What do they know about Obama in Harlem?

Photo posted on Flickr by "Herbertsteele".

The conservative blogosphere is in hysterics over audio clips of Obama fans in Harlem saying that they support the candidate because he's pro-Iraq war and pro-life, and for choosing Sarah Palin as his VP. According to them, proof that African Americans know nothing about Obama's policies.

Asked whether they thought Obama had chosen a good running mate in Sarah Palin, all three supporters answered yes. They also answered questions that suggested Obama was anti-abortion and wanted to keep troops in Iraq. The clips were played on controversial radio presenter Howard Stern's show on Sunday, and then posted on YouTube. The right-wing blogosphere hasn't ceased to poke fun at the interviewees since, saying that it proves African American Obama fans are only supporting the candidate because he is black, and know nothing about his policies.

The interviews were carried out by one of Stern's journalists, Sal Governale. It was aired on The Howard Stern Show on Sirius Satellite Radio on Sunday.

"We won't stop and poke fingers and moan about this"

Maqeba Lloyd is an African American and Obama supporter from Harlem. She's a member of Harlem 4 Obama.

"It's obviously a gaffe. Perhaps Howard Stern is trying to make a mockery. If he is it's sad. People tend to think that African Americans are not abreast of what's going on but it's not true. African Americans in Harlem are reading the papers, watching the news. If you walk into one of our debate parties - and we're having one tomorrow - we hang on Obama's every word. And that's why we support Obama, because he speaks a language we understand. We have so much work to do we won't stop and poke fingers and moan about this. There's a whole lot going on here!"

"People are so involved in trying to survive the economy they don't follow the issues"

Zachary Miller is a Barack Obama supporter and Vice-Chair of Democrats Abroad France.

"This is nothing new. It's an easy thing to do - to find people who don't know what they should know. If you're willing to stand there asking people, then you'll get the answers you want by the end of the day. TV presenter Jay Leno does it every week- it's called Jaywalking. And funnily enough, Sarah Palin got called "a jaywalking bit" by CBS presenter Bill Mauer [referenced as 'asking some ignorant dumbass basic questions about current events'].

"This is how Bush got elected actually - when a lot of poor white Americans voted against their interests by not knowing about the issues. Right now, people are so involved in trying to survive the economy they don't follow the issues."