Obama Can't Talk About Race Even If He Wants To
The bitter truth is that President Obama can't talk about race even if he wants to. This has absolutely nothing to do with his mixed racial upbringing, or his straddle of many worlds. It has everything to do with politics.
If Obama spoke out on race he'd confirm the deep suspicions of the right that he's a closet racial panderer, a la Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. He'd also get creamed as a Democrat who tilts to minorities. Democratic presidents and candidates Clinton, Gore, and Kerry in four presidential elections avoided that tag like the plague. It was deemed a political kiss of death. Obama followed the same script to the letter during the presidential campaign. He talked race only when he was shoved to the wall and forced to denounce his former pastor Jeremiah Wright. That was the price to save his campaign.
Obama well knows that the GOP lost an election, but it still packs a wallop. It can disrupt, obstruct, and create chaos for his administration, his political agenda, and him personally. And it does it not only because that's the warfare that Republicans wage against Democrats anyway, but because the GOP has masterfully reignited its populist base against Obama. The base is rock solid conservative, lower income white male loyalists, with a heavy mix of hard line Christian fundamentalists. Despite the GOP's wailing that racism has nothing to do with the white fury at Obama, the final presidential vote gave ample warning that many white voters do not and will not accept a black president. Contrary to popular belief, McCain (not Obama) won a slim majority of the vote of white independents in the final tally. Obama bombed badly among Southern and Heartland American white voters. They gave McCain nearly 60 percent of the overall white vote. The percentage he got was even higher among white males.
McCain would not have been competitive in the presidential campaign without their vote. The flip side is that Obama would not have been competitive if African-American voters had not turned his election into a virtual holy crusade and gave him a record percentage and record number of their vote. Hispanic, Asian, young voters, and a significant percentage of independents, and progressives also gave him overwhelming support.
It's true that blue collar white voters have shrunk from more than half of the nation's voters in the past decade to less than forty percent in national elections. This hardly means that the GOP's white vote strategy is doomed to fail. Elections are usually won by candidates with a solid and impassioned core of bloc voters. White males, particularly older white males, vote consistently and faithfully. And they vote in a far greater percentage than Hispanics and blacks have in most elections.
Blue collar white male voters can be easily aroused to vote on the emotional wedge issues; abortion, family values, anti-gay marriage and rights, and tax cuts. GOP presidents and aspiring presidents, Nixon, Reagan, Bush Sr. and W. Bush, and McCain and legions of GOP governors, senators and congresspersons banked on these voters for victory and to seize and maintain regional and national political dominance. It didn't work for the GOP in 2008 only because of Bush. His mangling of the war and the economy, and the terrible stench of GOP corruption and sex scandals, was too much even for legions of traditional GOP voters to stomach. Their vote for Obama, or more likely their decision not to vote at all, was more a personal and visceral reaction to their horror of the mess Bush and the GOP made of things. The GOP may well be an insular party of Deep South and narrow Heartland, rural and, non-college educated blue collar whites. But this isn't a demographic to sneer at. Their numbers are still huge.
The recent straw poll among religious conservatives which put former Arkansas Deep South, religious fundamentalist governor Mike Huckabee at the top of their vote heap as their presidential pick in 2012 should not be laughed off or ridiculed. Huckabee's base will be the same conservative white voters who turned out in record numbers to put Bush over the top twice in 2000 and 2004. They haven't gone away. And race always lurks just underneath the surface to add an ugly but potent color to their vote and national politics.
If Obama ran around and talked candidly about race or tried to spark a dialogue on race as some clamor it would turn his administration into a referendum on race. This would set the GOP counterinsurgency on fire. Obama can't talk about race even if he wants to.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His forthcoming book, How Obama Governed: The Year of Crisis and Challenge (Middle Passage Press) will be released in January, 2010.
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The President, in his recent appearance on the Dave Letterman Show, called our attention to his 2008 Presidential win and put it forward as an argument that the facts of white racism in America are greatly exaggerated if not totally false.
Well, since the President brought up the 2008 general election, let's take a look:
The fact of the matter is that Barack Obama did not carry a single racist white state.
Now indeed he carried Florida, Ohio and Virginia, which have big Southern white racist components in their voting populations. Beyond that?
Let's start with Oklahoma. Obama not only did not win the racist white state of Oklahoma, he did not win a single county in Oklahoma. Not one.
As for other racist white states, Obama failed to win Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas or West Virginia.
President Carter correctly asserts, "an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he's African American."
As for the Letterman Show appearance by President Obama, virulent white racism in America cannot and should not be so easily swept under the rug. It's no laughing matter.
There is no such thing as a 'racist white state'. You fail, in paragraph 2. All that follows from that is gibberish, polemic and not worth the time you spent vomitting it.
I agree with Mikefina. You mention Oklahoma as a 'racist white state.' Didn't JC Watts hail from Oklahoma? Didn't the people of that state elect him to represent them?
You are confusing 'conservative' with 'racist white,' apparently a common error.
