Conservatives are using their ongoing obsession with the so-called arrogance of President Obama to introduce some levity into the presidential campaign.
Though right wingers are generally not known for their comedic gifts—can you think of a conservative equivalent to Jon Stewart (not easy unless you are amused by Rush Limbaugh)?—the people at Right Change have given it a go, playing off of the Dos Equis commercials about “the most interesting man in the world.” Except Right Change replaced “interesting” with “arrogant.”
For most African Americans, the labeling of the president as arrogant has been particularly infuriating, because it recalls the historical likelihood of white people to call an African American “uppity” when he/ she became too educated, too self-assured, too talented. Clearly the same tendency has been in play with Obama from the first moment he walked onto the national stage. Yes, he’s incredibly smart and extremely well-educated, but arrogant? Clearly these folks have never spent time around Donald Trump or Arnold Schwarznegger.
In the Right Change ad, the announcer goes through the following script, using the same deep voice as the guy in the Dos Equis ads:
“They gave him the Nobel Peace Prize without him doing anything and he took it.”
“He says he will tell Iran to stop making nukes and they will stop because he is just that good.”
“He picked Joe Biden to be his vice president just to show that he doesn’t really need one.”
“You want precedent? He is the president.”
“He is the most arrogant man in the world,” the ad concludes. “Stay ignorant, my friends.”
