Obama On Seinfeld

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cOLF9k6FAw

I love that Jerry wore his Nikes, dirty ones at that.

That's the essence of a baby boomer, irreverence, speaking truth to power. You don't see no stinkin' millennials doing that, never mind the lost generation known as Gen-X. Kids today are all about sucking up, being two-faced, doing what it takes to get ahead. Whereas their elders thought if you can't disrespect someone, if you can't catch them off guard, they're not worth talking to, never mind knowing.

That's right, classic rock was built upon irreverence. Making jokes about Paraquat, Danny Schechter creating his own version of the news. We were our parents' children and then suddenly we were father to the man. We grew up adulating Kennedy and then we had no time for Johnson and Nixon and by time Jimmy Carter took power we were disillusioned and tuned out. And then Reagan, the enemy, never forget how he took on the the University of California, won and legitimized greed and nothing's been the same since. It may be morning in America, but it's every man for himself. And you'd better start running and cunning or you're gonna be left behind, with no safety net and your right to health care only a motion from being taken away.

So I'd like to say I watch every episode of "Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee," but it's not that funny. Turns out Larry David was the genius. He's even referenced herein, with the Prez talking about playing golf with Mr. Enthusiasm, who wears enough sunscreen to have it dripping from his ears. How can it be that an irreverent schmuck can play golf with the most powerful man in the world? That's what happens when you hang it out completely, when you're unworried about judgment, people cling to you. That was the essence of John Lennon. Could Larry David be the next Lennon? Think about it.

So the show starts with a '63 Corvette. It don't get any better than that. And Jerry recalls the early sixties when America was the CAN DO country. Before it became the CANNOT, before a vocal part of the population wanted to jet us back to the past, as if we wanted to live on plantations with guns by our side in case some varmints attacked us. And to think that a varmint is in the White House! One of my favorite rock stories is told by Al Kooper, whose song "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" was covered by Donny Hathaway. But when Al heard the new version he flipped out, the lyric had been changed, the Blood, Sweat & Tears original was "I can be President of General Motors, baby" and now Mr. Hathaway sang "I could be king of everything." Irascible Al called Jerry Wexler to complain. And Jerry barked back...AL, A BLACK MAN COULD NEVER BE PRESIDENT OF GENERAL MOTORS!

But a black man is President of the United States.

And a woman is chairman of General Motors. Did you see the company just invested $500 million in Lyft? Cars are gonna drive themselves, you're probably not gonna even own one, you're gonna use an app to call one up and...

You don't want to believe that. You think cars are representative of your massive genitalia. But today's generation knows it's all about experiences, especially since you stole their future and they can't even afford an apartment in the city.

So seeing the Vette is like viewing a Dead Sea Scroll.

But they can't leave the premises.

Remember when Presidents were shot? Happened in the sixties. Squeaky Fromme even tried to take a potshot in the seventies. Security is tight for the leader of the free world, for you and me?? Not so much.

And on campus Obama is stiff. Intelligent, but measured.

But then he loosens up. Like he did on Maron. Wherein he said change happened slowly, and if you wanted to see single payer health care you should look back from decades out.

But this show wasn't really about substance, but personality. Life. Obama laments the loss of his anonymity and then Jerry says how being famous is so much better. He's right. Too many wankers revere the good old days which weren't so good. Like vinyl. Remember warps and skips and returns? I miss those not a whit.

And Obama says little kids like him, because of his big ears and his name, they like how it rolls off their tongues.

And Jerry keeps talking to him like he's a regular person, showing no respect. Hell, it's great when he slouches on the couch and eats an apple and leaves the core on the coffee table. Decorum is for wimps. You gotta go where you wanna go, do what you wanna do, with whoever, you wanna do it with.

And Obama insults Jerry by not knowing he still works, labeling him "retired."

And Jerry makes news by getting the Prez to admit that so many world leaders are just plain loony, but the right wing press hasn't picked up on this because they haven't watched the show, they hate Jerry and Barack and want to make like they don't exist. You know, the rich blowhards wearing expensive suits who say they're saving the common man from oppression, the one with no future who pays no taxes and benefits disproportionately from government programs in his red state. It's all about disinformation, moving the ball forward. Actually, Obama analogized politics to football.

But when Obama throws his arm over the steering wheel of the car at the end, when he refuses to use the ten and two position, that's when he evidences his personality. He relaxes and he's...

Just like you and me.

Another guy who wants to look cool but usually looks dorky.

And there you have it, the modern era in a nutshell. Wherein the press corps is following nitwit Donald Trump who has no chance of becoming President while a comedian gets the man in power to admit he wears only one brand of underwear and can't stop eating guacamole.

There's more truth in what you eat than what you say to get elected.

And Guantanamo is still open and income inequality reigns but the truth is we've got a black President, someone who knows hoops and hip-hop and may be stiff but is positively part of the fabric of our nation. He's not disconnected and better, just confident and one of us.

And I know this not because some investigative reporter dug down deep for an expose, but because a guy just like you and me, but funnier, known as Jerry Seinfeld, had a conversation with him and treated him no different than he would you or me. Because we all put our pants on the same way, we're all in this together.

And anybody could become President, but who'd want to be?

I'd rather be a comedian. Someone who can point out the inanity of modern life. Someone who can speak the truth. Someone who can be themselves 24/7.

You know, like rock stars used to be.

Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/1UrVlkQ (Both versions of "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know.")


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