Bill Cosby: "You have the Huxtables to thank for Obama's victory"

[DrPresident]

from the LA Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2008/11/the-huxtables-g.html

The election of Barack Obama as president of the United States had a special significance for comedian and entertainer Bill Cosby. It was the realization of a dream that he felt was first visualized on the groundbreaking "The Cosby Show," which concentrated on the importance of education, hard work and parenting for black families.

"I can't negate the theory that the Huxtables on 'The Cosby Show' may have helped pave the way for the Obama family," Cosby said today. "People enjoyed watching that black family," he said, noting that the Huxtables were a two-parent unit with an educated father and mother constantly loving their children while correcting them. He said the dynamics of the families who brought up Barack and Michelle Obama closely mirrored the Huxtables' commitment to success and excellence.

On the show, Cosby played Cliff Huxtable, an obstetrician who lived with his attorney wife Claire (Phylicia Rashad) and four of their five kids in a New York brownstone.

"The Cosby Show," which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1992, was the top-rated series during the mid-1980s and turned NBC at that time into the No. 1 network. Though it sparked an avalanche of family sitcoms, it was also criticized at the time for what many felt was an unrealistic portrayal of African Americans.

A 25th anniversary DVD box set of the series is scheduled to be released shortly.

Quipped Cosby with a laugh: "For all those people who said they didn't know any black folks like the Huxtables, I wonder if they will watch the show now."

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. And we have Bill Cosby to thank for the McCain campaign's rhetoric.

:eyes:

[maxsolomon]

10. barack used some of bill's recent pot-stirring

r.e. a culture of responsibility in the AA community.

but, my main reason for responding is to post a picture of the best thing about the cosby show, lisa bonet! growl!

http://www.havelshouseofhistory.com/Bonet,%20Lisa.jpg

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

13. And it's a damn shame.

Unfortunately, it's standard politics.

Cosby's just a nut.

[jakem]

30. He actually is not.

You may not agree with him, but he has spend a good part of his life making a difference.

He is well intentioned, and correct in most cases IMO.

(plus, he only lives about 2 miles from me!)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

41. He's a washed up hack and hypocrite.

Fuck him.

[The Backlash Cometh]

141. He's just no longer connects when he talks to his own culture.

I think a rapper would have had more success resonating, had he said the same things.

[Fearless]

73. You are quite right...

He isn't always popular, particularly in the Black community, but he does tend to know what he's talking about. Anyone who says otherwise and can't give a concrete example is just full of hot air IMHO.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

81. I gave a concrete example.

Who's full of hot air?

[Fearless]

116. You can't claim your example of this is your example...

That's just circular logic. Like saying this pen is green because this pen is green. n/t

[democracy1st]

117. that guy is from the al sharpton school of hard knocks

[ChazII]

89. Agreed. n/t

[NOLALady]

50. I thought Obama was referring to

a need for responsibility in all communities. It didn't seem that he was targeting AA communities in the same manner as Cosby.

[maxsolomon]

56. i suppose you're right

i read it as a pretty direct criticism of absent AA fathers, but i heard it through my cosby-persuaded ears. it was likely implicit, not explicit.

because absent fathers are a problem across the board.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

58. He didn't come out and say the problem with black people...

was they give themselves stupid names. Like Bill Cosby did.

"Are you not paying attention, people with their hat on backwards, pants down around the crack. Isn’t that a sign of something, or are you waiting for Jesus to pull his pants up. Isn’t it a sign of something when she’s got her dress all the way up to the crack…and got all kinds of needles and things going through her body. What part of Africa did this come from?. We are not Africans. Those people are not Africans, they don’t know a damned thing about Africa. With names like Shaniqua, Shaligua, Mohammed and all that crap and all of them are in jail. "

-Bill Cosby

I wonder what he thinks about the name "Barack Hussein."

[maxsolomon]

67. the part about jesus pulling up droopy drawers is pretty funny

even if he was serious.

when he first started with this stuff i thought he was getting senile. i was right.

[Deja Q]

105. Pot stirring? Making Jell-o brand pudding?

:evilgrin:

Lisa Bonet -- the Cos did not like her; she's the one who got axed from the show for... problems.

[Triana]

139. ?

[THUNDER HANDS]

i always liked the Cosby show

[LisaM]

2. Well, maybe the Huxtables with a difference

The Obamas have MUCH better taste in clothes! (Well, Phylicia Rashad always looked nice, but the rest of them!) If Obama starts wearing Cosbyish sweaters....well, if won't happen, so I'm not going to speculate!

[JuniperLea]

4. And we all know how important clothes are to democracy

And our freedoms...

[LisaM]

93. You're telling me that if Obama had appeared at the debates wearing those sweaters

Even at debates in the 1980s, he would have gone anywhere politically?

The sweaters were terrible, but I had a bit more problem with the daughters. Their clothes seemed very very expensive and the only time Cliff seemed to notice clothes was when Theo cut the sleeves off his sweatshirt.

