Kanye West IS a “jackass”

In this age of instant information dissemination by Twitter and Facebook, there is nowhere to hide for those in the public spotlight, and no such thing as an “off-the-record” comment. Nobody is more susceptible to this than the most powerful man in the world – The President.

Apparently someone overheard President Obama calling Kanye West a “jackass” when asked, off-the-record, about how his daughters reacted to the recent events on the MTV Music Awards. As is the case so often today, this information was immediately passed on to the world via Twitter.

I haven’t said, or even thought, this very often lately, but President Obama’s assessment is absolutely, 100% spot on. In fact, I wish he had gone further. What would have a bigger impact on Mr. West, and the legions of kids who idolize Mr. West, than the President calling him out for his disrespectful and egomaniacal behavior?

Should the President be concerned with such things? Probably not, but clearly he was aware of the situation, and a one-liner aimed directly across Mr. West’s bow could send the powerful message to young American’s that this type of behavior is unacceptable, and cannot be forgotten simply because he apologised on Jay Leno’s new show.

A quick comment like the following could be very powerful and would likely get the attention of young Americans – and probably in a more efficient and effective manner than his recent speech broadcast to schools across the nation:

“Kanye West’s actions at the MTV Music Awards were, once again, inappropriate and disappointing. He has embarrassed himself, his family, his fans and as a world-wide superstar, our great country. I’m glad he’s apologised to Ms. Swift, but apologies cannot erase the permanent damage he’s done to himself and his fans.

On the positive side, shout out to my girl, Beyonce, for stepping up and giving Ms. Swift the stage she rightfully deserved, this is the real story of that evening, not the ridiculous behaviour of Mr. West.”

Maybe the “shout out to my girl” part is a bit much, but you get my drift. It may sound like he’s acting as Mr. West’s Father-in-Chief, but you couldn’t dream up a better “teachable moment” for young Americans.

Back to the issue of President Obama using the term “jackass”. I love it. I have absolutely no problems with his choice of words. I want a real person in the White House who occasionally drops an f-bomb here and there when needed (in private settings), not a politically correct robot that is only capable of spouting off stump speeches or, as James Brown said, someone who is “talking loud but ain’t sayin’ nothin.” I want a President who has a beer after a long day, or as a peace offering to bring people together. I want a President who takes vacations, spends time with his family and suffers through a terrible round of golf. These things are important to keep the most powerful man on the planet fresh and grounded in what makes real people tick.

Now, if he could just change his destructive policies on health care, foreign affairs, taxes, energy, trade, labor and the financial industry, he might just be my kind of President!