Wednesday
Feb062008
My Boy Derrick Ashong Holds It DOWN For Obama and Intelligence
Wednesday, February 6, 2008 at 18:30 | baratunde | in Election 2008, Personal, Pop Culture, Social-Political
proudly cross-posted to Jack & Jill Politics
What a great video! Derrick and I went to college together and have worked on mad projects including the Sweet Mother Tour.
He's a member of the award-winning band Soulfege, and clearly knows how to handle himself on camera. The interviewer clearly started off thinking he was gonna catch some uneducated Barack supported who connected only because of "emotion," but Derrick made that interviewer look like a fool and all of us look good. He got waaaaay beyond the talking points and ultimately earned the respect of the interviewer.
Oh, and Derrick lives in California, so he was holding it down for black voters out there at least :)
Thanks to JJP commenter jstele for pointing this out. Enjoy.
What a great video! Derrick and I went to college together and have worked on mad projects including the Sweet Mother Tour.
He's a member of the award-winning band Soulfege, and clearly knows how to handle himself on camera. The interviewer clearly started off thinking he was gonna catch some uneducated Barack supported who connected only because of "emotion," but Derrick made that interviewer look like a fool and all of us look good. He got waaaaay beyond the talking points and ultimately earned the respect of the interviewer.
Oh, and Derrick lives in California, so he was holding it down for black voters out there at least :)
Thanks to JJP commenter jstele for pointing this out. Enjoy.
Reader Comments (15)
This is a fantastic video... love how the interviewer, who started out basically aggressively grilling D, clearly under the mistaken assumption that D was a mindless drone who follows Obama out of some sort of airy-fairy vision, and by the end the interviewer was basically saying "uh huh, uh huh" and agreeing with everything D said.
Fantastic!
This is a solid video and I appreciate you sharing, B. What I really dig is the fact that even though Derrick was initially challenged from an emotional perspective (by the interviewer), he was able to educate -- I believe the interviewer, "Mike", was able to walk away assured that clearly not everyone is asleep (or mindlessly jumping on Obama's bandwagon due to implied racial solidarity). Good lookin' out on this.
I am very impressed with your friend, B, and also now feel like an idiot by comparison.
Does anyone know more about the interviewer? I love this so much I want the WHOLE story behind it.
I love how the interviewer thinks "Don't Sleep" is something Derrick seems to have said on the fly. He gets really giddy over the phrase as if he's thinking it could be the next "Whoop there it is" - uh oh...
I just caught this video on the Young Turks website, and I personally have passed it on to 10 people. Derrick was spot on, and the guy who I believe thought he was going to ambush him, ran into the wrong guy if that was his true intention. Two things happened after this. One, I found a great video to pass on to my friends and family. Two, I found a new blog to check out. Keep up the good work.
kristl: the interviewer goes like that for supporters for all candidates; check the rest of the series on YouTube. While he DOES sound like a inquisitive dick, he does it for all kinds of supporters so it's a positive thing to do I suppose.
In the end of the interview it becomes obvious that despite him playing the part of the cunt interviewer, the guy was actually impressed by Derrick. It's also awesome that Derrick didn't take this for the personal side and led the interview on all questions. I know I was totally pissed halfway through the interview and wouldn't have responded nearly as calmly as he did. Mad props to him.
Wow. He was really good against that pressure. The interviewer was pretty relentless. But I don't get what the interviewer is trying to say about getting Blue Cross for $160/month. As an individual I pay $450 and my sister for 4 people will be paying $2,400/month.
VERY articulate! And incredibly up-to-date with everything. Excellent work on your boy Derrick's part! Just needed to lose the gum :)
Folks don't be so gullible. Derrick's video is an obvious fake. The camera is set-up: it doesn't move around. It's just a head shot. What interviewer doesn't give his name (Mike?), show himself, or name the channel? There's a telephone number at the end of the video, and it's for a political organization.
Vizier
Vizier, no one is being gullible. I actually KNOW Derrick. This video is in no way staged. It may be tempting to believe that, but I'm asking you to check out the followup and acknowledge that you're wrong in this case.
http://urltea.com/2s0u
It always a temptation to believe the negative, that is what sin is (the negative).
But if you were interested in the positive, then you would thank the producer of the video interview for taking the time to bring such an inspiring production.
I appreciate your website, but I don't understand or appreciate the remark you have posted at the top re: Iowa. Isn't this exactly what Mr. Obama (whom I support) was asking us to stop in his speech this week? You may have intended humor but I see none- how can I think that I am in this struggle with you when I (as female and caucasian) am the focus of a joke about "beating a white woman"? Please re-think this one.
I think interview with Derrick was encouragement for all voters to actually think about the reasons they are voting for their candidates.
For Beth, I didnt get humor on the "beating a white woman"; I just took it as a statement and perceived the statement as Obama defeating Hillary in a race on my first read. After reading your comment, I read it again and I understand that one could perceive that too. Some people may have perceived the word "beating" to mean "thrashing" or "pounding" whereas others may have perceived beating to mean "defeating" or "conquering". I perceived beating to mean defeating because of the first part of this statement. This is what's been happening in the media; it's easy to take a part or a phrase of a sentence or a speech and say it means this or that. We all know that people perceive things differently and I think one should get the "whole" story before asking them to make a judgement. To thwart my thoughts and yours, the author of this page should be asked what he meant by the statement posted on the home page so that there are no misunderstandings. (if we all ask what someone meant by a particular statement, this would cut down on "perceptions"; some people who can't think for themselves usually take perceptions and stereotypes as TRUTH)
I am very impress with Derrick's responses to the interviewers questions. He was very well spoken.
The interviewer got owned big time! Derrick's wit is even more astonishing while off stage, but his performance with the award-winning band, Soulfege is just as amazing!