[calimary]

122. Well, a certain entitlement hag with a goddess complex from Alaska certainly thought so.

[mopinko]

142. that is a pretty good peace sign you got there.

is it yours?

[theboss]

137. It was the 80s. We all looked like that.

I have had two junior high school pictures where I am wearing a Cosby sweater.

[FatDave]

151. 'Twas an awful decade.

Except for the arcades and early home computers.

[SoCalDem]

3. I like "the Cos", but I think he's claiming more credit that he deserves..

I think it was more due to sports in schools than anything else...

Has the torch been passed? I am getting hopeful here..

Posted by SoCalDem in General Discussion

Tue Feb 12th 2008, 04:33 PM

That said, I am a white 58 year old woman, so maybe I am missing something.

I saw it with my own kids, but I attributed it to the color-blind upbringing we gave them..

My youngest son's first real girlfriend was a young girl with a Black Mother and a Japanese Dad.. In May he is marrying a girl whose Father was born in Mexico and who picked cotton as a young man in the San Joaquin Valley. His future mother in law did not learn English until she was a teenager.


All I see in the "parsing" of politics, is the "groups" and who they support, or who they do not support.

Some people (there's that phrase again ..) say that white men will not vote for a black man or that Hispanic people will not vote for a black person or that "older women" will only vote for this one or that one.

If what we are seeing is what I think we are seeing, just maybe people have moved beyond that narrowminded groupthink.

There will always be a hardcore bigoted bunch of yahoos scattered here and there who will not see what is happening, but for the most part, I think we may be getting somewhere.

What made it happen?

I hate to think this might be it, but it just MAY be sports..

Think about it..

Kids idolize sports people..no matter what color they are..no matter what language they speak, no matter where they were born..

Young kids play on sports teams with kids of every ethnic group.

Technically, school integration started the ball rolling, but until kids accepted each other as true equals (often as teammates who counted on each other to win games), there was still resistance.

When kids play together and make friends, they hang out together, their parents sit on the sidelines and cheer for each other's kids..

They shop together, they travel together, meet each other's families...and once the "otherness" barriers come down, they date and marry each other.

A natural consequence of this is the fact that MANY white people of my age group have mixed-race grandchildren. It takes a cold hearted person to continue to hate and fear, when they transfer those feelings to THEIR grand children and sons & daughters-in-law.

When people only think ONE way for a long time, it's hard to see a gradual change, but I find it deliciously ironic, that those little kids who had to have the military to help them even get inside of a "white school" were just the bud, of a flower that seems to be in full bloom...

I'm happy to be around to see it..no matter how much "fertilizer" it took to grow that thing

[bermudat]

44. You are so right.

So many people have mixed race or, as I prefer to say it, mixed cultures in their family. In

actuality, there is only one race, the human race. There are just many different cultures.

Many times I will see a white family with a mixed culture child bouncing on grandpa's knee.

Or a black family with a mixed asian child playing with their cousins. As more barriers come

down, our country will truly become a melting pot.

[Patiod]

129. Happened to my MIL

Her white grandson knocked up a black girl he was dating, but then shocked us all by stepping up to the plate and really being a dad to the kid, even though the girl didn't want to marry him and her family looked down on him as "trailer trash" who had ruined her bright future (she was in college) And kudos to the girl for keeping him in the picture even though he is underemployed and can't contribute a lot financially - the kid at least has a dad who spends time with him.

MIL's initial racist comments have disappeared, and we can't go over there without her proudly showing off the latest pictures of her great-grandson.

[grace0418]

133. When my husband and I started dating 20 years ago (I am a euro-mutt and he

is Asian), it was much more unusual to see mixed-race couples around. When we would visit the Chicago suburb where he was raised, we definitely got some funny looks at the grocery. We still do on occasion (his suburb is pretty white and pretty backwards), but not nearly as often. We've also noticed how many more mixed race couples we see on a daily basis now than when we first started dating. Especially in the city. Sometimes we'll be out somewhere and it seems like it's the exception rather than the rule to see a non-mixed couple.

[madmom]

147. I have two children, a son and a daughter. Neither one is "into" sports. One is a

computer/math geek the other is into art. They neither participate in or watch sports. They are the most NON judgmental, caring,give the shirt off their back kids I know. How would your sports analogy work here? My daughters friends actually laughed at her when she would hold a door open for other people, not just older but all other people. No I think it has to do with a LOT more than just sports or the Cosby show.

[mokawanis]

5. That show sucked

and Cosby is off his rocker to say it paved the way for Obama. Get a brain, Bill.

[bigwillq]

6. Naw.

The family on the Cosby Show wasn't the typical American family, white or black. They lived a hell of a lot better than me and my middle-to-lower class neighbors.

The Obama family became who and what they are because of the people in their real families.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

7. We have George W. Bush to thank for Obama's victory. We have Cosby to thank for a sitcom.

I loved the part where Eddie Murphy told Cosby to go fuck himself after Cosby contacted him and told him not to use foul language in his act.

