from public life forever.
You're a moron and a liar. It's "Democrats" like you that are the reason why Obama is going to get beaten this November, unfortunately.
Again, I'm really baffled by the nasty dishonesty of so many Obama supporters. I just don't get it-- it must be psychological.
You're a moron and a liar. It's "Democrats" like you that are the reason why Obama is going to get beaten this November, unfortunately.
Wesley is not Democrat and it's people like YOU who will cause a Democratic defeat. If you truly cared about Democratic party you wouldn't have spent the last 1 moaning and whinning about the Democrats losing IF they nominated Obama.
If Hillary antics at the convention get her the nomination I would THEN GUARANTEE a Democratic loss!
Again, I'm really baffled by the nasty dishonesty of so many Obama supporters. I just don't get it-- it must be psychological.
Your not only baffled but you down right stupid about this election. It's OVER for Hillary and if Hillary and Bill were thinking about the party and not themselves they'd stop trying to garner media attention. It's unbecoming of a former president and US Senator to act like 2 year old having a tantrum.
What are you people talking about? And why are you so obsessed with "the Clintons?"
I've never seen such unfair, dishonest treatment-- and you're all still at it!
This kind of irrational, bullying behavior is going to doom the Dems this fall-- and, sorry to say it, even though I kind of like the guy-- Obama is by far the weaker candidate of the two.
And who thinks Hillary is somehow going to steal the nomination? yeah, right.
I've never seen such unfair, dishonest treatment-- and you're all still at it!
And guess what? You're still at it!
The resentful backlash it will engender will set the dems back 30 years if Obama is the nominee. - carlileb5935 / Sunday January 27, 2008 9:55:31 PM EST
Obama hasn't a chance in hell of defeating McCain, and that's all I'm saying. It all reminds me of the Schwarzenegger mania a few years ago. Nothing but celebrity-hood, and jumping on the bandwagon, and then trying to fabricate all sorts of phony excuses to justify it. And guess who then loses?! It ain't the Republicans! - carlileb5935 / Sunday January 27, 2008 9:46:16 PM EST
I think Obama supporters are naive, and many of them are nasty, too, and incredibly self-righteous. - carlileb5935 / Sunday January 27, 2008 9:46:16 PM EST
The Conservatives here are correct-- this is all a bunch of liberal hazy thinking. It's naivete of the highest order-- the same thing largely behind Obama-mania-- and decades of dumb, Democratic losses. - carlileb5935 / Sunday January 27, 2008 7:07:11 PM EST
You've been ranting about Obama's for months. Don't act like you're the victim!
Those memos Wesley mentioned? Hillary actually rejected that political attack.
This was another false attempt to say 'they all do it', thereby excusing the people who really do it, the righties.
How is calling him "exotic" not racist? Am I "exotic" when I visit Boston? It IS code, and a code my 5 year old break in about 10 seconds. It's racially tinged code / very thinly veiled, racism. It would seem absurd to say the same thing about McCain. You guys never have a problem with it as long as it's about someone else, do you?
This isn't much different from the campaign to label J. Kerry "French". Seeing how we were being fed so much anti-France rhetoric at the time, like Freedom Fries, and all the other little jabs at all things French. it was a very organized plan to make him seem less than "one of us".
Now Obama is exotic, aristocratic, elitist, and basically any phrase that makes him sound like is is above us, or not one of us....racially, or by attitude.
Of course, McCain is someone who spilled blood for his country, a Maverick, a tough guy, and a straight talking near-liberal.....and of course MSM silence on his multiple homes, his numerous flip flops, speaking errors, his privilages as an Admiral's son, his wife's drug abuse, and his adulterous history with subordinants and others....all of which would undermind the imagine created by the MSM.
POV,
Most of us can appreciate the offensiveness, inappropriateness and the sideswiping slur of this "exotic" label some have affixed to Obama, without defaulting to some racial motivation immediately. I believe by pointing the obvious silliness of such a label, which in my view lends itself to the elitist narrative out there, would be far more productive and ultimately effective in actually removing it as some media theme.....and getting the discussion back to issues and policy, at least that would be my hope.
