09 Nov 2008
Obama and the straights
Nice to be
mentioned in Obama’s victory speech – it must be the first time we’ve been ever
been referred to on such an elevated occasion. Obama’s rhetoric is all about
reconciling opposing sectors, even it’s more realistic to think in terms of
spectrums. It’s like Obama himself – black Da, white Ma – but he’s black. The
politics of it over-rides all genetic complexities – he is black, and there is going to be a black
president in my lifetime, something I never thought I’d see.
Isn’t ‘straight’
a very interesting word? It has connotations of being right, honest, direct, but also sounds conformist
and boring. But who named the straights? Us, presumably, at the same time as we
reclaimed the abusive ‘bent’ for ourselves. Lord, we’re even putting words into
Obama’s mouth.
Whatever, his
overwhelming victory has to be good news for us, and a tribute to American
voters. And he’s seen off McCain, whose notoriously short fuse was a bit
worrying, given presidential power over the nuclear button. Mind you, McCain’s
age and dubious health were even more worrying, with Scary Sarey, the woman who
can see Russia from her kitchen window, hovering behind him like a hyena.