# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![alterego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6bbea6/32.png) [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/141 "2008-12-30T03:30:32Z")
LOL Obama would consider it a compliment and find it funny too. That’s because Obama keeps it cool. [http://www.hulu.com/watch/47605/saturday-night-live-obama-plays-it-cool](http://www.hulu.com/watch/47605/saturday-night-live-obama-plays-it-cool) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/142 "2008-12-30T04:04:57Z")
I’m just amazed someone came up with lyrics dumber than the original’s. And I’m weighing the score toward the original because, as a song for children and stoners, it should not be expected to not be stupid. That CD was obviously self-published. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/143 "2008-12-30T04:15:50Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > :dubious: What, um, year do _you_ think it is now? Sorry, 2012. Time is fleeting. Madness takes its toll. I **meant** to do that . . . ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/144 "2008-12-30T05:02:39Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Sorry, 2012. Time is fleeting. Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change. ---
**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 30, 2008, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/145 "2008-12-30T07:17:36Z")
> [@Scissorjack](#): > > Then there’s _The World’s Fastest Indian…_ I’m one of the five people who saw that movie in the theater when it was released. I can guarantee that the Indian, though very cool and very fast, was not magical at all. It was just very, very cool, and very, very fast. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/146 "2008-12-30T11:56:08Z")
Once again, Rachel Madow said it right, “Stay classy GOP, stay classy.” ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/147 "2008-12-30T15:11:35Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > The head of state – whether king or president – **is** the symbol and embodiment of the nation in a way that the other branches are not. Show me “head of state” or “symbol and embodiment of the nation” in the Constitution. Our system does not provide for either. The president is nothing more than head of one of three co-equal branches of government, empowered to exercise “executive power,” specifically: > [@](#): > > The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. > > He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. > > The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session. No “head of state,” no “symbol and embodiment of the nation.” Ain’t in there. The office is just a job. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/148 "2008-12-30T15:16:59Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Show me “head of state” or “symbol and embodiment of the nation” in the Constitution. Our system does not provide for either. The president is nothing more than head of one of three co-equal branches of government, empowered to exercise “executive power,” specifically… Show me where “judicial review” or “separation of church and state” appear in the Constitution. The Presidency, as an office, has come to encompass roles that it was never originally intended to, whether you like it or not. He is the _de facto_ head of state regardless of his Constitutional claim to the title. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/149 "2008-12-30T15:21:34Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The Presidency, as an office, has come to encompass roles that it was never originally intended to, whether you like it or not. He is the _de facto_ head of state regardless of his Constitutional claim to the title. A lot of “de facto” things are in error and can be changed. That’s my position on this. It is an error to believe that the American system has a head of state. No individual personifies or embodies the nation. Anyway, judicial review and separation of church and state have been explicitly derived from actual words in the Constitution in actual Supreme Court decisions. Has any Supreme Court decision ever mentioned “personification and embodiment of the nation”? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/150 "2008-12-30T15:30:58Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > A lot of “de facto” things are in error and can be changed. That’s my position on this. It is an error to believe that the American system has a head of state. No individual personifies or embodies the nation. > > Anyway, judicial review and separation of church and state have been explicitly derived from actual words in the Constitution in actual Supreme Court decisions. Has any Supreme Court decision ever mentioned “personification and embodiment of the nation”? An individual has to personify or embody the nation. That’s pretty much how nations work. Your choices are the President or Paris Hilton. Ignoring your chicken/egg paradox, what actual words in the Constitution did the principle of judicial review derive from? The Marbury v. Madison decision was based on common sense, not the language of the Constitution. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/151 "2008-12-30T15:32:04Z")