Agreed. I just think that for a certain segment of the population, there's more than a hint of racism that accompanies the word "exotic." Particularly when it's used to describe an American who is simply visiting another state. What factors make one U.S. beach resort (Myrtle Beach) considered less exotic than another U.S. beach resort? And why specifically would it be detrimental for Obama ("the boy from Kansas and Kenya") to be seen vacationing in one and not the other? I think the answers to those questions lead back to race. It's impossible to imagine the same language being used to describe McCain if he chose to travel to Hawaii.
Or forget about McCain for a moment, because he'll never be portrayed as elitist. Think about white Democrats who have been painted as elitist (Gore, Edwards, Kerry, etc). When they were smeared as elitists, the word that was used was simply "elitist." Well, Kerry was called "French," which of course was the worst thing you could call a white man at the time. My point is that when she uses the word "exotic" and refers specifically to his Kenyan heritage as something that should be downplayed, I read the accusation as "too black" and not "too elitist."
Her statement, "the boy from Kansas and Kenya" is perhaps the most shocking, if subtle tag she uses to describe Obama. Being originally from the South, she should know as well as anyone, the connotations in using the word "boy", to describe a black man.
A shameful dig at a guy who simply wants to relax with his family and see his aging grandmother.
Clams you are correct, I borders on racism - JLyons
Do yooze? You shouldn'ts!
IT borders on racism.
Clams: "When is the last time you've hear a white man referred to as "exotic"?"
When he was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, doing a table dance with a little drink umbrella above his ear? ............well not exactly exotic, but as I pointed out above, the same ploy was used with John Kerry. Sen. Kerry was portrayed as French-exotic, and Obama is being linked to J. Kerry.
______________________________________________
27.06.2008 "John Kerry With a Tan"...?That's apparently how anti-tax jihadi Grover Norquist described Barack Obama today:
--Noam Scheiber
_______________________________________________________
Johnathan Martin July 30th 2008
"....... This has shades of the Frenchification of John F. Kerry in 2004 -- as explained well in Mark Halperin and John F. Harris's The Way to Win -- but it also dovetails with far darker charges than were launched against Kerry.
The subterranean campaign against Obama, as carried out by both word of mouth and in a series of emails sent over the last year, is centered around the notion that he's less than American and quite exotic............."
Yeah, I addressed the Kerry "French" slur earlier in a post above. I was attempting to point out that the word "exotic" is usually reserved for people of color. As I said above, "French" was apparently the worst thing you could call a white man at that time. They never used the word "exotic" to describe Kerry.
Just try googling these combinations of words: "John Kerry+exotic," "John Kerry+French," and then "Barack Obama+exotic." No prizes for guessing the outcome in advance.
When is the last time you've hear a white man referred to as "exotic"?
- clams casino /
Or the 'boy' from anywhere?
Amazing how desperate some are on the left to turn this into a racial issue.
Amazing how POV tries once again to come off as a rational, thinking human being - and fails miserably......
Great, now we have to beware of those damn exotic Hawaii 'ns too??????
I just got used to the idea that that he is not a muslim.
It's a racist right wing ploy and Cokie Roberts speaks for the right - plain and simple, so don't bother acting all faux-shocked when it's called out. This ain't no 2000 or even 2004, so get used to Democrats taking on all the GOP crap negative politics and calling it what it is.
This morning on KSFO AM SF - Lee Rodgers - Conservative - discussed how the word "SUSTAINABILITY" on college campuses is CODE WORD for liberals. It was absolutely idiotic and hilariously reminiscent of red scare panic. See John Birch Society Blues by Dylan and you'll see that CODE WORDS are not some liberal fantasy. People are sick of this stuff.
Obama will be next President. Get over it.
When is Media Matters going to start exposing the republican takeover of NPR? Morning Edition's coverage has become 1. Cultish list of Bush's daily activities, 2. Disparaging remark about Obama, followed by 3. McCain campaign commercial.
Let's go guys ... I'll help if you need it.
Can't yah just see'm out on a sundrenched plain, face out in a ring, chewin cud, working on crossword puzzles. Maybe working on cud and chewing crossword puzzles? A mundane if somehow insane lifeform.
