In Which An Exception Is Made

It is time, I feel, to declare it officially Okay to call Barack Obama articulate, well-spoken, etc.

Yes, smart white liberals who cringe at this kind of thing, we've all seen the Chris Rock bit from Bring the Pain too; and yes, he was right to point out that those terms are usually used in a somewhat condescending manner when talking about black politicians.

But let's look at the difference, eh? Chris Rock was talking about Colin Powell, who's speaking style is indistinguishable from that of most any career military man you might see on television. Calm, measured, and to the point. Rock's point was that it's mildly racist to excessively praise a black guy for being on par with his white contemporaries. "What the fuck did you expect?!? 'I'm a drop me a bomb today! I'll be Pres-O-Dent!'"

It is now 12 years later, and we have a black guy who is genuinely head and shoulders above everybody else, rhetorically. He fucking well is well-spoken, articulate, and a dozen other things people too well-educated to use the word "fuck" as often as I do might say about someone as gifted as he is. So go ahead and say so, and use the time you save by not hectoring people who are trying to give a genuine compliment to the guy to figure out which Dave Chapelle bits it's acceptable for you to repeat at parties.

Fucking white people.