Michelle Obama has been holding this back since Inauguration Day 2017.#DemConvention pic.twitter.com/60T6YEOOYo
— Kevin D. Grüssing ?? (pronounced Grew-sing) (@KevDGrussing) August 21, 2024
Philip Bump, at the Washington Post — “With six words, Michelle Obama rewires America’s conversation on race”: [gift link]:
… In one of the more memorable stretches of her speech, she equated the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, with the majority of Americans who never enjoyed Trump’s wealth and privilege — and the safety net that accompanies them.
Harris “understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward,” Obama said. “We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. If we bankrupt a business or choke in a crisis, we don’t get a second, third or fourth chance. If things don’t go our way, we don’t have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead. No.
“We don’t get to change the rules so we always win,” she continued. “If we see a mountain in front of us, we don’t expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top. We put our heads down. We get to work.”
Trump’s name wasn’t used but it didn’t need to be. That line about the escalator, a call back to Trump’s 2015 campaign launch, made the point obvious, if it wasn’t already.
But there are six words in that stretch that extend well beyond Trump. Obama used a phrase that succinctly and elegantly reframes the ongoing debate over inequality in the United States and how it might be addressed: “the affirmative action of generational wealth.”
It’s concise, centered on two familiar concepts. The first is “affirmative action,” the term used to describe programs generally focused on ensuring that non-White Americans have access to resources and institutions they might not otherwise have. And the second is “generational wealth,” the transition of economic (and social) power through families and, at times, communities…
The linchpin of Obama’s phrase, though, is its shortest word: “of.” She isn’t contrasting affirmative action and generational wealth as conduits to power and success, she’s overlapping them. She’s noting that generational wealth is a form of affirmative action, here in the person of Trump but certainly beyond that.
How? Because generational wealth presents opportunities to people who might otherwise not have access to them: legacy admissions at Ivy League colleges, tutors and training, vehicles and housing that make entry-level jobs or internships more feasible. These are benefits that derive from social and economic class — a form of affirmative action. This is how reframing a subject works; it presents familiar information in a new context…
Republicans reject the idea of systemic racism, in part, because they view it as an unfair and unpatriotic disparagement of the United States. It’s in part, too, because the narrative of America overcoming explicit racism during the Civil Rights movement suggests that the fight is over. Many point to Michelle Obama’s husband: How could racism exist in an America that elected a Black man as president?…
Michelle Obama knows this. Her line overlapping affirmative action and generational wealth wasn’t offering “affirmative action” as a pejorative term. It was, instead, contextualizing a different way in which people are boosted by circumstances that aren’t always under their control. It was a defense of affirmative action programs that noted how wealth built in an explicitly unfair economy was its own form of unearned advantage.
It was pointed at Trump, yes. But it’s a reframing that rewires the conversation of race and advantage in a striking way. In six words that will likely have more staying power, if not more success, than “we go high.”
I will never forget the feeling in the arena during this “failing forward” section of Michelle Obama’s speech.
She eviscerated Trump and never even said his name.
It was cathartic.
It was masterful.
And it lit that room up da fuq up. #DNC2024 pic.twitter.com/n77iKh39kg— Nick Knudsen 🇺🇸 (@NickKnudsenUS) August 21, 2024
It’s up to us to remember what Kamala’s mother told her: Don’t just sit around and complain — do something!
We only have two and a half months left until Election Day.
So, let’s get to work! https://t.co/6g4HZzXITi pic.twitter.com/30a8YcpmEA
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) August 22, 2024
War for Ukraine Day 910: The Bombardment of Kharkiv Oblast Continues
Lyrebird
I think all the dictionary writers were stumped, they needed a new example to make their definition of “barn burner” complete. And Michelle Obama stepped up and answered the call.
In all seriousness, though, I truly believe they’re gonna be teaching from this speech for YEARS in poli sci, rhetoric, public speaking… DAY UM.
Gary K
Ugh, Michael Flynn is behind Michelle.
karen marie
Just the other day I saw a meme on Mastodon that was a 20-something white male asking a 20-something black female how it feels to get a job because of skin color and gender. She turned and said, “yes, tell me how that feels.”
So while Michelle O is highlighting that at the DNC, it’s already an idea that’s percolating among the great unwashed.
Huzzah!
KatKapCC
One thing I like about Bill’s speeches is he always manages to make prepared remarks sound like he just sat down with you at the dining table to start a chat.
Leto
WaterGirl scolded me, and said I had to come here!
@KatKapCC: agreed. Rare skill, and so good at it.
WaterGirl
@Leto: Well, that’s one way to describe what I said, I guess.
KatKapCC
ROFL at that McDonald’s joke!!
Jeffro
so glad to be living in the era of Very Vocal Dems!
– the GOP can’t quit lying
– the snooze media can’t quit both-sidesing (at best) and Pitchbotting (at worst)
– and our blessed low-info “independents” can’t seem to tell the difference between fascism and democracy
so…STAY LOUD, Dems!! 💙
Starfish
This is the jacket Michelle was wearing to give her speech. Put in your pre-orders if you have $1,690 burning a hole in your pocket. Remember, you are saving money because shipping is free.
Mousebumples
Leto
@WaterGirl: :p
Bill and his McDonalds jokes, haha! They gave him such shit for that.
Jay
Most Billionaires and Multi-Millionaires made their money the old fashioned way.
They inherited it.
Leto
@Starfish: do I get the guns she was packing as well? Only way I can pull that off.
KatKapCC
“Don’t count the lies. Count the I’s.” Good line!
...now I try to be amused
Family money is also the original social safety net.
Starfish
Oh, hey! I did some postcards with the local Democrats this afternoon. My friend invited me to a DNC watch party, and there was a room of 200 Democrats filling out something like 18,000 postcards. My other friend brought the postcards. She has been doing Blue Wave postcards for a long while now, and she said she was slammed with postcard requests when the candidate changed.
Jay
@Starfish:
If you are “famous”, Fashion Houses give you stuff for free, or on loan, as every public appearance wearing their fashion is free advertising.
Dangerman
Without generational wealth, who would have hired Jr., Eric, or Ivanka? At least Daddy has a degree. Can’t think of one among the kids right now. But I just woke up so I’m calling for a mulligan ….
KatKapCC
Bill’s got jokes :D
HumboldtBlue
I missed the McDonalds joke.
Bupalos
I winced just a little at Michelles “generational wealth” line and I wonder if she did too. The Obamas are probably worth north of 100MM at this point. Their progeny will in fact probably have a pretty extreme version of what she’s critiquing.
KatKapCC
@HumboldtBlue: He said Kamala would beat his record as POTUS for most time spent in McDonald’s :D
Mousebumples
@Starfish: awesome! Thanks for postcarding. 🤩
HumboldtBlue
@KatKapCC:
Thank you.
KatKapCC
@Bupalos: Not necessarily. Those girls were raised to study hard and work hard and to prove themselves. I doubt they’ll have everything handed to them the way Trump and his kids did.
Leto
@Dangerman: does he have a degree? Until I see the long form transcripts, I don’t believe it.
WaterGirl
@Bupalos: It’s not generational wealth if you made the money yourself.
Quantum man
Michelle looks pissed in the picture at the top. Glad she is not looking at me.
Scout211
I love that photo in the first tweet. Hillary and Michelle together. But the side eye? Ooh that is awesome, Michelle. I am imagining it was directed at Trump or maybe Melania.
BR
@Gary K:
Trump’s Michael Flynn? What’s he doing there?
I was just thinking the other day that we need to make sure his brother isn’t planning a coup inside DoD like last time.
