As the South Carolina primary campaign built to a climax, Sen. Barack Obama addressed a largely African-American audience in Sumter:

Obama used the friendly setting to urge voters not to be fooled by what he said were untruths coming from Hillary Clinton’s campaign. “They’re trying to bamboozle you. It’s the same old okey-doke,” he said, using a slang phrase for a con. “Y’all know about okey-doke, right? It’s the same old stuff.” Obama also raised emails that have been circulating falsely calling him a Muslim. “I’ve been a member of the same church for almost 20 years, praying to Jesus, with my Bible,” he said. “Don’t let people turn you around.”

It is an interesting juxtapositioning:

I see Obama using the language of Malcolm X in his speeches in South Carolina. Before a largely African-American audience, Obama used the terms “bamboozled”, “hood-winked”, and “okie-doke.” These terms were made famous by Macolm X on the stump in his days with the Nation of Islam. Obama is attempting to conjure that connection with the South Carolina audience to clue them in to the Clintons’ tactics. I guarantee he won’t use that lingo in front of whiter audiences because it won’t resonate the same way. In this particular example, I watched as a handful of individuals in the background, and two in particular, laughed and rolled their eyes as he invoked the words of Malcolm. They knew the deal.

Actually, Obama can borrow from Malcolm X in front of whiter audiences knowing it will sail overhead (unless there are Spike Lee fans listening), just as heÃ‚Â borrowed “Yes, we can” as a slogan from the illegal immigration activists and Cesar Chavez without whiter audiences recognizing it.

Nevertheless, it is passing strange that a candidateÃ‚Â who belongs to an Ã¢â‚¬Å“AfrocentricÃ¢â‚¬Â church that bestows awards on Louis FarrakhanÃ‚Â would borrow from Malcolm X — who was a spokesman for the Nation of Islam — right before complaining about e-mails claiming he is Muslim.