Thnx, you play well too Mary.
:)
They have covered this on the NPR. Search the MMFA archives for other articles.
MMFA: Wed, Jun 22, 2005 7:35pm ET
[...]
Tomlinson denied saying that public broadcasting should better reflect Republican mandate
A May 20 Washington Post article reported that Tomlinson had denied telling "a gathering of PBS and station executives in Baltimore [in November 2004] that the country had moved rightward and that public broadcasting should reflect that." He told Post reporter Paul Farhi that he never made the comment, "even in jest."
But Tomlinson's denial contradicts two previously published statements attributed to him. A May 12 Post article asserted that he had admitted making the comment, albeit in jest."Tomlinson has said his comment was in jest," the Post reported. In addition, a May 2 New York Times article reported: "Mr. Tomlinson said that his comment was in jest and that he couldn't imagine how remarks at 'a fun occasion' were taken the wrong way."
[.....]
Exotic is "good for celebrities"?
Suggest you give that a shot with Thandie Newton. Or Tiger Woods for that matter.
Clearly "exotic" = "non-white".
How anybody can criticize Hawaii as 'exotic' while praising the virtues of Myrtle Beach is beyond me. Since when did Myrtle Beach become the acceptable vacation destination?
I'm also curious what Cokie Roberts has to do to get fired. Bad-mouthing an entire state is worse than anything Donohue ever did.
I don’t think "Foreign", "exotic" and "Hussein" are code words at all; these are overt attempts to make him seem unconventional, and there is a large population that doesn’t want anything unconventional.
It’s cheap, and it’s politics.
PS. A code word would be more like: "Salamander flavored Mentos" which is really code for “Secret Muslim”.
Hey Dude. Aloha.
Col, AA would like us to understand, this Hawaii thing is a joke, you know "Republican humor" instead of a racial slur. Like Limbo's "magic negro" humor.
After all, I know Republicans don't have anything against Obama's race, Bush has "black people" in his cabinet. That alone should prove that Republicans have "black friends" too. Just wait till the convention, they'll be "black folks" all around. The camera won't have to pan around the room over and over, trying to locate the 25 black folks in the audience.
And really,what would make anyone think Republicans would use race as a divisive issue in a presidential campaign with an African American candidate?. <sarcasm>
Pearlene,
I wasn't aware that "Hey Dude. Aloha" has any racial connotation.
Accusing Republicans of being racists is a racist on your part isn't it?
Accusing Republicans of being racists is a racist on your part isn't it?
No, AA. Accusing Republicans of being racists is like accusing the sun of being hot.
Congratulations, you're the first and only wingnut to use the old "Black people are the real racists" defense. As always, when you point out that someone sounds like a racist because they use words like “exotic” in order to portray a person of color as some foreign other, it’s really you that’s the racist.
Notice how none of your usual cohorts are using this defense? That's because even they can see this for what it is.
Notice how none of your usual cohorts are using this defense?
That's because AA's usual cohorts can't post right now - they're trying to get all the drool off their keyboards......
I wasn't aware that "Hey Dude. Aloha" has any racial connotation.
AA, I was accusing you of making light on a serious subject.
The media, which you're well aware of, can't figure out how to discuss Obama's race, while not appearing to discuss Obama's race. So they come up with terms like "exotic" and think that no one will notice.
Accusing Republicans of being racists is a racist on your part isn't it?
No, no, no, I must be imagining Republicans are racist. I'm sure there's no proof. <sarcasm>
U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis, a Hebron Republican said in his remarks at the GOP dinner that he also recently participated in a "highly classified, national security simulation" with Obama. "I'm going to tell you something: That boy's finger does not need to be on the button," Davis said. "He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country."
Republican National Committee as an imitation of the popular social networking site, Facebook BarackBook.com, which just went online early this morning, were forced to strip the comment wall and discussion board from the page because of comment posts that were racist and anti-Muslim
Tennessee Republican Party dropped the H-bomb, adorning a press release with Barack Obama's middle name, Hussein, and associated him the Muslim religion by running the 2006 photograph of the candidate wearing Somali tribal clothing
The Texas Republican Party is distancing itself from a vendor who sold campaign buttons at last weekend's state convention that asked, "If Obama is president ... will we still call it The White House?"