Citizen Alan
My father was a truck driver. My mom did switch wiring for Bell South. Both were good paying union jobs. It is not a coincidence that both my sister and I got graduate degrees and had professional careers and every single one of our cousins whose mother was a stay-at-home mom ended up working in dead end jobs and struggled financially their whole lives.
The Thin Black Duke
@WaterGirl: (mic drop)
Thanks for putting the brakes on his false equivalency bs.
dm
@Lyrebird: Jon Lovett on the PodBros show this morning said, “Listen, if anyone out there wants to grow up to be a speech writer, take Michelle and Barack Obama’s, AOC’s” (and I think he had a couple of others) “convention speeches and study them over and over. Don’t pay attention to the cadences, but to the structure — how they tell a story that makes their points concrete.”
I think he went further and said to go back over every speech Michelle Obama has given to Democratic Conventions from 2008 onward.
Since people are talking about her jacket, over at DKos someone pointed out that last night Barack Obama wore the same color tie and sit he wore to give his memorable 2004 speech to the convention with side by side photos.
It was a charming callback.
KatKapCC
@BR: He meant in the photo in the tweet above.
Bupalos
@KatKapCC: For sure. Frankly they were mostly grown before the O’s were super-wealthy. And people deal with wealth differently and often it takes a couple generations to be really corrupting.
Doesn’t change the reality that they and their children and children’s children now have that standing under them. I’m just noting that it’s not ground that Michele can now stand on in an unambiguous way, although I’m sure she feels like that’s not who she is
As someone else noted, she’s wearing a vest that costs like a poor person’s unreliable used car.
BR
@dm:
On the subject of amazing speeches, check out this lecture on the Gettysburg Address by an awesome Chicago writing prof (whose other stuff is really good too). I already was in awe of Lincoln for saying so much in so few words, but after this lecture I was even more in awe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0M6eIfgUK4&sttick=0
karen marie
@BR: The photo is from Trump’s inauguration.
eclare
Will someone please yank Bill off the stage? Now? I love him, but enough.
Finally.
sab
@Starfish: I remember when she looked fabulous combining J Crew clothes with Sears clothes.
Starfish
@Jay: I know nothing about fashion, but I like to look up what she wears because frequently she is supporting smaller black designers.
Suzanne
“The President of joy”.
Bupalos
@WaterGirl: It is now.
I don’t mean it compromises Michele herself or even her point really, even though the point is specifically intergenerational. I just note that there is a certain developing irony here. And she’s super-smart and self-aware, I do wonder if she paused at all over that sentiment.
Mousebumples
Just a friendly reminder that pie is delicious.
dm
@BR: Thanks. Also, there’s always Garry Wills’ Lincoln at Gettysburg: the words that remade America…..
But I’ve grown to hate YouTube, which serves up five minutes of commercials before a three minute video.
Jay
@Bupalos:
Guess you have never heard of Red Lining.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redlining
Bupalos
@sab: I thought her styling last night was as deft as her speech. And I thought NFW are you 60.
Bupalos
@eclare: Excellent. I can’t watch now, but I actually hope he sucked. And people are like “yeah, however good you were…78 is just too old…”
Leto
@dm: Ben Rhodes was on the after show for MSNBC last night, and he said something similar. Spoke about how Obama always wanted to tell a story, and that every speech had to be structured that way. “Does it serve the story?”
Gloria DryGarden
@Jay: or, so I hear, “by stealing from the poor”
I read it in a novel, but it made so much sense, instant reframe
Scout211
Yes it is. I was wondering why this thread looked like a bakery all of a sudden. Leftover pie. 😉
dmsilev
@eclare:
Bill running over is Sacred Tradition.
zhena gogolia
@Leto: Remember Phil Hartman?
zhena gogolia
@Bupalos: Oh, FFS.
Bupalos
@Jay: I understand redlining, I understand how historic destabilization and ongoing systemic discrimination has excluded most black Americans from prosperity and the intergenerational stability, both economic and social.
I don’t understand the relevance of that to whether Michelle Obama- who has more money than 99.99% of the population and an amount that will replicate itself to her progeny- would pause over including herself now in a continuing story of this systemic economic deprivation when she’s clearly joined the club now. I think she did phrase it as “most of us…”
sab
@Bupalos: I was an affirmative action of generational wealth recipient. I got a college and two postgrad degrees without a penny of student loans. That gave me a good start in life.
My husband got an undergraduate degree while supporting a family, and it took him more than a decade. I couldn’t have done what he did, but he did have the advantage of being white, male, smart and strong. But his back is pretty much destroyed by those years of blue collar work before the degree, and I am still mostly healthy.
Life isn’t fair, but at least I know that.
dm
@dmsilev: Was it the 1988 convention where “and in conclusion…” got him the biggest applause of his speech?
Chacal Charles Calthrop
@Bupalos: I think it may just be dog-whistle for black people who own homes in gentrifying areas (such as Brooklyn). It’s a small group but one of the talking points in persuading them not to sell when prices go up is that by staying put they’re building generational wealth for the black community.
Or else she’s just complaining about Trump. YMMV
dmsilev
@Leto:
I write (very) technical articles and give technical talks. Writing them always start with “what is the story I’m trying to tell?”. If you lose that, often because you go down a rabbit hole of details, the whole thing doesn’t work. It’s a hard, but essential, lesson to teach to my students.
dc
Did Bill Clinton mispronounce over and over Kamala’s name?
Leto
@zhena gogolia: This Phil Hartmann? I miss that man, still. Yet another reason Any Dick belongs in hell.
Mousebumples
dmsilev
@dm: Yep. Looking it up quickly, he talked for 35 minutes in a 15 minute slot. More than double.
Chet Murthy
@Mousebumples: IIRC she ran for Congress -after- having raised her children. Yeah, she’s very, very good at all of this.
dm
Yeah, Whenever anyone complains to me about Affirmative Action and college, I bring up “legacies” — students who got in because their parents are alumns, and how they displace more deserving students.
Bupalos
@dc: 78 year old men should not still be trying to do politics. Women, I think you can sometimes go to 84 or 5. Men, 78 is the drop-dead cutoff.
sab
@dmsilev: He always does that and always did that. He’s notorious for that. They had to have known the risk. This night is less impressively organized than the previous two.
KatKapCC
@Bupalos: Well, sadly, she didn’t send her speech to you for fact-checking beforehand. I suppose you’ll just have to find some way to deal with that fact that she made a very wise and astute comment that hit home for many, and you’ll need to study really hard to learn the difference between Donald Trump and Malia and Sasha Obama.
sab
@Chet Murthy: After helping to run her father’s campaigns as a child and an adolescent.
Chet Murthy
@sab: Maybe this is why they pre-emptively yanked James Taylor ? B/c they realized “Bill’s gonna run over, and we don’t wanna finish at midnight, ya’ll”
zhena gogolia
@Leto:
I’m talking about the late, great Phil Hartman as B. Clinton in McDonald’s.
Jay
@Bupalos:
Her family got there themselves, in one Generation, with a bit of a boost from the previous Generation.
Did Felon Musk?, Did Fishsticks Carson?, did 34 Felonies Rapist Pedo?, did Yurtle the Turtle?,……………..so many names.
Leto
@Chet Murthy: James was Monday night.
Leto
@zhena gogolia: we both linked to the same guy.
