Financial Times Doesn’t Give a S**T About Political Correctness

by Glynnis MacNicol | 11:55 am, August 11th, 2009

» 2 comments

How did a lede like this make it past the Financial Times editors?

President Barack Obama reminds me of Felix the Cat. One of the best-loved cartoon characters of the 1920s, Felix was not only black. He was also very, very lucky. And that pretty much sums up the 44th president of the US as he takes a well-earned summer break after just over six months in the world’s biggest and toughest job.

Did you have to read it twice, too? The Financial Times is a British paper and so arguably not quite as sensitive to the historical racial nerves that that lede touches off here. But still! Are we supposed to conclude that Obama is lucky because he is black? Um.

The author of the piece is Niall Ferguson “Paul Krugman’s nemesis” according to Business Insider. Also? A Harvard professor.

The remainder of the column mostly crunches numbers — you should look elsewhere for an explanation on that — so the Felix comparison….particularly the Felix is also black comparsion — seems unnecessary and stretched. And considering the calamitous response that followed the New York Post‘s Sean Delonas’ chimp cartoon, you might imagine newspapers everywhere would be treading slightly more cautiously on extraneous wording! Or maybe they just don’t give a F***.

barack obama, Business Insider, Col Allan, Felix the Cat, Financial Times, Henry Blodget, New York Post, Niall Ferguson, Paul Krugman, Sean Delonas

Rachel Sklar

I saw Niall Ferguson speak at a debate on the election in Toronto of all places last may, with Charles Krauthammer squaring off against Samantha Power, Richard Holbrooke. I remember distinctly that Ferguson was the most entertaining, but also the most glib, the one whose arguments were stretched thinnest with the least amount backing them up, and by far the most smug.
http://www.twitter.com/kgotkin Kevin Gotkin

If Obama is Felix the Cat, then Hillary is….Krazy Kat?