blog - gObama 2008
The great debaters on PBS
Saturday, January 12, 2008
(Hudson, New Hampshire - 2 p.m. local time)
Not much to say, apart from watching PBS and other channels to see what is going on. But here is a chat that shares some light of where I am at. I was chatting with my friend Chip who works as a Medical Doctor in a Clinic inside the NAVAHO reservation in Northern Arizona.
I wrote to him:
Hi Chip, I saw on my google earth weather forecast it’s cold: -16 Celsius in the Navaho res... and I was seriously pondering to fly to Las Vegas to film the caucus there. I hoped to pass by and stay at your place in Shonto. But is it normally that cold during january or is this extreme temps?
Chip Thomas
5:39 PM
no brother - this temperature is the norm. the past several winters have been warmer than normal. we even have some of the snow here now like we used to have years ago. you're welcome on the rez any time. we're 5 hours away from vegas. this election/primary is shaping up very interestingly and is making people talk honestly about race in a way we, as americans, haven't ever done before.
satti
5:41 PM
yeah, i hear you... just checked the flights...$500 only , so I have to skip that during my trip, but maybe I get a last minute. thanks for the offer. Do you hear what Shelby Steel said about Obama on PBS. He calls him a bargainer not a challenger...
Chip Thomas
5:47 PM
funny you quoted shelby steele. i've been sharing with some of my white co-workers the synopsis from shelby steele latest book and having stimulating, though depressing discussions about it. ultimately, steele feels america will never elect a black man. this is a synopsis of the book from the new york times...Publisher's Summary
From the New York Times best-selling and controversial author Shelby Steele comes an illuminating examination of the complex racial issues that confront presidential candidate Barack Obama in his race for the White House, a quest that will be one of those galvanizing occasions that forces a national dialogue on the current state of race relations in America.
Steele argues that Senator Obama is caught between two classic postures that blacks have always used to make their way in the white American mainstream: bargaining and challenging. Bargainers strike a "bargain" with white America in which they say, "I will not rub America's ugly history of racism in your face if you will not hold my race against me." Bill Cosby's sitcom in the 1980s was the classic example of bargaining. Obama also sends "bargaining" signals to white America, and whites respond with considerable gratitude - which explains the special aura of excitement that surrounds him.
But in order to garner the black vote, which is absolutely necessary for victory in the primaries and the general election, Obama must also posture as a challenger. Challengers are the opposite of bargainers. They charge whites with inherent racism and then demand that they prove themselves innocent by supporting black-friendly policies, such as affirmative action. If whites go along with this, thereby proving their innocence, they are granted absolution by the black challenger.
The current black American identity is grounded in challenging. Obama must therefore posture as a challenger to win the black vote. However, challenging threatens Obama's white support. But bargaining threatens his black support. Thus, he is bound. He walks in an impossible political territory where any expression of what he truly feels puts him in jeopardy with one much-needed constituency or another. Only a kind of two-sided political mask, or an "above politics" posture, keeps the wolves at bay. ©2008 Shelby Steele; (P)2008 Tantor
satti
5:49 PM
perfect, I will include this in my election blog if you dont mind...
Chip Thomas
5:50 PM
i heard a fascinating discussion about the new hampshire primaries last night of the bill mahr show. because considering the calculated effect hillary's tears would have on undecided female voters, there's also talk that the diebold company famous for voter fraud in the 2000 gore/bush election is back and had the machines (under a different name), that were used in new hampshire.
satti
5:53 PM
hey, sounds very interesting...cause everyone was freaked by the sudden loss after the election polls said he leads with 10 points... wouldn't surprise me after all...
5:53 PM
did you tape this?
Chip Thomas
5:54 PM
that's cool. i took it from this website:
http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp? productID=BK_TANT_000574&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes
that's a website for audible.com. in light of steele's analysis, it seems that south carolina holds the potential of determining obama's fate. why would you want to cover nevada if south carolina, with it's large population of conservative african-americans, is in such a pivotal role?
satti
5:56 PM
you got a point there, i was just thinking in terms of my budget, because i could stay with you- whereas in SC I have no contacts at all...
Chip Thomas
5:56 PM
the bill mahr show is on hbo. they usually repeat shows several times over the course of a week before introducing a new show. it's work checking out. alternatively, he maintains a blog of his show. i'll look for it online.
5:58 PM
dude - south carolina is a black state. where did you stay before? i'm trying to think if i know anyone in south carolina. i know a ton of people in north carolina.
satti
5:59 PM
I stayed in a motel for two days near the centre of Columbia..
Chip Thomas
6:03 PM
the comedian's names is bill maher, not mahr. his website is www.billmaher.com. he does an interactive chat from his page with hbo. his show will change again next friday so you should be able to find last night's show all this week.
satti
6:09 PM
got you...i will look into South Carolina but the flights are similarly expansive $410, so I guess its out of the question unless I rent a car and drive...
Chip Thomas
6:11 PM
which is the best way to meet people and see the country. i know you can't upload work to your site or edit material if you're driving, but in the long run this seems like the best way to travel. i'd almost bet you'd be able to meet someone who'd give you a place to crash.
satti
6:12 PM
yeah, i interviewed a driver at the airport who says he is gonna shuttle folks for the Obama campaign to get out and vote...
Chip Thomas
6:14 PM
i'll keep thinking of who i might know there but south carolina is critical, critical for obama's campaign. many south carolina black ministers gave their endorsement to hillary this past summer. if steele is right and blacks can't vote obama because he's a bargainer and they vote for hillary in south carolina, barack's campaign is finished.
satti
6:16 PM
totally agree and after seeing the 30,000 crowd in the football stadium i am left feeling he can pull this off if he gets down and dirty but will probably need Oprah again to get people out...
Chip Thomas
6:17 PM
too bad. i don't know that oprah plans to return before the primary. yeah, south carolina holds the key.
satti
6:19 PM
let me look into this and see how to extend my stay without flying back to Berlin broke...good news is there might be some work in March.
holler back at me, if you got some contacts in the dirty South... gotta go to do more research...