[Locrian]

16. bah

I worked in a teen shelter when "Cosby Show" was popular. When that show came on it was like a religious ceremony with the kids.

The reason wasnt a black thing or breaking down racial barriers -- it was because they (the Huxtables) had MONEY. Lots of MONEY. Those kids saw that wealth and ate it up. I think that show did a lot to foster the materialism of the kids...

Oh, and it sucked as a sitcom.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

21. "The kids, with their hip-in' and a hop-in' and their bip-in' and a bop-in'..."

...an in-joke for "Simpsons" fans.

:evilgrin:

And yeah, I hear exactly what you are saying here. Life is all about context.

I personally thought the Cosby show sucked. I loved his comedy albums but the whole Huxtable thing wasn't my dance.

:toast:

[sniffa]

63. I used to hang out at a teen center when that was waning

There were wars every Thursday night between the black kids and the white kids over whether to watch The Cosby Show or The Simpsons with one white kid being the sole advocate for some show no one ever heard of called, Seinfeld.

We lost a few rounds before we started organizing and got that one other white kid (he used to not come to the center) from the project and a couple other kids from the area to show up and make the Simpsons the Thursday night show.

[boobooday]

170. I am late to this thread but I had to comment

To tell you that you are exactly right on, and that I think it is shameful for Cosby to lecture poor black kids for wanting some bling and some fancy shoes when he was Mr. Product Placement for flashy, over-priced apparel.

[stuntcat]

113. GWB to thank..

exactly. NOT to downplay Obama's strength/influence.. but W's work has made this possible.

[MessiahRp]

145. Even though it seemed he eventually took that advice

And since right around the time of Beverly Hills Cop 3 every Eddie Murphy movie has been dramatically toned down with no swearing and most have been family movies. Seems like the Cosby talk eventually resonated much to the detriment of many fans who liked Eddie much better before he toned down.

Rp

[DoctorMyEyes]

8. What an ego

Is that really for him to say? It's like when people refer to themselves as "heroes". I think you're supposed to let other people be the judge of that.

[rug]

9. Fewr things did more to break to break down racial stereotypes.

[jobycom]

109. True. Some people don't remember the 80s very well, judging by this thread.

The common stereotype, furthered by the evil man in the White House, of African Americans was of freeloading welfare queens and absent fathers, and generations who spent more time in jail than in school.

Cosby's portrayal was a conscious effort to change that stereotype, and it played a role at time when that was greatly needed. People got used to seeing a successful African American family, rather than forming their opinions from Reagan's racist campaign speeches and the media's constant barage of negative stereotypes. This was an era when the media openly wondered whether a black quarterback could lead a football team.

I wouldn't say--and Bill Cosby didn't say--that the Cosby Show cured all problems or got Obama elected, but it helped change society's perceptions.

[MH1]

115. Agreed. I remember the 80's, and you and rug are correct.

The influence of family TV shows and commercials is huge in setting societal norms. (That's why we are such an over-consumptive society, too.)

Not just the Cosby show, but I remember when there first started to be commercials with white and black kids playing together. I always thought that was making a big difference in changing racial attitudes.

[emilyg]

118. Very true.

I loved the show.

[cwydro]

149. I liked it too.

And I think Cosby makes a good point in his criticism of certain aspects of American black culture.

[Tempest]

11. McCain reminds me of another TV character during that time

Archie Bunker, an intolerant bigot.

[DrToast]

12. He's partly right...

Certainly the Cosby Show allowed most Americans to see blacks in a different light.

I've read that some people are saying the President Palmer character on 24 also probably helped. Again, probably somewhat true.

[NOLALady]

25. It didn't change the view of blacks to this American.

Nor did it change the view of most/any Americans that I know. I guess I don't get it.

The Cosby Show was just another situation comedy show.

[KittyWampus]

37. sure it was. it was completely normal to turn on the tubes and see a stable, well to do black family

back in the early 80's.

[NOLALady]

45. IMHO, all sitcoms are the same.

Also, I don't have to turn on the TV to see a stable, well to do black family.

[KittyWampus]

88. well, it might be nice for them black folk to be able to seem some other than white folk

don't you think?

[NOLALady]

114. I think you misunderstood.

Most black folk can look at their families and extended families for stability and inspiration. TV is supposedly for entertainment not role models.

[theboss]

140. I liked the shows with black midgets living with rich white people

That was a realistic depiction of black America.

The Cosby Show was revolutionary in its subtle way.

[Sydnie]

14. Why not just say Different Strokes should be thanked then?

It was closer than the Cosby's were to the situation in which Obama was raised. Or, as Joe Scar said, this is a hip hop generation. Yeah, it's hip hop that brought Obama victory. :sarcasm:

I mean REALLY! It can't be that Obama was just the best candidate or anything can it be Bill? Can't be that we are just a more progressive country just by sheer maturation of it's people? Can't be that since Falwell died that people, even people of the church, began to think for themselves?

