Enough to win the wary hearts of Illinois’s voters? Mr Kathuria is more than a colourful sideshow. He talks fluently to farmers about the global agricultural market and tells small businessmen that he understands their problems. He has ideas on health-care policy and space-based defence. The state’s Republican Party has not yet backed any particular candidate. The White House’s influence could matter. Does Mr Rove really want to chase the Asian vote? Or is it too risky to leave a crucial Senate seat to a first-time candidate whose nickname is Baboo? (The Economist)Umm…what does the candidate’s having a nickname of Baboo have anything to do with his political savvy and skills? The profile is pretty well-done all through, which makes you wonder why the author couldn’t resist slipping in that little barb at the end. In any case, this article in the Illinois Leader seems to suggest that not everybody feels a great need to put Mr. Kathuria down for his race. It will be interesting to see how this progresses.
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I’m just glad he isn’t a Democrat? :mad:
Posted by: Niraj at September 22, 2003 5:04 PM
i thought yogi the bear’s friend was called ‘baboo,’ at least that’s what i thought when i heard the nickname….
Posted by: razib at September 22, 2003 5:32 PM
Well, I have been seeing the California Recall process on TV, and it seems to violate every rule in logic. There are a 200 odd candiadates, from a movie star to a porn one, making it a big circus. Not one of them seems to show some responsibility, and the reckless amounts of money spent on the campaign is ridiculously huge. Not one can explain how he/she is going to improve the economy. Really stupid.
So … its better if some good ones showing some real promise of development and prosperity show up.
Posted by: Astranomina at September 22, 2003 7:18 PM
i thought yogi the bear’s friend was called ‘baboo,’ at least that’s what i thought when i heard the nickname….
Posted by razib at September 22, 2003 05:32 PM
:lol: :lol: that’s BOOBOO!!! :tongue3:
heheheheh
Posted by: v at September 22, 2003 7:23 PM
Sorry to be silly, but what is the relationship between Booboo and Yogi? Were they family, friends, uh, partners? I always thought the show was a methapor for homosexuality. Then again, that’s just me.
Posted by: Niraj at September 22, 2003 7:27 PM
Niraj - actually we weren’t allowed to watch cartoons growing up, so i’m not sure wat their relationship was. shrug sorry :(
Posted by: v at September 22, 2003 11:08 PM
I thought so too the first time I read the article, but when I read it again, I realised that it is actually sort of suspecting the White House of racism - not Racism withe a capital R, but it is saying that the white house is worried that having an immigrant from a different culture (hence ‘baboo’ ) run for the senate won’t be acceptable to the conservative voters of the senate. Whether the suspicion is right or wrong, it is a valid one and certainly not racist.
Posted by: Ravikiran at September 23, 2003 2:54 AM
Well… they can have a person nicknamed “Dubya” in the White House… so whats wrong with “Baboo”?? :tongue3:
Posted by: Sameer at September 23, 2003 7:24 AM
I think you are reading too much into this. I get the feeling the nickname was mentioned simply in passing and not to imply anything negative. Atleast I couldn’t detect anything. What made you think its a barb? As you know Bush has a nickname for every one of his advisors — Boy Genius, Stretch etc. Its there only for amusement value as far as I can see…
Posted by: Dilip at September 23, 2003 8:08 AM
I don’t think the final comment is to be taken seriously. On the other hand, the article says 70% of Indian-Americans voted to Dems. I wonder if this Sardar finds support among desis in the first place.
L.
Posted by: L. at September 23, 2003 8:12 AM
Dilip and L, I think bringing up the nickname is a barb, since the reporter seemed to think it was “risky” to leave a “crucial senate seat” for someone with a nickname like that. This doesn’t really have anything to do with Bush, since it was Karl Rove who was mentioned and not Bush.
