# Barack the Magic Negro **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 28, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980 "2008-12-28T18:06:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/21 "2008-12-28T19:13:50Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > It wasn’t that long ago that I recommending to Democrats that they find new leadership. They did. I hope you were well paid. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/22 "2008-12-28T19:15:49Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Isn’t there a “Magic Jew” character in some films, too? Someone who’s a little wiser/funnier/more grounded, and who takes the long view? There are likely more examples of the “magical gay friend”, who advises the female lead about relationships, all while being entertainingly stereotypical. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/23 "2008-12-28T19:17:32Z")
[Youtube link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxYDnYTvmfU) Am I the only one who sees Sharpton as the intended target here? The song is in “his” voice, and largely sour grapes for Obama’s popularity… ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/24 "2008-12-28T19:51:06Z")
Yeah, **Oakminster** is on the right track. The term “Magical Negro” was deliberately coined to point up the offensiveness of the stereotype, and Ehrenstein was dead wrong both in his assessment of what the term means, and in his application of either definition to Obama. Shanklin’s parody, which was actually written over a year ago, is actually pretty clever, and it’s not the least bit anti-Obama. It is racist, however, because it attributes an attitude to African Americans that’s very much in the minority. It also uses yet a third meaning for the term “magical negro,” and I think it attributes both of these idiotic attitudes to Ehrenstein, which is wrong. However, Shanklin’s just a comedian, so I can’t really expect too much. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/25 "2008-12-28T19:53:43Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > heh heh “Magic Negro” is kinda funny. Sort of like Chimp in Command. I also like it the way AP fuss over Obama’s “precious energy”: > > [Blagojevich questioning takes up Obama’s time](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jSXSXnRiVYM3Z0KnFJciO6WloqhAD95922700) > > - heh heh.. next up will be the “precious fluids” stage. It doesn’t say that Obama has any kind of special “precious energy,” troll, it’s saying that any energy drained from any any Presidential transition is precious. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/26 "2008-12-28T20:03:38Z")
What I loved in the [NY Times article](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/us/politics/28rnc.html?scp=1&sq=obama%20the%20magic%20negro&st=cse) was Newt Gingrich saying: > [@](#): > > This is so inappropriate that it should disqualify any Republican National Committee candidate who would use it. There are no grounds for demeaning him or for using racist descriptions. Newt Gingrich, people. _Newt **Gingrich** _. When Newt Gingrich tells his own people that they’re being tacky, it’s time to pack up and go home. You done lost the game. ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/27 "2008-12-28T20:18:39Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > Newt Gingrich, people. _Newt **Gingrich** _. > > When Newt Gingrich tells his own people that they’re being tacky, it’s time to pack up and go home. You done lost the game. I had the exact same thought, **phouka**. Are the Republicans _trying_ to lose power for a generation? The country is getting younger, browner and more urban. If the Republicans had a lick of sense, they’d be working their asses off to appeal to black, Latino and Asian voters, not to mention young voters, rather than pulling this tired old nonsense. Sure, it’ll get you a few chuckles in Nashville, but the Republicans need to be thinking bigger and broader than that. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/28 "2008-12-28T20:26:45Z")
> [@sovtawen](#): > > I’m always surprised when something remotely creative comes out of the Republican party…\ > > Democrats = people who work and create things for a living > Republicans = people who exploit them to make money > > 😃 Need I point out that working in an office or auto parts store or factory assembly line does not equal creativeness? Still, to the degree that Democrats can be called creative: Democrats = people who create art Republicans = people who create jobs 😃 your own self (;)) ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/29 "2008-12-28T20:32:16Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Republicans = people who create jobs Oh, yeah, it really shows in the current unemployment figures. Must be because there are so many new jobs that people just can’t decide which one to take. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/30 "2008-12-28T20:33:33Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > “Barack the Magic Negro”, sung to the tune of “Puff the Magic Dragon”. Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary is [very unhappy](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-yarrow/my-response-to-the-mean-s_b_153808.html). ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/31 "2008-12-28T20:40:34Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Isn’t there a “Magic Jew” character in some films, too? Someone who’s a little wiser/funnier/more grounded, and who takes the long view? > > I can think of 2 examples: Saul in _While You Were Sleeping_, the only older person who’s not a buffoon, and Sam Weinberg in _A Few Good Men_, the scrawny Navy lawyer who brings ballast and sanity. Judd Hirsch in **Independence Day**. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/32 "2008-12-28T20:43:21Z")
