HONOLULU: Bobo, the childhood teddy bear belonging to presidential hopeful Barack Obama, may be at risk, experts say.
"There is a history of violence towards American heroes like Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and some other guys named Garfield or McKinley, or something" said Prof. Milfred A. Hoppenboch, a U.S. historian and Obama-backer. "And there is a much longer history of political or personal intimidation through the theft of articles with emotional significance. Look at how long the search for the Holy Grail sidetracked King Arthur and his knights, who could have used their time and resources for more important matters, like polling and campaigning. If we put these two trends together, we can conclude that items such as Bobo may be endangered by violent, gun-toting, extreme-right loonies, simply through association with what may be our great country’s first black leader."
Will he be safe?
"We have Bobo under full protection," said a Secret Service spokesbeing who declined to be named. "We are not currently releasing any information on his whereabouts. Bobo is being very brave."
Another U.S. government spokesperson outlined vague but somehow threatening-sounding fears about Bobo’s security, reflecting concerns already reported on in this New York Times analysis, "A painful past sparks concern about Obama’s safety".
"We pray for Bobo’s safety every day," said Clare Bumbledom and Shirley Pinkerton, retirees attending the local Baptist church in the Kansas hometown of Obama’s late mother, Stanley Ann Dunham Soetoro, who was profiled in this touching New York Times feature, "A Free-Spirited Wanderer Who Set Obama’s Path", complete with a cute baby picture.
Other family members have come forward with claims that Bobo, inspired by the young Barack, always embodied the tenacity, smarts, multiculturalism and all-round niceness that define the Obama family. Other excellent New York Times features on this enlightening topic include "Obama’s Brother in China," "Obama Campaigns in His Grandfather’s Hometown"
and a particularly awwww-inspiring profile of his grandma, the jovial but barefooted Mama Sarah, in "Obama’s Kenyan Roots".
"Imagine the scarring effect that will be left on the American psyche if Bobo — who belongs to the son of that poor, brave dead mother, and the grandson of that poor African lady — was harmed. I bet the child Barack cuddled him and slept with him every night," said psychologist and profiling expert Anne Dinkletotem. She added: "I have no solid evidence to back this, but by interpreting signs from Hilary Clinton’s public appearances, I would say that she had no cute stuffed animals at all. And, even if she did, she was probably the type who would make them sit stiffly up in pretend formal tea parties. Or she locked them in the closet while she plotted her future career, not like that nice Obama boy."
*****
Actually, I rather like Obama, though I still think he’s not as strong a candidate as Hilary. (I’m not talking about primary results here, but personal preference). I also relish in good newspaper writing that goes beyond just boring facts to provide colorful features and analysis. Taken one by one, each of the above linked articles is well-written and generally responsible. (OK, the security one wasn’t factually-based enough — the headline makes it sound like there was some concrete new risk when there wasn’t — but given that there have been 17 assassination attempts on U.S. presidents or president-elects, and given that there still are radical white supremacy groups in America, the premise is not entirely in left field.)
But taken all together, the package of articles about Obama contrive to manipulate the reader through a combination of sympathy, admiration and alarm, which is a technique that has been used forever by media trying to rouse up support for troops overseas. You can be as "correct" in your reporting as you want, but editors still control the tone of coverage and portrayals of personalities. When a headline writer uses the word "brave" to describe one and "sniping" to describe another, that has a big impact, regardless of the fact that it takes as much bravery to be a major black candidate as a major female candidate. When an editor is laying out a newspaper page and clicks on the "wire photos" button, he or she is presented with dozens of different shots of figures with every possible angle and look. Technically, the editor is not being incorrect or unethical by repeatedly choosing flattering photos of one person smiling and looking confident, and unflattering photos of another scowling and looking down. But it’s not a good balanced way to work.
British newspapers are upfront about their political alliances and opinions. There are so many dailies speckled all over the political spectrum that this somehow works. But America doesn’t really have a large number of national dailies — USA Today, I guess, and the The NYT for elites, so this does not work as well. Plus, the NYT is not openly endorsing anyone; the presumption that is it balanced makes the skewing of its coverage feel somehow false.
******
The Obama vs. Hilary debate has often come down to the question of: Is America more racist or more sexist? A friend, an American woman living in London, says it’s more racist. (She’s originally from Virginia, but has been living overseas forever). I say America is more sexist, as does my mother. (We both lived in Connecticut for 13 years, though we aren’t there any more). "America just isn’t ready to elect a woman president," my mother says.
Maybe a better question is this: Do the left-leaning half of Americans (i.e. those who would have any involvement in the Democratic contest) feel more ashamed of their country being racist, or of their country being sexist? I think people will go out of their way to prove that America can elect a black man, because racism, at least in mainstream society, is seen as a definite Bad Thing. But do people really feel ashamed that American women earn 23 percent less than men? (This is a wider gap than in Europe’s more developed nations, or indeed Hong Kong). I think not. The issues of gender — divorce, teen pregnancy, whether working mothers should work the same as working fathers, whether "real women" can make it as top executives — are too blurry to rile up widespread indignation that the country has never had a female leader.
