"That Boy's Finger Does Not Need to Be on the Button"

While the putatively "liberal" media hyperventilate about a few words Barack Obama uttered in San Francisco last Sunday, lost in the din were the remarks at a fundraising dinner for Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and his compatriot Representative Geoff Davis who represents the good people of Northern Kentucky. Senator McConnell called Obama "incredibly naive" and Representative Davis called him a "snake oil salesman." But the truly offensive and, yes, "elitist," statement came from Davis when he said: "I'm going to tell you something. That boy's finger does not need to be on the button."

The good news is that Davis's campaign manager, immediately recognizing the racist nature of his boss's words, delivered an unambiguous apology to Obama's Senate office. The bad news is that the reconstituted Solid South under one-party Republican rule has not shaken its old Jim Crow roots.

This incident demonstrates why Obama is a powerful candidate for the general election. I mean, when was the last time you heard a Republican "apologize" for anything that comes out of his or her mouth? The GOP's Southern wing must be careful to silence its instinctive racism. Karl Rove's voter suppression tactics targeting African Americans are well documented. Remember John McCain's "black baby?" How about the "hands" political ad for Jesse Helms or the Willie Horton ad for Bush the Elder? Allen Raymond, the turncoat Republican operative, spilled the beans on the racist tactics the GOP is now expert at deploying.

And what about the high-flying Republican governor of Mississippi Haley Barbour? He's a former chair of the Republican National Committee, and he is always yucking it up with the Council of Conservative Citizens. The C of CC is the reconstituted "White Citizens Councils" of yesteryear during the era of racial segregation, and guess what, they're all Republicans. George W. Bush campaigned for Barbour in 2003 even though the C of CC had splashed photos of Barbour attending one of their barbeques all over its web site.

I guarantee you that if Obama is the Democratic Party's nominee the C of CC types inside the Republican Party are going to be difficult to muzzle because the thought of a black man with his "finger on the button" is just too much for them to bear. Congressman Geoff Davis just exposed the tip of the iceberg.

Comments

[b2008]

STOP AND THINK PEOPLE! Why do you think all these racial retorts are are coming out of the so-called blue? Think and follow the clues for the reason: TO KEEP US IN THE DARK WHILE THEY CONNIVE AND CHEAT TO GET HILLARY ELECTED PRESIDENT! Everything points to that basic precedent.

KEEP THEM FIGHTING AMONG THEMSELVES so they will defend their own kind thereby splitting the voting majority to give Hillary the advantage.

MAKE THE WHITES AND BLACKS HATE EACH OTHER BASICALLY because the Hispanics, Orientals, Indians, and other races will back the Whites because they always do and that will give Hillary another advantage.

MAKE OBAMA SEEM AS TOO INEXPERIENCED TO BE A PRESIDENT so the Blacks who were going to vote for him will return to Hillary who everyone believes has more experienced.

Politics mean: Poly="Many" and tics="bloodsucking critters".

Is there any doubt that the bloodsuckers are sucking our confidence out of each of us and every day.

[AbuGrubb]

Guess what? He's not a mentor to McCain.

[Dorraj]

"i can see the upset cause by the 'that boy' comment...which davis HIMSELF apologized for...but 'snake oil salesman' and 'incredibly naive' ? how do THOSE comments fit into a diatribe about the white citizen's councils, jim crow, and jesse helms"

meanguy,

What you are doing is what a lot of people do when it comes to justifying others demeaning blacks. "That it was a simple slip of the tongue", "he didn't really mean it that way" and "lets not focus on the clearly racial statement focus on something else I said". This is not the first time this has been tried, this happens every time in politics. Secondly Palermo wasn't saying that just saying obama being naive was racist but it is used sometimes to support other racist statements. Lastly it is kinda of amazing how you can acknowledge that he made a racist statement, but act as it is not really a big deal and we should move on. This is why this stuff goes on, cause a lot of people like you give them cover even if you don't believe in what they say and think it is wrong.

[NebulaNoxx]

I know no one here is doubting the sincerity of Mr. Davis' apology (insert hollow laugh here). Sincere or not, he can't put the "genie back in the bottle." It's out there, it's real, and if there's any justice at all in this electoral process (ihlh again), it will come back on him like the man who wished for a million dollars and received it all in pennies poured down on his head!

[Dorraj]

You really cant blame just Rep. Davis for making semi-racist comments, when america has accepted some forms of racism as nothing more than tradition, especially in the south. Nearly a 150 years after slavery has ended there is still slavery on the books (Mississippi), there is still pro-slavery confederate flags hanging from state capitals (South Carolina) and there are several schools still honoring members of the Confederacy (Jefferson Davis Middle School, VA). So how can we be surprised that these comments are being made when it is kinda if not completely acceptable to large segments of our society.
What this to me shows is that while most in this country are desperately trying to deal with and move past race, others are fighting just as hard to hold on to their prejudices. Alot of this comes from the south, and as long as America quietly gives legitimacy to honoring the confederacy this will not go away. I mean this congressman was named after Jefferson Davis! It probably helped his chances to initially get elected. Amazing

[stefanielaine]

Minor point: shouldn't "Council of Concerned Citizens" be abbreviated as C of CC, not CC of C? Excellent article, Palermo, as always.