A banner slogan on the Pemberton Republican Club's Web site that said, "Obama loves America like O.J. loved Nicole,"
Karl Rove writing an op-ed in the now Murdoch-owned Murdoch Street Journal 'His trash talking was an unattractive carryover from his days playing pickup basketball at Harvard, and capped a mediocre night.'"
Fox News Radio 600 KCOL's Scott James and 1310 KFKA's Amy Oliver: Barack Obama -- who is, by the way, half-black, half-white. He is not 100 percent black. He is half-black, half-white. To call him African-American completely -- if, if, if you mean black -- completely disregards 50 percent of his heritage, which is his mother, who, by the way, raised him.
Steve Sailer, whose columns appear on the racist website VDARE.com, wrote on January 2: "The brutal truth: Obama is a 'wigger'. He's a remarkably exotic variety of the faux African-American, but a wigger nonetheless." Sailer's column linked to a Wikipedia entry on the word "wigger," which, at the time (as well as currently) read: "Wigger (alternatively spelled wigga or whigger or whigga) is a slang term that refers to a white person who emulates mannerisms, slangs and fashions stereotypically associated with urban African Americans; especially in relation to hip hop culture."
Video's:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NAi78C3fi0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avBF8oBS1pI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rgn-daVw8c&feature=related
Just wait till the convention, they'll be "black folks" all around..
You can bet on that one, Pearlene. Just as sure as Rush Limbaugh moves AA callers to the front of the line (or hires actors to call in) so he can say "Right on!" and "My Man !".
I'm on the email list for Human Events, just because I get a laugh out of their crap, and lately I've been getting some messages from the Black Republican Association (something like that). They're putting a lot of effort into explaining that MLK was a Republican.
These guys
Col, my children and I make comedy hour out of the Republican convention.
At the 2004 convention the camera just keep returning to the same black faces over and over again. They must think that all black folks look alike so people won't notice that it's the same 25 people. :-)
"I'm on the email list for Human Events, just because I get a laugh out of their crap, and lately I've been getting some messages from the Black Republican Association (something like that). They're putting a lot of effort into explaining that MLK was a Republican."
1. Even if MLK were a Republican (no confirmation), the Republicans of MLK's day are replaced by Republicans who HATED MLK in BOTH life & death.
2. This same Black Republican Association doesn't talk about how Ol' Liar Ann once said MLK deserved to be assasinated, nor do they talk about how the anti-black right wing racist war criminal of color Condoleeza Rice denounced MLK and other civil rights leaders as "...troublemakers who upset the good white people of the South" in a 2001 Washington Post interview. The right wing Washington Post scrubbed and whitewashed Rice's anti-MLK comment and also scrubbed the question that illicited the comment to protect Rice, Bush, and the Republicans.
3. Let's note that racist W. Bush compared the civil rights movement to socialism, and that Bush's father campaigned against the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act when Bush 41 was the 1964 Republican Candidate for the U.S. Senate in Texas, as he called the '64 act "...an affront to the United States Constitution."
4. It should also be noted that 3 anti-black Negro conservative Republicans [they call themselves Black Republicans, I don't], specifically the dis-likes of Ward "Con Man" Connerly, Walter Williams, and Jesse Lee Peterson, are all friends and political allies of the KKK, the Aryan Nations, the National Alliance, and other white supremacist groups. "Con Man" Connerly has actively sought out the KKK's support for his past and rpesent white supremacy initiatives/re-segregation initiatives that seek to do away with affirmative action http://www.davidalove.blogspot.com.
So what would Kookie have thought if Obama was vacationing in Kansas? Mmmm? Guess she'd think he'd be pandering to the regular folks [whoever they are] She certainly would not want him vacationing in Kenya...geez if Hawaii is tooooo exotic, what does that make Kenya?