I should probably add that I couldn’t believe how stupid Saltsman is to have done that. It’s easy to see why Huckabee didn’t do better than he did. Believe it or not, I almost started a Pit thread about this last night myself. That idiot is playing right into the hands of everyone who likes to stereotype Republicans as racists, and it pisses me off more than a little. > [@Equipoise](#): > > Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary is [very unhappy](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-yarrow/my-response-to-the-mean-s_b_153808.html). FWIW, I agree with him completely. > [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Oh, yeah, it really shows in the current unemployment figures. Must be because there are so many new jobs that people just can’t decide which one to take. Historical perspective, **Q** , historical perspective. Jobs (and the creation of the companies that provide them and absorb their concomitant risk) have historically been created by Republicans. People who just want a job have typically been Democrats. And I’m sure that there’s no need to point out that a 5% unemployment rate = 95% employment rate. Oh, wait… ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/33 "2008-12-28T20:47:51Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > I’m sure it was merely an oversight that you didn’t mention that that article was written by Times reporter David Ehrenstein, who is himself black. Aw, and I was so hoping I’d please you. It’s important to me to be inclusive of mentally defective people like yourself, who neglect reading OP links and therefore don’t know why it doesn’t matter that Ehrenstein is black. But hang in there! I have every hope that one day your keyboard will be drool-free. > [@5-4-Fighting](#): > > **Liberal** , amazing that you’re the OP on this, since I almost posted this in the Rick Warren thread in response to you (but obstinately refrained), to point out who it is we’re actually supposed to be trying to make common cause with. I know this does not represent all Republicans but this event and its explanation are quite telling. Yeah, but I’m not really concerned about the moral aspect of it. My concern is with the political efficacy, just like in the other thread. The most efficacious thing gays can do is follow Obama’s example of reaching out. And for Republicans, I think it would be efficacious for them to stop alienating large blocs of voters. > [@Equipoise](#): > > Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary is [very unhappy](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-yarrow/my-response-to-the-mean-s_b_153808.html). 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/34 "2008-12-28T20:54:12Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Aw, and I was so hoping I’d please you. It’s important to me to be inclusive of mentally defective people like yourself… Dear Pot, Good to see you’re [del]not dead[/del] well. –Kettle ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/35 "2008-12-28T20:55:47Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Yeah, but I’m not really concerned about the moral aspect of it. My concern is with the political efficacy, just like in the other thread. The most efficacious thing gays can do is follow Obama’s example of reaching out. And for Republicans, I think it would be efficacious for them to stop alienating large blocs of voters. I was concerned about the political efficacy of it too, which is why I mentioned common cause – as in meet me halfway with regards to the administration that currently in power for the next four or eight years. It shouldn’t be all one side or constituency doing all the heavy lifting. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/36 "2008-12-28T20:59:02Z")
> [@5-4-Fighting](#): > > I was concerned about the political efficacy of it too, which is why I mentioned common cause – as in meet me halfway. Yes, but that won’t work. It wouldn’t be any better if the song were titled “Barack the Magic Black Man.” And it wouldnt work if Warren were told he could speak if he would apologize first. It’s the exact same principle by which Obama will talk to our enemies without preconditions. The whole point of negotiation is to set conditions. If they’re already set, then negotiation is pointless. Same same for Warren. If he’s already one of us, then there’s no point in reaching out. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/37 "2008-12-28T21:15:58Z")
It is classless and not funny. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/38 "2008-12-28T21:46:55Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Dear Pot, > > Good to see you’re [del]not dead[/del] well. > > –Kettle Ya know, **Lib** can get pretty frustrating and enraging when he’s off his meds. You, you’re just a bitch. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/39 "2008-12-28T22:09:53Z")
> [@5-4-Fighting](#): > > I was concerned about the political efficacy of it too, which is why I mentioned common cause – as in meet me halfway with regards to the administration that currently in power for the next four or eight years. It shouldn’t be all one side or constituency doing all the heavy lifting. Sure, like the Repubs just reached out so far . Now we can be grown ups again. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2008, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/40 "2008-12-28T22:10:51Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > And I’m sure that there’s no need to point out that a 5% unemployment rate = 95% employment rate. Especially if you decide that people with part-time jobs, and those who have given up looking for any job, count as employed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980.md?page=3)