Hey!

So this line provides yet more evidence of BrittBritt’s nonnormative genius.

Whereas someone with normative cognitive patterns would respond to Mrs. Hagberg’s question on a surface level, supplying only the president’s name, Brittany responds in terms of the president’s public identity—i.e., by explaining how the public perceives him.

As my brilliant colleague kairos27 points out (see here), Brittany’s answer references Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential ad campaign, which featured a very famous commercial slot produced by and starring the rapper Will.I.Am (see here).

So who is the president?

He’s the man Will.I.Am sings about—the one who broadcasts a message of hope and purports to stand for all the ideals listed in the song.

Essentially, Barack Obama is the image that Will.I.Am helps him to project. He is what the public perceives him as.

And what an important lesson within the context of this episode, no?

Just like President Obama is the image that Will.I.Am crafts for him, Kurt will become the image that Brittany crafts for him. Will.I.Am helped make Obama into a symbol of hope and progress for millions of voters; Brittany will make Kurt into a symbol of hope for the students of McKinley High, and especially for her girlfriend Santana, who needs to see that someone like Kurt—that someone like her—can find acceptance at and succeed in high school.

In politics, it’s all about perception—it’s all about who makes you.

Brittany intends to make Kurt Hummel.

She is going to be his Will.I.Am.

Brittany S. Pierce is a genius, my friends.

She understands rhetoric and politics like woah.