So where's a Kansas/Kenya guy to go on vacation to relax after a long campaign & before the convention? Well he could go home to Chicago or...he could go back to where he was born & lived, & visit his Grandmother. Plus enjoy the beaches & nice weather. Sounds like a plan to me.
Let's get real, anywhere Obama went probably would have been questioned by Kookie.
Fair warning, Woody Allen ripoff ahead.
Roman Cow! Syrian Pig! Scandahovian Rototiller! Tukish Taffy! Australian Accent! Singapore Sling!
Jeter,
I agree, this "exotic" silliness is asinine. Where Obama vacations is his own business, and it's perfectly logical to assume he would do that in a familiar place with family, where he was raised.
But I don't automatically assume some racial angle here either, I believe the "exotic" reference is more about feeding the narrative that he is some elitist who spends his off time in exotic resort areas, instead of some folksy ranch in Texas, for example. It's ridiculous of course, but some in the media have to fill their airtime with stuff that is so irrelevant, but makes them look somehow insightful. Not impressed Cokie.
Tommy, I'm keeping in mind that your comments are coming from a Westside elitist who probably spends much of his free time in Hawai'i.
I'm so much one of "the folks" I consider Hawaiian Gardens exotic. I'm planning a little trip there, but I'll admit I'm nervous about the language and customs.
Well Col, you will have to learn how to speak Hawaiian but I can rush you over a quick Berlitz course you can learn on the flight over.........and who knows, with any luck you might get "lei-d", exotically.
:)
But I don't automatically assume some racial angle here either, I believe the "exotic" reference is more about feeding the narrative that he is some elitist who spends his off time in exotic resort areas, instead of some folksy ranch in Texas, for example
I agree Tommy, but I do think there is still an attempt here to paint Obama as different, not quite a regular American. Of course if Obama had vacationed in Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard, Cokie probably would have still characterized this as elitist.
Even if Obama didn't have ties to Hawaii I still wouldn't have given his destination a second thought.
You & I sometimes question certain MMFA's examples or claims of Conservative mis-information or bias in the media, but this one is glaring. I mean WHY would Obama going to Hawaii even stir Kookie to comment on it? Sounds to me like she's got an agenda here.
AND I am 99.9% sure, no make that 100% sure, that if McCain was taking a vacation in Hawaii no one would have mentioned it as being exotic. In fact isn't that where John & Cindy met? They'd probably play it up as a romantic week off for the Maverick & his lady ;-)
This has got to be one of the most desperate and ridiculous attempts by Grampy's base (the media) to try to conjure up some "weirdness" factor towards Obama.
Just for laughs, I went and checked out some Hawai'i Tourism stats. If the number of domestic tourists is any indication, Americans are pretty exotic as a group.
May, '08 - 400,000+ Americans visited Hawai'i
YTD - 2 million + domestic visitors.
"Remember a few weeks ago when Pat Buchanan called Obama "exotic"? It's Republican code for the N-word."
Of course it is. Look at the source.
Anyone with the maiden name of "Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs" shouldn't be tossing around the word exotic.
Or if he'd gone to Sturgis. The talking point would be that he was a judge in the Miss Buffalo Chip contest. You KNOW it would!
Meh, Roundhouse, I don't see that as a slur,that phrase. "the boy from..." is used pretty innocently, IMO.
I wouldn't compare it with this example, where BilldO calls Mr. T "boy". (about 4:15 into the clip)
"Meh, Roundhouse, I don't see that as a slur,that phrase. "the boy from..." is used pretty innocently, IMO"
I don't agree. It's almost as racial a term as the "N" word and using it in some neighborhoods can get you beaten to a pulp. ESPECIALLY if used in reference to a grown black MAN and not a child.
Doggone, I was just saying that it could have been innocent.Just as an older white guy could be talked about as "a kid from The Bronx", referring to what he was (past tense), or his origins.
I was making a comparison with the O'Reilly clip I linked to, where BilldO addressed a black guy as "Boy". I think Mr. T may have missed it in the crosstalk, avoiding an introduction to Mr. T's friend, Pain.
