Comments for "will.i.am - yes we can" Video at VideoSift.com

By Tofumar

Tofumar (http://www.videosift.com/member/Tofumar) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 10:07:52 -0800

Wow. That is maybe the most unique approach to crafting a political song I've ever heard. I mean, when was the last time you heard lyrics composed entirely of lines from stump speeches?

Now, I'll admit to being a huge Obama supporter, so maybe it's more affecting for me than for others. But I'll say this: I think it's more than a small part of Obama's appeal that not only is he great at delivering speeches, he consistently has great speeches to deliver. They tap into all the greatest ideals of America, and make people who've been cynical and downtrodden about our politics for years feel like they can be proud of their country again. In other words, they remind people of what is important about being an American, and what is great about America herself. This is no small thing in an age of bickering and gotcha politics, because hope is no small thing, and it's hope we've been desperately missing for so long.

P.S. John Legend is the man.

By TheeAlien

TheeAlien (http://www.videosift.com/member/TheeAlien) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 08:17:13 -0800

*requeue

By siftbot

siftbot (http://www.videosift.com/member/siftbot) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 08:17:13 -0800

Re-queueing this video for one more try; last queued Saturday, February 2nd, 2008 5:51pm PST - requeue requested by submitter TheeAlien.

By my15minutes

my15minutes (http://my15minutes.videosift.com) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 09:25:52 -0800

alien - as far as i can tell, yours was the first post of this. as soon as dmaze verifies that, and kills his, i'll happily upvote this.

but in the meantime, you really ought to be using the official copy, posted by WeCan08:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY

...and not the snatched copy from theuserdylan, that you currently have embedded.

oh. and seeing as how 'celebrity whore' isn't helpful, in finding this? thus, dmaze's accidentally duping it?
you might want to replace that with more useful tags, like 'Black Eyed Peas', for starters.

By TheeAlien

TheeAlien (http://www.videosift.com/member/TheeAlien) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 09:28:16 -0800

The black eyed peas aren't all in it, only will.i.am (who is tagged); the full list of celebrities is too huge to possibly list in full so I thought "celebrity whore" was appropriate

I still changed the last tag and the embed code though...

By spoco2

spoco2 (http://www.videosift.com/member/spoco2) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:43:27 -0800

This is a great way of demonstrating the power that a good speech can have.

If it were I, I may have faded out the actual speeches after the first bit... we get the point that you're singing his speeches, no need to continue making it sound like a mess for the whole 'song'...

By choggie

choggie (http://www.videosift.com/member/choggie) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 06:56:15 -0800

Cool, got to down vote both of them.
Can't you folks who praise Obama, see through the bullshit, that has you thinking he can do anything but warm a fucking chair, and do as he is told by his keepers???? Politics as usual, with celebrity doing their part to fist-fuck you willingly.....

By TheeAlien

TheeAlien (http://www.videosift.com/member/TheeAlien) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 10:22:50 -0800

It's gonna die again...

....must *requeue to spite choggie!

By siftbot

siftbot (http://www.videosift.com/member/siftbot) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 10:22:50 -0800

Re-queueing this video for one more try; last queued Monday, February 4th, 2008 8:17am PST - requeue requested by submitter TheeAlien.

By laura

laura (http://laura.videosift.com) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:36:50 -0800

I downvoted this because everyone out there is saying this is so great, but listen to it...he's not really saying anything, just soliciting an emotional reaction...I don't like being manipulated.

By timefactor

timefactor (http://www.videosift.com/member/timefactor) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:36:08 -0800

I agree that it's superficial and manipulative but it's worth seeing for how well it's done.

By Tofumar

Tofumar (http://www.videosift.com/member/Tofumar) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 22:03:46 -0800

Laura said: "I downvoted this because everyone out there is saying this is so great, but listen to it...he's not really saying anything, just soliciting an emotional reaction...I don't like being manipulated."

There is a proper place for the emotions, and not every appeal to them is manipulation. And I disagree that he isn't saying anything. He isn't giving detailed policy analysis to be sure, but it would be silly to expect that from the victory speech that inspired this song.

Instead, he gives us an insight into his view of the country and its history. He makes clear that he views hope as fundamental to both our past and future; as woven into the fabric of the American consciousness. He uses the speech to demonstrate that that's what he's planning to tap into in an effort to undo the damaging effects of the politics of fear and division. He tells us that he believes that America is an "unlikely story," and that unity and hope are all the more imperative because of that. As such, he explicitly rejects the current political paradigm of viewing the country as a collection of merely red or merely blue states. Finally, he acknowledges here for the first time in any of his major (post primary) speeches that the movement he looks to lead will encounter fierce resistance, but he believes that the country is ready to meet it, just as we were ready to meet the challenge of putting a man on the moon.

Those are some pretty vital things to know about a candidate, and they could all be gathered just from the song, which only takes a small excerpt of the speech. So with all due respect, you should probably listen a bit closer.

By Tofumar

Tofumar (http://www.videosift.com/member/Tofumar) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 22:06:56 -0800

And I don't think I'll touch choggie's comments. I wouldn't even know where to begin, frankly.

By SaNdMaN

SaNdMaN (http://www.videosift.com/member/SaNdMaN) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 22:09:08 -0800

cheesy as hell

By Krupo

Krupo (http://krupo.videosift.com) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 15:26:28 -0800

It'd be must appropriate to put this in the *viral channel for the medium. Let's call *humanitarian for the message.

By siftbot

siftbot (http://www.videosift.com/member/siftbot) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 15:26:30 -0800

Adding video to channels (Humanitarian, Viral) - requested by Krupo.

By Fedquip

Fedquip (http://fedquip.videosift.com) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:14:59 -0800

Would you rather the mass population that is America being manipulated by the emotion of Hope or the emotion of Fear? You choose America.

anyway *promote ing this because the Rolling Stone just endorsed the fella.
http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/03/05/the-new-issue-of-rolling-stone-barack-obama/

By siftbot

siftbot (http://www.videosift.com/member/siftbot) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:15:00 -0800

Promoting this video back to the front page; last published Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 10:58am PST - promote requested by Fedquip.

By siftbot

siftbot (http://www.videosift.com/member/siftbot) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:19:21 -0800

Tags for this video have been changed from 'will I am, Barack Obama, New Hampshire, yes we can' to 'will I am, Barack Obama, New Hampshire, yes we can, john legend' - edited by rottenseed

By qbert

qbert (http://www.videosift.com/member/qbert) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:27:35 -0800

It's so cool how Choggie sees right through "bullshit", like 911 having actually occurred and Obama not being the best person to lead this country. I come to VideoSift mostly for Choggie's insights, which include bizarre leftist racism, conspiracy theories, vulgarity, abrasiveness, perversion and, uh, versatility.