Geesh! Take credit will yah Bill?

[ecstatic]

157. WHATCHU TALKIN BOUT SYDNIE

:rofl:

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

15. Did Cosby say exactly what you have in quotes in the OP?

It's not in the amount you extracted and the link doesn't appear to work.

Saying "I can't negate the theory that the Huxtables MAY have helped pave the way" is a heck of a lot more circumspectand modest than "You have the Huxtables to thank for O's victory". Maybe that was the headline writer? Please clarify.

[KittyWampus]

33. No, of course not. The OP'er just decided to stir shit up and trash Bill Cosby.

[Lerkfish]

17. well, if he had been talking about I Spy, maybe.

[Deja Q]

42. Or that jello pudding pop commercial... or the new coke? Yeah, that's the ticket, new coke...

Talk about a kodak moment, and typed using a TI-99/4A...

:yoiks:

Mr Cosby makes good points, but having said that, it was irresistible to take television references to their extremes...

[high density]

18. Little ole man was sittin on the steps. And a tear kinda trickled down his cheek.

I said, what's the matter? He said a train just ran over me.

[NOLALady]

19. Please!

What an exaggerated sense of importance!

[boozepusher]

23. I'm waiting for

Sherman Hemsley to get the credit he deserves.:crazy:

[hughee99]

49. His actually quote on the subject (regardless of the OP's title)

"I can't negate the theory that the Huxtables on 'The Cosby Show' may have helped pave the way for the Obama family,"

I'm not sure this falls into the the category of "exaggerated sense of importance".

[kwenu]

20. Success has a thousand fathers...

Whatever makes the Cos feel good I guess.

[Lint Head]

22. The Huxtables in the Bill Cosby show was a farce.

Of course there are plenty of upper middle class African American families. To say they are like the Huxtables is ridicules.
They are no more a representation of average black families than Archer Bunkers family was a representation of the average white family. :dem:

[NOLALady]

28. They are not even a representation

of the average white family.

[Deja Q]

40. No, but they were a source of inspiration.

Not everybody is capable of becoming doctors and lawyers - doesn't make anyone else cheap...

And if everyone could be doctors and lawyers, at a dime per dozen, such professions would end up paying so little...

[NOLALady]

54. Maybe a TV character can be a source of

inspiration for some. I don't know.

The source of inspiration in my community has always been the elders. They are the ones who deserve the credit. Obama's family and Michelle's family were the source of their inspiration, not a sitcom TV family.

[Deja Q]

99. In today's society, families don't say very much.

1. Who wants them.
2. The number of people who say "Don't get married"
3. The divorce rate
4. "Marriage is an outdated institution"

Even Margaret Thatcher, pity she's gone senile, would be distressed that her infamous comment is now only 2/3rds as relevant and has to be re-written as: "We are not a society, we are individual men, individual women, and that's all. No families."


Oh, and I say all that in sadness; the same comments other people say out of spite, arrogance, or hate.

[JoePhilly]

31. The two shows you mention highlight two real realities ....

1) The Huxtables introduced many whites to those middle class African Americans who they had never met themselves.

2) Archie (and family) introduced whites to many of their own stereotypes in an real and uncomfortable way. And, perhaps as importantly, Archie introduced some blacks to a more honest view of white discomfort with racial issues ... a theme Obama touched on after the Wright BS.

As a mid-40s white guy .... I learned a lot about race from those two shows.

And in the 80s, I was attending Central High (Cosby's former high school), which was about 45% white, 45% black, 10% "other".

Bill is over reaching ... but ... he helped break down some real barriers ... as did Archie.

Let him enjoy the small part he played.

[KittyWampus]

34. Yeah, tv had SO many programs on before Cosby featuring successful, stable families

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

43. Strikes me as classist.

Rich = better

[Starbucks Anarchist]

24. Dennis Haysbert might disagree.

[DrPresident]

27. HA! n/m

[galaxy21]

29. Does Obama get his own personal Jack Bauer?

[hughee99]

51. Maybe he'll get a Leonard Parker

of "Leonard Part 6" fame.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093405/

[soleft]

150. I've been wondering how come no David Palmer analysis on DU?

If there's been any pop culture figure that's been a help, I think it's that character. How ironic for 24's conservative creators.

[gmoney]

166. Colbert did a "Threatdown" bit a few days ago on "Black Presidents"

Pointing out how Haysbert on 24 and Morgan Freeman in "Deep Impact" somehow show that black presidents lead to catastrophes....

He got pretty roundly booed when he said "the number one threat is Black Presidents" but managed to sneak a laugh out of it.

Seems to me there were other black presidents in movies and TV shows

[H2O Man]

26. He raises valid points.

He's a good man.

[budkin]

32. Bill Cosby is a total asshole to work with from what I've heard

Got an ego the size of Obama's war chest.

[Raschel]

55. I can believe that. He seems like a real jerk. And to tie himself to Obama's win

is so egotistical. Yeah, he was there in the beginning, I Spy, etc., but so were alot of people before and after him. I don't hear them all taking credit. Blech.