It looks like the state GOP leaders are rallying around Mr. Salzman: > [@](#): > > “When I heard about the story I had to figure out what was going on for myself,” said Mark Ellis, the chairman of the Maine Republican Party. “When I found out what this was about I had to ask, ‘boy, what’s the big deal here?’ because there wasn’t any.” > > Alabama Republican committeeman Paul Reynolds said the fact the Saltsman sent him a CD with the song on it “didn’t bother me one bit.” > > “Chip probably could have thought it through a bit more, but he was doing everyone a favor by giving us a gift,” he said. “This is just people looking for something to make an issue of.” > > “I don’t think he intended it as any kind of racial slur. I think he intended it as a humor gift,” Oklahoma GOP committeewoman Carolyn McClarty added. “I think it was innocently done by Chip.” People just don’t have a sense of humor, I guess. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081230/pl\_politico/16919](http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081230/pl_politico/16919) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/152 "2008-12-30T15:35:05Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > No individual personifies or embodies the nation. Not by original design, no. You’re right about that, in terms of intent. When the framers were creating the nation, they resisted, and in some cases outright quashed, the wider population’s impulse to refer to the President as “Your Majesty” or similar honorifics. And yet: The average human is pretty simple-minded. The democratic model requires a certain amount of reduction to the lowest common denominator, to allow broad participation in the process. And as a result, we, collectively, have difficulty with complex models and divided leadership. We look for an alpha male (or, increasingly, an individual, but still overwhelmingly a male) to sit at the top of the pyramid. It’s the same reason Star Trek (bear with me) found it necessary to invent the Borg Queen in _First Contact._ The Borg were a faceless, nonindividualized enemy, weird and frightening for being an undifferentiated horde that nevertheless acted with singular intent. And yet, that’s very difficult to represent dramatically; you can’t really have a conversation with a hive. Or, rather, you can, but it’s exceedingly difficult to pull off in a way that your average audience member will “get” and identify with. Much easier to personify the enemy by reducing them to an individual, regardless of whether or not it violates the original conception of the Borg. Same thing with the Presidency. It’s supposed to be a chief administrator, a rotating caretaker, but because of the limitations of the people being governed, it turned out not to work that way in practice. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/153 "2008-12-30T15:37:01Z")
Unbelievable. The hits keep on coming. The Republican Party this year is like a washing machine on spin cycle with one soggy sneaker in it, digging holes in the linoleum as it threatens to shake itself apart. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/154 "2008-12-30T15:45:19Z")
I’m all for making fun of Obama, but if your first instinct, as someone of the Rich White Male Party, is to bring up race… …just let it go. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/155 "2008-12-30T15:52:46Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > An individual has to personify or embody the nation. That’s pretty much how nations work. I don’t even know how to begin to respond to such a blatantly unsupported claim. Cite? Prove it? How about “Orly”? Utter nonsense. Certain individuals must be empowered to act on behalf of a government. That’s all. A nation needs an individual to personify or embody it no more than a pencil needs to be yellow. > [@](#): > > Ignoring your chicken/egg paradox, I see no paradox. I simply see an error. > [@](#): > > what actual words in the Constitution did the principle of judicial review derive from? The Marbury v. Madison decision was based on common sense, not the language of the Constitution. No, actually, it was based on language in the Constitution that created the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. It was derived through logical deduction and application of legal principles. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/156 "2008-12-30T15:59:53Z")
It’s not really making fun of Obama, actually. I just listened to the lyrics to make sure I’m not totally off-base with it. Actually, I must agree with the core theme of it, while rejecting the style and language. Obama was my candidate of choice for a number of policy-related reasons. Like many, I’m happy to see a non-pure-white person hold presidential office. But I think it’s dangerously deluded and naive the way many whites feel that the nation has magically solved racism by electing a half-black Harvard grad who has no slave ancestry and no “street cred” (as it were). His election demonstrates that America can embrace someone who looks sort of black on the outside as long as he seems completely white on the inside. Sad to say, this represents a huge step forward for America. But at least we did make that step instead of rejecting it. That notwithstanding, the song is stupid crap. It uses insensitive language, and the style is the verbal equivalent of blackface. You can carry off being edgy like that if it’s clever and too true to be denied. But it isn’t… the lyrics are clunky and unimaginative, and the truth that’s being told isn’t a thing to celebrate. