who is a better Obama: Fred Armison or Jay Pharoah?

[yurbud]

Fred



Jay



I give the hat tip to Fred for the more dead on imitation, but Jay has a more satirical edge.

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	1 (25%)
	Fred
	3 (75%)
	both
	0 (0%)
	neither
	0 (0%)
	I am the best Obama imitator (please post video of yourself)
	0 (0%)
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[LynneSin]

1. I have to say both and i was surpised with Jay's imitation.

Fred had this hipster cool about Obama but Jay shows the older Obama whose a bit battle weary after 4 years much better than Fred.

I didn't think I would like jay because I'm such a big fan of Fred but Jay has done well!

[OriginalGeek]

2. I voted Fred

but I have to confess I haven't seen Jay's run at it yet. Just the pic above.

But Fred's Portlandia TV show is one of the funniest things in life and I liked him on SNL so I voted Fred.

When I see Jay do it I will be open to changing my vote if I feel he nails it.

[yurbud]

4. I'm from Portland and I love that show. Portland is like San Francisco without the ambitious people

[OriginalGeek]

7. I want to go to Portland just because of that show

Of course, I'll be disappointed if I can't find that bookstore...or visit the chicken farm to see how my dinner is being treated...

but seriously, that whole atmosphere looks like a place I'd like to hang out.

As we get older my wife and I are doing a bit more traveling since we don't have to drag kids along everywhere so I hope to get out that way some day.

[yurbud]

8. somebody said Portland is more about a lifestyle than ambition or money--there's a lot of educated

people with modest incomes, but enough to support the lifestyle.

[CBGLuthier]

3. Armison reminds me of Billy Crystal in BLACKFACE doing Sammy Davis Jr.

Sure he pulls off the impression but is there not something just plain wrong about it?

[yurbud]

5. I never saw that. What if the only black guy on SNL was the fat guy who did Fat Albert, would you

want him to play Obama just because he was black even though Fred looked a little more like Obama and did a better impression?

I understand the objections to blackface, but Fred's slight skin tone change isn't the same as boot black with white circles around the and a blood red swath for lips.

[Bucky]

10. Anyone telling you Armison's impression of Obama is blackface....

either never saw Fred Armison's impression or doesn't know what blackface is.

It's amazing how much the topic of race turns Americans into utterly senseless idiots.

[CBGLuthier]

13. Blackface was brought up in terms of what Billy Crystal did

and I imagine he used burnt cork the good old fashioned way. I merely stated it reminded me of it. But hey call me an idiot see if I give a fuck.

[CBGLuthier]

12. If the only black guy was Kel then i would say they should hire more black guys.

I am not saying "coloring up" is completely wrong for an actor but there is no denying it carries echoes of a most unfortunate past.

Not from SNL but here is a taste of Crystal as Davis Jr.

[yurbud]

14. wow--the voice imitation sucks, but the make up is great apart from too much eyebrow

That's a good choice to make your point though. I think imitating certain black celebrities has more of a minstrel show feel.

[yurbud]

6. that is worth a whole thread of it's own on cross-racial acting

I remember when Angelina Jolie played Daniel Pearl's biracial wife and I thought it would have been better to get a black actress. Then I heard the real person approved of the casting, so what the hell.

I definitely approve of black guys in white face like Eddie Murphy's "White Like Me," Dave Chapelle's white guy imitation, and the Wayans brothers WHITE CHICKS.

Speaking of which, I had my two year old daughter in the car and I was flipping through the radio channels trying to find something she like and she told me to stop on that song from WHITE CHICKS, "Making my way downtown..."

It must be innate in girls.

[Bucky]

9. Arrgh! ==> Q: "Which one of these two is the best?" A: "both"

two knuckleheads in the Lounge and counting.

[yurbud]

11. which one of these two is the betterest?