Vanity Fair Takes A Stroll Down Obama Memory Lane
EmailIn addition to their glam shots of Obama White House and Cabinet folks, Vanity Fair takes a stroll down Obama memory lane with a look back at a 1990 fanfair that looks at the then-new president of the Harvard Law Review, a 28-year-old grad student named Barack Obama, who "was somewhat taken aback by the deluge of media coverage that followed hard on the heels of his election." “I like to read novels, listen to Miles Davis,” Obama said about the editing gig. “I don’t get to do that anymore. I don’t get dates anymore.” …The mag reported that Obama "wants to tackle the quagmire of America’s inner cities. Federal money alone won’t do it, he argues. The deeper problem is that ‘those communities are unorganized. We need to get more people planning.’ For preparation, Harvard Law School is a ‘perfect place to examine how the power structure works. It gives you a certain language.’ When he’s fluent, he’ll be able to translate the language of the streets (‘which I can speak’) into the language of the Establishment, and vice versa. "The sense of mission derives in part from his experiences in the Third World," the magazine noted. "He saw brutal poverty while growing up in Singapore (sic)* with his mother, an anthropologist, and his half-brothers and -sisters in Kenya still live hand to mouth at times. Obama says that his late father’s experience in the Kenyan government left him a broken and bitter man, and he responds warily to the assumption that he himself will run for office. "’If I go into politics it should grow out of work I’ve done on the local level, not because I’m some media creation.’ Though, as media creations go, he’d be a pretty good one." Ahem. — jpt * They meant Indonesia
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Vanity Fair and the rest of Media ABC included are all in the same league now after this election
Posted by: pester mester | February 2, 2009, 12:39 pm 12:39 pm
Not very nice of VF to mock him so thoroughly.
Posted by: BertieW | February 2, 2009, 12:41 pm 12:41 pm
What does Vanity Fair and the rest of the MEDIA have in common? They both are tabloid trash after they fell in love with Obama and stopped any real ethical news reporting. Joe the Plumber with one question exposed Obama for who he really is and how the Liberals reacted to Joe the Plumber exposed how hatful they really are.
Posted by: dude | February 2, 2009, 12:43 pm 12:43 pm
It’s pretty pathetic (and blackly humorous) that “poverty” and “Obama” should FINALLY get into the same sentence … courtesy of Vanity Fair.
The Puppet’s supposed concern for the inner cities seems to have evaporated in favor of uber-WASPS.
Posted by: Tom Terrific | February 2, 2009, 1:30 pm 1:30 pm
For VF, Indonesia and Singapore are two different countries. Idonesia is an archipelago country, while Singapore is a city country. It’s amazing to me how a reporter from such a mag like VF make a mistake like that. I can understand if Joe the plumber doesn’t know the difference, but a reporter from VF??
Posted by: Basel20 | February 2, 2009, 1:36 pm 1:36 pm
jpt quotes The Puppet:
“the language of the streets (‘which I can speak’)”
Hahaha. Tell it to Jesse Jackson and a zillion displaced and dispossessed poor people.
The language of Wall Street, K Street, and the long-nonexistent Main Street, is what The Puppet speaks. The only thing “street” about Him is his bad grammar.
Posted by: Tom Terrific | February 2, 2009, 1:49 pm 1:49 pm
Fluff, fluff, fluff.
Posted by: Jean | February 2, 2009, 1:52 pm 1:52 pm
“Though, as media creations go, he’d be a pretty good one.”
Ahem indeed.
What the media hath wrought let no man put asunder. But keep drilling away at Robert Gibbs anyway, Jake.
Posted by: Bridget | February 2, 2009, 2:11 pm 2:11 pm
jake- do you know if he had a PR person working on his behalf at that time?
Posted by: MayBee | February 2, 2009, 2:14 pm 2:14 pm
“‘If I go into politics it should grow out of work I’ve done on the local level, not because I’m some media creation.’ Though, as media creations go, he’d be a pretty good one.”
Ahem.
There should have been a warning posted before this remark. I almost sprayed water on my screen from laughing too hard.
Posted by: Roxie | February 2, 2009, 2:16 pm 2:16 pm
actually tom-terrific
many very successful and averagely successful black males have learned to speak 9-5 english as well as neighborhood slang.
You should see the look on my clients or colleagues faces that have met me for the first time after phone conversations. i get a good laugh when they try to clean up the deer in headlight look. We have no choice and have always learned more of your culture to succeed. in spite of your cynicism.
Posted by: watching | February 2, 2009, 2:51 pm 2:51 pm
Joe the Plumber with one question exposed Obama for who he really is and how the Liberals reacted to Joe the Plumber exposed how hatful they really are.
HAHAHA… Joe the Plumber… now he’s a real myth buster…HAHAHA
Posted by: haha | February 2, 2009, 2:56 pm 2:56 pm
“‘If I go into politics it should grow out of work I’ve done on the local level, not because I’m some media creation.’”
Wonder why he changed his mind? looool!
Posted by: Bridget | February 2, 2009, 4:05 pm 4:05 pm
What a VF reporter…
Doesn’t know the differences between Indonesia and S’pore!
Posted by: cilla | February 2, 2009, 8:09 pm 8:09 pm
Does that ahem signal he’s a media creation, despite the ensuing sixteen year climb from community activism to teaching constitutional law and consecutive senate work from 1996? That’s just a bare summary of his accomplishments in addition to harnessing the media with brilliant strategies, and an ahem can’t minimize them.
Posted by: kathy | February 2, 2009, 10:02 pm 10:02 pm