We get letters

The Letter of the Day in the Strib on September 17th:

I applaud President Obama for his blunt condemnation of rapper Kanye West after West rudely embarrassed country star Taylor Swift on stage at the MTV Video Music Awards.

For years, rappers have flourished through vile, aggressive behavior and music, all the while being worshipped by boys and young men of all races, but more prevalently by those of color.

I hope the comment of Obama, a black man who has reached the pinnacle of success, will remind young black men that hard work and education, not controversy and flamboyance, are the true measure of one's value to society.

JASON GABBERT, APPLE VALLEY

P.S. The n***ers are really getting out of hand.

Come on, Spot, you made that postscript up.

Well, yes.

And here’s the Letter of the Day in the Strib today:

In 1959, by any measure, Pat Boone was on top of the world with a very successful TV show, a best-selling book ("Twixt Twelve and Twenty"), a top 10 hit by the same name and a box office smash movie ("Journey to the Center of the Earth").

Still, Boone went to Elvis Presley's manager, Col. Tom Parker, to ask how he could stay on top.

Parker told him, very succinctly, "You've got a problem, son, and it's called overkill. You're everywhere, while my boy's over in Germany in the army. At the rate you're going, by the time he comes back, you'll be old hat."

Boone had his best year in 1959 and his worst in 1960 (when Elvis came home from Germany).

Barack Obama might take note of Parker's advice. Like Pat Boone, he's everywhere. People are beginning to wonder: Shouldn't somebody tell him it's time to stop campaigning and start working? The sleeves are rolled up, the coat and tie are off, and as he said last Saturday at the Target Center, he's "fired up and ready to go!"

That's great, Mr. President, but you're only going to make another speech at another campaign stop, that's not the same as working.

BOB HUGE, EDINA

But Bob, Elvis is still dead. The real moral of Bob’s little story is make hay when the sun shines, because conditions may change.

It is hugely curious to Spot that Bob complains that our first black president is not working hard. Unlike two recent presidents that Bob undoubtedly adores. Both Reagan and Bush were widely regarded as disengaged presidents, and both spent large amounts of time away from the White House. Bush was sunning himself on his ranchette on August 6th of 1991 2001 when the famous PDB was delivered to him in Crawford.

Why do you suppose that the Obama family vacationed on Martha’s Vineyard at the home of a supporter (for a whole week), as did Bill Clinton, by the way? Because even though talented and educated, Obama worked on the South Side of Chicago in public service and as a law professor. Not as lucrative as Hollywood – or just being born rich – Obama doesn’t have a dilettante's ranch.

Bob’s assertion could easily be put to rest by comparing the number of days that Barack Obama has spent in the White House so far versus the same figure for Bob’s cowboy heroes over a comparable period of time. Bet it ain’t close.

Boys and girls, do you think that Bob is really concerned that Barak Obama is not working hard enough and being effective enough? Piffle. The notion is risible.

The two letters quoted both play on the stereotype of the lazy black man. Huge’s pitch is a little more sophisticated than Gabbert’s, but the notion is exactly the same.

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