I believe we have to judge our society not by how we treat the privileged and the empowered, but by how we treat the silenced, the condemned, the undocumented, and all those whose views and rights are deemed inconvenient. The ACLU works tirelessly to uphold the promise of the Constitution, and I am proud to support their courageous and necessary work. (link)No word yet if the ACLU Leading Freedom Forward Screen Print featuring Olivia Wilde by Shephard Fairey will go on sale to the public, and if so, how many prints/posters will be produced.
The 2008 United States of America Presidential Election is finally coming to a conclusion and The Blot couldn’t be happier. This Presidential election season might have been the longest one in history, or at least it feels like it was. Considering the state of the world economy, I’m a bit saddened at the numbers being reported for campaign spending. There has to be a better way to use these millions and millions of advertising dollars, right? Regardless, if you’re a registered voter in the United States you owe it to yourself, your friends and your family to take advantage of your right to vote and head down to your local polling station today.
Now anyone who knows The Blot knows I hate country music, but I do have a sweet spot in my heart for the MuzikMafia, an informal clique of American country music artists founded by Big & Rich which includes Gretchen Wilson and Cowboy Troy. I justify it by saying Big & Rich’s style of country is as much rock as it is country, and the fact that two of their songs have been featured prominently on ESPN – “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” was the theme song to the network’s 2005 coverage of the World Series of Poker and “Comin’ To Your City” was used in 2007 as the theme song to College Game Day. And you don’t even want to get me started on Cowboy Troy’s unique brand of hick-hop music. I don’t care what anyone says, Cowboy Troy’s first album, Loco Motive, is a classic!
But I digress, performing the song “Our America” is perfect for any National political convention. If you’ve never heard “Our America” and like patriotic songs then I highly suggest you head to iTunes and download the track off of Big & Rich’s second album, Comin’ To Your City. It is just a mishmash of a number of different patriotic songs, which in theory shouldn’t work as one unified song but it really does. Rich, Wilson and Troy performed wonderfully last night in Minneapolis at the GOP convention, and I loved the way Cowboy Troy chimes in throughout the song performing lyrics from the Pledge of Allegiance. If you missed it last night, trust me, the song is even better live than it is on the album.
What really ticked me off is how unofficial the caucus was compared to the popular vote. The biggest issues I have with elections, especially since the hanging chad incident in Florida, is that all votes cast need to be accounted for in a fair and orderly fashion. When I voted a week ago during Texas’ early voting period I was very impressed. The polling location had computers with all registers voters names in it. A registered voter could bring in their voter registration card or a state issued photo identification card and have their id and voter status verified immediately. Then voters were directed to a private voting booth where they could vote electronically for the candidate of their choice. Everything seemed very legitimate and official, which I found very comforting since we were voting for a candidate to be the next President of the United States.
When it came time to caucus though, I had the complete opposite feeling. I know the informal nature of the experience is what caucusing is all about, but something just felt fishy about it. Especially when, because of the format, it could have been extremely easy for someone to artificially increase a precinct’s turn out. In fact, the people signing constituents in had absolutely no idea what they were doing or how to do their job. It really discouraged me when I went to sign in and ended up knowing more about what was going and what I needed to do than the gentlemen stationed at the sign in table. Also, there is was no way to check a voter’s information in a timely fashion since everyone filled in their personal information by hand, including voter id number, on page after page of generic caucus forms. To me this seems like a very unnecessary and drawn out process that could take days to be verified and become official.
I for one think both candidates would be better served if all delegates were assigned based on the popular vote, especially when tens of thousands of more Texans turned out for the popular vote than the relatively small amount who participated in the caucus last night. It is times like these, when an election is so close and every delegate matters, that I realize the problems that still exist in our country’s voting process. You’d have thought that after all of these elections, especially after the Presidential election of 2000, that things would have been straightened out by now. Yet here we are again…it just goes to show that the more things change, the more things stay the same.
So last month after my first post on Barack Obama I had a long discussion with Sam, a faithful reader of The Blot Says…, on whether or not Barack Obama or anything political could be considered pop culture. My viewpoint on the subject is of course. Everything and anything can be pop culture, especially the leader of the free world. I think Saturday Night Live alone makes politics a part of pop culture week in and week out.
