Shawn Carter for President

Bill Ray's comments in black, Cleatus' comments in red.

Let me preface this post by saying two things: Talib Kweli is my favorite hip hop artist and I initially started this post just to give Jay some props.

That being said, this post serves as a plea to one Shawn Carter aka Jay-Z aka a million other nicknames to run for President so I can have a candidate I can truly support. I have always been a fan of Jay but never considered his presidential potential or even bothered to come to his defense when he was being attacked by others (which happens a lot as I am not the only supreme hater out here). This week I have been enlightened as he signed a $150 million contract with Live Nation and there is talk that his rumored marriage to Beyonce is imminent. Seems like a perfect time to not only salute the man for all of his accomplishments but to start his campaign for the presidency, especially considering that Obama and Hillary are still boring everyone to death with this overextended Democratic race.

I believe that Mr. Carter has the potential to be a better candidate than Barack:

-Like Obama, Jay has proven himself to be a great fundraiser. The only difference is Jay actually works for his money most of the time instead of people simply giving it to him. I'm sure it took Obama a lot of work to get where he is too. In 2005, his odds of getting the Presidential nomination were 70-1. Who would have thought he could not only be the front runner but be in a statistical dead heat w/ the Republican nominee w/ a few months left. What does that have to do with his fund raising? People are just giving dude money to jump on the Obama bandwagon. Maybe so - giving money to anyone for nothing is for suckers. Except if it is like a charity or something. Right and Obama is becoming a charity case so I guess it all makes sense.

-While Obama likes to play the role of America's first black president, Jay could actually make it happen. None of that mulatto, reared in Hawaii and Indonesia complexities, I am talking born and raised in Brooklyn's Marcy Projects. I don't get why you can't accept the dude as black. To me, he is what he says he is - biracial. Its other people that call him black. Regardless, does being born in the projects make you more black? Everyone is talking about him being the first black president, dude is mulatto. Having 2 black parents makes him black, having a white mother makes Obama mulatto (not that there is anything wrong with that). If there is nothing wrong with him being mulatto, why do you always have to always clarify he is not black. I have asked you this before and you said something along the lines of: when he fails, i don't want him associated w/ my race. You think I wand Dubya associated w/ me? Hitler? At a certain point, you'll have to acknowledge him as a person, not a race. I do acknowledge dude as a person and the reason it is such a big deal to me is that people (no need to get more specific) seem to clump all black folk together. Just as they build him up now, they will tear his ass apart when things go wrong. They are taking it easier on him now but will take it out more on his ass when he fails to deliver on all that rhetoric.

-While Obama is definitely a great speaker, his oratory skills are not on Jay's level. Not to mention the fact that Jay actually writes his own material (albeit with some biting of the great BIG). If Obama is as great as everyone thinks, let's see him freestyle on healthcare at the next town meeting. This speaks to one of the big differences b/w Obama and Jay Z. Obama did things in a world that was probably largely unaccepting of him. Jay did it where people probably urged him to what he was doing. What are you talking about, Jay could not even get a record deal, dude had to start his own label (shout out to Dame). Only after Jay blew up did folks start jocking him. I am talking about Jay doing his work in a largely (I'm assuming) black environment. Drug dealing in the Bronx (this isn't Short Pump, VA) and rapping isn't dominated by whites (I'm assuming). On the other hand, no matter what you want to call Obama (black, biracial, mulatto, white), I'm guessing he was considered black by all his colleagues. Look at law schools/lawyers now - still very white. Probably worse when he went to school. Who do you think runs the record labels that would not give Jay a deal? White men. White men run everything in this country, if you want to get ahead you have to deal with white men. Period. I can agree that both men probably had a rough road to get to where they are.

-Like Obama, Jay has very little actual experience relevant to running the United States but Jay has proven he could run both drug organizations and record labels (the Roc, not Def Jam). What has Obama actually run besides the Harvard Law Review? Running a sucessful business does not make you excellent presidential material. See Mitt Romney. And being a good speaker also does not make you excellent presidential material. A nice looking mulatto man with good speech writers and good charisma does not necessarily equal a good president. His most heralded speech to date, the one on race, was written by him. The book is out on his presidential abilities, but there is nothing false in america about the notion of hope (bit one of his quotes, probably bitten by him as well). All that hope bullshit is really getting to be too much. Hope will not stop a war, stop the senseless violence in this country and hope damn sure will not fix our economy. While the masses are hopeful, I will stay pragmatic.

-Obama has a certain charisma that draws people to him and makes him a natural leader. Jay also has that and Jay's appeal is broader than Obama's. Jay would have everyone from the street corners to the boardrooms lining up to support him. Jay's support is not a function of the media. Jay's appeal is by no means broader than Obama's. You think old white women would vote for Jay - no chance. Further, Jay's support is all media. Without the news about his pending wending -this post wouldn't be happening. He wouldn't be selling records without word of mouth. Word of mouth is largely media-based. Jay has deserved a post based on his accompishments but I am a supreme hater. The news this week simply caused me to take the step of formally acknowledging his accomplishments. Jay's rise to the top was not nearly as influenced by the media as Obama's has been. Let's be real. The media had written Obama off. Then he won Iowa, which is 95% white and very religious. Dude deserved the hype.

-The First Lady. I actually like Michelle Obama but let's be honest, she ain't messing with Beyonce. I hear a lot of talk about Obama being so smooth that dudes better watch their girls when he is around. Whatever, Jay has Beyonce so you tell me who is the real Big Kahuna. There is no reason for either of these dudes to get married - they probably both pimped hard. BUT - at least Jay got one of the handful of women alive that is worthy of even tying a pimp down. Point well taken but still, Beyonce is a better first lady.

-In terms of national defense, it is clear that Jay with his past dealings in the street is much more prepared to defend the US against all threats than Obama would be. Look at both men and tell me who you think Osama would fear more. You know Osama is in the Pakistan mountains with satellite tv watching old MTV videos where Jay and company were looking rather menacing. Osama does not want it with Beans (free Sigel!). Also, instead of recording dis records to other rappers, Jay could lyrically slay the heads of countries the US deems to be a threat. A couple of disses thrown their way and you can believe North Korea will chill out. Obama is not scaring anyone. You might win this one.

Shawn Carter for President. The dude that you are supporting so much is the same dude that will wear white sunglasses and be completely styled up for the next major media event. See your post below. Completely styled........have you seen Obama lately. Pretty soon dude will be wearing lipstick to cover up those smoky lips. If Jay rocks white shades the push for his campaign is over. I googled it and couldn't find any pics - but, dude is in love w/ himself and fashion in general. I don't care if he is in love with himself as long as he is not rocking white shades. I imagine it takes a rather large ego to run for President as well.