[regnaD kciN]

35. Bill Cosby is a legend in his own mind...

...and The Cosby Show was the ideal "comfort program" for the Reagan '80s. Just sit back and let the free market do its magic, and we'll soon see upscale African-American doctors and lawyers with families right out of '50s sitcoms, except with more money and a tony urban townhouse instead of a white-picket-fence split-level in the suburbs. See? We didn't need to worry about all that liberal "social justice" nonsense -- just give us a good dose of the "Reagan Revolution," and credits-to-their-race like the Huxtables will spring up all over!

:eyes:

[noiretextatique]

36. sure, bill...sure

your sitcom helped elect obama

[4lbs]

38. To me, "The Cosby Show" was too Nelson family-ish. I preferred shows that accurately represented

90% of American families and their struggles, not one that was upper class.

After all, how many families in America have both a well off lawyer and doctor as parents, each earning six figures?

For me, shows like "Roseanne", "Growing Pains", "Family Ties", and even "Family Matters" were more representative of the vast majority of American families. Then, later came "George Lopez" and "Home Improvement".

I spent my childhood watching shows like "Good Times" and "The Jeffersons" as well.

[DrPresident]

48. I preferred the Bundys, myself

there are FAR MORE families in this country like the Bundys than there are the Huxtables. LOL

[Deja Q]

101. Which is the saddest aspect of them all.

"Married with Children" was a hilarious, albeit stinging satire on life. Little did anyone know, within 10 to 20 years, it would reflect actual life! :wow:

One example, and my favorite for some odd reason:

In 1989, it was funny to hear the idiot daughter and dim wife to say "Oh cool! What color?" when told they are getting a computer. 10 years later, Apple went on to fulfill what's supposed to be a joke pointing out computers are tools, not empty fashion accessories for empty-headed people. And they sold rather well too... "Think different" indeed. I'll just think, thanks anyway...

Amongst lots of other parallels, most of which thankfully don't pertain to Apple corporation...

[Deja Q]

39. Will the box set include the unedited episodes?

Season 1's set contains episodes chopped up for syndication...

[mollymongold]

52. you should go to sitcomsonline.com/boards and ask .

[mollymongold]

46. I used to tape reruns of the Cosby show and watch them all the time after school in elementary lol.

[JVS]

47. NO, It was all the pudding and jello!

[mollymongold]

53. To say the Huxtables didn't represent any families isn't true...they were like my family.

[BumRushDaShow]

57. A shame so many posters in this thread

think that no such upper middle class black family existed in the U.S. News Flash - they did and still do. No, they are not the "average", nor would an "average" white family mirror that. But they do exist, Cosby and his ego aside. Yes, there are those of us with several generations of college graduates in our families.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

59. The "Cosbys" were upper class.

One was a doctor, the other a lawyer.

To call that "upper middle class" is like calling Joe the Plumber's $250,000 dollar business "working class."

[Liquorice]

65. The Cosbys were upper middle class. The upper middle is

generally considered to consist of highly educated professionals, such as doctors and lawyers. The upper class is a different thing altogether... Most sociologists say you have to be born into the upper class in order to be considered a part of it.

[BumRushDaShow]

66. IMHO, they were NOT "upper class"

They were not living in an Allen Iverson-size mansion and aren't millionaires. "Upper class" to me consists of those who are in the high-paying business arena (e.g., hedge fund managers, CEOs, etc), top bill entertainers (including musicians, actors, pro players, etc), and those who inherited the wealth. A few high-powered white collar professionals (most notably those who OWN or are senior partners in law firms - not just a lawyer in one, or those in specialty medical fields like some exotic surgeons after many years) may just reach that level, but the "Huxtables" were not that.

Wikipedia has an interesting discussion on this here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_class

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

71. Bill Huxtable would have been pulling, what, 200,000 a year?

And his wife another $150,000 a year? Before she started being on TV talk show guest?

If they weren't millionaires and that wasn't a mililon dollar Brownstone, I wonder what they spent all that money on.

[BumRushDaShow]

77. ????

Are you confusing the actor with the characters now?

Methinks you miss the whole jist and message of the show and would rather focus on the sets for it.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

80. No, the characters on the show.

Bill Huxtable was an obstetrician working in New York with decades of experience. Claire Huxtable was a well-known and respected lawyer who frequented television talk shows. At least in one episode. I think she may have been made a partner of the firm in another.

[BumRushDaShow]

85. "Cliff" Huxtable not "Bill"

and again, you miss the symbolism of the fact that black families did and still DO exist in the U.S. where both parents are post-graduates, and a number, like my family, come from multiple generations of post-graduates. This in a world where the RW-biased lunatic fringe media would have you believe that the ENTIRE black community is made up of welfare queens, Super Fly pimps, gun-toting drug addicts, high-school dropouts, all producing dozens of children out of wedlock who live in the "inner city" (code word for "ghetto" or "slums") who are gang-members.

