The Boondocks' Aaron McGruder on the POTUS

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

He made an appearance on Aaron Brown's show post-debate and the 5-minute interview / chat went a little something like this - http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/10/1/112744/553

MCGRUDER: You know, what bothers me about shows like this, and all the news shows, after Bush talks I hear all these smart people completely ignoring the elephant in the room. And the elephant in the room, which nobody wants to say, is that Bush is not a smart man. He can't articulate well. He doesn't speak in complete sentences.
...
BROWN: OK. That's a different thing. Let's say he is not articulate. And I think they would concede he's not the most articulate guy on the planet. It doesn't mean he doesn't have convictions. It doesn't mean he believes in some things. It doesn't necessarily mean he's wrong. It just means he can't express himself.
MCGRUDER: But beliefs don't mean anything if you're stupid. And not only that, but he -- it's almost as though he's talking to the dumbest segment of society, whereas Kerry...
BROWN: Aaron, don't you think that's an incredibly arrogant way to look at the world?
MCGRUDER: It's -- you know, it's real, you know? It's just that nobody is saying the obvious, which is the man is not smart and he's the president.

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 1 October 2004 18:52 (twenty years ago)

Hahaha!

Okay, I confess; I AM AARON MACGRUDER.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Friday, 1 October 2004 18:58 (twenty years ago)

MCGRUDER: There you go.

BROWN: Nice to meet you.

MCGRUDER: It is a pleasure. Thank you for having me on.

BROWN: Come back, too.

MCGRUDER: If you let me.

BROWN: I will. We're equal opportunity around here.

MCGRUDER: There you go.

BROWN: In every respect. Thank you.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 1 October 2004 18:58 (twenty years ago)

It would explain the Poem-Cees connection. ;-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 1 October 2004 18:58 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, that ending exchange was a little strange, to be polite about it.

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 1 October 2004 19:00 (twenty years ago)

Informal, yes. Strange? I'd have to see the tape.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Friday, 1 October 2004 19:08 (twenty years ago)

I dunno - I think I instinctively read too much into Brown's use of the phrase "equal opportunity" after the way he jousted with / derisevly sneered at McGruder. But, then, Brown's always sneering, isn't he?

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 1 October 2004 19:10 (twenty years ago)

Bush isn't smart?!?! My God, why has no one before the brave Aaron McGruder come out and said this before!

― Marcel Post (Marcel Post), Friday, 1 October 2004 19:23 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, there's that bit, too - he's right on about the media falling down on the job, but to tie that to the old "Bush R Dumb" trope isn't going to win him any converts.

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 1 October 2004 19:30 (twenty years ago)

I'm trying to remember the last time I saw someone say Bush was stupid during an interview. There's been a lot of "DON'T LET HIM FOOL YOU; BEHIND THAT THICK-AS-PIGSHIT VENEER IS THE CUNNING INTELLECT OF A POLITICAL EINSTEIN" going around lately from both the Republicans and the Democrats.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Friday, 1 October 2004 19:31 (twenty years ago)

x-post
He means in the context of the news shows that always spin his abject stupidity as straight-shooting or whatever.

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Friday, 1 October 2004 19:32 (twenty years ago)

I saw this last night and, while I'm no Aaron Brown fan, I'd hardly say he was heated -- or that the exchange was in any way heated. McGruder was very much smiling as he said the "..almost talking to the dumbest segment.." bit -- almost like "ok, I'm being a bad boy". And Brown was, you know, doing that Aaron Brown smirk as he delivered the rejoinder about "arrogance". It wasn't combatitive at all.

And that prolonged goodbye was just one of those goofy things. It's like when the local news anchors talk over each other and say stupid shit at the end of a broadcast.

― Roy Williams Highlight (diamond), Friday, 1 October 2004 20:04 (twenty years ago)

After the mean piece on him in the The New Yorker, I was pleasantly surprised seeing him on Bill Maher's show the other night. He was charming, pointed, and funny, which I had not been led to expect.

― Michael White (Hereward), Friday, 1 October 2004 20:12 (twenty years ago)

Man, I love McGruder for this. I have been wanting some journalist to interrupt Bush for so long and say "Mr. President, it's actually pronouned Nuke-Lee-Urr. Carry on."