Edit: lol, I remember when that aired. Still so funny, and Chris Rock at the register!
zhena gogolia
@Leto: I know, but I linked to the sketch about McDonald’s — have you seen it? It’s brilliant.
zhena gogolia
@Leto: Chris Rock, Chris Farley, Kevin Nealon, Tim Meadows, Tom Arnold, Ellen Cleghorne, and Rob Schneider are all second bananas in that sketch.
Chet Murthy
@Leto: o.i.c.
Leto
@zhena gogolia: his voice work in the Simpsons was so good. Troy McClure doing the Broadway Planet of the Apes show… hahahahaha
Harrison Wesley
@Bupalos: So you think Michelle Obama and Donald Trump agree that rich people are above taxation? I’m not following you here.
KatKapCC
I love that power-pink. Not a color I could pull off but I still like it.
sab
@Bupalos: I bet she didn’t wince. She gave her own kids the protection she never had.
Obama got famous giving a convention speech, but four years before he couldn’t even go to the convention because he and Michelke had maxed out their credit cards and every extra dime was spent paying off their student loans.
TBone
I will never begrudge a woman who has earned her standing and earned my respect what she is wearing while she lifts the less fortunate into the light. Shame on all who do.
WaterGirl
I am asking myself:
Why are we discussing bullshit points being raised by one commenter instead of talking about the convention?
Eric S.
@dmsilev: I do a similar thing with my business writing that’s going into some official record, eg. ending up in formal testimony for a state commission. I answer the question but make sure it leads to the conclusion I want.
sab
@dmsilev: Lol. Truth.
WaterGirl
Is this where Josh Shapiro rushes the stage and yells “this should have been me!!!”?
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl: Leto and I are discussing Phil Hartman!
WaterGirl
@dmsilev: When I write something, my first questions are “who is my audience? Who am I writing this for?”
Chet Murthy
@WaterGirl: If we all just pie him and ignore him, he -will- go away. Or at least, we won’t be derailed by him. Just pie and ignore, and it’ll be like he’s not even here.
Bupalos
@sab: I’m not intergenerational wealth really, but I am kind of intergenerational stability, high emotional investment, careful upbringing, and high expectations. A stable community full of professors and teachers and (well paid) musicians and so forth, a few union steel workers and business people sprinkled in. I grew up with no doubts about the solidity of my family and the eternal nature of the community I saw around me, and surrounded by a mix of people that was disproportionately wealthy. It’s a kind of “affirmative action.”
It’s a clever reverse-weaponization of the term “affirmative action” that M.Obama is using there BUT, there is some ambiguity to it too. As her family holding on to their (now) intergenerational wealth attests- as favored policies that can help build that stability for more people attests – it’s only the aberrational excess that is getting side-eye.
Princess
@Chet Murthy: Tonight they yanked Josh Shapiro and I’m really sad about that.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: Then you are smarter than the rest of us who got sucked in. :-)
KatKapCC
@WaterGirl: Ha ha ha!! Any moment now!
BR
@Princess:
He’s on now?
Princess
@Chet Murthy: I’ve been resisting but tonight I finally pied the sea lion. Yummy yummy pie.
KatKapCC
@Princess: Um, he’s speaking right now?
Princess
@BR: ah! I turned it off. He was supposed to be earlier.
Starfish
@eclare: Why do they still let Bill speak? Bill please go sit down.
The McDonald’s joke was funny though.
Omnes Omnibus
@Bupalos:
FFS. Bill isn’t running. He was there as an elder statesman, As for the Obama diss, get over yourself.
sab
@Harrison Wesley: Ta-nehisi Coates wrote years ago that if we were to do reparations he as a very successful Black person would have to pay. He didn’t have a problem with that.
BR
Shapiro not doing it for me. He’s ok I guess but not for me.
Chet Murthy
@sab: So would I, as a successful South Asian immigrant. And that’s only just. Until every child in America starts off more-or-less on the same footing, we can’t talk about “equality of opportunity”: it rings completely hollow.
topclimber
@zhena gogolia: Agreed. Another thread hijacked.
TBone
why TF are people tearing down fellow Dems? Contrary to the entire theme of our convention.
Bupalos
@KatKapCC: It’s absolutely astute and true and obviously good politics. She’s gifted at this and I think while everyone was making fun of the “unserious” idea that she should run, she really could probably take the presidency if she wanted it.
This isn’t a political observation, I just literally wondered considering how obviously whip-smart and self-aware she is if that line gave here some kind of pause. She is an incredibly wealthy woman with power and connections that goes beyond the raw numbers. That is a reality.
HumboldtBlue
Gorman’s hair is GORGEOUS!
KatKapCC
Miss Gorman looks lovely.
zhena gogolia
I’m tryna hang on for Tim, but it’s going to be midnight, isn’t it?
japa21
@Omnes Omnibus: Never will. Rides a high horse and never dismounts.
sab
@WaterGirl: Which bullshit point by which commenter?
Actually I don’t want to know which commenter. Which bullshit point?
Bupalos
@Omnes Omnibus: I don’t know what the Obama dis is. The reason I hope Bill Clinton wandered off like an Alzheimer’s patient is that he’s a generational political talent and he’s the same age as Trump.
It would make a poll-moving rhetorical point if (after Biden had to retire at 81) Bill couldn’t hold it together for a simple speech at 78. All I’m talking about is getting Harris behind the Resolute.
Omnes Omnibus
@zhena gogolia: They should have built in fudge time for when Bill went over. It’s not like it was a shock.
Mr. Bemused Senior
FTFY
twbrandt
Ya know, you don’t have to respond.
The Thin Black Duke
@WaterGirl: You Know Who understands the assignment.
KatKapCC
@Bupalos: Okay, I don’t want to keep feeding you, but one more comment and then no more: I don’t know what race or ethnicity you are, but it is NOT A GOOD LOOK to be lecturing a Black person about how they are allowed to view this society and make their way through it. And drawing even the slightest correlation between the Trumps and the Obamas is absurd, illogical, and a micro aggression on the verge of a macro one. For the love of G-d, stop going on about this. You sound like a tone deaf jerk. Prove to us you are something else by letting it go.
No more from me to you.
Bupalos
@japa21: {bangs coconuts together while “galloping” towards the castle)
WaterGirl
@Princess:
I’m not sure what you mean by that?
Jackie
@Bupalos: I can easily see the Obama’s donating a LOT of their wealth to charities. Their daughters are fully capable of building their own wealth.
eclare
@Princess:
What the fuck are you talking about? He spoke and was covered on MSNBC.
JoyceH
@dmsilev: I looked that up recently too and was amused that the eternal speech that was thought to have killed the young governor’s career was 33 minutes long. Well over his time slot and long really for any political speech. That was an innocent age. Nobody did a think piece about Trump’s fitness for office when his rally speeches began topping one hour. And gradually expanded to a hour and a half – and just recently almost hit the two hour mark! Dang, even a well written and well delivered speech that long would send attendees running for the exits; they’re racing to the rest rooms!
Bupalos
@The Thin Black Duke: You literally think I’m some kind of enemy agent, don’t you?
I’m just wondering about shit I wonder about.
Now you’ve got me wondering about conspiracy theorists again…
WaterGirl
@BR: I found Josh Shapiro’s hand gestures and speaking patterns off-putting. They don’t seem natural, He may be a great governor but I’m so glad Kamala didn’t choose him as her running mate.
eclare
@WaterGirl:
He mimics Obama’s. Someone here mentioned that to me, and now I can never unsee it.
Mr. Bemused Senior
I listened to the end of Bill’s speech. Only 35 minutes? Short!
WaterGirl
@sab: Sadly in order to answer you, I have to talk about the bullshit Obama wealth issue, and I am chagrined that we got sucked into that in the first place.
