Ghost of a flea

Barack like me

Hugh Hewitt discusses the audio book/spoken word version of Senator Barack Obama's Grammy winning memoir "Dreams From My Father" with columnist to the world, Mark Steyn. Steyn describes the book as novelistic and Obama as a Gatsby-esque "invented character in a bizarre post-modern narrative", self-created and - though he does not use the expression - try-hard.

Whereas I think he sounds like I would if I had spent the last thirty years pretending to a brother. Not that there is anything wrong with that. The fake accents are my favourite part. Especially the way he attempts Chicano pronunciation and his fake Kenyan accent. You just know this is a guy who would say "chakra" with a rolled letter R to make it sound exotic and foreign and mysterious. Not to worry, Senator. If this presidential bid does not work out you have a future in the wiccan priesthood.

I expect coffee on keyboards for the tag-line, btw. At least I am feeling pleased with myself about it as it sums up the Hollywood backlot vibe I get from the man. Or rather, dude. It is as if his whole career was a set up for a forthcoming biopic starring, say, Tom Hanks as Obama. I should confess some annoyance Yumi Wilson-Spatta got to the "Barack like me" thing before me but Yumi's article is worth a look nonetheless. As an Englishman with Welsh blood I can empathize with Obama's plight: I too am... biracial.

Posted by Ghost of a flea at March 28, 2008 06:33 AM

Comments

Posted by: dpatten at March 29, 2008 12:05 PM