"It can be a racial term if used that way. Obviously Roberts wasn't calling Obama "boy" in that context here. I will conceed the rest of her statement certainly is open to debate but you're reaching with the "the boy from Kansas" statement as being racist."
And I still disagree. I'm 57 and I've known since I was 8 years old the racial connotations of calling a black man "boy." Cokie Roberts is certainly cosmopolitian enough to know it too. It's those subtle uses of such words that have to be watched the most closely as clues to what the speaker is REALLY thinking. Unless she is in the habit of calling ALL men "boys" - which I think would be hard to prove.
I have NO personal doubt that she knew exactly what she was saying and why...when she used both "exotic" and "boy" - AGAIN. Sure, she was given an opening to repeat what she said before...why did she take it? She could have paraphrased it and lent credence to the doubt that she was deliberately using code words. To repeat them nearly vebatim only ADDS to the certainty that she WAS deliberately using code words.
"Good enough to convince me anyway on her use of the word "exotic", but experience and common sense leads me away from her use of "boy" in a racial manner."
The problem with "common sense" is that it isn't common enough. Read her statement several times until it sinks in. How many times has Obama referred to himself as "the boy" from Kansas? I betcha the answer is NONE. He has said he holds to the values his parents and grand-parents taught him...the Kansas values they hold dear.
And IF, IF she was quoting him...she should have made it CLEAR it was a quote. She did not, and she's been around enough to know how to do that. If she was NOT quoting him...betting is she WASN'T...then there was no need to use the word boy at all. He's a man...she should have said man.
When you couple the use of "exotic" with "boy" so close together...it makes far more of us CERTAIN her intent was as racial code words. But then, most of us DO have common sense and don't need to use convoluted reasoning to explain something that is quite clear.
I think Cokie has decided she's old enough and rich enough to let her inner racist out.
If the Obama's are vacationing on the Big Island, I'd say the destination itself is "exotic" (as anyone who's actually visited would agree). But if the Obamas are vacationing in Honolulu, I'd say the destination is no more "exotic" than San Diego or Orlando...I don't think McQuaid would be called "exotic" for visiting either of these places. I think John McQuaid's visit to Sturgis last week made him pretty "exotic", (at least in Sturgis there was actual EXOTIC DANCE going on) but in a BAD way. I don't Cokie from Diet Cokie, but I think this comment might be more of a manifestation of her need to get out more than it does of any smear on Obama. I could be wrong, however. Hawaii is NOT exotic. There's an abumdance of natural beauty, a co-mingling of different cultures and expensive as hell grocery stores, but "exotic" is not what most cultured people think when they think of Hawaii.
My wife and I had our first elitist vacation in Hawaii. We loved it so much we subsequently held our elitist wedding in Hawaii. Then we came home to our regular-folk credit card bill.
My past business trips to rural Missouri and Mississippi felt more like visits to foreign countries than Hawaii did.
Last I checked, going to exotic places during vacations is fun. It's vacations. What does she expect?
I heard a rumor that Obama reads book, too! The average American will never understand that!
Where would we be without the beltway Republican elite telling us how dumb Americans are? Clearly, true blue Americans (according to rightwing fantasies) are dumber than a bag of hammers, watch NASCAR religiously, have an irrational hatred of non-Christian religions, never question the validity of US wars, and think traveling overseas -- even to a state within our union -- is something only eccentric, exotic freaks do. But the fact that George W Bush was setup in business by Salem Bin Laden, Osama's brother, is something real Americans can relate to.
I sent an e-mail to Cookie...
I don't think this a good time for Cookie to be doing journalism. What a pitiful, old, corporate right-wing hack.
I'm from Brooklyn originally and now live in KS - both states are pretty "exotic" at times. Roberts needs to get out more and visit Kansas, at least.
Who are these people, like Roberts?
Ah ... I remember ... the corporate media.
Another reason we need more progressive/liberal media.
Peace
What is Cokie smoking?
Scene from "The Beverly Hillbillies": Jethro and Uncle Jed riding in a jeep along the coastal highway in California. Jethro says to Jed, "Would you believe that 5,000 miles out there is the Hi-why- yun Islands?" Jed squints his eyes and says, "You got mighty good eyesight there, boy."
