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Republican Congressman Rep. Davis Refers To Obama As “That Boy”

April 14th, 2008
By JOE GANDELMAN, Editor-In-Chief

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From the report given in the New York Times’ lively The Caucus blog, Kentucky Republicans were having a blast, ridiculing the Democrats as political non-realists and, overall, as an almost madcap lot.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had some fun going after the Demmies…and then it was the turn of Congressman Geoff Davis to continue the celebration of how Republicans are superior to Democrats. It was his turn to take it up (or down) to another level.

And he did:

Congressman Geoff Davis, took the criticisms of Mr. Obama a few steps further, likening the change slogan to the pitch of a “snake oil salesman.” He then relayed to the audience that he had taken party in a “highly classified, national security simulation” with Obama.

“I’m going to tell you something: That boy’s finger does not need to be on the button,” Mr. Davis said. “He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country.”

What happened next was predictable: the Internet picked it up (alas, TMV is late, so accept our apologies), and the Obama campaign issued a response.

“It’s hard to tell what is more outrageous - Representative Davis’s condescending and personal attack, or his absurd and offensive claim that Barack Obama is not prepared to defend America. Geoff Davis may hide behind offensive tough talk, but he has marched in lock-step with Bush-McCain policies that have devastated our national security, while Barack Obama has stood up against a misguided war in Iraq and worked with respected Republicans like Dick Lugar and Chuck Hagel to secure loose weapons and nuclear materials from terrorists,” Bill Burton, the campaign spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Davis apologized to Obama for a “poor choice of words” — and Republicans expect that will be accepted.

But wait: hasn’t Obama just said when he said small towners were “bitter” it was a poor choice of words? So that means Republicans won’t join Hillary Clinton in hammering Obama on the issue?

But this tale of political types having fun with zingers has a bit more.

What would a fun event like this be without taking a quick-laugh swipe at Hillary Clinton?

Back at the dinner, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton didn’t escape the men’s attention either. While saying her candidacy seemed to be teetering on the brink, he [McConnell] added “I hear she hasn’t been this worried since a new Hooters opened” near her home with former President Bill Clinton.

Everybody laughed, according to Ryan Alessi, political reporter for the Herald-Leader.

Thoughtful American political discussion…at its best.

FOOTNOTE: One commenter on a site has noticed several references popping up (most assuredly from people who don’t support or like Obama) as a “boy.”

READ AND RESPOND TO THIS QUESTION ON THE LINK BELOW:
Is it racist to call a grown man ‘a boy’?

CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this post we attributed the “Hooters” joke to Davis in brackets. The joke was actually told by McConnell. The correction has been made. TMV regrets the error.



This entry was posted on Monday, April 14th, 2008 at 6:31 pm and is filed under Barry Goldwater, Hillary Clinton, Black/African-American, Bigotry, Newsweek Blogitics, Republicans, Democrats, 2008 Elections, Congress, Race, Minorities, Politics. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Viewing 9 Comments

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    Boy will always be synoymous with racism, when it is said from a white person( especially an old southern or rual one), to a black, or mixed race person.

    Any attempt to play this off as simply being overly sensitive to PCness is a falure or unwillingess to understand history.

    The rep. should've known better, but I bet he figured he was safe in a room full of his peers.
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    Joe's "Answers.Yahoo.com" link was very good.

    I have heard "boy" used by Southerners in a non-racist way...but there has to be an age difference. That is not the case here. I suspect it was coded racism. But that is just my opinion.

    sh0ter makes an excellent point: " The rep. should've known better, but I bet he figured he was safe in a room full of his peers."

    I imagine Obama felt the same in San Fran. No where is safe from the "GaffeMeisters" in this election!

    I thought this was Obama's "macaca" moment...given that I can't imagine him ever again getting in as sweeping a demographic in one gaffe.

    But the year is still young.

    Wait till Bill Clinton gets caught in a motal room...

    ...with John McCain!
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    Well, people, his supporters do keep on calling Obama "young" which in anything but a politician - i guess - 46 isn't young.

    "Boy," I'm not sure it's straight up racist - but could be persuaded - but it is pretty damn offensive.
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    This seems to me like another much-ado-about-nothing issue. Is it possible that Rep. Davis is racist? Of course. But without further evidence of other racist statements I think he gets the benefit of the doubt for using Southern slang that applies across ethnic groups. Living far from the South in California, the twenty-somethings and thirty-somethings I hang out with (representing black, white, brown, yellow, and just about every other color there is) occasionally use "boy" in reference to their peers, sports figures, celebrities, etc. of all ethnicities. There is no racist intent - it's simply part of the vocabularly of a generation that grew up well after "boy" was commonly used as a derogatory term.
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    Calling a grown man "boy" has a history, and there is no way Davis can fail to know that.
    I think it was an intentional slur.
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    As Ryan said many people can and have used "Boy" and meant nothing derogatory or racist. That being said for a white southern politician to use it in reference to Obama is stupid. It is the height of idiocy and there is no playing it off as anything else.
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    It could have been unintentional, but I DO think a politician from the South of Davis' generation most likely IS aware of the history attached to that term.

    A Southern white man calling a black man "boy" could be like Allen's "maccaca" moment. I guess if someone hung a noose from a tree they could claim it was innocent also.
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    In the context he used the term it was meant to belittle Obama, there is no doubt about that. I am younger than both of them but I cringed when I read that. Davis is acting like a moron (which is a term to belittle his intellect).

    I think this campaign has really made everyone face up to intrinsic racism present in much of our society. I know there are defenders of this kind of behavior and speech out there, but they are losing their ground.
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    There are dummies who actually say (presumably with a straight face) that Obama is a post-boomer rather than a boomer.

    He is young and inexperienced compared to others (which is almost certainly the rationale behind the "boy" remark; can't you PC weenies grow up and examine the rest of what is said, actually form concepts out of context?), and that is what he is trying to sell to people. The "snake oil" remark is suitable, though clumsy; I had a relative attend Obama's Portland appearance, and was called about the total lack of real content and substance in his speech, one sound bite after another (my reply was that a speech by him typically is one long sound bite; all the candidates are the same in this regard, but in Obama's case, so much of his support is PC adoration and cult following). Any false put-down about addressing the PC facts behind the reaction to this is silly, to keep thigns much more kind than they need be.