How Attacks On Obama's Race And Religion Turned Into Jokes

“I was born, of course, in Hawaii,” President Barack Obama began last night from the stage of the annual piece of dinner theater that is the White House Correspondents Dinner. Then he winked, bringing down the house.



In his routine, Obama — as he has before — poked fun at rumors he was born in Kenya. He laughed gamely when comedian Jimmy Kimmel flicked at another rumor, that he’s a crypto-Muslim, with his greeting: “Salaam.” He joked that his second term’s secret agenda would involve hip-hop: “In my first term, I sang Al Green; in my second term, I'm going with Young Jeezy.” He joked about eating dog as a boy in Indonesia, an alien detail conservatives have delighted in raising in recent weeks.

Last night’s comedy routine didn’t just tap newsy mini-scandals — one at the General Services Administration, the other at the Secret Service — for which such events are designed. Obama and comic Jimmy Kimmel harped on the three most visceral and, once, potent lines of personal attack on Obama, the contradictory stew of questions raised about his religion, his race, and his American identity that have shadowed him since 2007, mostly debunked but never quite put to rest.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/bensmith/how-at ... gion-turne

So cool....so inept.

It was good to see Barack willing to make jokes on himself. Reminds me of when Jay Leno spoke a little while ago, complaining that Dems like Al Gore weren't willing to be joked about like Republicans are. Too worried about their self image?

Well, what can you do when the accusations leveled at you are a joke? Make lemon-aid out of lemons.

But really the "joke" was on the people who believed those claims.

JSG wrote: Well, what can you do when the accusations leveled at you are a joke? Make lemon-aid out of lemons.

But really the "joke" was on the people who believed those claims.

...And still is...

(Can you say: "Joe Arpaio"?)

I thought BHO was pretty funny the other night and did a much better job than the comedian MC.

Well he is funny looking too. That helps