People are finding out the hard way Barack Obama does not find anything funny about celebrities who think their money, fame, and fan clubs give them permission to degrade women and perpetuate sexist and racial stereotypes.

To the delight of some–and disappointment of others–Obama has left nothing to interpretation with his admonishment of those who cross the line of common decency and respect towards our ladies. Want proof? Check out his searing criticism of a celebrity who used the word “ho” to describe African American women:

“He didn’t just cross the line,” Obama said. “He fed into some of the worst stereotypes that my two young daughters are having to deal with today in America….insults, humor that degrades women, humor that is based in racism and racial stereotypes isn’t fun..and the notion that somehow it’s cute or amusing, or a useful diversion, I think, is something that all of us have to recognize is just not the case… as a culture, we really have to do some soul-searching to think about what kind of toxic information are we feeding our kids..”

Wow. I think it’s safe to say Obama’s zero tolerance stance against misogynistic sentiment packaged as “comedy” is music to the ears of equal rights advocates the world over, especially women–who have been on the receiving end of sexist humor for, well, centuries.

Trouble is, the comments I quoted above were not Barack’s response to his friend Bernie Mac’s “ho” jokes at a recent Obama fundraiser; they were comments Obama made in April 2007 after Don Imus made history when he referred to the Rutgers college Womens hoops team as “some nappy-headed hos.”

For those who aren’t aware, Bernie Mac was asked to introduce Obama at a recent fundraiser event where the presumptive presidential nominee was set to speak (an event that cost donors $2500 a head to attend). Instead of playing it safe and telling a few clean jokes and then turning it over to Obama, Mac–who apparently skipped the “know your audience” part of Speechwriting 101–decided to do a Don Imus impersonation, which went a little something like this:

[BERNIE MAC - APRIL 2008]
“My little nephew came to me and he said, ‘Uncle, what’s the difference between a hypothetical question and a realistic question?’” Mac told the crowd, “I said, ‘I don’t know,’ but I said, ‘I’ll tell you what you do. Go upstairs and ask your mother if she’d make love to the mailman for $50,000.’”

The joke continued with the mother saying she’d sleep “with anyone” for $50,000 — and then continuing to include Mac’s daughter, who Mac said would also hypothetically sleep with anyone for $50,000.

“Hypothetically speaking, we should have $100,000. But realistically speaking, we live with two hos,” Mac said delivering the punch line that solicited a few hecklers in the political crowd.
As reported by abcnews.com

Oops. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that room when the crowd fell into an awkward silence that was quickly broken when an angry heckler barked to Mac, “It’s not funny! Bring on Barack!”

Back to Obama. Should Mac’s “ho” joke draw the same degree of heat Imus’s “nappy headed hos” quip drew from Obama? Or does Mac’s race somehow insulate him from the same can of whoopin’ Imus got smacked with? Is it like the “n” word where it’s ok for black people to use it, but not ok for white people? Let;s ask Obama. According to Obama’s statements in April of 2007, it would seem he believes race should NOT be a factor when dealing with ANYONE who utters sexist or racist stereotypes:

[BARACK OBAMA- APRIL 2007]
“I understand MSNBC has suspended Mr. Imus,” Obama told ABC News, “but I would also say that there’s nobody [not a single person, white, black, blue, gold, or pink] on my staff who would still be working for me if they made a comment like that about anybody of any ethnic group. And I would hope that NBC ends up having that same attitude.”

Hence, it would only stand to reason that we would expect Obama himself to have the same attitude towards comedians who do the same, especially when the “ho” jokes are streaming into Obama’s own microphones, right? Of course we would. And Obama ALMOST (and the key word here is “almost”), followed through accordingly when Mac finally turned the microphone over to him. Obama opened by reminding people we can no longer be divided by race/gender, and even suggesting Bernie Mac should “clean up his act” because families were watching. And then Obama dropped the oBOMBa when he pardoned Mac with an unmistakably fraternal “You know I’m just messing with you, man.”

Understandably, some people are spitting angry over the “I’m just messing with you” thing. They want to know why Obama wasn’t just “messing” with Imus. They want to know why Obama has a double standard for dealing with sexist and racist remarks. They want to know why Obama is not sticking to his “not on my watch..” promise to attack sexist and racial offenders wherever they raise up, regardless of race.

Why do I say people’s anger is “understandable”? Because I don’t think many are considering how delicate the situation is from Obama’s perspective. He may as well be diffusing explosives. Every day he encounters a new potential bomb and has to figure out how to diffuse it quickly before it explodes, often with no advance notice (although one could argue he could have asked Mac what he was going to talk about PRIOR to his speech–he probably will the next time someone introduces him).  The clock is always ticking down, and he’s always facing a rainbow of different colored wires, each one a potential detonator. Tick, tick, tick…

Some people are saying Obama is only playing politician, that behind closed doors he probably approves of Mac’s humor. To me that seems like a stretch given Obama’s Harvard education, family life, etc. I am going to go out on a limb and assume Obama is not a sexist, and does not approve of sexist remarks, and that the double standard exists only because his decisions on which wires get “ripped” (read: Imus), and which ones get “nudged” (read: Bernie Mac) must be made with great caution as he navigates his way through the ethnic mind field that is the U.S.A. on his way to the White House.

I submit that while Obama has proven he is averse to misogynistic entertainment, to rip Mac for feeding into some of the worst stereotypes” would likely backfire and alienate a lot of people who as of now are lined up to vote for Obama. Bill Cosby proved public scoldings are not the way into people’s hearts, and Obama has apparently taken note.

In conclusion, of course Obama is applying a double standard by ripping Imus and ribbing Bernie Mac. I would just argue his motivation. I don’t think he approves of Mac’s language at all, I just think he is aware every situation is potentially a bomb, and that such situations must be handled carefully, always with any eye to the long term results, and always aware that social change must occur, slowly, steadily, and delicately… wire by wire.

And Bernie, I’m just messin’ with you too!! Who wants to be on the receiving end of a Bernie Mac joke? Especially during election season. Obama might just be smarter than many people think.