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Tuesday, June 07, 2011

In her own words...

I stumbled on this compilation just today, though it was uploaded almost 2 months ago.  I don't know how old the specific clip I will be referring to is.  Listen carefully.



Did you catch it?

Try again, starting at about 1:43 through to 2:00

Did you catch it this time?

This is Michelle Obama speaking:

"What that reminded me of was our trip to Africa... uhm... two years ago... uh... and the level of excitement that we felt in that country - the hope that people saw just in the sheer presence of somebody like Barack Obama.  A Kenyan.  A black man.  A man of great statesmanship, who they believe can change the fate of the world."

When I first heard it and caught her referring to Africa as a country, I had to laugh.  I seem to remember someone on the Republican side (can't remember who) being dragged over the coals for referring to the African continent as a country.  To be fair, a lot of people seem to make that mistake, simply because that's how the word is used, as if Africa were just one, great homogeneous country rather than quite a lot of very diverse countries.

Then I heard to referring to her husband as a Kenyan.

I had to replay is again, just to make sure I wasn't mishearing it.

So what was she saying?  I suppose one could try and brush it off as her referencing his cultural ethnicity, perhaps?  His racial ancestry?  You'd think his own wife, however, wouldn't refer to her husband, a US politician, as a Kenyan unless he actually was one.  Not that it would be the first time, as he was heralded by another politician for being a US senator, even though he was Kenyan.

Yeah, yeah, I know.  With the release of a pdf of his birth certificate, it's all supposed to be over and done with, but with stuff like this coming from Michelle Obama herself, no wonder so many don't believe it!

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