Wait, what was the New Yorker piece all about?

― Taxi Dancing in the Soft Prison (Ben Boyer), Friday, 1 October 2004 20:16 (twenty years ago)

On re-reading it, I guess it wasn't that bad.

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040419fa_fact2

― Michael White (Hereward), Friday, 1 October 2004 20:42 (twenty years ago)

Boondocks is totally my guilty pleasure

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Friday, 1 October 2004 20:50 (twenty years ago)

I think it's my guilty object of hate.

― n/a (Nick A.), Friday, 1 October 2004 20:51 (twenty years ago)

I like it 'cause on alternate days I'll think, "Meh", "Pow", "Zing", and "Fuck Off".

― Michael White (Hereward), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:02 (twenty years ago)

I like it 'cause on alternate days I'll think, "Meh", "Pow", "Zing", and "Fuck Off".

― Michael White (Hereward), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:03 (twenty years ago)

I think it's my guilty object of hate

OTM.

― manthony m1cc1o (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:04 (twenty years ago)

"boondocks" is the most unfunny comic ever

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:07 (twenty years ago)

that's pushing it

― manthony m1cc1o (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:08 (twenty years ago)

it's drearily literal and strident and the only "joke" is that you get to feel all warm inside for agreeing with it and the whole "kids talking like world-weary adults, tellin' it like it is" conceit is paper-thin. it's a piece of shit.

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:09 (twenty years ago)

It really is. That device MIGHT have some effectiveness if it were not a comic strip, ie a cartoon, live action, etc.

― oops (Oops), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:11 (twenty years ago)

i'd even put it a notch before the barfalicious ted rall

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:13 (twenty years ago)

It was good, once upon a time.

From that New Yorker piece - "Jean Stein, a veteran of the liberal party circuit and the mother of Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Nation’s editor," gives me the chills. "McGruder responded by grabbing his crotch and saying, “Try these nuts.”" is still the greatest thing to ever happen at a Nation shindig.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:13 (twenty years ago)

"It was good, once upon a time", he said studying the vert de gris polish on his nails and sighing. "But now those things just bore me, frankly. In fact, these days everything quite bores me. So so tedious isn't it all?"

― Michael White (Hereward), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:18 (twenty years ago)

while I'm cool with what McGruder said, it's funny that he'd follow his "Kerry beat Kerry's ass" line with a point about Bush's bad public speaking skills.

― manthony m1cc1o (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:19 (twenty years ago)

"boondocks" is the most unfunny comic ever

That's really pushing it:

http://www.beledy.net/fam/pix/ziggy.GIF

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:19 (twenty years ago)

Pleasant Pains with the check mate

― manthony m1cc1o (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:19 (twenty years ago)

Am I dreaming or did I know someone when I was a kid that had a Ziggy bean bag chair?

― Michael White (Hereward), Friday, 1 October 2004 21:22 (twenty years ago)

TRY THESE NUTS

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Saturday, 2 October 2004 00:00 (twenty years ago)

Have the people talking about how Boondocks is unfunny and only has one joke ever read the strip from the beginning of its syndicated run? Because honestly I cannot fathom anyone who read some of the older strips not finding them funny unless they were really, really intimidated by black people. Or I suppose the hipster "I am so bored with your 'controversy' *YAWN* now get me a latte"-factor could also be in play here.

The strip was much funnier when it included with the interracial couple next door and the biracial girl in Riley's class; focusing on Cesar hurt the strip.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Saturday, 2 October 2004 00:06 (twenty years ago)

i don't think i read it in the "old days" if that means more than three years ago or so.

whenever i see it lately it just seems to be the one kid (and sometimes his brothers?/friends?) mouthing "yeah, i said it"-type stuff -- obviously just a mouthpiece for gruder's own observations, with little attempt at characterization and no attempt to actually represent any other point of view honestly. anything "controversial" about it seems like manufactured, selfconscious "controversy," not the controversy of actually interesting and novel ideas.

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Saturday, 2 October 2004 00:21 (twenty years ago)

i don't think i read it in the "old days" if that means more than three years ago or so.