I remember watching "The Jeffersons" in the '70s and that was considered a "step up" from shows like "Good Times" or even "Sanford & Son" for showing black families who were "moving on up" (with George Jefferson, played by another Philadelphian - Sherman Hemsley, being an owner of a dry cleaner).

When whites had shows on TV that show the full depth and breadth of class and income, from the Ralph Kramdens and Archie Bunkers to the Carringtons and Ewings... yet the black shows of the time did no such and had no such range (and those that tried like "Sonny Spoon" were unceremoniously taken off the air), then something needed to be done to broaden the depictions.

[Deja Q]

108. Dang - Joe the Plumber(tm) makes $250,000! Hmm, doctor or pipefitter...

We all know where Joe shoved his pipes...

[ecstatic]

159. brownstones were cheap back in the day

Things have changed. And I agree with the person who said upper middle class.

[knixphan]

61. seconded...

By the son of an AA surgeon.

[BumRushDaShow]

70. Granddaughter of an AA dentist here

:hi:

[knixphan]

83. Salut!

:hi:

[Johonny]

60. I have to agree

The falling of the barriers in Hollywood to African American directors and actors was pretty dramatic during the 80s. It wasn't only Cosby for sure. Just as a generation ago the final acceptance of African Americans into sports helped public perception of race relations.

[ACTION BASTARD]

62. Bwhahahaha ! Oh Bill your just priceless.

No ONE except for Bill Cosby is saying this. It's gotta be sad to be forgotten, impotent and no longer relevant.

Trying to ride the "O-Train" out of obscurity Bill? Huxtables, really? Oh Bill what won't you do for attention?

[kiva]

64. You do know that Cosby didn't say that, right?

If you're going to post articles, it's a good idea to actually quote the person and not just make up words to get more people to respond to your post.

[racaulk]

68. And without Norman Lear, there would have been no Cosby Show.

Please. There have been many other sitcoms that have dealt with racism while portraying a positive, loving, and fully functional African American (or racially mixed) family unit. In addition to The Cosby Show, there has been...

Good Times
The Jeffersons
All in the Family (which regularly featured the Jefferson family)
Julia (yay for single moms!)
Dif'rent Strokes
What's Happening!
Sanford and Son
Webster
Family Matters
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

I'm sure there are many others, those are just off the top of my head.

For Bill Cosby to try to claim credit for Obama's victory is absurd. While Cosby has made many valuable contributions to our society in the area of education, his contribution to Obama's victory is only tangential, at best. Obama was a good candidate that ran a stellar campaign, that's what his victory mostly boiled down to.

[Deja Q]

102. And thanks to Jimmie Walker, "Good Times" went from something good to something dumb.

And "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"'s first season is grossly underrated by many...

[racaulk]

104. .

[Deja Q]

107. ..

[mucifer]

69. umm I think Harold Washington the first black mayor of Chicago was a bit more of an example

for Obama than a fictional tv character that was on while Obama wasn't watching tv.

[BumRushDaShow]

75. I think he was referencing the depiction of the "family"

not the individual.

[Tyler Generation]

72. I respect Mr. Cosby's accomplishments and contributions to the arts

That said, shut the fuck up Bill Cosby.

[AtomicKitten]

74. Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan.

[JustAnotherGen]

76. All I know is

As a kid growing up in the 80's - it was nice to see on t.v. something that somewhat resembled my family, my community, the folks my parents were friends with, my extended family. . . my mom is white - but it still. It was nice to see educated black people on t.v.

Honestly - when I was really young? I think that's why my brother and I like Different Strokes so much. And Give me a Break. They showed bi-racial kids what they lived with - that you can be a mother or a father to children that don't look like you. ;-)

[Not a robought]

78. That's glib

"I can't negate the theory that the Huxtables on 'The Cosby Show' may have helped pave the way for the Obama family,"

Yes Bill, you laid a path with glories and hilarity to the altar of Reaganomics with all the gravity that a network sitcom implies. :eyes:

[BootinUp]

79. Humility was never one of Cos's virtues, lol. nt

[calmblueocean]

82. There's no doubt the Huxtables acclimated the US to images of black family-oriented professionals.

You'd have to be crazy to disagree with that, and that's Cosby's major point here. Pre-Cosby, the images of African-Americans, their jobs, and their families were nearly always inferior to the depictions of whites, their jobs, and their families. Cosby changed that in a big way.

Obama seems like a guy Sandra would've brought home from law school: smart, black, ambitious, educated, family-centered. He would've fit right in on the show.

I still think Obama would've won if the Cosby Show never existed, but certainly it primed America to be able to accept the kind of man Obama is in ways that TV before it never did.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

84. The quote in the OP is BS and appears nowhere in the article not even the headline

which reads: Barack Obama's election holds special significance for Bill Cosby.

