Jonathan Weisman, Washington Post Reporter: Obama "Much More White Than Black"

During an online chat Monday at WashingtonPost.com, Washington Post Congressional Reporter Jonathan Weisman said that Barack Obama is "much more white than black." The comment came as part of an answer to a question asking why a recent Obama ad, seen below, was "playing up his white family." Obama's mother was white and his father, who he was not close to growing up, was black.

The full question and answer:

Alexandria, Va.: Obama's new ad (which plays a lot in Alexandria) shows pictures of his mother and grandparents, playing up his white family. Until now he's been "African American"; now suddenly he's a white Midwesterner? During the primary Hillary was criticized for changing her image too many times. Won't Obama be criticized for doing the same thing?

Jonathan Weisman: I haven't heard that criticism, but it is striking. Not a single picture of his father. Now, that really is consistent with his upbringing. He really did not become immersed in black American culture until he left college and went to Chicago. The great irony is that he is much more white than black, beyond skin color.

Watch the ad in question below:

Read the entire WashingtonPost.com Q&A here.

Comments

[JJeff88]

How is Weisman's analysis any less aggregious than Don Imus' remark about Pac Man Jones?

Imus injected into a police blotter story about a pro football star; and (depending on whether you believe him) either (a) generalizing about black involvement in crime or (b) generalizing about cops repeatedly and unfairly arresting black folks.

Weisman injects race into this segment of the political dialog by presuming to read Obama's mind and concluding that his effort to resonate with white, blue collar voters in battle ground states involved a concerted effort to "appear to be more white."

Give me a break!

Trying to reach out to constituencies unfamiliar to you by speaking their language and building on similarities more than differences is, in my opinion, smart strategy that has little or nothing to do with "trying to appear 'whiter.'

Using Weisman's logic, there were no left handed Eskimos in Obama's ads; therefore, he must be dissing left handed Eskimos.

The more Sen. Obama tries to transcend slice & dice demographic politics, the more writers like Weisman try to put him back into the cubby hole.

[BigMike75]

I think your oversimplifying the issue. And if you think that Obama's ad wasn't a concerted effort to appear more "white" or to appeal to the white American heartland, your fooling yourself. All Weisman was saying is Obama is more white than he is black, I don't totally agree but I see his point. Obama is what many in the African American community would call "white washed", which is actually ironic as the GOP have continuously tried to paint him as the radical black candidate. Obama really didn't tap into popular black culture until he relocated to Chicago and started working in the community. Before that his only influences were his white grandparents and white mother, so Weisman isnt't all that off in his talking points. I hate the slice and dice stuff as well, but there is some relevance to this issue.

[Heru1]

No he is not what we would consider whitewashed. Most African Americans do not become conscious until their twenties, if ever.

[vaughan]

Weiseman's on-line chats at the WaPo are the best. This wasn't analysis, it's just talking off the cuff. I think we should give him, and many others, the benefit of a doubt here. You know, like Obama himself usually does when asked about this stuff.

[qdog112]

We have to categorize and label or we won't know who to hate and our heads will explode trying to figure it out.

[PAposter]

good point, qdog!....and we wouldn't want that to happen...

[ProfessorDuh]

Exactly. That quote landed with a big, fat, racist thud. Why is Obama "more white?" Because he's an articulate professor of constitutional law?
Labels and "racial identity" are simply crap. Nasty, dangerous crap.

[ohiodem250]

Brilliant!

[LeaveArtieAlone]

I agree!

[mypov123]

lol exactly!

[GravitonX]

Every Black person who doesn't fit the racist negative stereotype of a negro is "white" in the eyes of white people. The funny thing is that whites actually think that it's a compliment when they say "You're not really Black," because of course, isn't it better to be white. Jonathan Weisman's comments are just another spin on the same old story that many Blacks deal with almost every other day.

By the way, most of us, Black people, are "mixed" to one extent or another. It's where the soul guides us, informed by a deep history and collective struggle that most whites could barely understand or appreciate.

[Heru1]

^5 they have no clue whatsoever

[IndependentPAVoter]

Coming from a multi-racial person with multi-racial children I can say honestly race has nothing to do with anything its all about how you were raised. im darked skinned but if you talked to me on the phone you would swear i was a white guy as many others have already(funny how if you talk with proper english you talk like a white guy but anyway). The point I was trying to make is that If you take the child from a prominent white family and switch it with a child from the poor urban areas the children will grow into what there community makes them not into what there race determines.

[clearthinker2008]

...And what's much more white than black comment mean anyway? I really don't know what he's getting at. Maybe he's thinking because he graduated from Harvard...well, I don't know his wife is African American and graduated from a Ivy League school too. Could it be that he seems non threatening, because we know whites are 100% non threatening....Nope, I just don't get it.

[clearthinker2008]

So did he change his family members? Or, isn't he allowed to show his white family members because it messes up what he has been labeled as? If my father left us when I was two I wouldn't have his butt in my ad either. Grow up.

[Yola]

True, true! His dad left when he was 2, he spoke of the family he knew. Why is this a big deal. I tip my hat to him because I would not acknowledge my dad if he left before I had a chance to know him and what he represents. So I agree with you!

[qdog112]

Agreed.

[ZimboChick]

Do people still have questions that race is a problem in America?

[08POL]

America: An obsession with race.

So he's more black than he is white! So he's more white than he is black !

