# Rush Limbaugh plays "Barack the Magic Negro" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 25, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642 "2007-04-25T20:39:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/1 "2007-04-25T20:39:06Z")
Story [here](http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/50979/) and [here.](http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?pid=189860) I’m not sure if he’s trying to one-up Imus, thumb his nose at the FCC, or what. But this is in poor taste even for Rush. ---
**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:** [April 25, 2007, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/2 "2007-04-25T20:52:51Z")
Not that Rush’s behavior sounds nifty, but he supposedly was[parodying an op-ed](http://mediamatters.org/items/200703200012) in the L.A. Times by David Ehrenstein: "The Times op-ed, written by cultural critic David Ehrenstein, is headlined "Obama the ‘Magic Negro.’ " Ehrenstein invoked the cinematic trope of the “Magic Negro,” which he defined as follows: The Magic Negro is a figure of postmodern folk culture, coined by snarky 20th century sociologists, to explain a cultural figure who emerged in the wake of Brown vs. Board of Education. “He has no past, he simply appears one day to help the white protagonist,” reads the description on Wikipedia . He’s there to assuage white “guilt” (i.e., the minimal discomfort they feel) over the role of slavery and racial segregation in American history, while replacing stereotypes of a dangerous, highly sexualized black man with a benign figure for whom interracial sexual congress holds no interest. As might be expected, this figure is chiefly cinematic – embodied by such noted performers as Sidney Poitier, Morgan Freeman, Scatman Crothers, Michael Clarke Duncan, Will Smith and, most recently, Don Cheadle. And that’s not to mention a certain basketball player whose very nickname is “Magic.” Ehrenstein concluded: “Like a comic-book superhero, Obama is there to help, out of the sheer goodness of a heart we need not know or understand. For as with all Magic Negroes, the less real he seems, the more desirable he becomes. If he were real, white America couldn’t project all its fantasies of curative black benevolence on him.” " And Limbaugh could hardly be trying to one-up Imus, since he Limbaugh parody was aired days before Imus got into trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/3 "2007-04-25T20:52:54Z")
Let’s see if the media goes after Rush like they did Imus. IMHO, Imus’s comments, while exceedingly stupid, weren’t deserving of all the hoopla they got. This, OTOH, ranks right up there with “halfrican-american.” ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/4 "2007-04-25T20:53:19Z")
Oxycontin and viagra. Worse than methedrine and huffing paint, brain wise. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/5 "2007-04-25T21:00:42Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] Oxycontin and viagra. Worse than methedrine and huffing paint, brain wise. [/QUOTE] Wow, I didn’t know Ehrenstein did that kind of stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/6 "2007-04-25T21:11:51Z")
I have to admit, this doesn’t sound all that bad. In poor taste, yeah, but if he is riffing off that op-ed piece, I’d consider that fair game. If he came up with the idea all on his lonesome without explanation of what he meant by Magic Negro, then it’d be far more deplorable. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/7 "2007-04-25T21:17:29Z")
[QUOTE=BayleDomon] If he came up with the idea all on his lonesome without explanation of what he meant by Magic Negro, then it’d be far more deplorable. [/QUOTE] Agreed. And it makes me wonder why the LA Times wasn’t pitted instead. Worst of all, this pitting plays right into Rush’s stupid hands. From the OP’s article: Limbaugh later asserted: “I’m going to keep referring to him as that because I want to make a bet that by the end of this week I will own that term,” adding, “If I refer to Obama the rest of the day as the ‘Magic Negro,’ there will be a number of people in the drive-by media and on left-wing blogs who will credit me for coming up with it and ignore the L.A. Times did it, simply because they can’t be critical of the L.A. Times, but they can, obviously, be critical of talk radio.” ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/8 "2007-04-25T21:20:05Z")
Meh, nevermind. ---
**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:** [April 25, 2007, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/9 "2007-04-25T21:20:28Z")
The “magic negro” concept predates Ehrenstein’s essay, though. Even _The Wrong Coast_ (a 2004 one-season stop-motion parody of _Entertainment Tonight_) had a sketch called “Magical Black Men”, about a movie that combined the supporting characters from _Bruce Almighty, The Legend of Bagger Vance_ and _The Family Man_ into a trio of black magical superheroes trying to help the main (white) character. Film critics were commenting on the phenomenon years earlier. As for Rush, he’s a fatty-headed schmo. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/10 "2007-04-25T21:22:14Z")