In my opinion, you are an irresponsible !@#$ for putting a made-up sentence in QUOTES and attributing it to Bill Cosby. If YOU think that's what he meant you should have put "my interpretation" or "subtext" or "does he mean" or "paraphrase" to make it clear to anyone reading that you are putting forth your own asinine interpretation.

What Bill Cosby did say according to the article you are linking to is completely reasonable and modest, that the Huxtables "may have HELPED pave the way for the Obama family."

Did his dog beat yours in a dog show?

[Essene]

86. i started a new thread in disgust. you're so right...

[Name removed]

95. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[woo me with science]

87. Flamebait.

You are either a liar seeking attention or a very stupid person who should not be permitted to use quotation marks.

[Name removed]

97. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AlCzervik]

98. your op is incorrect.

[onehandle]

90. I love Bill for past talents but that show sucked.

Horribly cutesy and fake, fake, fake. And Phylicia Rashad is the most horribly insufferable "actress" of all time.

[lysefish]

91. Funny...my family's watching Cosby downstairs right now

We've got them all on DVD and my children love them. It was my family's favorite show to sit and watch together in the '80s. Growing up white in Kentucky, I think having the Cosby Show definitely changed some people's perceptions (and helped shape mine as I was growing up). Did that show pave the way for Obama's win? Maybe as one of MANY cobblestones in the street.

[malletgirl02]

92. Cosby

I remember Cosby complaining about black people naming their kids weird names. What does he think of the name Barack?

[AlCzervik]

94. no he didn't, read your own post.

[gauguin57]

96. When the Obamas walked out on stage at Grant Park, I said to myself, "It's the Huxtables!"

... "in the flesh!"

So, Bill Cosby and I were sort of on the same page.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

100. Why is this troll flamebait with a deliberate misquote in the title not locked?

[AlCzervik]

103. and the troll has been calling posters bitches when they tell him his thread title is hooey

troll should be ts'd imo.

[racaulk]

106. ...and dropping F-bombs.

Agreed, a granite cookie is in order.

[Deja Q]

111. I responded to one of the f-bombs too...

:cry:

[Essene]

126. im fairly angry this isnt locked...

[yodermon]

152. dunno, i alerted on it

maybe if we all mass alert it'll get locked?

[racaulk]

163. I alerted also. n/t

[A-Schwarzenegger]

168. The Man is disinclined to lock a thread with almost 5000 VIEWS.

Despite the fact that the OP lied about what Cosby said,
and despite the fact that the OP said he didn't care that
he had lied, and the fact that the OP said he was proud of his
thread which was rooted in that lie. :*

[racaulk]

110. ***NO ONE EVER EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!!!***

[MarthaMyDear]

112. Hmm...would I rather have the Rack? Or the comfy chair?

[Captain Lance Bass]

119. Fuck You Bill!...you sir are a blowhard and a ass n/t

[Zombie2]

120. Fuck BILL... he's an assbag in "real life"....

...and this is coming from someone (me) that's meet him in person and spent quite a bit of time with him.

He's a jerk!

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

123. i second that

my friend worked at reception for him and he treated the help like dirt

[Zombie2]

165. I spent nearly the day with him...

Quite a bit of the time it was just he and I alone. He was treating me like dirt... but when around a crowd of people it was all SHOWTIME.

[Frank Booth]

121. Why all the hate for Bill Cosby?

I think the Cosby Show had a tremendously positive effect on racial perceptions in this country.

I, for one, am glad I grew up watching it. I'm white, and grew up in a small town with almost no black people. Through The Cosby Show (which was my favorite show for a long time) I was exposed to a highly educated and high-achieving AA family. TV has a great ability to shape perceptions, especially kids', and black people had always been "ghettoized" on TV as uneducated/violent/lazy/goofy/dumb/clowns (and, to an extent, still are). If it weren't for the Cosby Show, I'm sure I would have been much more impaired by these unfair depictions -- it's hard for a kid of 10 to distinguish fiction from reality, and because of where I grew up much of what I learned about people of other races and cultures came from TV. The Cosby Show was groundbreaking -- it dared to show a successful, cohesive, happy black family -- and I honestly think it had a substantial positive impact on me, other kids, and society in general.

[fujiyama]

124. I think it's fair to say

that Bill Cosby is somewhat self righteous and has a giant ego.

But he has a point. TV sitcoms, along with with professional athletes helped shape the public's perspectives of African Americans. The Cosby Show was an idealized family (for any race), but for once you had on the air a functional black family, who were professionals. These were people that lived in an integrated neighborhood and the children had white friends. It was a positive image. Was it cheesy? Syrupy sweet at times? Of course, but many of those '80s sitcoms were.

Likewise, for my generation the character of Steve Urkel from "Family Matters" was a huge hit. This show was several years after Cosby. But nevertheless, you didn't see too many black nerds on TV. That was quite a change.

And of course, there's "24", which featured a generally honorable African American president. When people watched the show, they sensed a decent character overall and Palmer was quite the overall contrast from Bush. He showed leadership qualities.

