What a Difference A Month Makes to “Coolness”

June 12, 2012 By

It’s getting so hard to keep up! Apparently, now, if someone says Obama is “cool” they’re sending a coded racism:

[Angela Rye, Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus] said that “a lot” of conservative opposition is racially-charged, citing the use of the word “cool” in an attack ad launched by Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS superPAC.”

Oh, for Pete’s sake, it was just one month ago — just a bare month! — that we were being told by members of the Obama press and the folks who attend his fundraisers that Obama was ‘way cool! That “Mitt Romney isn’t cool”, like Obama, who is “hip and young and not square” because he was the definition of cool.

Now it appears the quality of his coolness is strained. Suddenly, there is a new rule for calling Obama “cool” and it’s spelled r-a-c-i-s-t.

This very confusing woman continues:

“There’s an ad, talking about [how] the president is too cool, [asking] is he too cool? And there’s this music that reminds me of, you know, some of the blaxploitation films from the 70s playing in the background, him with his sunglasses,” Rye said. “And to me it was just very racially-charged. They weren’t asking if Bush was too cool, but, yet, people say that that’s the number one person they’d love to have a beer with. So, if that’s not cool I don’t know what is.

She added that “even ‘cool,’ the term ‘cool,’ could in some ways be deemed racial [in this instance].”

I’m sorry, I don’t know what to make of this. Now, suddenly George W. Bush — the former “smirking chimp” is cool? Dubya is cool, but Obama isn’t and if you say he is you’re a racist?

As my Auntie Lillie would say, “for cryin’ out loud, lads, find an idea and stick with it!”

Ed Driscoll calls it The Death of the Cool.

What it takes to be cool, this month: Mama, we’re all dorks, now.

Filed Under: Bush Bad?, My Irish Aunties, Obama Good?
About Elizabeth Scalia
  • nohype

    People who see everything in terms of race tend to believe that everyone else sees everything in terms of race. They may not be able to comprehend any other way of thinking.

  • deacon john m. bresnahan

    One does get tired of being called racist if one disagrees with any liberal policies, any Democratic Party policies, and any Obama policies.
    Millions of Americans voted for Obama as a means of burying racism in America.
    But then, sadly, their good will has become a constantly used tool of the political left to bury debate instead of racism.l

  • LisaB

    I just heard a nice story today about Bush, ya know, the uncool President. When he would visit this particular large city he would ask the local police to escort him (he probably did this elsewhere, but I only have this officer’s story). The bonus for the local police is that he would hop into the front seat of the SUV/cruiser and ride with the local police to where he was going… they loved it. They loved that the Prez would be so personal and ride with them, chat with them and then they got to boast about being with the POTUS! The police officer conveying the story said – this isn’t Obama’s style, he rides in the armored vehicle in the back of the procession, doesn’t chat with the locals, doesn’t make contact. The officer didn’t say anything bad about Obama, but emphasized how Bush treated them…. treating people nicely…now that’s COOL.

    This quote comes to mind “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”

    PS – Elizabeth, I’m glad you’re back to writing here at Patheos, I’ve enjoyed your last several posts a lot. Thank you.

  • Roz Smith

    As Professor Jacobson noted over at LI, failure is not a race.

  • kenneth

    If “cool” has racial connotations I’ll have to stick with calling the candidate “fly, off the hizzle, bomb ass, ill, phat and tight.”

  • Sherry

    So should the theme song be, “We are through being cool….”

  • SKay

    This reminds me of the Dallas County Commissioner who said that the the term “black hole” Is racist.