The most classic examples of Presidents defining the pop culture of their time are John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. Obviously Kennedy was way before my time, but just by listening to baby boomers talk about him today shows what a huge impact he’s had on a generation and its culture. As for Reagan I think it’s a chicken or the egg situation. Was it Reagan and his ideology that made the 80’s decade what it was or did the culture and ideals of the “Me era” just happen to find their perfect President?
An even better example is President Bill Clinton who completely changed how politicians would be viewed and elections would be fought. The minute he stepped onto the set of The Arsenio Hall Show in June of 1992 and played his saxophone there was no turning back. Combine that with Clinton’s 1994 appearance on MTV’s Rock the Vote where a sitting President was asked the infamous “Boxers vs. Briefs” question and it is easy to see that a new era of pop culture was born in the 90’s. It was the start of the internet and really a whole new world where anything goes and the age of “no information is too much information” was born.I bring this up because every day I see Senator Obama becoming more and more ingrained in the pop culture of today. And really he’s doing it in a very unique way that many, if not most, elected officials would kill to be able to. It started with OBEY Giant’s campaign posters, but now his reach is expanding into new and uncharted pop culture territory. Sneaker Obsession brought to my attention last week these amazing custom Obama for President Air Force One Sneakers. I think once you start seeing your influence reach the sneaker community then you’ve really entrenched yourself into every possible avenue of American pop culture. (link)
The shoes were designed by a Cincinnati, Ohio artist named Van who does some amazing work with shoes. These sneakers really incorporate all of the major symbols of Obama’s Presidential campaign including his catchphrases “Change” and “Yes We Can,” his campaign’s logo and two completely different picture perfect portraits of the Illinois Senator. You can check out more pictures of the Obama Air Force Ones and a ton of other crazy designs at Van’s MySpace page. I really can’t decide which kicks I like better, his 2Pac inspired sneakers or his 2 different styles of Spider-Man Air Force Ones.
So now I want to hear from all of you, what do you think? Do Presidents, Elected Officials and Political Candidates fall under the realm of pop culture?
While the Democratic presidential debate in Austin may be over (currently being replayed on CNN as I write this) and Senators Obama and Clinton are back out on the campaign trail, there is still one important issue to discuss…Senator Obama’s visit with the University of Texas’ football team earlier today. I was actually kind of shocked to find out that Mr. Obama took time out of his busy campaign schedule to take a tour of the school’s athletic facility and spend some quality time with Mack Brown and his players…but it did make for a pretty cool photo op.
Well today’s post ended up being a little different than I had originally intended. To give you some back story, a few months ago I was talking with a friend about how I had never lived in a state where my vote mattered in the Presidential primary. Growing up in Alabama and then living in Texas, the primaries were typically over before it was my turn to vote. Then all of a sudden this year’s Democratic primary turned into quite a slobberknocker and the focus is now squarely on Texas and Ohio for the next few weeks.
The Blot had originally planned on covering both events and just giving a report of what it was like to be there. I had even lined up The Blot Says…’ first media pass for Senator Obama’s event at the Houston Toyota Center. Unfortunately some things came up and I had to stay home that evening, but thankfully all of the major news outlets covered the speech and the next day I had the opportunity to talk to some local democrats who had attended the event. Everyone spoke highly of the Obama rally and their opportunity to see the great orator live. From all reports, the Toyota Center was packed with over 16,500 people to hear what Senator Obama’s plans were if he were to gain the party’s Presidential nomination. I had really wanted to see Mr. Obama speak in person because he really is an amazing motivational speaker and truly radiates hope and change for the country. With that being said, from what I saw on the television coverage it seemed like there was more message than substance.The feeling on Wednesday night was the complete opposite from the excitement and energy at the Toyota Center. President Clinton was to speak at the University of Houston’s Hofheinz Pavilion, home to the University’s basketball teams. Honestly, the turn out was pathetic compared to the night before. Hofheinz Pavilion holds 8,500 people and was well under half filled. To be fair it had been pouring down rain all day which I am sure scared off many people on the fence about attending the event, but come on, it’s the 42nd President of the United States speaking. Much like Mr. Obama, I was really interested in seeing a President of the United States speak live, former or not. People started filling in at around 8 but Mr. Clinton didn’t take the podium until close to 10 o’clock.
