Gothamist: Jesse Jackson's Hot Mic Mess

VietVrt

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:29:00 -0500

Well Obama may be dark skinned, but he isn't an Afro-American. If anybody would chech, he's one half white, 7/8 Arabic and 1/8 African. His birth certiface states he is Arab. Now, I don't know about you, but an Arab=American as President, not my cup of tea. Thank you!!

Rfive

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:04:53 -0500

Nothing to add here. Jesse is toast. Burnt toast. Why do people think he has something to say? If FOX wanted him, isn't it just to damage the left? Is he that stupid? Yes...

Spiritof76

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:11:28 -0500

I guess we now know what Jackson thinks of William Cosby, EdD.

Jen S

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:20:59 -0500

Hot mic here, get it while it's hot!

JenChungsBra

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:56:03 -0500

My first thought also was that Jackson has done SO much TV in his life that he had to have known that his mic was on and that he was being recorded at the time. He HAD to.

Snoopy

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:36:52 -0500

And here I thought the article was going to be about some Irish comment.

likesrudylikesbooty

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:32:40 -0500

Hymietown strikes again! I know Reverend Jesse saw that SNL skit about him and Obama. Seriously though, Obama is pushing the limit with his condescending lectures. I know he means well, but WTF? Cosby tried it, and they passed him off as craaazy. See if McCain or Hillary can get away with addressing black audiences to turn of the TV, and stop eating Popeye's for breakfast.

ChampionOfTheSun

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:29:47 -0500

Dear Jesse Jackson, Most people would like to cut your head off.

Politburo

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:08:58 -0500

"Or Donald Rumsfeld's claim "we know where the weapons of mass destruction are" I know it's OT.. but this one is my favorite Rumsfeld quote by far: "We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat."

spiritross

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:48:03 -0500

Hate is not going to get the demos the white house in november The thing i don't understand is that does Jesse then think that video Games, not reading, ignoring your children, and kids thinking your going to be a rap star instead of going to school is good for the community?

NYCSniper

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:29:11 -0500

Thanks, Gothamist, for spelling "MIC" correctly --- pet peeve -- even the Post is spelling it mike. It's a microphone, not a mikerophone.

PBRK

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:18:18 -0500

Its all kinds of weird that Jesse would advocate the castration of a Black man. Too much baggage.

Rocknrope

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:46:48 -0500

Get ready for McCain 08' folks. We're all going to be smacked with the fish of reality once again, standing with our nuts in our hand, wondering "What happened?"

Outter Burrougher

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:25:45 -0500

as joby and zodak said, he knew exactly what he was doing. He's done enough television to know when a mic is hot, to know when a camera is on, etc. The comments weren't really damaging, and as joby says, can actually be helpful. Obama is the first Democratic [presumptive] nominee that my father has considered voting for since Humphrey, but always with the caveat that he worries about the racial baggage that would be sitting behind him on the podium come January 20, 2009. By this, he means Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, et al. Statements like Jackson's serve to alleviate that fear from a certain segment of voters' minds.

fmike

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:19:02 -0500

I love the little shoulder jerk cutting gesture Jessie makes to punctuate his comment. Classic.

zodak

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:09:53 -0500

"Why don't these people know that anything ANYTHING said in a television studio is liable to be recorded" they do know, specifically media-reverend jesse jackson knew EXACTLY what he was doing. it was the only way jesse could say what he really feels & pander to jesse's supporters. in other words: he's hatin' yo jesse, don't hate, congratulate. also, you gotta love the way he got told by his own son: "So, I thoroughly reject and repudiate his ugly rhetoric. He should keep hope alive and any personal attacks and insults to himself.” damn!

blablanyc

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:35:40 -0500

Obama talks down to pandas too.

joby

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:18:55 -0500

um, Is it just me or is it possible that Jesse made these comments knowing full well fox might record them? It helps Obama by drawing the attention of some white voters, who might not otherwise vote for a black candidate, to his black church comments. The fact that he made this mistake on fox, where it definitely would be broadcast, makes me suspect it even more. that's just my two cents.

Gothamist_Cynic

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:06:42 -0500

gotta love conservative whitewashed black politicians.

westernqueensland

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:29:53 -0500

Jackson is increasingly proving the irrelevency of the "civil rights generation." It pains me to say this, but like Moses an the promised land, these guys cannot fit into a post-racial world. I am cautiously optimistic about the Obama Phenomenon: I want to move beyond tribal/racial/demographic alliances.

Eoin MacNeill

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:12:02 -0500

One of the most illuminating comments I have heard came from an interview on Bill Moyer's Journal with two black men about Obama's run. The younger of the two said approximately: "I don't think black people realize that voting for Obama is voting for the end of race as we know it." Jackson had his chance, so did Sharpton. They both have a perverse interest in keeping the country divided along racial lines. There are problems with how people of different ethnicities treat one another, but it is time to try a different, more self conscious approach. We are all, regardless of ethnicity, flawed. And we need to start talking about that.

meowster

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:45:40 -0500

who says that?! " I want to cut his nuts off". i could see "smack up side the head" but " I want to cut his nuts off"? christ!

sinisterteashop

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:54:36 -0500

Best of luck to Rev. Jackson in trying to find Sen. "FISA" Obama's nuts.

VanessaNYC

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:24:41 -0500

Oh, and I am an Obama fan.

VanessaNYC

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:47:54 -0500

Gotta say, this is kind of funny. I'm not a huge Jesse Jackson fan, but I don't think his comments were all that damaging. The part about cutting his nuts off. Classic.

ANGRYGOD11

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:44:06 -0500

I'm beginning to believe there's a generation gap with older politicians. They don't seem to be media savvy today, but they were a generation ago. How else can anyone explain Hillary's "Bosnian sniper fire" lies although she landed at the airport with CNN onboard? Or Donald Rumsfeld's claim "we know where the weapons of mass destruction are" on a live talk show and then deny he said when it was clear there weren't any such weapons? Only a few are losing it with age, but the rest seem to think they can control the media with just their words.

GOP

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:25:31 -0500

Seems like the only people against Obama are black people (see, e.g., Wright and Jesse) and very, very, very White people (see, e.g. the bible belt). Obama should do a Tiger Woods and renounce his blackness. Or marry a hot blond.

babyhitler

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:45:09 -0500

We need some Rainbow Coalition LolFailcats and we need it stat!

redhookreject

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:43:48 -0500

and guess what no left leaning person will go on any FOX show for this election cycle. Think they would do the same if it was about McCain... as if that needs an answer. It really sucks that news as I knew it growing up is SO dead. and TV is the worst. Makes the Gothamist look like a real news venue. i feel sad now

Ethan

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:39:40 -0500

Not his Trucknutz!

FinalShaft

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:29:41 -0500

Why don't these people know that anything ANYTHING said in a television studio is liable to be recorded.... egocentric I guess.... speaking of egos... 1st to post.