Well damn, it's about time.
After months and months of playing Mr. Nice Beige Guy, Barry finally abandoned The Politricks of Hope angle and came out swinging [||] during last night's South Carolina Democratic Debate. Apparently one of his campaign staffers must read AB.com, because he clearly peeped last week's C.Y.I.N. discussion on the boards here and took some of what was said to heart. Seldom in my 30+ years have I been more proud of another black man that wasn't dribbling a basketball.
Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama accused each other of repeatedly and deliberately distorting the truth for political gain Monday night in a highly personal, finger-wagging debate that ranged from the war in Iraq to Bill Clinton's role in the campaign.Last night was what debates (and boxing if you think about it) are supposed to be about. The three candidates discussed the issues and the differences (which anyone with a brain can surmise are minimal at best) in how each of them would handle these issues when they become President. Each candidate had the opportunity to call his fellow debaters out on past B.S. comments, and with only three participants, moderator Wolf Blitzer allowed Hillary, Edwards, and Barry to more or less duke it out sans interruption. It was Must See TV with real life implications.
Obama told the former first lady he was helping unemployed workers on the streets of Chicago when "you were a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at Wal-Mart."
Moments later, Clinton said that she was fighting against misguided Republican policies "when you were practicing law and representing your contributor ... in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago."
Obama seemed particularly irritated at the former president, whom he accused in absentia of uttering a series of distortions to aid his wife's presidential effort.
"I'm here. He's not," she snapped.
"Well, I can't tell who I'm running against sometimes," Obama countered.
If you were busy watching Hell Date or WWE Raw, please, just kill yourself right now. Life isn't getting any easier.
Some of you (and you know who you are) mistook the whole concept of C.Y.I.N. as meaning that standing up for yourself and drawing clear boundaries for others is "niggerish". This clearly shows me that someone didn't read the original post and has no idea what they're talking about. C.Y.I.N. is not about standing up for yourself and having common dignity. Everyone should have that regardless. C.Y.I.N. is all about taking it to a whole' n'other level when somebody crosses that other line and when such drastic times call for drasticer measures. Yeah, I know that's not a word, so what.
Last night, by my definition was not a C.Y.I.N. Moment for Barack Obama. Quite the contrary, I think it's the first time that he universally and consistently showed his black side. He played offense rather than defense. He was in control and assertive, yet still charmingly disarming. He didn't let any snide remarks float by without a response. When double teamed by Edwards and Clinton, he kept his composure, yet still got his points across (albeit sometimes in a longwinded fashion, but tell me one black person who doesn't?). He showed last night that he could be a Negro without being a Nigga. And I don't need to tell my AverageCommenters, there's a big difference between the two.
Some pundits say Obama's momentum is on the wane after two straight losses, but I disagree. He didn't lose by much in New Hamphire (2 pts) and while Hillary won the popular vote in Nevada, Obama quietly won the electoral vote.
Nevada’s rules allocate delegates, the people who will ultimately vote for a nominee at the national party convention, based on a formula that is not bound strictly by the statewide vote in the caucuses. The rules are weighted to preserve the voice of voters in rural precincts, voices that might otherwise be dimmed by the influx of new voters in metropolitan Las Vegas.Ask Al Gore just how much good that popular vote does for you.
Clinton won decisively in Las Vegas and surrounding Clark County, but statewide, Obama won more votes in 11 of Nevada’s 17 counties. When the state’s arcane rules were taken into account, Obama could claim 13 delegates to Clinton’s 12.
South Carolina is a big one this weekend, and it will be very interesting to see just how black voters (who only seem to matter in SC, and no place else) respond. Recent polls, which clearly can't be trusted, show Obama now ahead of Hillary in the ever important Negro Vote in the Palmetto State, and Obama garnered an astounding 85% of the black vote in Nevada (although, let's be honest, there's only like 12 brothers in NV). So, with Super Tuesday looming, it's probably fair to say Obama needs another high profile win there to regain national momentum.
We'll see how that works out.
Question: Assuming you watched last night's debate, what were your impressions?
Just in case you had better things to do (like helping kids with homework or something else noble), here's a clip of a notable exchange.
Clinton, Obama Engage in Bitter Debate [WashPost]
Loser Obama wins more delegates [LATimes]