KatKapCC
Oprah!
Leto
@JoyceH: I think they’ve started locking the doors, and chaining them closed, so that the
hostagessupporters can’t leave.Bupalos
@Jackie: No one is especially “capable of building their own wealth” outside their social structure and parents they were born to. The Obama girls got an exceptional upbringing that was privileged in most ways, incredibly restricted in some… but which by economic measures puts them in a completely different place from 99% of the the population.
Leto
I am jealous of all the people who got the Harris/Walz camo hat. I should’ve ordered us a pair.
dmsilev
@JoyceH: The speech that preceded Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was 2 hours long….
WaterGirl
@eclare: Hmm. Not sure if I see that, but it definitely came off as inauthentic, and I have never thought that about Barack.
sab
@Jackie: Yes. They ( Obama kids) presumably got first rate college with no debt, much as I did. Parents should feel off the hook financially at this point. That is successful good parenting.
Meghan McCain’s parents not knowing how many houses they own and which kids is living where is beyond good parenting and well into spoiling. That’s not good for the kids.
SiubhanDuinne
@KatKapCC:
YOU get a President!
And YOU get a President!
EVERYBODY GETS A PRESIDENT!!!
Bupalos
@WaterGirl: He ooozes ambition. Which isn’t just a bad thing, but I agree I’m really glad she didn’t go that route. Walz feels like a really natural fit. A perfectly natural American odd couple.
tam1MI
@WaterGirl: @eclare: I thought his speech was fine, although the “Obama-isms” did stick out a bit at me. On the other hand, there are worse orators he could be emulating…
WaterGirl
@Leto: Are they all sold out or something?
Starfish
@Omnes Omnibus: The DNC was completely unprepared for tonight. They did not have anyone holding up an extra-large box of McDonald’s fries to coax Bill Clinton off stage.
Bill Arnold
@eclare:
ETA common among politicians.
Clinton mimicked FDR’s speech patterns, knowingly or not. It was what attracted my life-long-until-then Republican father (grew up (poor) in the Great Depression) to Clinton.
Leto
@WaterGirl: oh yeah, they sold out almost instantly. I think they’re supposed to be back either late Sept or Oct time frame.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@Leto:
It seems like everything on the Harris/Walz store is completely sold out. Good for them and the Victory Fund, but I wish I could get some merch from them. I could probably buy something like it elsewhere, but I’d prefer the money go to them
KatKapCC
Hey, that was a funny line, Oprah :D
Zippity
@zhena gogolia: So, funny fact. I worked at McDonalds with Tom Arnold when I was in high school. He used the name of the owners’ son in that skit. It was a pretty big deal in Iowa City.
zhena gogolia
@KatKapCC: What was it?
zhena gogolia
@Zippity: Hahaha
Bupalos
@sab: People here feel like they’re being watched all the time, and that it might affect the election, so they’re afraid to talk about the Obama’s having like 150MM dollars, or considering whether and how that affects reality.
Michelle’s point is not really qualified by the fact that she is no longer necessarily included in the “most people” to which she referred. It dawns on me that she probably picked that terminology on purpose.
eclare
OMG! Oprah!
dm
@JoyceH: I had the convention on in the background, and remember looking up at one point in surprise to see him still speaking, and looking up again at “in conclusion” and the audience reaction.
SiubhanDuinne
@Princess:
Say what now? Shapiro was on right before Oprah, who’s on right now.
KatKapCC
Damn, she’s doing great.
BR
I get the sense that lefty folks online don’t get that Clinton, Shapiro, Oprah, etc. are not on the stage to convince them. They’re on there to talk to people who tune into politics once every 4 years.
sab
@WaterGirl: I think it is a useful discussion. Upper middle class versus billionaires.
My inherited wealth has been a major factor in my mixed family’s economic survival. That is where the Obamas will be for a couple of generations. They have set their kids on a life of normal expectations, up from scrabbling to make it.
Billionaires are in a whole different category. Multigenerational incompetence and malevalence shielded by huge wealth. Harlan Crowe. Rupert Murdoch. Mellon family.McCain family.
Quinerly
Only the best! Tulsi and Matt Gaetz are working on debate prep with Trump.
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/donald-trump-i-hate-my-opponent-harris-debate-prep
KatKapCC
@zhena gogolia: She was saying how when someone’s house is on fire, we don’t ask who they voted for or who they love or whatnot before helping them, and she said that included the “childless cat ladies” and then said we’d also save the cat. Made me chuckle.
zhena gogolia
@KatKapCC: Oh, that’s good.
But she seems to be going on as long as Bill did. I was giving it until 11, hoping to see Walz, but I guess that’s a vain hope.
West of the Rockies
@WaterGirl:
That’s a damn good question.
Almost Retired
@zhena gogolia: In addition to milder weather, the other big advantage of living on the West Coast is not having to stay up so late for political conventions and entertainment industry award shows. No wonder it costs so much to live here.
Betty
Waiting for Oprah to wind it up.. It’s late.
sab
OT in Ohio. We are having an unusually cool night, so I opened the windows. And smoky smell is wafting in. Who the fuck has a fireplace going in August in Ohio?
Quinerly
@Almost Retired:
I really enjoy my Mountain Time.😉
Omnes Omnibus
@sab: Could be a neighboring cat lady whose house is on fire.
SiubhanDuinne
Hey, I just realised I never heard that Prince tribute that had been announced and hyped. I was on the phone btw about 6:30-7:15 and had the TV muted. Did it happen and I missed it in that window? Or did they give John Legend the ol’ James Taylor treatment?
HumboldtBlue
Andy Kim is a special dude. The fact that he jumped in (in Jersey of all places) to fight for Menéndez’s seat he took the leap not knowing where he would land, he routed the first lady of the state in a primary and is now headed to the Senate. (I paraphrased Josh Marshall who retweeted this)
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: I was about to say “hang in there” because the Gov of MD is speaking, and Walz is next. But no, I think Pete is after this and then comes Walz.
edit: Apropos of nothing, I am really missing Steeplejack today.
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl: I always miss him.
twbrandt
Wes Moore: “I don’t have bone spurs”.
lol
tam1MI
I think it is yet to come… IIRC it’s supposed to be right before Walz makes his speech.
Ramona
@Bupalos: that’s easy to answer- she, and I, and we are in favor of the type of affirmative action which is not that of generational wealth for those who need it. There is no hypocrisy there!
Stop being a John Roberts level of nincompoop!
West of the Rockies
Wes Moore is sooo good! I’d never seen him before. Thought he was one of Walz’s recent students.
Princess
@WaterGirl: he wasn’t where he was scheduled to be in the program and I turned it off. But a couple of people said he was on later. I’ll catch it tomorrow.
WaterGirl
@HumboldtBlue: I think Anne Laurie had that tweet in one of her posts, but for non-twitter peeps, here’s the image.
It’s adorable.
Bupalos
@Jackie: The measure at that level is what lifestyle they choose to live. These folks have philanthropic foundations and basically bundle other people’s contributions- people who are probably buying access to their social circle, since the Obama’s social capital is many times their net worth.
At first I was a little disappointed that the Obamas pretty much adopted a Kennedy lifestyle. Hanging with rich assholes like Richard Branson and holing up in Martha’s vineyard and whatnot. Now I see that differently, and that it would be a kind of double standard to expect these exceptional and truly self-made people to wear a hair-shirt. I now see their breaking into that world as a kind of representation.
