There is no such thing as a God-forsaken town: Obama Dresses Up

Monday, February 25, 2008

In regards to the whole Obama in tribal gear story (Turbangate?) what he said.

Anonymous said...: I thought the "he" in your link was going to be Obama himself - silly me! Anyway, I ran across this explanation from the head of BBC's Somali Service.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7265115.stm

Hi comment is a bit confusing though, because he says both "The head turban is especially used by elderly people as a suggestion of respect." and then "It is something that has no meaning whatsoever in Somalia culture." (in the same paragraph!); 10:04 AM
Anonymous said...: I can appreciate the desire to see someone NOT stoop to the terms of the political process... But if Obama had responded in the way suggested here, without showing that he was aware that the release of the photo was intended as a political attack, he would've looked pretty naive.

I think his response was appropriate myself, because he was calling a spade (Clinton Inc.) a spade (dirty politicos). But I don't think it was intended to express how he felt about the honor of wearing the tribal gear in the first place. Just by wearing it, he's already shown that he respects the privilege, hasn't he?

Surely other nations understand what's going on here. They all have their silly political games, too.

(I love "Turbangate"!!); 4:21 AM

Monday, February 25, 2008