That might be a good commercial Donald...
Have Bush and McCain ridin' around in a Beverly Hillbillies spoof.
Leave Britney, I mean Cokie, alone. She probably just forgot she used the "I know Hawaii is a state but it's exotic, he shudda went to Myrtle Beach" line yesterday.
If she really wants to helpful, she should provide a list of approved, non-exotic locations it's OK for Obama to go. And stuff to eat and drink. And elementary schools to have attended. And names to have been given.
What a joke these clowns are.
And sure enough, the McCain campaign has jumped all over this. Apparently, they issued reporters a "Barack Obama's Hawaii Travel Guide," in order to mock his upbringing and schooling. The McCain campaign is nothing if not relentlessly childish and petty.
http://www.perrspectives.com/blog/archives/001189.htm
Here we are, well into the second iteration of Roberts' idiocy, and not one person has defended what she said. That alone demonstrates how off-the-wall her statements are.
Hawaii Senator Daniel Akaka Rebukes Cokie Roberts Calling The State “Foreign”
Published August 11, 2008 in Barack Obama and Newsweek.Smackdown. Sen. Akaka:
“Saying our 50th state is somehow “foreign,” does a great disservice to the hard working, patriotic Americans who call Hawaii home. For months people have been asking me, ‘when is Sen. Obama going to come home?’ I’m so glad he found time to visit his sister and his grandmother, show his daughters more of his home state, and relax a little. Hawaii is a great U.S. destination, just ask the 5.5 million Americans who visited last year for business and pleasure.”
The mainstream press should just shut their face.
mershe3274
It is outrageous that ABC would condon and support Cokie Roberts after her slanderous remarks about Hawaii. Hawaii is part of the United States and not some FOREIGN or EXOTIC place. It is a great disservice to the people of HAWAII and COKIE ROBERTS should be fired immediately if not for her racist remarks but her ignorance and stupidity.
Royle Kaneshige
Honolulu Hawaii
Tied In Who’s Polls
Cokie Roberts’ comments Barack Obama is tied with John McCain sparked a ongoing concern for bias polling. I have made several comments asserting bias in Gallup and Rasmussen polls. Here is a chance to make another. First off, why does so many media commentators use Gallup and Rasmussen polls to make their “its a close race” comments? Take another look at the history of polling for president this year; this time exclude Gallup and Rasmussen polls.
What you will discover is without Gallup and Rasmussen low numbers for Barack Obama, the polling picture would look different, by at least four points. I have followed this polling bias with much anger. The MSM uses Gallup and Rasmussen polls as if they were made for them. Upon closer inspection, you can clearly see Gallup and Rasmussen daily tracking polls are being used as a valve. When other polls release polls with a 5 point or better lead for Obama, Gallup and Rasmussen adjust to what numbers will keep McCain close to Obama. RealClearPolitics’ assemblage of polls document a everyday bias for John McCain. As I comment, todays polling display represent an attempt to wash out higher numbers, so Gallup and Rasmussen polls will have a stronger effect.
There is support for my assertion Gallup and Rasmussen polls are bias. Because every commentator using the noted polls are conservative in delivery of news, It is a hard thing to counter. However, someone can say to them: THERE ARE MORE POLLS OUT THERE THEN JUST GALLUP AND RASMUSSEN.
Joseph
Joseph, you're right. Rasmussen is clearly biased. Just read their Bush approval rating to see clear examples - they use 4 different catagories for support, strongly approve or disapprove, or somewhat approve or disapprove. They then claim that both 'approve' numbers should be added together to get a fair idea of what Bush's support is like. That's a false measurement. If you gave people only two options, many who say that that they somewhat approve of what Bush is doing would say that they disapprove of him. They also use a polling method that has a bias towards Republicans - righties are more willing to answer their poll than those on the left, so even though they supposedly balance their polls for Dems and Reps, it's still not fair!
Real Clear Politics includes too many right-leaning polls to be a fair sampling. They push the strawman argument that having a compilation of polls gives a good result. It gives a better result than looking at one biased poll, but it doesn't give a perfect result, despite their desire to portray it that way.
