The California News Service » Christine Mai Duc http://californianewsservice.org A Political Project by UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:20:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Huckabee Comments And The Unspoken Obsession With Obama’s Assassination http://californianewsservice.org/2008/05/16/huckabee-comments-and-the-unspoken-obsession-with-obamas-assassination/ http://californianewsservice.org/2008/05/16/huckabee-comments-and-the-unspoken-obsession-with-obamas-assassination/#comments Sat, 17 May 2008 06:30:07 +0000 Christine Mai Duc http://californianewsservice.org/?p=73 Former GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, known for his witty one-liners on the campaign trail, today showed that there is such a thing as being too quick on one’s feet. Speaking to the annual meeting of the National Rifle Association, Huckabee made an off-color remark regarding Barack Obama having a gun aimed at him after a loud noise was heard off-stage. “That was Barack Obama,” he said. “He was getting ready to speak. Somebody aimed a gun at him and he…he dove for the floor.” Huckabee is not the first to use assasination innuendo when speaking about Barack Obama. Media outlets no less than The New York Times have hinted at the topic, as has The Early Show in an interview with Ted Kennedy.

In January of this year, the phrase “assassinate Obama” reportedly showed up on the top 100 Google search terms, leading to reports of increased security and expanded Secret Service detail with the candidate. The rumors, suppositions, and innuendo continue to swirl about, unregulated by mainstream media who are largely too squeamish to say it out loud. Underlying these rumors is a basic apprehension that Americans in general, and Democrats particularly, have held since the last time they put their faith in an “inspirational” candidate. With repeated comparisons to the Kennedy’s, as well as his all-but-certain position as the first black presidential nominee, these thoughts, macabre as they are, stem from a string of unresolved traumas of the sixties. Democrats, young and old alike, have memories (or at least have gleaned cultural memories) of the chaos of the 1960s – when a sitting president was assassinated, his brother, a popular Democratic contender, shot to death, and an inspirational civil rights leader murdered. And whether it be some kind of pre-emptive defense mechanism, dark obsession, or mere conspiracy, Obama represents for many the ultimate test of the viability of change politics in the modern American system.

]]> http://californianewsservice.org/2008/05/16/huckabee-comments-and-the-unspoken-obsession-with-obamas-assassination/feed/ 0 The other youth revolution http://californianewsservice.org/2008/03/18/the-other-youth-revolution/ http://californianewsservice.org/2008/03/18/the-other-youth-revolution/#comments Tue, 18 Mar 2008 22:54:48 +0000 Christine Mai Duc http://californianewsservice.org/2008/03/18/the-other-youth-revolution/ So I’m told there’s a “youth revolution” happening this election. Its leaders can be found scrawling witty one-liners in chalk on steps and sidewalks of campuses nationwide, holding posterboard and chanting inspirational phrases, and, of course, glued to MTV’s Rock the Vote and Saturday Night Live in their dorm rooms. Apparently, I’m supposed to be part of it. But I don’t feel any different – everyone around me in my “ivory tower” looks just the same as they did two years ago. Those who never cared much for politics still manage to walk through Berkeley’s infamous Sproul Plaza, crowded daily with student activists of every stripe, relatively unscathed. Those who do, myself included, are still trying to get them to believe that this is the most momentous election in recent memory. But perhaps we’re looking in all the wrong places.
The most revolutionary thing I’ve seen this election has been in the other youth – the ones who have jobs, bills, some even families to worry about. For me, the most radical change I’ve witnessed so far has been in Brandon, a dear friend whose daily life is occupied by community college classes, a 30-hour-a-week job, car insurance, phone bills, and living and breathing his life’s passion: NASCAR racing. In 2004, I explained to him the concept of a primary election, walked him through the process of registering to vote, and gave him a brief synopsis of what Bush and Kerry stood for, respectively. This year, he was the first to tell me Edwards had dropped out of the race, or that the Texas primary was too close to call Tuesday evening. He and many of my friends who didn’t go to four-year universities aren’t surrounded by professors, classmates, and roommates who are constantly dissecting every nuance of the campaign trail. And yet they are starting to talk, think, pay attention. They’re talking to each other, their families, and even me – feeling through the issues, forming impressions about the candidates, identifying the issues that are driving them most today. And they’re doing it all without the help of chalk, chants, or MTV, thank you very much.
-Christine Mai-Duc

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