The entire Hillary Early Voting Rally (as the event was being called) felt stale and not planned well at all. Since the event took place on the University of Houston’s campus, as could be expected, a huge part of the crowd was college students to which the event was unfortunately not intended for. The event was supposed to start at 8:45, and at 9 it sort of started with the introduction of a gospel group/band who sang a few songs. This didn’t go over well with heavily attended college crowd, especially the part of the crowd I was standing in. Most were put off by the music and the length the band played instead of the group’s intended result which was pumping up the crowd. For a rally, there really wasn’t much rallying going on, and I thought most people looked warn out and tired by the time the first U.S. Congressmen took the stage to talk about the messages they were spreading as they trekked across the state of Texas.
The only time the crowd really got energized was for the introduction of the man they had been waiting over two hours to see, President Bill Clinton. Clinton was really good, no matter what you think of his politics or his ethical choices, the guy can speak. He came out with some a great story of Hillary’s background and interest in special education and how the two of them had to work multiple jobs while he was in law school. I was really impressed with how President Clinton addressed many key issues Hillary hopes to address while in office and the way she will go about making those changes if elected. It was a lot more substantive than motivational, and to be honest that isn’t necessarily what America seems to be looking for in its next leader. That being said Senator Clinton is still getting a ton of support and votes, so it could just be that Obama makes for better television, which he definitely does.
Hearing former President Clinton speak was great and he really did make some interesting points, including Hillary’s plan on how to help struggling students with government sponsored loans. I’d give Clinton an A+ for his speech but I’d grade the over all event a C-. I think Senator Clinton has chosen the wrong people to guide her campaign, because it really felt like the people in charge just don’t have a clue as to how to connect to the young people of America, something Senator Obama is very, very good at doing. I heard Mike Huckabee and Chelsea Clinton were in town last night as well giving stump speeches, but The Blot can only be in so many places at once. Hopefully I’ll be able to give some more political coverage as the both primary races heat up over the next few weeks.
As most of you know Shepard Fairey is one of my favorite artists. I bring this up because OBEY Giant released the red, white and blue print Obama today, a portrait of Senator Barack Obama. While it might sound random, Fairey has often made portraits of other important, influential people in history. The print is very striking and of course includes the obligatory Giant face included somewhere in the picture. The print is 24” x 36” and only 350 were made. As with most OBEY Giant prints, each one is hand signed and numbered by Shepard Fairey..jpg)
Shepard included with the announcement of his latest print his ringing endorsement of Obama for President. On the OBEY Giant website Fairey stated:
I believe with great conviction that Barack Obama should be the next President. I have been paying close attention to him since the Democratic convention in 2004. I feel that he is more a statesman than a politician. He was against the war when it was an unpopular position (and Hillary was for the war at that time), Obama is for energy and environmental conservation. He is for healthcare reform. Check him out for yourself www.barackobama.com. Proceeds from this print go to produce prints for a large statewide poster campaign.
Thanks. - Shepard
Anyone interested in helping out please email info@obeygiant.com with OBAMA as the Subject Title for instructions.
Over the weekend Senator Obama received another more prominent endorsement from daughter of President John F. Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy. Ms. Kennedy came out in support of Mr. Obama stating that “he could inspire Americans in the same way her father once did.” (link) Ms. Kennedy wrote in an op-ed posted on The New York Times website January 27th that “Over the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president – not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.” (link)
What do all of you think, do you agree with Ms. Kennedy? Or, do you even care what Caroline Kennedy thinks? Why is her opinion given so much weight, because her father was a former U.S. President? It’s strange that because her last name is Kennedy this op-ed is given so much credence and publicity. Up until now the only three things I knew about her was who her parents were, who her brother was, and that the song “Sweet Caroline” was written about her.