LOLBAMA

by Kieran Healy on February 14, 2008

Well I thought it was funny.

{ 2 trackbacks }

LOLCATS for Obama « Debris
02.14.08 at 7:23 am
Uh, Lolbama. «
02.14.08 at 9:15 am

{ 56 comments }

1

Michael Bérubé 02.14.08 at 5:06 am

I think it’s pretty damn funny too. But on a more serious note, I understand that Obama’s cheezburger plan doesn’t have any mandates, and that a purely voluntary “I can has cheezburger” policy will wind up being more expensive and less efficient than the universal cheezburger policy promoted by Edwards.

Though why none of the major Democratic candidates has endorsed a single-fryer cheezburger policy is another question.

2

alwsdad 02.14.08 at 5:45 am

I see all kinds of possibilities. How about a shot of McCain with “I made u a no torcher plan, but I eated it.”
Or a shot of Hannity, Coulter and Limbaugh: DO NOT WANT!

3

Cala 02.14.08 at 5:54 am

I think DO NOT WANT has to be reserved for Giuliani.
Ron Paul: INVISIBLE HAND.
Romney: O HALP I IZ LOST.

4

Delicious Pundit 02.14.08 at 5:55 am

I guess everyone wants to play with the ‘wandered here from unfogged by mistake’ tag.

5

Cala 02.14.08 at 5:55 am

I CAN HAZ SILVER MEDDLE?

6

Cala 02.14.08 at 5:59 am

O HAI I DONUT LIKE CAUCUSES

7

Backword Dave 02.14.08 at 6:21 am

8

joejoejoe 02.14.08 at 6:54 am

WE HAS BEEN TOLD WE CANT DO DIS BY CHORUS OV CYNICS…THEY WILL ONLY GROW LOUDR AN MOAR DISONANT ……….. WEVE BEEN ASKD 2 PAUSE 4 REALITY CHECK. WEVE BEEN WARND AGAINST OFFERIN TEH PEEPS OV DIS NASHUN FALSE HOPE.

BUT IN DA UNLIKELY STORY DAT IZ AMERICA, THAR HAS NEVR BEEN ANYTHIN FALSE BOUT HOPE.

NAO TEH HOPEZ OV TEH LIL GURL HOO GOEZ 2 CRUMBLIN SKOOL IN DILLON R TEH SAME AS TEH DREAMS OV TEH BOI HOO LERNS ON TEH STREETS OV LA; WE WILL REMEMBR DAT THAR IZ SOMETHIN HAPPENIN IN AMERICA; DAT WE R NOT AS DIVIDD AS R POLITICS SUGGESTS; DAT WE R WAN PEEPS; WE R WAN NASHUN; AN TOGETHR, WE WILL BEGIN TEH NEXT GREAT CHAPTR IN DA AMERICAN STORY WIF 4 WERDZ DAT WILL RING FRUM COAST 2 COAST; FRUM SEA 2 SHININ SEA —

YES. WE. CAN. HAS.

9

bad Jim 02.14.08 at 9:23 am

¿Porque no?

10

bi 02.14.08 at 9:27 am

I R IN UR NUCULER WEPONZ LOOKIN FER MEZZ DISTRUCTION

11

bad Jim 02.14.08 at 9:40 am

More generally, we Obamans (Obanimals, Obamanables?) ask “WE CAN HAZ X?” where X is {yo mama, universal health care, withdrawal from Iraq, castration of conservative males, blueberry pancakes for breakfast, free wireless broadband access}. Such is the politics of joy that we look forward to 3 out of 4.

12

stostosto 02.14.08 at 9:48 am

I don’t get it? Is it a play on black lingo? What? Bear with me, I am woefully not American.

13

ajay 02.14.08 at 10:08 am

12: it’s an internet joke that has spread with the speed of wildfire. Look up “Lolcat” on Wikipedia.

14

stostosto 02.14.08 at 11:22 am

The internet is a strange muscle.

15

a very public sociologist 02.14.08 at 11:53 am

I can haz teh votez?