[circles]

KK of K or whatever.

[meanguy]

i can see the upset cause by the 'that boy' comment...which davis HIMSELF apologized for...but 'snake oil salesman' and 'incredibly naive' ? how do THOSE comments fit into a diatribe about the white citizen's councils, jim crow, and jesse helms???? have you lost your mind, mr palermo, and fallen prey to the 'any criticism of the obamessiah is de facto racism' line of thinking espoused by obama shills/professional victimologists like jess jackson, jr, donna brazille, and spike lee?
sorry, but even to the hyperactively paranoid far left wing, 'snake oil salesman' and 'incredibly naive' are nothing more than run-of-the-mill 'zingers'...if the obamama campaing can't handle that, it's time to get into a new line of work...

[trapperj20]

you missed the point either, intentionally or unintentionally. you bury the substance in the first sentence and then you write it off because Davis apologized for it. the article said that this is just the tip of the iceberg of racism that is going to be exposed. there is a lot of nastiness brewing right now, and this country is a lot more racist than we like to think, and people like you who gloss over things like this are just as bad as people who engage in overt racism. Geoff Davis is a racist. period.

Now lets try and not be so accepting.

[northeast73]

'any criticism of the obamessiah is de facto racism' line of thinking espoused by obama shills/professional victimologists like jess jackson, jr, donna brazille, and spike lee?
=========

Thank GOODNESS other people see it too....the constant buzz of "if you dont like obama, you are a racist" crap.

[Syco]

But it's ok to label anyone who hates hillary as sexist

[b2008]

Why do the Obama haters always blame his supporters for what their representatives have done. How is this his supporters' fault? Your rightwing political party said the disdaining words which they know will keep Americans in chaos and at odds with one another explaining why those words should or should not have been said in the first place.

Can't you see the big picture here? Do you truly believe Obama supporters are the cause of those words? Let's be honest with one another. Mr. Palermo is speaking the truth as it occurred. Can you doubt any of what he said as NOT being the truth? If not, then what is your point?

[ljsfolly]

As we have learned thus far on this campaign, there are those who are nasty and indeed hate-full that we knew from before but had forgotten the extent because of the bush years in between. Then there are those who strive to look past this "machine" made up of those who will do anyting to win. They even will destroy others and the whole party to get what they desire. The idea of racism still being present in this day and age is almost a joke because although we "prefer" to think ourselves as not racist all of those things taught to us still remain inside our brains. Things we say in innocence often are racist or edge upon racist and we don't realize it and if we do we either acknowledge it or ignore it hoping no one else got the "bad" thing we said. There are mean and hate-filled people who use racism to get what they want all the time appologizing for it. But once the word escapes the mouth the desire for the meaning of the word to inflict pain has happened. Like the republican examples, the Clinton machine uses the same tactics they just use surrogates and Bill to do the damage.

[northeast73]

oh good LORD.....maybe BOY was meant to mean YOUNG not black......


Obama gets the benefit of your doubt time and again, but the same standard is applied to nobody else...

that is called extreme bias.

[foxilocks2007]

BS! This perp is old enough to know the racist roots of using the word "boy" to describe a black man. It's intended to be demeaning, a put down, to silence an uppity nigga. they used to kill "boys" by lynching them for no good reason. learn your history.

[trapperj20]

The guy is four years older than OBama

[northeast73]

GET OVER IT.....are black people really that B I T T E R?????

[rinpochet]

You are delusional! Everyone in their right mind knows exactly what "boy" means when applied to a black man in the South. It means, know your place. Maybe shining shoes or waiting on tables but definitely not a candidate for president.

[mcinfla]

Nice try, but 46 is hardly the age where men are typically referred to as BOY, especially by someone who is not much older (3 years).

[oneviciouslife]

Obama is 3 years young than the man. that's a bullshit argument and you know it.

[siciliabel]

This is not subject to interpretation. To call any man a boy is insulting, to call a black man a boy is a racist statement. There is no doubt about what it means, so no benefit should be forthcoming.

[Joedlh]

Not to change the topic, but I agree partially with what Davis said. Not only should Obama's finger not be on the button. Nobody's finger should be on the button. There shouldn't BE a button.

All of the sane people of the world and most of those who are not infatuated with U.S. hegemony agree that there is no useful purpose for nuclear weapons. This includes a great number of military types, those whose careers do not depend on these instruments of Armageddon.

What the possession of nuclear weapons does do is make everybody else feel threatened and therefore motivated to get their own so that they will be a credible counter threat to those who already possess them.

