That Old Black Magic

The current RNC chair being 'appalled' by the "Barack, the Magic Negro" track^* on the CD being passed around within the LHaPHu (Limbaugh-Hannity-Palin-Huckabee) wing of the Republican Party is like police Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains) being 'shocked' that gambling was going on in Rick's in Casablanca. That old black magic still has the "base" in its spell.

To show how "out-of-the-loop" I am, I only saw the title "Barack, the Magic Negro" in the news for the first time yesterday (via J.M.G.). But the song that popped into my mind was "Rudolf, the Red-nosed Reindeer" (which more accurately scans the title line than "Puff, the Magic Dragon"). So I was a bit disoriented when I heard the song for the first time.

(I'll leave any "Rudolf" parody as an exercise for the LHaPHus. Consider my entry the minimalist "empty" poem.)

Barack, the Magic Negro
(to the tune of Rudolf, the Red-nosed Reindeer)
   

Just one story: I was sitting and watching TV news a couple of days ago with a lifetime-military guy (now retired, in his late sixties, Vietnam-war veteran, watches Bill O'Reilly, retirement savings down big this year, voted for Obama last month). Turns to me and says: "Can you imagine if McCain had won? He wouldn't have a clue what to do."

Simple as that.

What does this story have to do with Negro Magic? Beats me.


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^* apparently motivated in some obscure way by a 2007 column by David_Ehrenstein