Barack Obama

Bristol Palin has a blog post up today on Patheos about how problematic it is that Barack Obama's support of same-sex marriage was inspired by his teenage daughters.

"Finger wagging" doesn't really sum up the tense moment on the tarmac: Brewer is using her white privilege to mask her anger, in an attempt to assert power over Obama. The little power play at the Phoenix Airport speaks to the age-old stereotype of black men being seen as a threat to white women, and the fact that Jan Brewer took advantage of that earns her this week's Douchebag Decree.

The blogs will never stop!

• Feministe points us to a New York Times piece on the 7 billion-person milestone and the importance of birth control...
• ...and the Crunk Feminist Collective reminds us that the majority of consumption is done by the western world, not by "brown people" in population-dense countries.
• The XX factor looks at a NY Times article about the "decline" of Southern manners that completely glosses over the whole aspect of race.
• Racialicious tackles the problematic subject matter in Craig Thompson's new graphic novel Habibi.
• Check out Muslimah Media Watch's new home at the Patheos blogs.
• Transgriot looks at Barack Obama's admirable work on transgender issues—and celebrates 3 million hits!
• Choices takes some time to look at how the Mississippi personhood would affect everyone if voted in next Tuesday.

Let us know what you think or what you've been reading in the comments down below!

I've written a few times on this blog about unfair criticism and downright racist language aimed at President Obama, in part because it's so prevalent and persistent, and in part because I believe it deflects attention from policy critiques. For a president as centrist as Barack Obama, valid criticism is necessary, especially when middle-of-the-road stances often mean compromise on the Hill. So in the interest of modeling good behavior, I have a critique of the President's latest capitulation regarding Social Security, as the debate about debt ceilings continues in Washington.

Barack Obama impersonator Reggie Brown (not to be confused with the football player) was yanked by GOP operatives at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans this weekend when he came a bit too close to sensitive topics like Tim Pawlenty's backbone and the rest of the presidential field. With the grace of a roughly managed Oscar night, the music began and the helpful staff ushered him offstage. Maybe more telling than the sudden end of Brown's performance, however, was which jokes drew laughs and which a few jeers or silence. Mocking Obama's mixed race heritage—lots of laughs. Saying Barbara Bush looks like a really old George Washington—boo. My own one liner goes something like: The next best thing to defeating Obama in an election is getting to boot his impersonator off stage! Hey, I'm here all week, folks.

Information on the power of American workers' wages show stark losses in their portion of the money pie, unemployment figures took a hit in May that required explanation, and for all of the "recession is over" talk in Washington, people don't feel optimistic about their own economic outlook. In rolls the second GOP debate of the 2012 campaign. Did they capitalize on the country's bad mood? Well, kind of.

Catch up with Political InQueery and Grey's Rounds contributor Everett Maroon as we talk about the Obama Administration's LGBT initiatives, how GOP candidates are beginning to frame Obama's presidency thusfar, predictions for summer politics, and yes, Weinergate (with apologies to the Watergate Hotel).

Stream the audio above, subscribe via iTunes or RSS, or download from archive.org. Transcription (.doc). Links after the jump!

It seems like only six months ago we were talking about the 2010 midterm elections. Oh, wait. I suppose the 2010 midterm elections were only a little more than six months ago. At any rate, the early campaigning for the 2012 gubernatorial election is underway. When I brought up the idea of guest blogging about this summer's candidates to Bitch's editors, Osama bin Laden was still at large, Donald Trump hadn't done himself in as a serious contender, and people were still talking about the possibility of nominating Tim Pawlenty. (Well, okay, a few people still insist Pawlenty can pull it off.) My point is, if the last two months are any indication, this campaign cycle will be hectic and as fast moving as Trump's bangs in a July thunderstorm.

We took a long gander at the 2010 midterm elections, and I'm grateful we've had this time together, even if electoral politics often seems like an unworthy issue to spend quality time examining. For me, assessing the rhetoric from politicians and the press who cover them is telling because it outlines the parameters of debate across a range of issues and by illuminating what gets spotlighted, we can ask discursive questions about where the silences are and what effects stem from that silencing. With this general method as context, let's take a look at the next two years, as we gear up for another presidential election.

I spent two hours standing in line yesterday to hear President Obama and Senator Murray rally the troops for her reelection bid. In the University of Washington's Huskies stadium, there were reminders of the basketball court under our feet, the Democrat's passage of student loan reform, and several rounds of the wave that people do in sports arenas. So imagine my surprise when the AP wire put out a story that today's rally was all about getting women to the polls on November 2. Uh, what?