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/157 "2008-12-30T16:06:32Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > I don’t even know how to begin to respond to such a blatantly unsupported claim. Cite? Prove it? How about “Orly”? Utter nonsense. Certain individuals must be empowered to act on behalf of a government. That’s all. A nation needs an individual to personify or embody it no more than a pencil needs to be yellow. Every nation with a functioning government has a head of state. Asking for a cite is like asking for evidence that the sky is blue. > [@](#): > > I see no paradox. I simply see an error. > [@](#): > > Anyway, judicial review and separation of church and state have been explicitly derived from actual words in the Constitution in actual Supreme Court decisions. Paradox: SCOTUS applied the principle of judicial review in determining whether it was allowed to apply the principle of judicial review. Anyway, this whole “show me where it appears in the Constitution” idea doesn’t really have anything to do with the topic, which is whether or not the President ought to be worthy of respect; the Constitution doesn’t tell us whether _anyone_ is worthy of respect. > [@](#): > > No, actually, it was based on language in the Constitution that created the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. It was derived through logical deduction and application of legal principles. Jurisdiction, yes. But not scope and not powers. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/158 "2008-12-30T16:47:00Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > A lot of “de facto” things are in error and can be changed. That’s my position on this. It is an error to believe that the American system has a head of state. No individual personifies or embodies the nation. > > Anyway, judicial review and separation of church and state have been explicitly derived from actual words in the Constitution in actual Supreme Court decisions. Has any Supreme Court decision ever mentioned “personification and embodiment of the nation”? I think you are reaching. Article 2 Section 3 explicitly notes > [@](#): > > he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers and throughout the world the presentation of credentials by ambassadors and consuls is explicitly directed to the heads of state. In Britain, Queen Elizabeth receives ambassadors, not Prime Minister Brown; in Germany, President Koehler receives ambassadors, not the head of government, Chancellor Merkel; in Canada, Governor General Jean receives ambassadors (in lieu of Queen Elizabeth), not Prime Minister Harper. In the U.S., the president receives ambassadors as the head of state–following the Constitution. While “personification and embodiment of the nation” might be arguable at some level, (there have probably been a few occasions when a person outside trhe U.S. identified the U.S. as Uncle Sam rather than as the president), the vast majority of the time, references to the actions of the U.S. are described in terms of “President x\_\_\_\_x” has done this or that. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/159 "2008-12-30T17:26:09Z")
> [@Cosmic Relief](#): > > It’s not really making fun of Obama, actually. I just listened to the lyrics to make sure I’m not totally off-base with it. > > Actually, I must agree with the core theme of it, while rejecting the style and language. Obama was my candidate of choice for a number of policy-related reasons. Like many, I’m happy to see a non-pure-white person hold presidential office. But I think it’s dangerously deluded and naive the way many whites feel that the nation has magically solved racism by electing a half-black Harvard grad who has no slave ancestry and no “street cred” (as it were). His election demonstrates that America can embrace someone who looks sort of black on the outside as long as he seems completely white on the inside. Sad to say, this represents a huge step forward for America. But at least we did make that step instead of rejecting it. Are we talking about the same Obama!? No street cred? Looks \*sort of \*? black? Is that what the Rush Limbaughs are telling themselves? Is _anyone_ needing to tell themselves this to deal with a black family moving into the white house? I really thought this weirdnes was limited to this board. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980/160 "2008-12-30T17:40:23Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > and throughout the world the presentation of credentials by ambassadors and consuls is explicitly directed to the heads of state. … Governor General Jean receives ambassadors (in lieu of Queen Elizabeth), not Prime Minister Harper. This is not exactly true. Our prime minister accepts credentials of and receives ambassadors as well. That function is not reserved for the head of state. [For example](http://www.pngembassy.org/yearinreview_3.html) > [@](#): > > Ambassador Evan J. Paki presented his credentials to the Honorable Paul Martin, Prime Minister of Canada. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-the-magic-negro/478980.md?page=9)