16

a very public sociologist 02.14.08 at 11:53 am

That last one’s probably more suited for the Clinton camp.

17

Roland 02.14.08 at 12:01 pm

Am I (non-native speaker) the only one who doesn’t understand the joke?

18

Steve LaBonne 02.14.08 at 12:20 pm

Though why none of the major Democratic candidates has endorsed a single-fryer cheezburger policy is another question.

Which is why it’s a good thing Huckabee won’t win the Republican nomination- the Democrats would have to find a way to compete with his single-fryer squirrel policy.

19

Kieran Healy 02.14.08 at 1:06 pm

why none of the major Democratic candidates has endorsed a single-fryer cheezburger policy

I saw a t-shirt the other day that read “Jesus is my Healthcare.”

20

Jacob T. Levy 02.14.08 at 1:22 pm

This might be the apotheosis of lolcat; in any event, it raises it to a level that justifies the whole enterprise, but now allows us to retire it.

21

Martin G. 02.14.08 at 2:11 pm

Im in ur distrikt. Gettin ur votes.

22

r@d@r 02.14.08 at 2:17 pm

This might be the apotheosis of lolcat; in any event, it raises it to a level that justifies the whole enterprise, but now allows us to retire it.

yeah, good luck with that.

don’t worry, these things have a pretty short life span – it will die on its own eventually. [“ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!”]

23

Russell Arben Fox 02.14.08 at 2:19 pm

This might be the apotheosis of lolcat; in any event, it raises it to a level that justifies the whole enterprise, but now allows us to retire it.

Oh please, please, please God: let Jacob’s words be prophecy just this once.

24

Russell Arben Fox 02.14.08 at 2:21 pm

I’d love to believe you r@d@r, but one of my students just made an “all your base are belong to us” joke only yesterday. Granted, I live in Kansas, so we’re behind the curve a little, but still.

25

Peter 02.14.08 at 2:22 pm

I saw a t-shirt the other day that read “Jesus is my Healthcare.”

Great, now we’re one vector away from the Jews killed my healthcare..

26

nick s 02.14.08 at 2:47 pm

I can has in poster size, pls? kthxbai.

27

marcel 02.14.08 at 3:27 pm

re: Jesus is my Healthcare.

Mary must so be proud: “My son, the doctor.”

28

stostosto 02.14.08 at 3:32 pm

I KISS YOU!!!!!!!

I have many musical instruments my home I can play.

29

Grand Moff Texan 02.14.08 at 3:51 pm

CULT

I HAS IT
.

30

Greg Reed 02.14.08 at 4:09 pm

31

David in NY 02.14.08 at 4:21 pm

roland — for some explanation, look at the link in comment 7, then this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolcats.

Speaking English is not the problem, one must also speak pop culture.

32

Steve LaBonne 02.14.08 at 4:23 pm

I saw a t-shirt the other day that read “Jesus is my Healthcare.”

My doctor is a Jewish carpenter!

33

David in NY 02.14.08 at 4:26 pm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolcats

Period got in the way of my link above. This works.

34

lemuel pitkin 02.14.08 at 5:30 pm

Via David’s link, The Lolcat Bible. Lee Siegel will not be amused.

35

ignoblus 02.14.08 at 6:56 pm

This might be helpful background as well. Lolcats might be an internet meme, but this meme started with wheatpaste.

36

ignoblus 02.14.08 at 7:01 pm

(or half the meme)

37

norbizness 02.14.08 at 7:32 pm

Meta attempt: I CAN DIE A WELL-DESERVD DETH CUZ I IZ TIRED AZ SHIT?!?!?

38

Anderson 02.14.08 at 7:37 pm

I don’t get it? Is it a play on black lingo?

The “ebonics” angle is definitely a risk. I would be very leery of the general public’s reaction, to say nothing of the litigious public’s reaction.

39

andthenyoufall 02.14.08 at 8:16 pm

I wouldn’t be too confident that this will die quickly… it had been a fad in the ultimate internet subculture for at least three years before it went mainstream.

