Wasn’t there a flap about this earlier in the campaign, by the way? I think Michelle was alleged to have referred to Barack as her baby daddy - and unless memory serves, no proof of that ever turned up either. The pattern that emerges from rumors like this is really disgusting.
I don’t know. They’ve clearly shown that they can easily attack the weaker target… but what if their target is suddenly in power and can fight back?
Fox News is the bully in the schoolyard.
Actually, the quote is from when Michelle introduced her husband at some rally or something: “My baby’s daddy Barack Obama. Yeah!”
It seems to me that there’s a huge difference between “my baby’s daddy” and “my babydaddy”.
The best part of that clip is how they do a split screen thing Malkin saying how its OK to attack Michelle Obama as long as it’s on substantial issues. Meanwhile, on the other half of the screen is Mrs Obama’s picture superimposed with the “Obama’s Baby-Daddy” text.
It’s almost exactly something you’d see on the Daily Show, except without the irony.
The Walgreens where I work is on the “disadvantaged” side of town, which means our clientele is about 50/50 white and African-American. And one evening I was ringing up two black female teenagers who, as they came up to the register, were discussing a gentleman named “Mario”. Girl A was actually dating “Tyree”, but felt a desire to, ahem, associate herself with Mario. And Girl B was advising her that this was possibly not a good idea, not only because Tyree might have issues with it, but also because, as she put it, wide-eyed, “Mario, he got ten baby mamas…”
Girl A shrugged sheepishly; I got the impression that in her mind, this was actually a recommendation, sort of a, “what an alpha male stud!”
Anyway, the point is, the colloquial context of the phrase “baby mama” was that Mario had ten girls carrying his babies, and that he wouldn’t particularly care if Girl A got herself knocked up and made it eleven.
Have you forgotten that Fox News actually became the No. 1 news channel during the Clinton administration? They’re not the bully in the schoolyard. They’re the abusive spouse who will beat you no matter what you’ve done.
There isn’t that much difference. What a curious way to introduce him.
E.D Hill has apparently been fired for the “terrorist fist jab” remark. At least, she’s been removed from her show. I don’t think Fox is explicitly stating the reason. Is it possible there’s a level to which even Fox is uncomforable sinking?
I hadn’t heard of this before. I know people are stupid but – really? Wow. Isn’t fist-bumping almost a universally-understood gesture in the U.S.? What in God’s name does it have to do with terrorists?
Yeah, there is.
One is a I guess for a better term, “familiar black”…as in: here’s the father of my child, isn’t he a fine man?! I am proud of him and proud to share children with him. We are a loving, MARRIED couple.
The other is: any Tom, Dick or Harry could be this father’s child and it’s not very important; as he was just leaving a deposit. My children are bastards and any other children I have will most likely be too…
There is a large connotative difference between “my baby’s daddy” and “my babydaddy,” as has been explained. Given that the linked transcript only has that one sentence, I doubt that was the complete introduction.
Regardless, if anybody from Al Sharpton to Joe Sixpack asks Fox to explain this jokey-but-inappropriate use of slang, her earlier remark will be the justification they use.
I guess the most charitable way of thinking of it is that some headline writer fell in love with the whole wordplay aspect of “Obama baby mama” – a particularly sheltered headline writer who’s not hip to the negative connotations of “baby mama”. (It’s like something James Thurber would write if he were alive today and writing right wing Fox News headlines instead of “The Thirteen Clocks”) But that’s not a very high probability explanation, is it…
And with any luck, Al and Joe are wise to the fact that the justification is bullshit. And if not, well, that’s just more ignorance for us to fight.
I think it’s far from the worst thing that’s been said about them, and I don’t know if there was any racist intent, but I find it hard to believe they would ever use that same expression for Laura Bush or Cindy McCain.
Not that it justifies it’s use, especially as it was altered, but do you think they (whoever at Fox decided to do it) would have used that term if Michelle Obama had not used something close to it?
I have to agree. Even though the meanings aren’t identical, the fact that she said something so similar makes Fox’s use of the term a lot less vile in my view. Not a total justification for them as it’s still childish for them to make that a headline, but it’s still much different to me now.
Bah. This whole election cycle will be a game to see how close Fox News (and their like) can come to calling him “uppity nigger” without actually saying it.
I wonder how close we’ll get.
-Joe
I think I agree. Even though a distinction exists there, it’s not a distinction which will ever be understood or recognized by the media, and making too much of it now will just lead to endlessly circular and simplistic arguments about a perceived “double standard.” Michelle Obama said something close enough to make objections not worth it. Semantic nuance in racial terminology is something which has no hope of being appreciated or acknowledged in any kind of media food fight over this.
It’s more than “childish.” It’s more like cultural ignorance, not understanding the difference between “my baby’s daddy” and “his babymama.” It’s even more clueless than saying, “Well he calls himself a ‘person of color.’ Why can’t I call him a ‘colored person’?”