Nuclear weapons should be dismantled universally and forever banned. I'd like to see one of the candidates take this position.

[b2008]

The point here has nothing to do with "the button". We are discussing the outright racial connotation of the statement. I don't believe anyone thinks anybody's finger should be on a button anyhow.

[Dendera]

Yes, the Jim Crow roots are still strong. This 'boy with the finger on the button' comment is a perfect companion to the 'elite' (i.e., uppity negra) commentaries flooding the media this week.

No surprises on this language. Not in a country where I, a prefessional black woman, can sit across from a white job candidate I am interviewing and ask a question designed to pose a quandry, just to see how the candidate thinks on his feet. The response of this middle aged white male, staring into the space just over my head as he got lost in his thoughts and momentarily lost his grip on polite society:

"Now, that's the ni**er in the woodpile, isn't it?"

'Typical' of his generation, I asked myself silently, as I sat frozen with shock and bemusement. Or just a slip of the tongue? A show of his character? Well, he will not long forget the moment. Neither will I or my colleagues.

No. Not too much has changed just yet. We still have a long way to go.

[b2008]

You are so right Madam and I applaud your comment. Nothing has really changed in this country, it was only hidden under the covers waiting for the right time to reemerge.

And people think Black people should be used to this by now, but those are the people who have never experienced being the underdog from birth. Those are the people being so outright belligerent in this post and can see nothing wrong with the statement at all.

Hopefully, if Obama makes it through in one piece, we will be able to work together to put this type of behavior behind us. But, as you said, we sill have a long way to go, my friend.

[Syco]

I'm recently 17 and I've known that since I was 10.

[lobo1939]

Palermo left out the "call me" ad ran against Rep Ford in the 06 Tennessee senate race. I am sure we are going to get this kind of racial attack against Obama once he gets his leg out of pit bull Hillary's clamped jaws.

[Mattjoe]

......STOP!!!.........You had me at "Northern Kentucky Lincoln Day dinner".

What should worry Americans more is the fact that Republican Geoff Davis was actually participating in a "highly classified, national security simulation" and that his ilk are privy to ....highly classified, national security simulations.

Have another Jack on ice there Geoffrey.....and please, enlighten us s'more.

Should any of the sheep shuffle steadily towards his baseless conclusion - they may also believe that both candidates' answer to "do you believe God created the world in 7 days?" on CNN's recent, ill-fated "Compassion Circus" garners vital data from which to place a vote. Yikes people!

Let"s test CNN, FOX and MSNBC now " a Republican calling Obama "that boy", according to many that post here, the angry mob of Democratic media sympathizers should be assembling as we write? And so they should - it's about time a Republican was fed his own shoe on a national stage and¦¦Davis, he"ll do.

Apologies aside remember - Obama's didn"t abate the relentless hype and spin. What's even better than the gaffe - Clinton must defend her party or look complicit as McCain will - distance himself from Jethro. It's really come together quite nicely.

[apoyo]

I think we all need to go on a mainstream media diet. Consume with caution and an open mind.
Use the off button as needed. Moderation is the key. When their numbers drop maybe they'll get a clue and stop feeding us all this drivel. This story should be getting more air time than a made up story on the word "cling".

Let's see how they can cling to their ratings when we stop swallowing all their twaddle.

[b2008]

There you go. My sentiments exactly. Let's start switching channels and hurting their pockets and maybe they'll realize we mean business. WE DON'T WANT NO MORE OF THIS CRAP COMING FROM THE MEDIA that keeps us in total despair.

[apoyo]

Obama didn't call the "Penn" folks racist, Ed Rendell did.

[AnninCA]

Oh yeah.....he said that had an antipathy to those unlike them.

Academese talk there: Means, they are racists.

[b2008]

Antipathy is a FEELING! That's not CALLING SOMEONE A RACIST. How do you get that to coincide?

[Syco]

Well I hate people of my own race who reinforce stereotypes does that make me racist?

[Yansher]

Well if you don't know what the meaning of the word 'is' is, pull out the dictionary.

[MadFae]

Having grown up in Mississippi, it's no big surprise to me that the Republican party is chock full of racists. But I'm more surprised that so many Democrats are racist as well. I call them "stealth" racists. It is a sad sad day for America that the color of a man's skin is such an issue. Bill Clinton had less White House experience than Obama when he ran for the office, but he had one thing going for him. His name was Bill, and he was white. Barack Obama is a brilliant man with a good heart and unshakeable demeanor. How could we NOT want him for president? Yet there are still millions of people in this great old country of ours who see a black man and take pause. They can't even tell you exactly WHY it bothers them. It just "does." And I think that's a shame.

[AnninCA]

I don't think it really is as big of an issue as a lot of his supporters think. I think a lot of Hillary's supporters like her pragmatism a lot more than his vague academic ideas.

I really think that's a bigger split than race or gender.