Jonathan Weisman The idea that you say BO is "playing up" his white family is highly offensive.
Remember, you don't get to choose your family. These are people who have guided him through his formative years; people he obviously loves, and by all indications, have done a marvelous job in the development of BO the man.

Is J. Weisman suggesting that if his parents/gparents were black he would not have pictures of them?

If he is playing up or playing down anything it is because of the ignorance of the people who fail to see a man for his character and simply cannot get past the color of his skin.

The good news is that polls show that his does not affect they way most of us vote. So why are we having this conversation?

[mephjeff]

Weisman didn't suggest that he was 'playing up' his white family. Read the article again.

[CaptainVideo]

Obama shows why this country has to abandon the "one drop rule." That if a person has even one drop of black blood he is black. People like Obama and Tiger Woods, and all others like him, should be classified as multi-racial. And "blacks" who are passing as white definitely need to be classified as interracial.

Incidentally, according to the one drop rule Warren G. Harding may well have been the first black president of the United States.

[LittleSanityLeft]

I don't see the need for classification at all. Each individual defines where and how these lines are drawn. It's certainly not the job of the Washington Post. If you feel the same way tell Mr.Weisman just that.

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/email/jonathan+weisman/

[Aesthete]

I've also heard that Dwight D. Eisenhower had a drop of African blood as well. After nearly 4 centuries of miscegenation in the Americas (not to mention that which has taken place elsewhere in the world), I'm not surprised by anything I hear. I think it's time to ditch the old slavery-based system of racial classification, anyhow. 80% of "African"-Americans are actually of mixed-race stock. Only Spanish has an truly accurate word (mestizo) to describe most American "blacks" whose colorings run the gamut from ebony to the ivory-skinned with light-colored eyes and hair, who are visibly indistinguishable from Northern Europeans. When persons from abroad ask me what I am, I simply reply "American" because that's really the most accurate, least confusing description I can offer. I'm just being realistic about it because I don't look "African." There are those who would try to argue that I am trying to run away from "blackness" just because they've made such a heavy emotional investment in it, but I demand point-blank scientific truth when it comes to my DNA and what actually looks back at me from a mirror. Mirrors don't lie and don't care about what is PC. It's high time for honesty and openness regarding race and ethnicity.

[Heru1]

Your comment reveals ignorance and self hatred. Just what is an African supposed to look like? Africans have more phenotypical diversity than any other people. And dont even suggest that our genocidal Spanish enslavers reveal our identity.The Spanish diablos had a different word for Africans in America because they created a different kind of racial caste system than other Euros.

[culturevue]

I suppose this will then mean most of us "Blacks" in America would be classified as "multi-racial."

[Heru1]

yeah thats the ticket! Classify all successful blacks as non-black and presto! The illusion of white supremacy and black inferiority is preserved. Gee thanks

[angelbravo]

I think Barrack drifted toward Black Society, because he could see that was what we (White People) seen when we looked at him. Its really great for our country that younger Americans don't see what we do.

[Heru1]

"drifted"? He was drawn to the Black community because he is Black duhh. You imply that this is somehow pathological. Gee thanks

[angelbravo]

Heri1 from viewing your prior posts I can only say that you are so angry and full of hatered that one can only pity you.

[RasAlula]

You can't have it both ways. If a person with black blood is a "failure" there is never any question: He is black. If he is a success: you get things like, "he is much more white than black".

Its sad that this is the discourse anyway. The only ones who keep pushing this race issue is the media. Obama is running as an American. Moreover, its funny how this white reporter thinks he knows what it means to be black. Does he really think that because Obama was raised by white people in Kansas he didn't know everyday that he was black? Does he think that he did not identify with being black in some way, regardless of those around him? Look at his skin. Even if he wanted to, there is no mistaking that he is black. And this country won't ever let a person forget that. It hasn't let a man running for President forget it, how much more a skinny, young twerp?

[Midnightrain]

Weisman, please. Enough. Whoopi Goldberg and Mike Jackson have tried this same sort of stunt with identity. It doesn't work. Obama is who he is. Get over it.

[TheOneironaut]

Ok thats it...Im done....Im just done..

[CaptainVideo]

"Until now he's been "African American"; now suddenly he's a white Midwesterner? "

Hey, he's both, so why can't he emphasize that? Obama will be the first interracial President of the United States. That is very appropriate for a country that is becoming increasingly interracial.

As far as being more white than black, he is married to a woman that is more than 50% black. Although she too is racially mixed, people like that are classified as being black in the United States. He could have done what Tiger Woods, who is also interracial, did and marry a blond white woman, but he chose to marry a black woman.

[Trollstakeyourmeds]

Maybe he married her because he loved Michelle, the woman. Who is to say that if this same "Michelle" was white, or oriental, or native american he would not have loved her just as much.

[Tommygun264]

Barack Obama and many of his supporters have transcended race. Sadly, the mainstream corporate media has not.

[MyNameIsJames]

No one has transcended race in this nation. Some people are just better at pretending than others.
Having positive feelings about people in another race doesn't mean that race has been transcended. This nation continues to operate with a clear racial hierarchy.

Some African Americans break through-- but they always have. Hell, there were African American landowners and slave masters during Slavery.

[AmHope]

Amen. Thank you.

[Heru1]

I have never heard of a white person needing to transcend their race. Why do blacks have to?