Oh Stewardess, I Speak Jive

Some highlights from the Politico article: Blacks, Whites Hear Obama Differently

“Black English, especially the cadence, is becoming America’s youth lingua franca, especially since the mainstreaming of hip-hop. Its sound conveys warmth, authenticity and a touch of seductive danger.” [-John McWhorter]

Beyond speech, blacks have picked up certain of Obama’s mannerisms, particularly his walk, that signal authenticity. Bush had his cowboy strut, and Obama has a swagger — a rhythmic lope that says cool and confident and undeniably black. It was most noticeable on his first post-election trip to the White House, some said.

“The swagger was out of control, dragging the left foot, it was like, ‘Barack, you have got to calm down,’” said Melissa Harris-Lacewell, a Princeton University professor who teaches courses in politics and black studies. “The swagger thing just got worse and worse during the campaign ... I am sure David Axelrod told him to stop swaggering.”

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has used phrases recently like “bling bling” to describe the stimulus package and “off the hook” to describe the new RNC outreach plans, at a time when he is trying to step up the party’s appeal to African-American voters.

After reading this article I have several questions:

1) Where can I pickup a “Black English” Dictionary? I'd like to learn a few catch phrases so that I can verbally convey “warmth” along with “seductive danger.”

2) At what point during the campaign did Obama’s swagger reach the optimum level of blackness? I want to be sure I review videos of Barack walking from the correct time period so that I can mimic him to attract potential African-American friends as I stroll through urban areas. I’ve got to be careful because apparently, when one’s “rhythmic lope” becomes too exaggerated there is a backlash.

3) Does a video exist of David Axelrod cautioning Obama to pull back his swagger? I can almost hear Axelrod’s coaching: “Whoa, Barry. They’re not gonna like all that lateral movement in Western Pennsylvania. Here, try to copy me; I’m really white.”

4) Can you imagine if during the campaign John McCain had, like Michael Steele, peppered his speeches with alleged black catch phrases to try to appeal to African-American voters? “Booya, my friends!”

5) Why did/does Barack Obama (according to Politico) have to use speech and physicality to “signal” that he is authentically black? I mean, didn’t both Clintons tell us he was black at least a couple dozen times during the election?