I cannot believe the ignorance Cokie Roberts poesses. I guess she needs the attention of some political party and show her loyalty, or her incompetence.
I am born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii An exotic place? That's her opinion. When your opinions and statements are infused with political bias, well, I hope someday I find out your vacations plans and you will hear my bias statements.
Ignorance a "great" virtue. "Exotic" Cokie Roberts. Exatraordinary stupid.
What a shame. Time to retire Cokie. Let me know your "EXOTIC" vacation plans. You will hear from me.
more tripe from the washington establishment
Obviously it would be better for Obama to stay at one of his 10 or so home across the continguous US rather than the oh-so-exotic state of his birth and where his family remains... you know, just like the "normal, down-to-earth, joe-lunch-bucket" Millionaire McCain.
Cokey: please shut up.
btw - why is she still used on NPR? (why for that matter is Liasson)?
I was a little surprised that Cokie would go down this path but then I read a few posts and "ABC News" says it all. Cokie, I wonder what David Brinkley would have to say about your "exotic" comment? Seems to me he would have reminded you, in a way only Mr. Brinkley could do, that Hawaii was bombed by Japan and we went to WAR (because he was there), that Hawaii is a STATE (he reported on the ratification), that we have military bases in Hawaii (which he frequented as an ABC News reporter) and how insulted to the residents of the state of Hawaii must be.
But of course Mr. Brinkley is longer with US and we are left with the deft leadership of George Stepanapolo..(I give up). I wonder how he would feel about our current media culture and consolidation. If he was anything like my Grandfather of his generation, he would wonder how "The Greatest Generation" begot THE MOST SELFISH ONE.
Best regards.
We "exotic" people living in Hawaii have to work 2-3 jobs to make ends meet. Gas/food/housing/ are higher here than anywhere else. Good for Sen. Obama for coming here to visit his family and roots! Forgive Cokie Roberts, she is old ( like Larry King old!! who should step down already,BTW with the rest of the old goats in the media). No facelift will help you if your brain is mushy..
Mauigirl
I can't believe npr can let her get away with a lousy comment like that.
The last time I checked Hawaii is one of the 50 states. The guy cares about his grandmother. Give me a break
As I journalism major, I know all about the freedom of the press and speech. And while I'm trying to stay objectionable and see Cokie Roberts' remarks from another point of view (I actually can), it still makes me infuriated at her remarks.
Regardless of whatever point she was trying to make, whether it be because she was trying to demean Obama's candidacy or just making an observation, it was a remark that was veiled with ignorance.
Yes, Hawaii has beautiful beaches and our landscape is better than most. But to say our state is foreign - when she even admitted we were a part of the United States - demonstrates how demeaning her remark was and not to mention, a poor judgement on her part as journalist.
I can't even write my arguments because I'm so offended. Part of it is because I was born and raised in Hawaii myself and the other part is frustrated because I highly doubt this is the first person to think Hawaii as foreign or exotic. But Roberts' statements are almost the equivalent to the question of, "Do you still live in grass huts?"
Take away the beaches, take away the ridged mountains, and you have any other state in the United States. Hawaii has to deal with the same issues just like the rest of the 49 states - poverty, economic woes, education, social reform, and the list can go on and on.
If Hawaii had been across San Francisco's bay, I'm sure Obama's vacation wouldn't have been a big deal. We would have been merely regarded as that eight island chain across the Bay. But since we are miles apart from the main land and our state is branded as being paradise (blame that on our tourism concept), Hawaii is nonetheless another state.
People shouldn't be questioning why Obama is vacationing here - they should be saying, why not?
Oahu has more than six military bases, including Pearl Harbor. If that isn't enough of an American flag waving in the wind, then I must be blind. Or how about the fact that our government entitles Native Hawaiians to protest against the U.S. and continues to have discussion for establishing sovereignty? If I'm not mistaken, the right to petition, assembly and the freedom of speech is a fundamental part about being American.
Roberts can continue to say that Hawaii is an "odd" place to go vacationing, but it is still a part of the United States. And you can bet that our votes still count.