Left, Obama over Phillies and Eagles hats in Paoli, PA, Saturday (Geoff Kenyon). Right: Newspaper cover in Scarnton (MacKenzie Lewis).
Pennsylvania votes today! In honor of National Poetry Month, allow me to begin with a lyric quote:
I’m feelin’ like a black Republican
Naw, I can’t call it
More like a black Democrat runnin’ ‘em out of office
Young Barack Obama, I’m all for it
The Rock of Gibraltar has now fallen—on ya!
I protect my land like a farmer
Pockets stay chubby like Tikara
Or should I say fat like the Parkers
Tote big guns like I’m still playin’ Contra
Y’all washed up like money that’s laundered
Y’all funny, I’m bonkers
Honest: girls strapped to my dick like a harness
Rock star, flier than an ostrichÂ
—Juelz Santana, Black Repiblican Mixtape Remix (Featuring Weezy F Baby)
Scranton, PA, 4/20—Two meatball-ish men stand on a street corner holding a 3ft by 6ft Hillary For President sign. One wears camo shorts, a tank-top, and velcro shoes. The other sips a can of Miller Lite and wears a shredded Eagles jersey. “Fucking vote for Hillary!” one yells. It’s mid-afternoon on the Sunday before Pennsylvania’s primary, about 75 degrees.
A silver Volvo pulls up with Obama stickers and posters strewn across the dashboard and rear of car. (Obama is scheduled to speak in Scranton later that day.)
“Obama is fucking faggot!!!” yells the Hillary supporters.
“Hillary’s a bitch!” booms a voice from the car.
Ah, how far America has come in the four months since New Hampshire.
I spent last weekend in Eastern Pennsylvania. I took similar trips to New Hampshire before the January primary and to Connecticut before Super Tuesday. So what has changed?
For one, America itself. Back in January, we were still a nation on the edge of recession. But after four months of negative growth, the collapse of Bear Stearns, heightening unemployment, and with no end in sight to the credit crunch, the country faces the worst economic crisis in a generation.
And four months ago Iraq was seeing violence reduced to 2005 levels. An uptick in bloodshed came with the arrival of spring’s traditional fighting season. Then in March the Iraqi government invaded Basra and all heck broke loose (600 dead in 7 days) between the Shias. Now the US is in the middle of a month-long battle for Baghdad’s slum Sadr City (400 dead and counting). Meanwhile, the Sunni insurgency has waged a steady campaign (killing 80 just last week). Bush promised no further troop reductions after this summer, guaranteeing the war will be raging next fall and into the next President’s term.
Polls show the economy and the war remain issues number one and two respectively of the 2008 campaign. Neither shows any hope of near-term improvement. And both can be blamed on the irresponsible—and criminal—8 years of Bush rule. Yet the Democratic candidates have chosen to make personality the central issue of their race. What a wasted opportunity.
TAGS: economy, HBO, Hillary, Iraq, Juelz Santana, New Hampshire, obama, pennsylvania, polls, Race, war, wasted, Weezy
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April 23rd, 2008 at 3:34 am
Every time I hear Obama’s name I cannot stop hearing Jules’s voice saying “Young Barrack Obama Im all for it”, its been going on for months now…illest jam.