Can Rush at least get kicked off the air for getting “Puff the Magic Dragon” stuck in my head? Please? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/11 "2007-04-25T21:27:17Z")
[QUOTE=Harborwolf] Can Rush at least get kicked off the air for getting “Puff the Magic Dragon” stuck in my head? Please? [/QUOTE] Oh, God, I was whistling it when I read your post! Damn the man! Damn him! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/12 "2007-04-25T21:29:00Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] As for Rush, he’s a fatty-headed schmo. [/QUOTE] At least he’s not a [Sappy Headed Ho-mo.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=8460195&postcount=121) ---
**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:** [April 25, 2007, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/13 "2007-04-25T21:29:10Z")
[QUOTE=Harborwolf] Can Rush at least get kicked off the air for getting “Puff the Magic Dragon” stuck in my head? Please? [/QUOTE] Try singing it to the tune of _Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer_ instead, which was what I initially figured it would be set to. _Puff_ didn’t even occur to me. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/14 "2007-04-25T21:31:38Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Try singing it to the tune of _Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer_ instead, which was what I initially figured it would be set to. _Puff_ didn’t even occur to me. [/QUOTE] You suck. Now I’ve got both stuck in my head. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/15 "2007-04-25T21:34:31Z")
Quick! Put on some Zappa or Warren Zevon! If you don’t have any, kill yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/16 "2007-04-25T21:37:13Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] Quick! Put on some Zappa or Warren Zevon! If you don’t have any, kill yourself. [/QUOTE] [It Ain’t That Pretty At All.](http://www.lyrics007.com/Warren%20Zevon%20Lyrics/Ain't%20That%20Pretty%20at%20All%20Lyrics.html) ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/17 "2007-04-25T21:39:11Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] Quick! Put on some Zappa or Warren Zevon! If you don’t have any, kill yourself. [/QUOTE] I agree. This sort of mind rot can only be cleaned out with Sentimental Hygiene. ---
**Author:** ![lowbrass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@lowbrass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lowbrass)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/18 "2007-04-25T21:41:24Z")
Hmmm…I absolutely can’t stand Rush, but if you want to blast him, this seems like the wrong hill to die on. I listened to the song parody, and it makes a point of mentioning that “Magic Negro” is a term that was used in the L.A. Times piece. It’s not really a parody of Obama at all; it’s a parody of Al Sharpton supposedly thinking that Obama isn’t black enough, and Sharpton’s concern that if a black man is elected, that it will undermine his whole career of playing to the “victimhood” of blacks. You can agree or disagree with that characterization of Sharpton, but I have read similar opinions about Sharpton in the mainstream press, so I don’t think it’s a particularly shocking idea. It’s a crappy song, and it’s not funny, but if people start going ape because it has the word “Negro” in it, without understanding that the song is _criticizing_ the L.A. Times for using that characterization, they’re just playing into Rush’s hands (as Liberal said). ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/19 "2007-04-25T21:46:34Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] The “magic negro” concept predates Ehrenstein’s essay, though. Even _The Wrong Coast_ (a 2004 one-season stop-motion parody of _Entertainment Tonight_) had a sketch called “Magical Black Men”, about a movie that combined the supporting characters from _Bruce Almighty, The Legend of Bagger Vance_ and _The Family Man_ into a trio of black magical superheroes trying to help the main (white) character. Film critics were commenting on the phenomenon years earlier. [/QUOTE] It’s also a Chris Rock routine. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642/20 "2007-04-25T22:21:24Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Agreed. And it makes me wonder why the LA Times wasn’t pitted instead. Worst of all, this pitting plays right into Rush’s stupid hands. From the OP’s article: Limbaugh later asserted: “I’m going to keep referring to him as that because I want to make a bet that by the end of this week I will own that term,” adding, “If I refer to Obama the rest of the day as the ‘Magic Negro,’ there will be a number of people in the drive-by media and on left-wing blogs who will credit me for coming up with it and ignore the L.A. Times did it, simply because they can’t be critical of the L.A. Times, but they can, obviously, be critical of talk radio.” [/QUOTE] Heh. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rush-limbaugh-plays-barack-the-magic-negro/401642.md?page=2)