Barack Orahma
Posted on 2017.05.08 at 07:21
It was Illinois, and I needed money. (It must have been around the year 2000, give or take a few). So, I got another telephone job - this time political. Surveys. Biasing folks to vote for Democrats. Right - it was for the Democratic party. Some little guy was buzzing around the office, all elbows. He was brusque and brash and boring and loud. He was a bossy guy from some home office. So very rude. I wondered how in the HECK this guy got into what should be a sophisticated, compassionate and progressive party. He had a funny name - like something out of the bible.
I asked the local phone office boss about this annoying little jerk, who was so disrespectful and dismissive of me and anyone else around, as if we were the inconsequential small people. She informed me that this guy was not so interested in this local office or the candidates it was pushing. Instead, he was very interested in getting one candidate, in particular, elected in Chicago
"What's his name?"
"Barack Obama."
"What? Nobody's gonna vote for a name like that! (This is ILLINOIS!)"
The rude jackass was Rahm Emmanuel.
Obama later ran against Bobby Rush in Chicago and lost. I had forgotten all about this incident at the phone office. But, from what I heard about him, I had been hoping that he would win. Sounded progressive.
I came to support Obama in 2008. On the night he won, I opened the door of my house, and shouted, "Obama!" Yay! This must have riled the NAZI neighbourhood association lady, and the crazy guy on the corner, but at least the blacks and crack dealers must have liked it. It took me 6 years to officially eat my words. As bad as Trump is, Obama turned out to be about as evil as any other president in recent decades. At least trump is a fuck-up.
I asked the local phone office boss about this annoying little jerk, who was so disrespectful and dismissive of me and anyone else around, as if we were the inconsequential small people. She informed me that this guy was not so interested in this local office or the candidates it was pushing. Instead, he was very interested in getting one candidate, in particular, elected in Chicago
"What's his name?"
"Barack Obama."
"What? Nobody's gonna vote for a name like that! (This is ILLINOIS!)"
The rude jackass was Rahm Emmanuel.
Obama later ran against Bobby Rush in Chicago and lost. I had forgotten all about this incident at the phone office. But, from what I heard about him, I had been hoping that he would win. Sounded progressive.
I came to support Obama in 2008. On the night he won, I opened the door of my house, and shouted, "Obama!" Yay! This must have riled the NAZI neighbourhood association lady, and the crazy guy on the corner, but at least the blacks and crack dealers must have liked it. It took me 6 years to officially eat my words. As bad as Trump is, Obama turned out to be about as evil as any other president in recent decades. At least trump is a fuck-up.
