Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin for Barack Obama

Atlanta’s popular African American mayor has come out for Obama:

On an Atlanta morning radio show, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin just declared Barack Obama to be her choice in the Democratic race for president - putting herself opposite John Lewis, her mentor Andrew Young, and members of the Maynard Jackson clan. They’re on the side of Hillary Clinton.

Here’s the two-minute sound clip, courtesy of WVEE-FM. Franklin was on the station’s “Frank and Wanda Morning Show.”

“There’s no question that Hillary is a strong candidate. What I like about Obama is that he is reaching - he is energizing a population that is not typically energized. There’s a lot of talk about whether he’s got enough experience,” the Atlanta mayor said. “It’s as if we’ve forgotten that Dr. [Martin Luther] King was a global leader at 34.”

Gloria on Hillary

Gloria Steinem:

I’m supporting Senator Clinton because like Senator Obama she has community organizing experience, but she also has more years in the Senate, an unprecedented eight years of on-the-job training in the White House, no masculinity to prove, the potential to tap a huge reservoir of this country’s talent by her example, and now even the courage to break the no-tears rule. I’m not opposing Mr. Obama; if he’s the nominee, I’ll volunteer. Indeed, if you look at votes during their two-year overlap in the Senate, they were the same more than 90 percent of the time. Besides, to clean up the mess left by President Bush, we may need two terms of President Clinton and two of President Obama.

But what worries me is that he is seen as unifying by his race while she is seen as divisive by her sex.

What worries me is that she is accused of “playing the gender card” when citing the old boys’ club, while he is seen as unifying by citing civil rights confrontations.

What worries me is that male Iowa voters were seen as gender-free when supporting their own, while female voters were seen as biased if they did and disloyal if they didn’t.

What worries me is that reporters ignore Mr. Obama’s dependence on the old — for instance, the frequent campaign comparisons to John F. Kennedy - while not challenging the slander that her progressive policies are part of the Washington status quo.

What worries me is that some women, perhaps especially younger ones, hope to deny or escape the sexual caste system; thus Iowa women over 50 and 60, who disproportionately supported Senator Clinton, proved once again that women are the one group that grows more radical with age.

This country can no longer afford to choose our leaders from a talent pool limited by sex, race, money, powerful fathers and paper degrees. It’s time to take equal pride in breaking all the barriers. We have to be able to say: “I’m supporting her because she’ll be a great president and because she’s a woman.”

Me too.

Professors as YouTube stars

Regular readers know I’m a fan of lectures. When I hear people (typically older people) pooh-poohing lectures online, I think that they just don’t get it. I want my content raw, preferably with the right to remix it as I please.

The Chronicle says “even YouTube was surprised” by the popularity of lectures:

YouTube itself wants to be a venue for academe. In the past few months, several colleges have signed agreements with the site to set up official “channels.” The University of California at Berkeley was the first, and the University of Southern California, the University of New South Wales, in Australia, and Vanderbilt University soon followed.

It remains an open question just how large the audience for talking eggheads is, though. After all, in the early days of television, many academics hoped to use the medium to beam courses to living rooms, with series like CBS’s Sunrise Semester. which began in 1957. Those efforts are now a distant memory.

And a wrong-headed comparison. Lectures are long tail content if ever there was such a thing. YouTube denies being surprised by the popularity:

[S]ome lectures on Berkeley’s channel scored 100,000 viewers each, and people were sitting through the whole talks. “Professors in a sense are rock stars,” Mr. Hochman concludes. “We’re getting as many hits as you would find with some of the big media players.”

YouTube officials insist that they weren’t surprised by the buzz, and they say that more colleges are coming forward. “We expect that education will be a vibrant category on YouTube,” said Obadiah Greenberg, strategic partner manager at YouTube, in an e-mail interview. “Everybody loves to learn.”

Says one professor, “For a teacher, you couldn’t ask for anything better.” I couldn’t agree more.

Losers weepers? I don’t think so.

Hillary won. The media narrative says it’s an “upset.” And the “weeping” helped.

She has my endorsement. It’s a long slog ahead (to Feb 5?) and a competitive race. I think that works for her. For any victory to have legitimacy it has to be earned. She’s earning it.

But I’d like to address, what if she lost?

I firmly believe that whatever the outcome of this presidential race, Hillary will play a significant role in the political future of this country. The reason I support her is that she’s tough and committed, a dedicated pol. She has earned her senate seat and would work to keep it. And so I would expect a defeated Hillary to get back to work in the senate and become an invaluable Obama ally working to get his agenda enacted into law. Senate Majority Leader is no stretch. Hillary on the Supreme Court, my dream come true.

On Bill helping or hurting, at best it’s a wash. I believe she loves her flawed husband and continues to pay a price for that love and his flaws. Had she divorced him she would have had the same or better political career. She would have kept as much of the vaunted Clinton machine team as she has now. She would have kept the support of those who believe he wronged her unforgivably and gained those who believe she only stayed for political expediency.

I want a woman president. I’m disgusted at the level of misogyny out there and appalled that more isn’t said about it. But if Hillary doesn’t win I will wholeheartedly embrace Obama (it’s a two person race - if Edwards endorses Obama, as I would think likely, or winds up on his ticket that would be insurmountable) and I will be very sad for her. I will also bet everything I got that Hillary will soldier on. And we’ll be a better nation for it.