40

andthenyoufall 02.14.08 at 8:20 pm

And it has nothing to do with “ebonics”. The cats are supposed to be talking like infants who use internet slang. Or… like cats. If cats could talk. (Paging Berube for a Wittgensteinian dissection of the lolcats phenomenon!)

41

Kieran Healy 02.14.08 at 8:44 pm

The “ebonics” angle is definitely a risk. I would be very leery of the general public’s reaction, to say nothing of the litigious public’s reaction.

A concern trolol.

42

Michael Bérubé 02.14.08 at 9:08 pm

Paging Berube for a Wittgensteinian dissection of the lolcats phenomenon!

Reporting for duty, andthen! I believe this is what Wittgenstein called “language gone on loliday.”

Well, you asked. At least no one can say this cheap line is beneath me.

And while I’m here, can I ask Mr. Edenbaum not to talk about my genitalia any more? I feel so squicky when he does that.

43

lemuel pitkin 02.14.08 at 10:13 pm

can I ask Mr. Edenbaum not to talk about my genitalia any more?

But he raises a serious question, Michael — how did you lose Richard Rorty in a pee-wee hockey game?

44

Michael Bérubé 02.14.08 at 10:19 pm

Well, first, Lemuel, the peewee league ages are 11-12, not 6. And second, I didn’t lose Rorty — he lost me. Not for nothing was he called “the Rocket.”

45

Shane Taylor 02.14.08 at 11:21 pm

Yes, but it is cheezburger you can believe in.

46

thompsaj 02.15.08 at 1:33 am

Shepard Fairey ripoff

47

thompsaj 02.15.08 at 1:35 am

or, rather it is by Fairey

48

ajay 02.15.08 at 10:31 am

If Barack Obama were a lion, we would not understand him. But he would still attract considerable support from wildebeeste.

49

Jason 02.15.08 at 12:16 pm

we Obamans (Obanimals, Obamanables?)

Obamanauts? Obamalunkers

BURIED THREAD COMMMENT ON UNAFILIATED BLOGZ

WILL U CONDEM IT

50

Danielle Day 02.15.08 at 5:11 pm

Despite the above explanations, interpretations, and a trip to Wikipedia, I still don’t get the joke in reference to the Democratic front-runner.

51

Righteous Bubba 02.15.08 at 5:35 pm

I still don’t get the joke in reference to the Democratic front-runner.

These things collapse upon explanation, but…

Imagine Obama’s not-quite illiterate id appealing to a crowd of self-interested LOLcats, the skeptical O RLY? owl and the panicked walrus looking for his bukkit.

YES WE CAN HAS is perhaps the most broad and powerful appeal LOLcritters could ever hope for, easily beating out I BIN IN UR WHITE HOUSE ALREDDY and REPLUBBICANS DONE GRATE.

52

mijnheer 02.15.08 at 5:57 pm

I’m another one of those unAmericans (native English-speaker in my case) who doesn’t get this. Is Obama supposed to be a cat of some kind? Is the poster racist, or is “can has” black Internet slang? If this is humour, then either it’s extremely subtle or extremely shallow.

53

Righteous Bubba 02.15.08 at 6:00 pm

It’s utterly shallow and harmless, nothing to do with race. Follow the links.

54

Michael Bérubé 02.15.08 at 6:31 pm

Following the links helps sometimes, and sometimes reading the comments helps. You never know.

But yes, it’s a fine line between extremely subtle and extremely shallow.

55

Righteous Bubba 02.15.08 at 6:42 pm

It may also be necessary to concede that those who don’t find this funny may have better things to think about. I do not.

56

David in NY 02.15.08 at 7:38 pm

YES WE CAN HAS is perhaps the most broad and powerful appeal LOLcritters could ever hope for, easily beating out I BIN IN UR WHITE HOUSE ALREDDY and REPLUBBICANS DONE GRATE

Anybody provide graphics for the latter two slogans?

Really, just wanted to give righteous bubba credit for them. They’re great. Or GRATE. Or whatever.

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