Obama doubt involves racism, in many cases, but also something more.
Thoughtful voters can have doubts about letting a black (or any other) racial agenda be brought into the mainstream…it can be a real threat to broader national unity. At the same time, many African-Americans have race at the core of how they identity themselves (for many valid, and some not-so-valid reasons).
Two brief points:
1. Obama’s a politician, and this is politics. He knows just how far he has to distance himself from say, Al Sharpton, to be electable. He eventually had to do the same with Rev. Wright…which is sad because I believe Wright and the black church are much more to Obama than a political calculation, and he would not have chosen to do so.
2. Many African-Americans who have pursued conservativism, embraced individualism, and careers in American institutions (Clarence Thomas, Condi Rice), naturally come into conflict with ”blackness.” They have had to overcome what neither many blacks and whites fully understand to become what they are. Are they electable?
I think the democratic party and liberalism are a little weak right now…i.e. too much equality on the cheap…
…and I think many African-Americans are voting for the black guy because he’s black…
by jurvetson
[...] Robert D wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptObama doubt has a lot of racism involved, but also maybe something more: I can see how a thoughtful voter would have doubts about letting a black (or any other) racial agenda be brought into the mainstream…it can a threat to broader and deeper national identity. I also think the competency of the democrats is in question with too much easy white guilt and unity on the cheap. Black racial identity groups appeal to precisely what soft-headed liberalism can’t: the raw pain of black experience. Two brief points: 1. Obama’s a politician, and this is politics. He knows just how far he has to distance himself from say, Al Sharpton to be electable…though he had to do the same with Rev. Wright…which is sad because I believe Wright and the black church are much more to Obama than a political calculation. 2. Many African-Americans who have pursued conservativism, embraced individualism, and careers in American institutions (Clarence Thomas, Condi Rice), have a tricky and [...] [...]
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