Though the part that does rankle is I don’t believe Obama ever really took climate change seriously even though he gathered a lot of support over it. So I do frown at the high-consumption lifestyle they join and thus model for a new cohort.
Scout211
I’ve never heard Governor Moore speak before. He’s very, very good.
HumboldtBlue
@West of the Rockies:
He’s fantastic.
Princess
@Bill Arnold: Yeah, and Obama mimics Jeremiah Wright. It’s all good.
cain
@twbrandt:
He looks like a kid. Could not believe he is the governor of Maryland.
SiubhanDuinne
@tam1MI:
I hope so. Thanks!
HumboldtBlue
@WaterGirl:
Thank you.
PETE!
Leto
Pete starting out with jokes!
twbrandt
Pete!
ssdd
Love Pete
SiubhanDuinne
LOL! “I’m Pete Buttigieg, and you might recognize me from FOX News.”
twbrandt
@SiubhanDuinne: Actual LOL from me!
ArchTeryx
Boy, that didn’t take long. Suddenly my Bluesky feed is full of Very Online Leftists (or trolls) all parroting the Genocide Joe narrative and stirring shit up about how Israel disqualifies Kamala Harris for their vote. Disappointed that Bluesky’s turning into that, it was nice when it was a haven for actual Democrats fleeing Xhitter
ETA: It all seems to come from a Palestinian activist in my feed. They’re all reposts from him. Not surprising, but very disappointing.
Jackie
@WaterGirl: I think of him during the morning posts. I really miss him, too.
dmsilev
Body-slamming JD Vance. And we’re all here for it.
WaterGirl
Gov. Wes Moore IS GOOD!
Leto
For those looking to know a bit more about Wes Moore, I’d suggest his book: The Other Wes Moore
It’s really good.
cain
@ArchTeryx:
All good here in Mastodon land.
zhena gogolia
Is Pete growing a beard?
eclare
I am too late because I wanted to sit back and soak it in, but I thought Oprah was wonderful. She can def be too magic crystals for me, but not tonight. I remember her from decades ago when her talk show truly changed tv.
Shalimar
@Bupalos: No one is afraid of saying anything. The point you made was stupid.
KatKapCC
@ArchTeryx: Ask them about the hostages. Ask them how on Earth the war can end until Hamas releases them.
twbrandt
@ArchTeryx: I’m on bluesky and I’m not seeing it. But I have tight rein on my follows.
KatKapCC
@zhena gogolia: He looks pretty clean-shaven to me.
Leto
@zhena gogolia: no, but he might have needed to do a quick shave about two hours ago.
Bupalos
@Ramona: It’s interesting to see responses to what I said that don’t reference what I said.
What makes you think you saw “hypocritical?”
I just wondered if this unfathomably wealthy person who is probably handing generational wealth to her progeny paused over the line. I personally don’t think it’s hypocritical, because she isn’t a product of generational wealth (at least not in the “dollars” sense that seems to be intended.) But of course as a person that commands many times beyond the “intergenerational wealth” level, it’s an interesting statement.
I think the reason I get in trouble here is because most people posting here think of posting as activism. If you think of it that way, you aren’t allowed to have these thoughts out loud, and the conversation needs to be cut off.
Timill
@sab: Canada?
tam1MI
I can’t get over how many awesomely good speakers are being showcased at this convention. So much up-and-coming political talent we have!
WaterGirl
What a great line:
HumboldtBlue
Damn, Pete is good!
You just want the guy to be your friend.
Jackie
@SiubhanDuinne: BAHAHAHAAA! I do love Pete and his tongue-in-cheek humor!
And, so does Faux – as they keep bringing him back on!😂
Bupalos
@Shalimar: I don’t even know what the point I made was. I just wondered if she felt any friction between her vast wealth and the very effective and well-aimed political move she made against Trump and the broader wealthy establishment there.
HumboldtBlue
@Bupalos:
Stay on topic, this isn’t an open thread. It’s about tonight’s convention, stick to that.
skerry
PETE!!!!!
cain
Pete is knocking this out of the park.
ETA this man is presidential
ArchTeryx
@twbrandt: @KatKapCC: Turns out the source of the problem is a Palestinian activist in my feed. He’s the one throwing all the Very Online Leftists at me that are all squawking about being single issue Israel voters, and all of them are parroting right wing talking points and tropes about Kamala Harris. As above, very disappointing, but not surprising. A LOT of them are using the third night of the convention as part of their talking points; I’m not at all sure why. That’s why I posted to this thread.
Greg
Where to draw the line is interesting. Politically and lifestyle-wise, I think the line belongs where the money you live on changes from job income to investment income. And $100M is definitely above that line.
The generational wealth I benefited from meant that my parents could pay for my college and loan me the down payment for my first house. Those are enormous advantages compared to most people!
But I’ve still needed to have a paying job for the last 30+ years and hopefully for another 15 or so. The Obama descendants, like the Trumps, may want to work, but it isn’t at all the same.
Shalimar
Sounds like you were calling her a hypocrite.
Leto
Mayor Pete… my man. Doing sab so proud.
Bupalos
@ArchTeryx: It’s probably just the nature of the medium. Musk makes it worse, but it’s structural. “I want to go online, post some thoughts, and gather likes…”
It changes the nature of how we think.
BR
Did they really mean to push Walz this late in the schedule?
Omnes Omnibus
Sheila EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!
WaterGirl
Why did they introduce Pete as former mayor instead of his current position???
KatKapCC
@ArchTeryx: Again, ask that person about the hostages. There is a one-year old child among them. A literal baby, taken from his parents and being held hostage by a terrorist organization. Ask them what they think about that, and they will show you their true colors.
Almost Retired
Tonight hasn’t landed with me like the last two nights, but I don’t think it was supposed to. Tonight, it’s vegetables instead of red meat, and the whole line up seems designed to appeal to less committed Democrats, independents and persuadable Republicans. So I’m fine with that. I want a well-done steak with ketchup tomorrow night, though.
HumboldtBlue
@WaterGirl:
State identity.
KatKapCC
@WaterGirl: Well, whenever he has been on TV news shows, they introduce him as “former mayor” and note that they are doing so because he is there in his personal capacity, not professional. I assume it’s the same thing here.
Leto
@Almost Retired:
Sorry, that was the convention 2-3 weeks ago.
Mike E
@The Thin Black Duke: Colin Robinson!
twbrandt
John Legend is pretty damn good!
Chet Murthy
@Almost Retired: “a well-done steak with ketchup”
really? Not medium-rare w/a little steak sauce?
tam1MI
John Legend tried hard, but he unfortunately is no Prince.
But that guitarist however… ALL HAIL!!!!
WaterGirl
@KatKapCC: Oh, that makes sense. This is political. Got it. He is very careful when he is being interviewed.
dmsilev
@WaterGirl: So many people know him as “Mayor Pete”.
KatKapCC
@WaterGirl: Right. And no one else from the admin has been there, right? I mean, aside from Joe, haha. But no other Secretaries, as far as I recall. Seems a little weird but I guess that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
ArchTeryx
@Almost Retired: THAT would explain why all this dude’s followers are parroting displeasure with the third night of the convention. It’s aimed at Republican “soft” voters, and they’re trying their damndest to limit the defections to Harris.
BR
@WaterGirl:
Because he’s not supposed to speak at a partisan event as a cabinet secretary.
Almost Retired
@Chet Murthy: Personally, I prefer steak tartare, but I was running with the red meat metaphor. Maybe raw red meat works better!
Jackie
@HumboldtBlue: 👍🏻
Bupalos
@HumboldtBlue: Isn’t the OP basically about the “affirmative action of intergenerational wealth?”