So no, Cosby, Urkel, and President Palmer are not the reason Obama is president. But they were positive images of African Americans that helped in whatever small part to break down stereotypes.

[ncteechur]

125. I think it was actually MushMouth that paved the way for Barack Obama.

O-b-K-b!

[treestar]

127. Er no, Bill. We have Obama and his brilliant campaign to thank

And 53% of the voters.

I watched maybe one episode of your show and I still voted for Obama.

If you are talking about he particular couple and their family, I believe they would thank their families of origin, not you or your show. By the time your show was on, Barack was a community organizer on his way to Harvard, accomplishments I do believe he could have made without the existence of your sitcom.

:rofl: Well, you are a comedian.

[NOLALady]

146. I agree 100%

Most blacks as well as whites who succeed, have their families of origin to thank. To say they were inspired by a TV show is an insult.

[Vinca]

128. I'm sorry, but that's just dumb. Oh wait . . . maybe not . . .

the Beverly Hillbillies could be the Palins.

[OneBlueSky]

130. methinks William Cosby, Ed.D., is over-reaching just a tad . . . n/t

.

[DawgHouse]

131. The "quote" in the OP is nowhere in the article.

He said the dynamics of Barack and Michelle's upbringing closely mirrors the Huxtable's commitment to success and excellence.

[leftynyc]

132. That is not the quote in your OP

Why do you feel the need to LIE about what Bill Cosby said. So much so that you use a fictitious quote. Shame on you.

[underpants]

134. I agree and rap music played an important role with white males

It was a slow process and it isn't over

[kikiek]

135. Reading his comments Costby says he "can't negate the theory". Sounds to me like he was told it did.

And of course it helped. How could anyone say it didn't? Both parents were doctors, the kids had problems but good support and guidance, and they all went to college. I don't recall any sitcoms prior to his that showed that families are the same inside no matter what the color of the skin. It is like anything else, what is unknown is scary. And his ability to familiarize blacks and whites opened some doors. To say that he is taking credit for Obama's success is ridiculous and overstating what he said.

[The Backlash Cometh]

136. Erm. I had a niece who thought the show was fantasy.

She said so because she said that no white person would ever want to enroll in a college that catered to black students, and she thought the dresses and lifestyle on the show was hollywood.

[kikiek]

138. Tell me where it says what the OP has in his subject line.

Barack Obama's election holds special significance for Bill Cosby

I can't negate the theory that the Huxtables on 'The Cosby Show' may have helped pave the way for the Obama family," Cosby said today. "People enjoyed watching that black family," he said, noting that the Huxtables were a two-parent unit with an educated father and mother constantly loving their children while correcting them. He said the dynamics of the families who brought up Barack and Michelle Obama closely mirrored the Huxtables' commitment to success and excellence.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2008/11/the-huxtables-g.html



That is a gross distortion of what he said.

[CreekDog]

143. He's wrong to take credit that rightly belongs to

[BlueEyedSon]

144. Nah, it was the Jeffersons that brought a black family into our living room.....

[BumRushDaShow]

153. Before "The Jeffersons"

was "Good Times" and before that was "Sanford & Son" and before that was "Julia" (which I was forbidden to watch in my AA household because Diahann Carroll was, god forbid, married to a white man). And I kid you not! I still snuck and watched it though because there was a kid in it supposedly playing the son as my age at the time, but I never really grasped much of the concept (which was for adults) and preferred Batman instead. :rofl:

[DawgHouse]

155. I loved Julia! N/T

[BootinUp]

161. me too, heh.

I was sorta rememberin it at TV.com? I think recently.

[flvegan]

148. A+. This thread has far exceeded expectations.

[DrPresident]

154. It sure has. I'm proud.

[kiva]

164. Yup, lying about what someone said is always a crowd pleaser. n/t

[mzmolly]

156. You could say the media in general helped break down barriers.

The "liberal" media that is. ;)

[ecstatic]

158. The youth that voted for Obama weren't even around when this show was airing

Nice try Cosby, but whites over 30 were for McShame if I recall!

Perhaps it was Will Smith's Fresh Prince of Bel Air that had more of an impact? :)

[DrPresident]

160. Good point n/m

[bullwinkle428]

162. I think "Leonard Part 6" did much more to further Obama's chances!

:evilgrin:

[Fire Walk With Me]

167. I liked "Good Times", "The Jeffersons", etc.

Never ever watched the huxtable show. He used to be very funny, but post- coca-cola-jello-pudding-kodak-cameras he was empty to me. I got more inspiration from Dr. Hibbert than the huxtables.

[GeorgeGist]

169. Shameless self-promotion ...

and just in time for Xmas.

[No Elephants]

171. And Murphy Brown was responsible for unwed motherhood, just as Quayle

said. Snap out of it, Bill. Oh, and do try to get the hell over yourself. It really should not be all that difficult, certainly not as difficult as you make it seem. You were in two groundbreaking TV shows, but that's what they were--TV shows.