Strengthening Constitutional Self-Government

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What Biden’s Beer Summit Presence Reveals

After denouncing the participants’ choice of brews, Tunku Varadarajan notes that Biden’s surprise appearance changed the racial mix and the appearances of the beer summit--it wasn’t about a black intellectual and a black intellectual-politician versus a white cop, but two white guys and the two black guys. Obama "would not have become president if he’d made white people afraid. The best way to ensure that people are not afraid is to ensure that you’re not threatening--and President Obama had never been threatening until the Gates affair"--unless you had vaguely recalled the Rev. Wright.

Shelby Steele sketches this out further, in case you missed his weekend WSJ op-ed.

Discussions - 12 Comments

"After denouncing the participants’ choice of brews..."

Yes, that really makes me want to read it!

Wait a minute, isn't this the same guy who gave us his thought-provoking take on Michael-Jackson-bad, Farrah Fawcett-good?

Guess that explains the inanity.

Yes. Thank you Ken Thomas. Before I was afraid of terrorists. Then lately I have been afraid that the guvment was going to take my guns and kill my grandma with their health care. But your post cleared it up for me. I am afraid of Obama by the sheer number of black guys at his meeting. Thank you for helping me to give name to what was once my nameless fear.

The first piece is a bit strange, but Steele's piece is an excellent critique of this whole sordid affair. Ren's enlightening comments also show that this is all about class more than race, if I do reckon so ma-self. Your disdain for ordinary Americans drips off your acidic tongue.

Yes, that really makes me want to read it!

Yet read it you did, and you even felt compelled to comment on it.

I am afraid of Obama by the sheer number of black guys at his meeting.

Do you even read the posts here before offering bullshit comments on them?

Yet read it you did, and you even felt compelled to comment on it.

Well, I read the first sentence, true. My reluctance to continue wasting my time increased when I got to his silly "Why didn't one of the men have the guts to ask for a glass of wine?" query, and I skimmed from there to his utterly idiotic inquiry as to "Why didn't the president and the vice-president keep their jackets on, as their guests did?" wherein I pulled the emergency brake on the Crazy Train, and bailed on the article completely.

Possible answers to his profound questions:

1. Because they didn't want to drink wine.

2. Because it was a warm day and the discussion was more important than the dress code.

If the right keeps barreling down its anti-intellectual highway, I guess we can expect more moronic op-eds like that one, loaded with such questions that would make anyone scoff at the "There's no such thing as a stupid question" truism.

If the right keeps barreling down its anti-intellectual highway

There must be some reason why the heirs to communism, the admirers of Foucault and Chomsky, the Khmer Rouge and the Soviet Union, imagine themselves to be towering "intellectuals", but I can't figure out what it is.

Oh, John M, how can a person NOT fall in love with you?

Anyway, you left out fascism there. Don't forget, that intellectual powerhouse Jonah Goldberg has demonstrated that one pretty conclusively, too. ;)

Scanlon: I don't see how any value is added to discussion by attacking what the author admittedly says are "whimsical" questions. But I do find it funny that you let alone the question of Biden's presence, which does seem calculated, knowing the president's tendencies and want for political fides.

I'm pretty sure everything a President does is calculated. The slip ups (pretzel choking, affairs, comments about the "special Olympics") too easily translate into sensationalist news.



And keep building that straw-man, John. Add a few more, just for me.

If this guy thinks Bud Light is the worst beer in the world I'm guessing he does not buy his beer by the 30 pack at the gas station. The whole thing comes off as an elitist complaining that two other elitist tried to slum it up and this made him upset. Odd.

That's true, but I don't think Bush could have said "I could have calibrated the way I ate that pretzel differently" or something. If you're going to be calculating at least be a bit more esoteric!

Great point, Brutus.

I just noticed this, from the original post - "President Obama had never been threatening until the Gates affair."

Good lord, what kind of complete wimp could have found Obama threatening during "the Gates affair"??? Did someone see Obama reach for the gun in his waistband?

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