I can’t stream this because I’m bandwidth restricted right now. Actually dying to hear Pete. Pete is what I believe politics should be like. Like you say a thing that everyone thinks “damn! yeah, that’s exactly right….” and that is what matters.
But then I back away and realize “well, Pete is just really really really fucking good at talking.”
Omnes Omnibus
@Almost Retired: Raw!
Bupalos
@Shalimar: Nope. She’s exceptional in many, many positive ways. And as far as I can tell at least a little less hypocritical than average.
SW
@Bupalos: Perhaps. But it’s doubtful that their progeny will feel entitled to rule the country
eclare
@Leto:
Damn he’s good.
I checked out for a while to watch speeches wo BJ or commentary.
Chet Murthy
Come on people if we ignore the troll he will go away. We just need to stop engaging with him. Please?
Quinerly
@KatKapCC:
I always thought it was illegal for cabinet secretaries to campaign or appear to campaign. Hatch Act. I know Trump’s secretaries seemed to have no problem with it. I’m too lazy to look it up right now.
twbrandt
Why do the democrats hate the Eastern time zone?
Jackie
@Leto: I understand there’s leftovers 😉
Ramona
@Bupalos: the word you used was “irony”. The word implied by Trumpy voting family who first mentioned Obama buying on Martha’s Vineyard was hypocritical.
Irony brings to my mind hypocrisy. My point stands whether or not we include the word hypocritical or not.
I think the detractors of affirmative action who are the beneficiaries of inter generational wealth are hypocritical.
Omnes Omnibus
@twbrandt: It knows what it did.
cain
Amy Klobuchar has the look of a tipsy woman at a bar. Heh
Chet Murthy
@twbrandt: got to shore up the rust belt blue wall right?
sdhays
@eclare: In general, I’ve tended to have positive feelings toward Oprah, but some of the people she’s boosted, particularly “doctors”, have left me pretty mistrustful.
Seems to me they could have left her out considering Bill was going to be a major speaker tonight. Oh well. I’m catching the speeches a day late anyway, so I’ll just skip her.
Eunicecycle
@Quinerly: I think you’re right. He’s explained that before. He’s not allowed to campaign as a Cabinet Secretary.
MomSense
Aww this is cute. Love seeing Gwen at this mini pep rally
HumboldtBlue
Where does Tim Walz rank as the most amazing out of left field home run VP pick of all time?
Leto
@twbrandt: fuck those east coast liberals!!!!
Wait… I’m an east coast liberal… what have I become???
MomSense
@cain:
Makes me miss Jennifer Granholm. Her tipsy convention speeches were always so fun.
Chet Murthy
@sdhays: I’m not a Swiftie, and I never watched nor followed Oprah’s show. But ISTR that Oprah has a -devoted- following among women, and a pretty apolitical following. Getting those women to vote for Harris would be a real “get”, eh?
eclare
@cain:
WHAT? She looks like she is tipsy at a bar?
Checkity check yourself before you wreck yourself.
Quinerly
@cain:
Remember “drunk Jennifer Granholm” in 2012?
Jackie
I had released everyone from my pie filter; time to start refilling…
Mike E
@HumboldtBlue: he seemed inevitable to me but what do I know
sdhays
I’m late to the party, but “affirmative action of generational wealth” is an amazing term. It really encapsulates the whole concept in itself and really doesn’t need explanation.
Quinerly
@MomSense:
Looks like you got there first!
Omnes Omnibus
@MomSense: @Quinerly: A lifelong political crush of mine.
HumboldtBlue
This is impressive
Leto
Turkey’s meat…
No it’s not…
Luuuuul
cain
@Quinerly:
I’ve actually forgotten! Still hilarious 😂
KatKapCC
Tim!!!
TS
This is what the Washington Post said about Nancy Pelosi’s speech
And they wonder why the politicians aren’t interested in talking with them
Quinerly
@twbrandt: are you writing for the NYTimes?
Leto
Good song choice. Mellencamp, Small Town.
Mr. Bemused Senior
You read my mind. No offense to @Almost Retired
Ramona
@Bupalos: My objection is to the logical fallacy of your idea that because Michelle Obama will be bestowing the advantage of her wealth to her children she should see irony in her formulating a highly effective response to the detractors of affirmative action who fail to see that they have benefited from a centuries old injustices wreaked on others.
If you can acknowledge that there is indeed no irony in her making the statement she made and that it only served to remind you that her financial situation is very good, then I’ll accept that as not entirely illogical.
Quinerly
@cain: she’s settled down since becoming Energy Secretary.
twbrandt
Finally!
SiubhanDuinne
I love that the Walz family, especially Gus, aren’t afraid or ashamed to cry in public. All three of them had Tears of Happy-Joy when Tim walked on stage.
prostratedragon
@Chet Murthy: Who needs sauce?
Bupalos
@Ramona: I don’t know. That’s too much parsing for me.
Let’s keep it simple. Michelle is a fabulously wealthy woman with children and she might have paused over how to craft a line about leaving money to your kids and whether or not to try and invert “affirmative action” as a negative. On balance I think she made good political choices (which was the mission) and it obviously landed (here we are on a post lauding it.)
That’s all. It’s an interesting complicated thought I think… and I retract it because this isn’t the right venue for it and it’s “trolling” and… anyway… really I’m just here for reactions…how was B Clint, how was Oprah, how is Pete. I’m throttled and can’t stream here.
3Sice
Couch boy never had a Grain Belt in his life.
Hoppie
@Mousebumples: I particularly like pumpkin. After that, apple.
Leto
@SiubhanDuinne: Avalune kept telling Tim, “Don’t look at your family! Don’t look at your family!” Unashamed :)
Quinerly
Walz is a great speaker. Read the other night he had never used a teleprompter until after Kamala picked him.
prostratedragon
@sdhays: Know what you mean, but recommend catching it when you can. Good speech.
Leto
Rotating tag nomination: Never underestimate a public school teacher!
Mousebumples
@Hoppie: I enjoy key lime. Or apple.
moonbat
“Never underestimate a public school teacher.” <3
eclare
Yay!
eclare
Prince tribute!
Mr. Bemused Senior
@Mousebumples: Cherry! Key lime is good too.
Leto
“While other states were banishing books from their schools, we were banishing hunger from ours!”
Direct shot!
KatKapCC
@Bupalos: Oh for pete’s sake. I know I said no more, but you are like a dog with a rancid bone here. IT IS NOT INTERESTING TO ANYONE EXCEPT YOU. And you need to ask yourself why that is. STOP IT. For the love of G-d, stop. I am not calling you racist, but you sound like one right now. STOP IT.
twbrandt
@Leto: That was a great line!
Omnes Omnibus
Walz’s son… He broke him.
Jay C
@zhena gogolia:
probably shaved just before Bill Clinton went on.
😉
HumboldtBlue
@Omnes Omnibus:
Broke me…
Scout211
Teacher/Coach knows how to work a room. 😊
eclare
Nope. John Legend was not the right person for this.
Lenny Kravitz or Lil Nas X.
piratedan
after two nights of better than hoped for numbers, I really think that tonight is geared to independents and squishy GOP types that have been turned off by the full blown fascism that DJT embraces.
The people they see tonight are members of their own party, people that were from a time when Democrats were less scary.
Walz is speaking to every Midwest family right now, common sense stuff.
tam1MI
As someone who cries at commercials, I can relate.
Bupalos
@Ramona: I’ve said twice explicitly it doesn’t complicate her deft and well-aimed political point. You’ve summarized her political point pretty well here.
