The Race Race

About the Democrats' race war: Let's assume, for the sake of discussion that the perceived slurs are inadvertent. I don't believe that, but let's assume.

Frankly that's even worse than if people are intentionally sneaking along the low road. Because these are highly-educated, highly sophisticated political leaders who should damn well know better.

Any fool SHOULD know that Hillary's comments would be construed as saying it took white man, Lyndon Johnson, to validate the sacrifices of the black Martin Luther King. She might not have meant that, but if she didn't then we have to question whether her self-described "35 years of experience" have really produced adequate sensitivity.

Furthermore, it's hard to fathom that a legendary word-parser like Bill Clinton is not going to be aware of how using the term "fairy tale" might leave the impression he's belittling the candidacy of an African-American.

It is well known that many wonder if a black man can really be elected in these United States, or whether the country is still too racist. It's astounding to me that a talented politician like former President Clinton wouldn't be aware of the impact his choice of words would have.

It's one thing if he wants to be petulant about news coverage. In fact, he may be right that we've been harder on his candidate, but he sure needs to wag his finger in the right direction.

We can whine all we want about the constraints of political-correctness, but get over it folks. The oppression of minorities, and women, for that matter, are still realities. Our best hope is to look at the gender and race of the two leading Democratic candidates as sources of pride, not characteristics to disparage in the name of expedient, sleazy politics.

I'm not even going to discuss Robert Johnson and his absurd denial he wasn't trying to exploit Barack Obama's admission of youthful cocaine use. Just because he's African American doesn't give him any more right to take cheap shots that play into the hands of the bigots.

And to be an equal opportunity critic, we don't really need Obama's wife out there exploiting the issue either. This is not about black people voting for her husband because he's one of them. It's for all of us to decide who is the right person to rescue our country.

For too long, ethnic considerations have had an inordinate influence on politics. What a shame it would be if the response to our sad history of discrimination was another divisive campaign.

It's high time that the people who know better should do better.

Comments

[RealBlackGirl]

We will have made progress when you can turn to any news channel and see a diverse panel discussing politics. Right now I get panel of white people discussing whether racism exist in the Clinton campaign. Don't insult my intelligence. Since when did Tucker Carlson, son of entitlement, become culturally proficient enough to determine racism. Especially when he calls Al Sharpton more than anybody.

[Tellmethetruth]

Everyone is having a different interpretation. Fairytale to me was the reference to making Obama a myth, a fantasy candidate, a "dream" not grounded in any reality of who he is or what he had done - which is nothing.

Shelby was on PBS last Friday and talked about Obama being a "blank projection screen" where everyone is projecting their own stuff on him. Obama is intentionally "blank" because for him to say anything concrete or to take a position on anything that requires convictions means he loses his power of illusionist. Shelby wrote a book on Obama and why he couldn't be President. Obama he said had learned to manipulate the guilt in whites because of being biologically black but culturally white, he himself not actually knowing what being black was - it was whatever the viewer sees.

It made good sense.

Seems like similiar projecting is being done here. Seeing the word "fairytale" brought up Edwards calling Obama's policies living in "neverneverland." No one called Edwards a racist. Odd - only when Bill Clinton did it, because it caused people to see the truth behind the myth of the Iraq speech not matching Obama's deeds once he was in the Senate - said one thing, but did another.

I personally have no idea how anyone got anything racial out of it - unless it is referenced back to Edward's statement and association with Michael Jackson. I think the race issue as played by Obama's camp is a smoke screen to avoid talking about Obama's record in the Senate.

[vbond]

Thank you, Bob.

The very need for your post and the content of some of the reactions to it that I see here remind me that race - particularly in the political realm - is THE insanity of our national life.

Thanks for "acing" this one...

We... needed... it.

Sanity.

[Idytme]

I for one could never have foreseen how using the word "fairytale" in relation to how the press was treating Obamas Iraq record be used the way it was.
His remarks were targeted at the press, and I guess no one should poke at them with a stick.
But then again, after seeing the Dean scream over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over, I finally saw the entire clip and it wasn't any big deal. I couldn't understand how it got to be used against him in that way.
The way I see it, there were some people waiting to pounce on the Clintons - they did it with that word and played it over and over and over and over. People have written diaries on it who seem completely unaware of the context of the conversation and made themselves look bad IMO. They just want to hold onto the word and put their own narrative on it - and it has backfired on them.

[raptor]

Don't think of the black in the room.

[MyThought]

You know what keeps this nonsense going? It's journalists still writing about days after - it's so over.

Try to find something to write about that's interesting. Why do pundits/journalists all jump on the same wagon - because they're lazy.

You know what's hurting and dividing Americans - the pundits/journalists and partisans

Enough already!

[Jalenth]

Michelle was not playing into the race card as much as she was speaking to the older African Americans who has specifically said, they are afraid to vote for obama because they fear he would be killed as a result. She's not asking the AA community to vote for Obama because he's black, but rather to not based their vote for him just to keep him safe.

There are videos of older African Americans stating that they like him and would vote for him, but they don't want to be responsible for him being killed. That's not a long stretch, given that he has had Secret Service protection for some time now.

[nihilon_x]

Good article -- thanks for posting it.

[maggipost]

"Women, too, for that matter?"
I cannot tell you how that throw-away clause made me shudder.
Look, both candidates (read ambitious politicians here) have made unfortunate remarks, as have their surrogates. Somehow, the remarks of the Clinton campaign have been characterized as beneath contempt or revealing new levels of indecency while the remarks of the Obama campaign are seen as unremarkable because, after all, they are only attacking a mature, white woman who -- apparently -- has no feelings, ideals, or beliefs because the MSM (of which you are part) has so characterized her. What has she personally done to warrant this?

[myskylark]

You are proving Bill Clinton's point. You place 95% of the blame on the Clinton's with a little bit of blame on Obama's wife. What you are not willing to consider in your anti-Clinton piece is that every one is very, very tired. It was perfectly appropriate for Hillary Clinton to point out that LBJ had a major role in realizing MLK's soaring vision. Bill Clinton was clearly referring to Barack Obama's record of inconsistency on the war. What you fail to address at all is the role of the Obama campaign and the candidate himself in allowing and encouraging a prolonged and escalating clamor where the Clinton's were accused of, at the very least, appealing to racial bigotry. When Joe Biden was questioned about his racial insensitivity, all the Democratic candidates leaped to his defense. Not so last week. When the Clinton's were accused Obama was milking the situation for all he thought it was worth, and Edwards, in front of a black church congregation, directly accused Hillary Clinton demeaning the memory of MLK. Why does the chattering class continue to attack Hillary Clinton for every uncrossed T and every undotted I, no matter how innocent the intent, while Barack Obama's total record in Illinois (a very interesting record indeed) goes uninvestigated and unreported. This is 2000 all over again.