Am I delusional in still holding out hope for a joint ticket?
"There is a history of violence towards American heroes like Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and some other guys named Garfield or McKinley, or something" said Prof. Milfred A. Hoppenboch, a U.S. historian and Obama-backer. "And there is a much longer history of political or personal intimidation through the theft of articles with emotional significance. Look at how long the search for the Holy Grail sidetracked King Arthur and his knights, who could have used their time and resources for more important matters, like polling and campaigning. If we put these two trends together, we can conclude that items such as Bobo may be endangered by violent, gun-toting, extreme-right loonies, simply through association with what may be our great country’s first black leader."
Will he be safe?
"We have Bobo under full protection," said a Secret Service spokesbeing who declined to be named. "We are not currently releasing any information on his whereabouts. Bobo is being very brave."
Another U.S. government spokesperson outlined vague but somehow threatening-sounding fears about Bobo’s security, reflecting concerns already reported on in this New York Times analysis, "A painful past sparks concern about Obama’s safety".
"We pray for Bobo’s safety every day," said Clare Bumbledom and Shirley Pinkerton, retirees attending the local Baptist church in the Kansas hometown of Obama’s late mother, Stanley Ann Dunham Soetoro, who was profiled in this touching New York Times feature, "A Free-Spirited Wanderer Who Set Obama’s Path", complete with a cute baby picture.
Other family members have come forward with claims that Bobo, inspired by the young Barack, always embodied the tenacity, smarts, multiculturalism and all-round niceness that define the Obama family. Other excellent New York Times features on this enlightening topic include "Obama’s Brother in China," "Obama Campaigns in His Grandfather’s Hometown"
and a particularly awwww-inspiring profile of his grandma, the jovial but barefooted Mama Sarah, in "Obama’s Kenyan Roots".
"Imagine the scarring effect that will be left on the American psyche if Bobo — who belongs to the son of that poor, brave dead mother, and the grandson of that poor African lady — was harmed. I bet the child Barack cuddled him and slept with him every night," said psychologist and profiling expert Anne Dinkletotem. She added: "I have no solid evidence to back this, but by interpreting signs from Hilary Clinton’s public appearances, I would say that she had no cute stuffed animals at all. And, even if she did, she was probably the type who would make them sit stiffly up in pretend formal tea parties. Or she locked them in the closet while she plotted her future career, not like that nice Obama boy."
*****
Actually, I rather like Obama, though I still think he’s not as strong a candidate as Hilary. (I’m not talking about primary results here, but personal preference). I also relish in good newspaper writing that goes beyond just boring facts to provide colorful features and analysis. Taken one by one, each of the above linked articles is well-written and generally responsible. (OK, the security one wasn’t factually-based enough — the headline makes it sound like there was some concrete new risk when there wasn’t — but given that there have been 17 assassination attempts on U.S. presidents or president-elects, and given that there still are radical white supremacy groups in America, the premise is not entirely in left field.)
But taken all together, the package of articles about Obama contrive to manipulate the reader through a combination of sympathy, admiration and alarm, which is a technique that has been used forever by media trying to rouse up support for troops overseas. You can be as "correct" in your reporting as you want, but editors still control the tone of coverage and portrayals of personalities. When a headline writer uses the word "brave" to describe one and "sniping" to describe another, that has a big impact, regardless of the fact that it takes as much bravery to be a major black candidate as a major female candidate. When an editor is laying out a newspaper page and clicks on the "wire photos" button, he or she is presented with dozens of different shots of figures with every possible angle and look. Technically, the editor is not being incorrect or unethical by repeatedly choosing flattering photos of one person smiling and looking confident, and unflattering photos of another scowling and looking down. But it’s not a good balanced way to work.
British newspapers are upfront about their political alliances and opinions. There are so many dailies speckled all over the political spectrum that this somehow works. But America doesn’t really have a large number of national dailies — USA Today, I guess, and the The NYT for elites, so this does not work as well. Plus, the NYT is not openly endorsing anyone; the presumption that is it balanced makes the skewing of its coverage feel somehow false.
******
The Obama vs. Hilary debate has often come down to the question of: Is America more racist or more sexist? A friend, an American woman living in London, says it’s more racist. (She’s originally from Virginia, but has been living overseas forever). I say America is more sexist, as does my mother. (We both lived in Connecticut for 13 years, though we aren’t there any more). "America just isn’t ready to elect a woman president," my mother says.
Maybe a better question is this: Do the left-leaning half of Americans (i.e. those who would have any involvement in the Democratic contest) feel more ashamed of their country being racist, or of their country being sexist? I think people will go out of their way to prove that America can elect a black man, because racism, at least in mainstream society, is seen as a definite Bad Thing. But do people really feel ashamed that American women earn 23 percent less than men? (This is a wider gap than in Europe’s more developed nations, or indeed Hong Kong). I think not. The issues of gender — divorce, teen pregnancy, whether working mothers should work the same as working fathers, whether "real women" can make it as top executives — are too blurry to rile up widespread indignation that the country has never had a female leader.
Am I delusional in still holding out hope for a joint ticket?
Is Obama\’s teddy bear a plushie?