FD Exclusive: Wade Endorses Obama
The not so well-kept secret of the Obama campaign? That if you stop by your local headquarters, there's a good chance you'll run into an NBA player. They've appeared at voter registration drives, and turned out for fundraisers en masse. But with the exception of Baron Davis and Greg Oden (and Josh Howard, sort of), there haven't been any outright endorsements. And yes, it's because they're being told not to, sometimes even by their handlers on-site.
That's why I was impressed to find out (WORLD EXCLUSIVE) that tomorrow, Dwyane Wade's going to register to vote for the first time and then register others—presumably to vote for the Heat guard's fellow Chicagoan. Not to take anything away from Baron and Oden, but they don't live in the mother of all swing states, nor are they among the Association's five biggest names. You can laugh at the registering himself part, but I think it sends the right message: It doesn't matter if you've never been involved, either because you've been told not to, or just haven't cared to. This is that time to change all that.
So hats off to the guy for being one of the few to take that critical last step. I said at one point that, given how "black" basketball reads, Obama's close identification with the sport could be a negative; according to that logic, having athletes out in the open could be a liability. But obviously the campaign wants them around and really, how depressing is it to suggest that, for political reasons, ordinarily apolitical figures shouldn't get involved?
And Dr. LIC, I'm finally with you on that contempt for Melo.
BONUS: Me and Ziller team up for a Gelf piece on stats, scouting and common sense.
Labels: barack obama, dwyane wade, marketing, politics
posted by Bethlehem Shoals @ 10/02/2008 11:53:00 PM
13 comments
13 Comments:
Cool, but I doubt that Jewish grandmas in Bradenton or Tampa care what Dwyane Wade thinks.
Nor do I think older Cubans in Miami will be swayed by ol’ El Guapo.
This is like certain of my friends who furiously post pro-Obama articles, videos, links, commentary on Facebook every day. Uh guys, who do you think is reading your screeds? Doubt you have a lot of soccer moms in your network.
"So hats off to the guy for being one of the few to take that critical last step. I said at one point that, given how "black" basketball reads, Obama's close identification with the sport could be a negative; according to that logic, having athletes out in the open could be a liability."
Exactly - in a presidential race with the first black candidate ever, racism is Obama's biggest hurdle. In that respect, especially in a swing state, Wade adds absolutely nothing - anything reiterating Obama's blackness will be a liability. It's a critical step alright, but a critical step that is potentially a negative one if he positions it as an endorsement of the Obama campaign. Here's hoping Wade is conscious enough to position it as "encouraging everyone to enrol to vote". Though personally, I think he's such an egotist that Obama's probably all part of his rehabilitation strategy.
TGP, as important as soccer moms are to making any election go 'round, it's also kind of cool to register young and/or minority voters
I see what you're saying, but I assume the thinking is that whites who are going to be turned off by an NBA endorsement probably aren't voting for Obama anyway. Wade and other players might help with getting out black voters and young voters, who often have low numbers, which is why the Jewish grandmother vote has been so crucial in Florida--they always vote.
Obama will put up record numbers for turn out anyway, but this could still help.
Also, basketball is huge in Indiana and North Carolina, and if Obama wins those states, he's in.
HOOPS FOR HOPE
I really think that it depends on which players are doing the endorsing. Having James and Wade on board is strong - maybe not helpful for people outside of the b-ball target market. But if people are going to buy their shoes, people might also vote their candidate.
Also, they might be minorities, but they are also rich as hell. There might be class implications, like this is the new trend of the young, cool, and wealthy or something.
As a Dallas fan, I hope Cuban changes the name of the team now, and M******* is, or was, a great name for a sports team. I never want to hear that fucking word again. Also, don't make me like Dwyane Fucking Wade. I can't go that far. I want to hate him forever, let me at least have that.
Sarah Palin apparently honed her public speaking style from watching Hee Haw. Did I mention that refreshing electoral-vote.com and fivethirtyeight.com gives me an erection?
I think BRE's point about Jewish grandmothers is an important one, although I have a slightly different take on it--one that relates to treating potentially prejudiced white voters as monolithic.
I have a Jewish grandmother who lives in Miami. She is what I call a generational bigot. She doesn't have ideological prejudice against non-whites, she just assumes they're inferior or some amalgam of stereotypes. But that also means she's somewhat persuadable on the issue: any particular black person, for example, can be "good." Once she's decided that a black person is "one of the good ones," her prejudices about that person are mitigated significantly.
I don't know that she's even aware of D-Wade, but he's the kind of black man that could be "one of the good ones": seems respectful and humble and smart, speaks well, handsome, dresses nicely, etc. For members of the Jewish gradma contingent in Miami who are aware of Wade but haven't made up their minds yet about Obama, the endorsement could help.
Of course, my grandmother was already voting for Barry.
NBARS!
You want to hear some real MJGMRS (Miami Jewish Grandma Racial Semiotics)? Mine had attitudes similar to yours, but there was the added twist of her sometimes being mistaken for the black help by strangers in her building.
Zeke: Same here, except that my boner is only figurative.
They're giving Obama a slight lead over McCain in Florida, and trending more in that direction all the time - that makes me so happy, ideology aside. Even though it's no longer a case of he-who-wins-Florida-wins-all, I want it to go blue. I like it here. I don't want to live in a red state again.
My grandmothers are long dead, and weren't Florida voters to begin with. But yesterday my friend's father, a lifelong ideological Republican, turned to him thoughtfully and said, "You know, I think I might vote for the negro."
I live in Texas, so no hope for us going blue, although Obama will take Dallas (city, not the county) and Austin. San Antonio is too much of a military town, and Houston just strikes me as way more conservative than Dallas. It was heartening to see that McCain's lead here is in the single digits in the last poll. Bush won this state by 22 points in 2004.
My father is from North Carolina and I spend almost every summer there as a kid. If that state puts Obama over the top, it'll be especially poignant.
@ Shoals
I know it's just my perverse sense of humor, but that's kind of awesome. Although probably not so much for your grandma. I'd hazard a guess that the black workers in the building didn't make the same mistake. Relatedly, my grandmother: former employer of black maids. My girlfriend's grandmother: retired black maid. And my grandmother thinks my girlfriend is great. MJGMRS!
wv: tkvay--combination of tooth sucking and "Oy vey"
Shoals, good point (10:18 AM) about registering new voters. Keep up the good work.
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