I’m literally just wondering if it’s something she wrestled with phrasing, because there is some friction here, and if it made her think about her own unique situation. It also did occur to me that the phrasing she did come up with, “most of us,” is a pretty elegantly ambiguous formulation here, that probably captures a kind of ambiguity in how she feels.
eclare
This is real? A real voice? Wow.
SiubhanDuinne
@Leto:
🥰🥰🥰
twbrandt
Walz is the perfect pick for VP. Such a contrast to Vance.
Leto
Is it weird? Absolutely!
Kayla Rudbek
@Leto: and the “crochet czar” pins of MVP are all sold out at my local yarn store fibre space, they had to do a second run https://shop.fibrespace.com/crochet-czar-vp-enamel-pin.html
SiubhanDuinne
@Jay C:
ROFLMAO
Ramona
@Bupalos: So you admit that Michelle being wealthy now does not detract from her formulation of intergenerational wealth as affirmative action?
eclare
@Omnes Omnibus:
Wait, what?
Leto
@Kayla Rudbek: gonna have to keep an eye on this to snag one for Avalune. She’s a knitter, but she’ll love it.
cain
@Omnes Omnibus:
He was yelling ‘Thats my dad! Thats my dad!’
I was touched.
Bupalos
@KatKapCC: PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT’S HOLY STOP DOING THIS THING WHERE YOU BEG ME TO STOP DOING WHATEVER IT IS YOU THINK I’M DOING.
Seriously. I’m begging you. You’re coming off as a total misogynist asshole in the way you’re treating me, everyone see’s it. The entire internet is looking at you not putting your best foot forward. JUST STOP!!!!!!!
Omnes Omnibus
@eclare: Twitter link
Chacal Charles Calthrop
@twbrandt: because they already have all our votes
Bupalos
@Ramona: Absolutely not. I mean, absolutely I do not intend that as my meaning at all. Or…Yes I “admit” that “now” because it was never any part of anything I was thinking or claiming.
You’ve phrased the question in the “have you stopped beating your wife” way.
twbrandt
Walz is really really good at this.
tam1MI
Clever Warren Zevon shout-out there…
eclare
Wow. I’m a cougar. What a hottie.
zhena gogolia
YAY TIM!!!
West of the Rockies
That young man clearly adores his Minnesota dad!
Kayla Rudbek
@Leto: yeah, I nearly bought a first round one before she was nominated as President, I went back to the store afterwards and they were all sold out of the first round. So maybe I should order one from this second round, even though like Avalune I am more of a knitter than a crocheter.
SFBayAreaGal
Me thinks Kamala chose wisely.
I love Tim Walz
KatKapCC
@Bupalos: I’m a woman, you weirdo. I am treating you accordingly to the way you are behaving. You won’t shut the hell up about this one stupid thing even after numerous people have told you to shove it. And now you’re screaming at me and calling me names because you don’t like getting called out for your problematic obsession with how a Black family lives and speaks.
Whatever. There is something wrong with you. I guess I’ll have to use this pie filter folks talk about, because now you’ve decided to act like a crazy person.
Almost Retired
This from my very, very left of center older son, with whom one must be careful about discussing politics: “Walz was created in a lab to court Midwestern democrats.” He subsequently clarified that he meant that this was a good thing.
JoyceH
I don’t know why I never before realized the similarities between a political rally and a high school pep rally. “When we fight – “ “WE WIN!” “When we fight-“ “WE WIN!”
cain
Tim talks in a way that I know every Midwest is going to identify with. It looks really normal and identifiable. Trump and JD cannot remotely compete and his fans are ostensibly weird as fuck.
eclare
Beautiful ad. I am already crying.
Bupalos
@KatKapCC: Appreciated.
I honestly expect that anyone offended by my considerations here would have curated me out of their feed by now. I know I think of this space differently than many of the commenters, and from the point of view of what they think it’s about, talking about whether M.Obama pauses over the sentiment we’re talking about (it’s the main subject of the OP, I’m not inserting it) is somehow not cool. It’s “trolling.” It’s counter-programming. It’s… whatever… To me it’s just what I thought because duh, she’s a woman with intergenerational wealth inverting the term “affirmative action” to a negative when it’s paired with “intergenerational wealth.” A complicated negative. Politically effective and kind of brilliant. And… a little complicated…From a brilliant woman in a complicated situation. Interesting to me. Not interesting to you.
Which is fine. Pie and be done. It’s provided for you by the proprietors here and it helps us both. We just don’t have the same conception of this space, and I’m sorry if my performative “I’m begging” thing there went awry. It was a joke.
eclare
“No one cries alone in my presence!”
Nxl
Michelle Obama explicitly said, “most of us” won’t or didn’t benefit from the affirmative action of intergenerational wealth. What she literally was saying, by way of comparison, was that she, Michelle Obama (and Barack), and, directly, Kamala Harris did not benefit the way Trump did.
That was the explicit, direct context that she broaden out to include “most of us.” At no time should there be a comparison of Malia and Sasha inheritance or inherited status to that of Donald Trump.
She made a direct reference to the millions Trump inherited from his father. Michelle, Barack and Kamala obviously did not inherit anything close to what Trump did.
Exactly why folks are skipping generations to find fault with this one aspect of what she said in a larger point that, again, was most directly comparing Michelle, Kamala, Barack to Trump — i.e. people who’ve been in, who are seeking or ascending to the White House by way of voters and public opinion — I don’t know.
Plus the Trump comparison was about way more than the intergenerational wealth piece. The unspoken but obvious point is that none of those Black White House seekers (again, Michelle, Kamala, Barack) could have ever “failed forward” the way Trump did.
No way could Barack Obama, much less Kamala Harris, have Trump’s history of bankruptcies, let alone history of amoral behavior, and even be in the conversation when it comes to the presidency. That’s a point about more than wealth privilege.
Renie
@Citizen Alan: your remark is extremely insulting to every stay at home mom. I grew up with a young widow mom raising 5 kids. She worked her ass off. I turned around and decided I wanted to be a stay at home mom. My husband and I lived paycheck to paycheck so I could stay home to raise our two kids. Today my son is an English Professor and my daughter is a lawyer. You owe all stay at home moms and apology.
sab
@Bupalos: My issue with your take is that the Obamas are not fabulously wealthy. They are merely quite rich. They are just barely multimillionaires. I am sure their daughters education set them back noticbly. They could blow it all by a few bad choices, and their daughters will have to work to maintain their standard of living.
Billionaires are a whole different ballgame. Elon Musk has made very stupid decisions for most of his adult life, and yet look where he is. Meghan McCain is a complete idiot.
Ramona
@Bupalos: So, the idea you meant to express was (pardon my inelegant phrasing), “Michelle’s wealth does not detract from this deft point she is making about viewing inter-generational wealth as affirmative action, but I wonder if she chose “most of us” because now her children do not need affirmative action as traditionally understood.”
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: You stayed up for the speech, go you!
Bupalos
@Renie: I don’t understand… you say she worked, and yet she stayed at home? That can’t be. There’s no work to be done within a household. You can tell, because who would sign the checks??! The only measure of productive work is the number on the check from the corporation. That’s why we read books, so we can get better grades, get into a better college, and ultimately get into a situation where our human value is affirmed by a corporation putting a number on it in the form of a check.
