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Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates - Ta-Nehisi Coates is a senior editor for The Atlantic, where he writes about culture, politics, and social issues for TheAtlantic.com and the magazine. He is the author of the memoir The Beautiful Struggle. More

Born in 1975, the product of two beautiful parents. Raised in West Baltimore—not quite The Wire, but sometimes ill all the same. Studied at the Mecca for some years in the mid-’90s. Emerged with a purpose, if not a degree. Slowly migrated up the East Coast with a baby and my beloved, until I reached the shores of Harlem. Wrote some stuff along the way.
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Notes on how to play yourself

By Ta-Nehisi Coates

Jun 29 2008, 6:10 PM ET Comment

I have no idea whether Bill Clinton really said that Obama will have to "kiss his ass" in order to get his support. But I am curious as to exactly where this dude thinks his leverage is coming from. Last time I checked, two in ten Dems and four in ten independents said that Bill Clinton would be a problem if Hillary were the VP. More to the point, exactly what country does Bill represent? Obama is beating McCain among women. He's beating McCain among Hispanics. He's even beating doing well among working class whites. So who exactly is Bill Clinton supposed to be wooing for Obama? Am I missing something here? Did Obama actually lose the primary?



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