It had to be the first time in history that a presidential candidate had a public hip hop moment. Last Thursday in a speech in North Carolina the senator addressed Hillary Clinton’s critiques in a recent debate by brushing the dirt off his shoulders, referencing Jay-Z’s 2003 hit. (Video below). And the crowd, along with the rest of America, went wild. Within hours, video mash-ups of the video footage with Jay-Z’s voice urging “If you’re feelin’ like pimp, then go on and brush your shoulders off†appeared on YouTube and other websites. Yesterday, Obama’s campaign spokesman, Tommy Vietor, would say only this: “He has some Jay-Z on his iPod.”
Of all the candidates, Obama has proven to be most in touch with today’s pop culture. From his busting a move on the Ellen Degeneres Show to his dirty talk with the women of the View, he has shown that he’s just a regular guy. He is a self confessed “hip hop head†and a big fan of Jay-Z. He has been immortalized online with the sexy “Obama Girl†video and the celebrity filled “Yes We Can†music video. With his exotic background and multi-cultural looks, he stands out among the other politicians in the news this year. If this presidential election were a high school election for class president, Obama would be the cool guy in school sure to win it.
Obama has a tricky fight ahead of him though. He hasn’t been doing well in the debates, lacking answers for questions and issues he should have been anticipating. His close association with an outspoken reverend that blames America for the AIDS virus hasn’t won him any friends. Nor did his recent comments about “small minded†small town Americans. Still, last Thursday’s speech shows all of us that Obama’s still in the game, shaking them haters off as best he can. And we all have to remember how that other Clinton took and kept the presidency after admitting marijuana use and having a high profile affair with an intern. Whether Obama can overcome his own challenges remains to be seen. If he does, maybe his inaugural speech will be titled, “I Got 99 Problems, but Hillary Clinton Ain’t One.†We’ll see.