I cannot fathom anyone who read some of the older strips not finding them funny unless they were really, really intimidated by black people.

what do you mean? do you mean to imply that those who didn't find it funny couldn't handle the adventurous racial humor or something? it never offended me in the slightest, i just thought it was leaden and obvious, hence unfunny. like strident political observations given only the slightest comedic sheen.

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Saturday, 2 October 2004 00:22 (twenty years ago)

double post, sorry

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Saturday, 2 October 2004 00:23 (twenty years ago)

The first year of syndication reads like all of the good parts of Bernie Mac's and Chris Rock's stand-up routines rolled into a daily comic strip; when I read it now it is still tinged by the shades of what it was and therefore probably reads "edgier" to me than it actually is.

I strongly recommend reading that first year at least.

― Dan Perry '08 (Dan Perry), Saturday, 2 October 2004 00:26 (twenty years ago)

The first year was indeed genius. I sorta fell away from the strips (and all strips, actually), but man, seeing that on the pages gave everything a refreshing sense of "Ah, it IS the end of the twentieth century and not the beginning or the middle, after all." It was sorta the anti-Mutts (a strip I happily despise).

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 2 October 2004 00:53 (twenty years ago)

the artwork in mutts is more impressive

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Saturday, 2 October 2004 01:09 (twenty years ago)

yeah, it was sorta better (like a lot of things) before 9/11.

― Symplistic (shmuel), Saturday, 2 October 2004 01:24 (twenty years ago)

Then terrorists have won.

― Leeeter van den Hoogenband (Leee), Saturday, 2 October 2004 01:32 (twenty years ago)

the artwork in mutts is more impressive

Good lord no.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 2 October 2004 01:50 (twenty years ago)

actually less, cleanest of line, the way he converys motion, range of facial expression. "mutts" is no great shakes, but visually "boondocks" is but a step up from "red meat."

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Saturday, 2 October 2004 07:14 (twenty years ago)

It is possible to like both Boondocks and Mutts. For what it's worth, I like the artwork in Boondocks--it really does stand apart from almost everything else on the page--but I think McDonnell's artwork is just plain understated, elegant genius. He can form an expression with a single stroke of a pen and have it speak words.

TRY THESE NUTS = classic.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Saturday, 2 October 2004 11:51 (twenty years ago)

have it speak VOLUMES I mean. which would be words, but you know.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Saturday, 2 October 2004 11:52 (twenty years ago)

Now the Boondocks is great and all, but comics nowadays suffer from NOT BEING CALVIN & HOBBES. nothing just compares anymore.

― lemin (lemin), Saturday, 2 October 2004 14:03 (twenty years ago)

Hey, McGruder would be the first to agree with you.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 2 October 2004 14:05 (twenty years ago)

Does he? I was wondering after reading that New Yorker article; he definitely mentions Watterson, but doesn't pass any sort of judgement. He does however single out Bil Keane and others for scorn - if there's somewhere where he articulates it, I'd love to read it. That's the other thing: he could not appreciate Calvin and Hobbes at all, and his viewpoint still deserves consideration cuz he's made a pretty awesome comic strip.

― lemin (lemin), Saturday, 2 October 2004 14:21 (twenty years ago)

There should be a Goodwin rule about when the first mention of NO CALVIN & HOBBES appears in a thread about today's comics.

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Saturday, 2 October 2004 14:35 (twenty years ago)

Boondocks is pretty much the only daily strip worth reading these days, even if it has been a little thinner at times of late.

And I loved Watterson, but face it the guy pussied out and left (and maybe McGruder will too, I'm not sure how invested he is in fighting the "good fight" on the comics page.)

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Saturday, 2 October 2004 14:38 (twenty years ago)

The Boondocks > The Duplex > The Buckets > Mallard Fillmore, so don't start that "worst comic evar" shit

― alfalfa romeo (natepatrin), Saturday, 2 October 2004 16:37 (twenty years ago)

McGruder on the dedication page of the first Boondocks book:

"To the life and memory of Charles Schulz (I'll never get to call you 'Sparky'), and to Garry Trudeau, Berke Breathed and Bill Watterson, for obvious reasons."

