# Because he's black of course! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 18, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901 "2012-01-18T13:58:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/21 "2012-01-18T20:43:23Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Sorry… > > 1. Looking for the best argument/examples that liberals can make for the often made allegation that Republicans hate Obama because of his skin color rather than his policies. Honestly, 99% of the time when I hear this “often-made” allegation, it comes from right-wingers who are going out of their way to deny it, rather than people who actually think it’s true. Like in the form of, “you all are calling us racists when we’re really just mad about his policies”, without any actual accusations of racism made beforehand. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2012, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/22 "2012-01-18T23:56:08Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > What’s the best example… by the most prominent person…who’s said or acted the most negatively …toward Obama because he is black? > > What’s the worst example… by the most prominent person …who’s claimed that Obama has been dissed because he is black? Ok, enough with the Christopher Reeve impersonation. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/23 "2012-01-19T02:54:48Z")
Obama is obviously highly intelligent, a gifted orator and has academic credentials putting him ahead of most of the GOP contenders. Yet he is called the “teleprompter President.” That would not happen if he were a white man. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/24 "2012-01-19T04:04:48Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Obama is obviously highly intelligent, a gifted orator and has academic credentials putting him ahead of most of the GOP contenders. Yet he is called the “teleprompter President.” That would not happen if he were a white man. No, if he were white it’d be all “egghead” and “intellectual snob” and “stuck-up brainiac elitist”. You have to be careful with that one – what, he’s too **smart** to be POTUS?! – but it can be deadly, they even used it successfully on Carter to some extent, and who was this Adlai Stevenson? But since he’s black for certain values of black, better to associate him with the stereotype of the African-American who sounds smart but ain’t, e.g., the preacher. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/25 "2012-01-19T04:09:43Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Obama is obviously highly intelligent, a gifted orator and has academic credentials putting him ahead of most of the GOP contenders. Yet he is called the “teleprompter President.” That would not happen if he were a white man. I assume you mean that’s in the “worst” category, right? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/26 "2012-01-19T04:11:59Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Second part, no opinion, except that such blatant misuse of ellipses makes the Baby Jesus cry. An ellipsis is three periods, no more, no fewer. This is ordained by God. If you ignore the Law . . . ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/27 "2012-01-19T11:48:36Z")
I don’t think the teleprompter thing is about race. I think it’s the classic Rovian approach: attack your opponent’s strength. Obama is a powerful speaker, so they’ve pushed a narrative that makes that into a liability: now, the more powerfully he speaks, the more evidence it is that he relies on a teleprompter. See “swiftboating”. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/28 "2012-01-19T12:00:16Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > An ellipsis is three periods, no more, no fewer. Without spaces between them, however… ---
**Author:** ![Stelios](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Stelios](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stelios)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/29 "2012-01-19T12:34:40Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Why does the birther thing even partially have to involve his race? Obviously any background provided by even the fairiest news media is likely to mention Kenya but that doesn’t mean anything. Because the idea of questioning Obama’s ethnicity and heritage would never have even _occurred_ to the birthers if Obama was white. Yet inspite of all the evidence supporting his citizenship, it seemed as though there was absolutely no limit to the number of intellectual hoops the birthers were prepared to jump through in order to cling on to the fiction of their “conspiracy”. White Barry Osbourne simply wouldn’t have had these same problems. Anecdotally, my own occasional forays into the right-wing blogosphere have revealed a strong correlation between the vehemence of one’s defence of mad birther conspiracy theories and a propensity for racially charged (and, occasionally, flat-out indefensibly racist) language in other contexts. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/30 "2012-01-19T13:16:53Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Without spaces between them, however… Even better if it’s not 3 characters… ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/31 "2012-01-19T13:36:34Z")
All criticism of Obama is because he’s black (unless the complaint is that he is not left-wing enough). Anyone who says different - you lie, boy. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/32 "2012-01-19T13:41:36Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > All criticism of Obama is because he’s black (unless the complaint is that he is not left-wing enough). Anyone who says different - you lie, boy. > > Regards, > Shodan Who here has said that? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/33 "2012-01-19T14:01:54Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Who here has said that? **Shodan**. Frequently. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/34 "2012-01-19T14:18:37Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Ok, enough with the Christopher Reeve impersonation. I thought it was William Shatner. Or he was jealous of Snoborder Bo’s attempts to stand out. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/35 "2012-01-19T14:24:08Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > **Shodan**. Frequently. And unless I am grossly misinterpreting him, it is an example of the only way this argument is ever used. Never actually argued, but always sarcastically attributed to your opponent. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/36 "2012-01-19T14:38:29Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Without spaces between them, however… **With** spaces between them, sir. “…” is incorrect; “. . .” is correct. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/37 "2012-01-19T14:41:30Z")
> [@Stelios](#): > > Because the idea of questioning Obama’s ethnicity and heritage would never have even _occurred_ to the birthers if Obama was white. Yet inspite of all the evidence supporting his citizenship, it seemed as though there was absolutely no limit to the number of intellectual hoops the birthers were prepared to jump through in order to cling on to the fiction of their “conspiracy”. White Barry Osbourne simply wouldn’t have had these same problems. Their latest theory, expounded in [this thread,](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=632151) is that Obama is not a natural-born citizen for constitutional purposes because his **father** was not a U.S. citizen. (Where does that leave the person – I’m sure there are many, human reproductive biology being what it is – who does not **know** who his/her father was?) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/38 "2012-01-19T14:54:43Z")
I think if you’re going to tie something to race, there has to be, well, something about race in that “something”. I’m hard pressed to see a racial element to teleprompter, especially when you have Jon Stewart using it, too. [Link.](http://www.factcheck.org/2010/01/school-photo/) > [@](#): > > The White House video of this event prompted Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart to ask incredulously, “You set up a teleprompter in a 6th grade classroom?” Even the birther nonsense has the element that his father was not born in the US and was not a US citizen. I think the birther movement is larger than it would have been had Obama been white, but it would still have been there. Remember, there was chatter about McCain, and both his parents were US citizens. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/39 "2012-01-19T15:03:04Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Obama is obviously highly intelligent, a gifted orator and has academic credentials putting him ahead of most of the GOP contenders. Yet he is called the “teleprompter President.” That would not happen if he were a white man. He is an amazing orator, when it is rehearsed. When he has the speech down he owns the room. When he doesn’t he is hesitant, indecisive, and finds himself searching for the answers (in my observation). While that doesn’t make him any different from anybody else, it is such a stark contrast from his usual mannerisms that that nickname, were he actually called that (seeing it is a first for me), is pretty fitting. And I say that not because he’s black but because I noticed this years ago and I was quite surprised at it. I thought he would have been better at off-the-cuff speaking than he is. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901/40 "2012-01-19T15:06:14Z")
What chatter? The House (unanimously?) passed a resolution confirming that McCain was a natural born citizen, and that was it. Dozens of Congresscritters have “expressed doubts” about Obama’s citizenship, in addition to thousands of plebes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/because-hes-black-of-course/609901.md?page=3)