Did your mother somehow get one of you kids to sign corporate checks? If so, I mean, that’s impressive. She must have had an excellent symbiotic rapport with the comptroller which shows her excellent leadership strategy.
frosty
@Scout211:
First time I heard Wes Moore was in the days after the Key Bridge collapse. He was really good and so was the Mayor of Baltimore. They were on top of getting the resources needed.
sab
I am a childless (but married) elderly cat lady. I missed most of Walz’s popular culture (musical) referemces but my husband (has kids almost 40yo) caught them all and shouted them out.
I made popcorn for Mayor Pete and he didn’t disappoint.
WaterGirl
@Nxl: Welcome!
Bupalos
@Ramona: No, “most of us” means she understands her children (or children’s children) have now in the operative respects acceded to a different status than most of the people she is addressing.
It’s ambiguous whether she is among “most of us.” It’s actually interesting to think about the logical meaning of “most of us” here. You can be outside the “most” without leaving the “us.”
That’s a sentiment I wholeheartedly support, BTW. And, yeah, I see how people think this is enemy action, because Obama’s rhetoric is meant to carve out a sub rosa exception that isn’t really meant to be examined.
Ramona
@Nxl: you’ve gotten to the crux of the reason why bupalos musings are irrelevant!
Ramona
@Bupalos: what is that sub Rosa exception she might seek to carve out?
Ramona
@Bupalos: Which sentiment do you mean which you wholeheartedly support? Staying in the “us” while being removed from the “most”?
Bupalos
@Nxl: This is very well put. I don’t think there’s any part of it I disagree with, other than that the invocation of “generational” does at least ambiguously invite us to look forward as well as backwards.
Otherwise, this is perfect.
I wasn’t launching into a full examination of the speech. I just did literally have the kind of dumb knee-jerk reaction to the obvious reality that this is a fabulously wealthy woman talking (in some kind of way) about the corruption of wealth. And also a black woman who is going ahead and basically embracing the term “affirmative action” as a kind of corruption, even if she’s inverting and weaponizing it against systemic racism. It’s a very interesting move. It’s a much more interesting, complicated move than I think it apparent on it’s face. On it’s face it’s just really deft jiujitsu. But where does it leave “affirmative action?”
She stands in a kind of doubly privileged position to do so (because the past makes her truly innocent and the future (that will likely make her or hers’ guilty of the kind of corruption she’s outlining) is yet to come…and the present isn’t something we worry about.
Bupalos
@Ramona: In the context of the speech and this particular populist turn of phrase she’s using….that some wealthy children of intergenerational wealth-privilege may not be tainted by this kind of systemic “affirmative action.”
This isn’t actually logically contained in the speech. Without knowing that Obama has children she loves and believing she isn’t going to disinherit but must want to except, this consideration wouldn’t adhere.
Bupalos
@Ramona: Yes exactly. I support the “not all X people” idea she’s sneaking in. In this case, not all [nine-digit-bank-account] families.
Ramona
@Bupalos: I view affirmative action as positive and necessary. As such, I do not view “the affirmative action of inter-generational wealth” as a statement decrying the corruption of wealth. I see this formulation as a reason to counteract “the affirmative action of intergenerational wealth” with government sponsored affirmative action on the behalf of historically oppressed groups. I understood Obama to have the same positive view of affirmative action that I do and thus coining this phrase to counter those who try and have succeeded in making “affirmative action” a dirty word.
Hence, I fail to see the need to carve out exceptions.
I need to read what you wrote again.
Aussie Sheila
@Bupalos:
JFC you are either intellectually challenged or emotionally damaged or both. Either way you are a complete boring dolt.
Canadian Shield
“she’s a woman with intergenerational wealth inverting the term “affirmative action” to a negative when it’s paired with “intergenerational wealth.”
she’s a woman with intergenerational wealth? If her husband and her have created massive wealth that’s well done on them. I don’t believe she’s “inverting the term affirmative action to a negative” whatever that means…she’s pointing out that there are unrecognized forms of “affirmative action” that are not counted as such. Like the Trump families wealth or George W Bush getting into Yale because George HW did because Prescott Bush etc.
Harrison Wesley
@ArchTeryx: Any indication that these are genuinely human rights supporters as opposed to Republican ratfuckers? Nobody who gave a reticulated shit about Palestine human rights would think that Trump would do anything other than expand American military involvement to meet ODF desires.
Nxl
@Bupalos:
No. Until and unless you can show how Michelle, Kamala and Barack inherited the Fred Trump like millions Donald did, there is no legitimate point for you to make at all.
Whatever wealth Michelle, Kamala and Barack (or even Donald) have acquired on their own is irrelevant.
The direct point Michelle made was about what they inherited from their parents and/or family before them for their benefit which has nothing to do with what they’re able to pass on to their children.
She was talking about Trump. Not Trump’s kids. So why are talking about hers?
Sally
@Bupalos: Yes, and good for her, and probably her daughters, for being self aware. Unlike so many people.
It is possible to have wealth and be empathetic. It is possible to have wealth and use it to lift others up. It is possible to have wealth and use it to empower others.
Not wealthy person has to be a hypocrite.
SatanicPanic
Phillip Bump is good. I appreciate his low-key fact-based reporting.
Sally
@Omnes Omnibus: And it is entirely appropriate that as many D elders appear as possible. To contrast with the party for whom NO elders will agree to appear. Or even vote for the nominee.
SFAW
@Bupalos:
Her “progeny will in fact probably have a pretty extreme version of what she’s critiquing” will only be true if she and Barack do what Fred Sr. did for Donold. Other than that, you’re just blowing smoke, in service of demonstrating how even-handed and insightful you think you are.
But, yes, you do have a super-big brain for your “what about THIS, O-bots??!?!?!?” BS.
Bupalos
@Ramona:
As such, I do not view “the affirmative action of inter-generational wealth” as a statement decrying the corruption of wealth.
Well that’s interesting. I do think she intended it to reverse-weaponize the term, which I think is now generally a negative. I think I’m right about that, but admit I haven’t actually considered whether she meant to leave it neutral or positive.
I think most people probably had a reaction that “affirmative action” was a burn.
StringOnAStick
@sab: That smoky smell you are noticing is likely a cooking fire of an unhoused person. We had been noticing it one summer when there was a fire ban and we figured it was a neighbours chiminea, but it was a guy camping in the gully below our house, and eventually his cook fires set a tree on fire and then it got exciting
Citizen Alan
@Renie: I have nothing against stay-at-home moms who freely make that choice. But I’m talking about women in Mississippi in the 1960s who were locked out of the work force and had “stay-at-home motherhood” forced upon them by social and religious strictures. My mother caught shit her entire life from family members and from the succession of misogynistic preachers in the Baptist church she attended since before I was born because she aggressively pursued job opportunities that would bring in more money for the family instead of limiting herself to “keeping house” for my father. She was one of the first women in Mississippi to do the kind of work she did for AT&T and could only do so after AT&T signed a consent decree and opened up those jobs to women for the first time. No one will ever know what sort of opportunities might have come to my aunts and their respective families if they too had been willing to defy the anti-women culture of their time the way my mother did, but from personal observation, I am of the opinion that their families suffered for being one-income families simply because the Bible said that women shouldn’t work outside the home. Notably, as I mentioned, none of my cousins within the same generational cohort went on to become English Professors or even consider college at all.
SFAW
@Bupalos:
She was calling out the hypocrisy of the RWMFs who hateHateHATE “affirmative action” when it benefits those people, but love it — or at worst/best, are agnostic about it — when it’s wealthy/white people who benefit.
Ramona
@Bupalos: Do you believe that the term “Affirmative Action” is correctly viewed as negative?
Ramona
@Bupalos: Most people of color like me do not view “affirmative action” as negative.