Posted by: Shanti at September 23, 2003 9:00 AM
That’s not what I meant. The idea of magazines mentioning nicknames isn’t anything new since the Bush administration came to power because Bush has nicknames for almost eveyrone in his cabinet. Also its a fairly big assumption to take a nickname mentioned in passing, make some connections here and there and call it “racism”. You are stretching its definition humongously. The crucial senate seat was risky to be left to a first-time candidate who happens to be an asian-american. I think its a fair point.
Posted by: Dilip at September 23, 2003 9:22 AM
I really don’t have the time to nitpick issues with you, but if the magazine had said it was risky to leave the senate seat to a “first-time” runner or even an Asian-American, it wouldn’t matter - it matters because they choose to use the nickname “baboo” to make their point - there is a BIG difference.
As for magazines mentioning nicknames, they have done it when saying how Bush named one this or that - there isn’t anything wrong with this magazine mentioning a nickname either, if it was mentioned in the context of his homelife. Context makes all the difference in the world.
Posted by: Shanti at September 23, 2003 10:13 AM
Context is open to interpretation and that is what you are doing. Interpreting it in one way. Calling it “racism” I maintain is stretching the defintion a bit too far. I don’t want to nitpick either but I won’t hesitate to call it the way I see it. As we argued earlier it doesn’t necessarily have to be “right” or “wrong” — it just shows where I stand.
As you very well know this is just my opinion for whatever thats worth.
Say, Chill will you… Methinks you are taking me a little too seriously… I am just a troll — ignore me ;-)
Posted by: Dilip at September 23, 2003 10:53 AM
I can imagine very little that would please Karl Rove more than to help elect someone like this, honestly.
Posted by: Dean Esmay at September 23, 2003 12:57 PM
I think this is a smart move by the Republicans, Dean. Traditionally most immigrant Indians have tended to vote Democrat, so this is definitely a step in the right direction.
Posted by: Shanti at September 23, 2003 1:57 PM
Shanti
Methinks you doth read too much into this one comment — I’m on the same page as Dilip
As a long-time reader of The Economist, my guess is that they would have said the same thing about a white candidate, if he had a nickname Baboo, especially one that is so widely used (as in the case of Chirinjeev)..
Posted by: Prashant P Kothari at September 23, 2003 10:49 PM
I totally agree with you about context, Shanti, and it seems to me that the Baboo remark here is noteworthy because it does not appear in a flippant or irreverent context, but in the context of a serious political piece in a serious magazine (okay, “newspaper”). I can understand a writer’s desire to end such a piece on a lighter note, and as a fan of the Economist I prefer to think of this as a woefully misguided effort in that direction rather than an expression of racism. But I thought it clunked awfully, and I’m astonished it got past an editor. I also agree with you and Dean that it will be a terrific thing politically for the GOP if Kathuria is elected.
Posted by: Patrick at September 23, 2003 10:50 PM
Say.. that is something I have always wanted to ask people out here. As a long time reader of The Economist I have always wondered why they call themselves “newspaper” rather than the more conventional “magazine”. Is there a historical background to that?
Posted by: Dilip at September 24, 2003 8:21 AM
I actually trained with a member of his family during my residency. Small world.
Posted by: Madhu at September 24, 2003 12:10 PM
Small world indeed, Madhu. It must be pretty interesting to see someone you know (nowever peripherally) get ready to become really famous :)
Posted by: Shanti at September 24, 2003 12:31 PM
I think his is an exciting candidacy. BTW, what do you think of Bobby Jindal?
Posted by: Madhu at September 24, 2003 1:56 PM
Hey, why not! It is going to be a good day when we see an Indian-American Governor in this country - it is interesting that he chose Louisiana to run in though and not some Northern state.
Posted by: Shanti at September 24, 2003 2:20 PM
i think the us shuold give the blacks a chance to contest for president.
Posted by: williams at October 13, 2004 11:19 AM
Williams, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton ran in the Democratic primaries for choosing the Presidential candidate. They just didn’t win.
Posted by: Shanti at October 13, 2004 11:25 AM