All you need to know right there.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 2 October 2004 16:43 (twenty years ago)

rockin. must've missed that.

― lemin (lemin), Saturday, 2 October 2004 17:40 (twenty years ago)

three years pass...

Man oh man why did I never watch the cartoon before??

― A B C, Friday, 6 June 2008 04:48 (seventeen years ago)

because ur a lame

― The Brainwasher, Friday, 6 June 2008 04:51 (seventeen years ago)

I'm curious to hear dude's thoughts re: Obama.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 6 June 2008 04:59 (seventeen years ago)

Here, apparently:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpBv-_5BijU

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 6 June 2008 05:02 (seventeen years ago)

I'm curious to hear dude's thoughts on DMX's thoughts re: Obama

― Mackro Mackro, Friday, 6 June 2008 05:03 (seventeen years ago)

Hahahaha, I was trying to remember if it was DMX who had said that stuff earlier.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 6 June 2008 05:05 (seventeen years ago)

Didn't hear anything about Obama in the YouTube link, despite the use of Obama in the tags. HMMMMMM.

― Mackro Mackro, Friday, 6 June 2008 05:10 (seventeen years ago)

And someone please punch the editor of that Hardknock tv segment. How about more interview, less color-switching camera angles.

― Mackro Mackro, Friday, 6 June 2008 05:11 (seventeen years ago)

Supposedly there's a part two to the interview on their own site, so mebbe it was there.

Still, bait and switch? "What a TWIST!"

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 6 June 2008 05:13 (seventeen years ago)

There it is on the site. Obviously taped a few weeks ago or more, basically says "It's highly unlikely Obama will win the nomination, and besides HRC is the logical next step on this country's descent into the abyss anyway. But I'll vote for him cause he's a black leader that doesn't embarass me."

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 6 June 2008 05:25 (seventeen years ago)

Man, me and my boy were watching season 1 today. Is Aaron Mcgruder still alive. I read all his books and such. What the hell is he doing today?

― CaptainLorax, Friday, 6 June 2008 07:16 (seventeen years ago)

seven months pass...

you might wanna Google "mcgruder complex" in Google News

― Dr Morbius, Thursday, 22 January 2009 22:49 (sixteen years ago)

Sounds like McGruder. OTM.

― Ashee Bolanalli (Mackro Mackro), Thursday, 22 January 2009 23:13 (sixteen years ago)

Why must McGruder say one stupid thing for every smart thing?

― Alex in SF, Thursday, 22 January 2009 23:44 (sixteen years ago)

all smart

― Dr Morbius, Friday, 23 January 2009 14:11 (sixteen years ago)

The bit about Obama not really being black can't really be described as smart. The clarification makes perfect sense but dude should be smart enough to know by now that people love to twist words to make you look bad, particularly if you already have the "controversial" tag stuck to your name.

― Barack You Like A Husseincane (HI DERE), Friday, 23 January 2009 14:41 (sixteen years ago)

He denies saying that Obama's not really black.

― Dr Morbius, Friday, 23 January 2009 14:45 (sixteen years ago)

I'm certain he said Obama wasn't really black, meaning that Obama wasn't really an African-American in the vein of his clarification.

― Barack You Like A Husseincane (HI DERE), Friday, 23 January 2009 14:51 (sixteen years ago)

Well, McGruder did say he prefers to keep these issues to himself, which is why I let the original word-for-word comment slide, alongside the elaboration.

Even on the bonus sections of the Boondocks DVDs, Aaron looks uncomfortable chatting or being interviewed.

(Granted, that's not a excuse for any comments/gaffes he makes in public, should he decide to speak in public.)

― Ashee Bolanalli (Mackro Mackro), Friday, 23 January 2009 16:48 (sixteen years ago)

also i wanted to rephrase "I let" to "it didn't bother me to let"

― Ashee Bolanalli (Mackro Mackro), Friday, 23 January 2009 16:50 (sixteen years ago)

"all smart"

Nope.

― Alex in SF, Friday, 23 January 2009 17:56 (sixteen years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.