Again, if a JC Watts were nominated to run for President, would we expect blue states to vote for him? No. Does that make such states racist? No. Does the fact that red states voted for McCain over Obama constitute evidence of racism. No.
This article & thread really shows the logic-bankruptcy of Jimmy Carter & those who 'think' as he does. That Obama has rejected them is very heartening.
While mikefina may have been overly blunt in assessing states as "racist" which is I think the wrong term for what we are describing. Rather the term is white supremacis
Perhaps President Obama cannot say as much as he might want about the plague of white racism in the United States, BUT WE CAN.
I understand President Obama reasons for not calling the race issue what it is, but it is unforgiveable for the media not to call it what it is. Do they not see the posters that they show us every night on TV. They blew it with bad reporting during the Chaney/Bush administration and they are blowing it again with Obama. Obama should not have to call the far right out on racism, the media should.
The media is biased in its approach, Why do they concentrate their cameras on the few nuts and their signs instead of talking to 90% of the protesters who are not racists! Because conflict sells and they can't have anyone disagreeing with the President. The Media wants to create conflict, it sells and heavens know that they need the Ratings.
We Moderate Democrats and Independents that voted for Obama have the right to disagree with him and his process. We share Obama's overall vision but there are points that we want to debate.
Why didn't you protest the Media when protesters called Bush and Cheney names, signs with death wishes?
Don't be hypocritical.
Where on earth did you get the figure of "90 percent of the protestors who are not racists." Just making things up is not helpful to the dialogue.
Speaking of one returning to the land where he was born, I used Michael Jordan, a native son of North Carolina, as an example.
The same principle applies to our president Barack Obama. If he were to be returned to the land where he was born, that would be Hawaii. Not Kenya. Not Africa.
Having problems of a lack of rootedness and identity is as American as apple pie. It is in our DNA. It is also part of the reason why racism is hard to eradicate.
Final Part
The fact that Americans are always inquisitive about the country where one's family originally immigratedf reveals a lack of identity of our own. Do Americans still ask each other, "What nationality are you?"
That is absurd in Mexico because everyone is Mexican. The question is, "Where are you from?" or "What part of the country are you from?" Before I left, I was sometimes told to go BACK to Mexico. I went to Mexico, but I did NOT go BACK. I have heard people say that African-Americans should be sent BACK to Africa. That is absurd. African-Americans are born in the US. If Michael Jordan were to return to his place of birth, it would be North Carolina, not Africa.
The term "Land of my birth" fails to give a sense of real belonging, since people contemplate all 50 states, taken as a whole.
On the other hand, "Tierra que me vio nacer" in Spanish pinpoints a specific geographic location, usually a city, town or state. It alwo give a sensation that the land where one is born is on duty overseeing one's birth, and setting things up to welcome and nurture the newborn as if to say that a cubby hole is being set up for that newborn person which will be all his/hers.
The land that oversaw Michael Jordan's birth and nurtured him as a youth was North Carolina, not Africa.
ColorÃn colorado, este cuento ha terminado.
(Continued)
In my teens, I learned Spanish, spent a summer in Mexico CIty and eventually embraced my Mexican ancestry with all my heart. I immigrated to Mexico City at age 23. The Mexican government considers me a foreign alien of US nationality, and the Mexican people, starting with my Mexico City born wife and son, consider me a GRINGO.
My 43 1/2 years here in Mexico City have been a most incredible experience. I discovered how GRINGO I have always been and will always be. The only thing I really share with the people of Mexico is ethnicity. However, unlike the average person born & raised in Mexico, English is my native language and the US is the nation that molded, educated, and shaped me. My hardware is from Mexico, but the software programs installed and configured in me are made in the US.
In my first years here, I strived to out-Mexican the Mexicans, but to no avail. However, I did benefit from learning how to live like a Mexican in Mexican society. As an ESL teacher, I was always requested because I was a native speaker. The same thing happens to me now as a Spanish to English Translator of financial documents.
Living in Mexico has taught me that all Americans come from the same All-American cookie cutter. Our ethnicity and skin color are irrelevant. I have always loved my country, but my adopted country, Mexico, taught me how to love my native country.
(Continued)
Hello Earl:
Thank you for a very clear, excellent article.
When I was 12 years old, African-Americans had been moving into my neighborhood in Mid-City Los Angeles where I was growing up and where my mom had grown up, too. I often went swimming at Los Angeles High School. My mom went to high school there, too. After feeling comfortable on the 3 foot diving board, I decided to try my luck on the 12 foot board.
There was a small platform on the 12 foot board. I got up there and there were four African-American boys ranging in ages 11 to 14 or 15. I silently walked by and they were silent, too, but you could cut the tension with a knife. I got to the edge, looked down, and hesitated. A voice with a very clear, solid African-American accent blurted out, "Come on, white boy. Jump!" And I did.
I am white with brown eyes and hair (now salt & pepper). What was not obvious to anyone there was that I am a native born Angelino whose 4 grandparents had immigrated to the US from MEXICO. That's right, a white Mexican. I spoke no Spanish at home, went to catholic school, dressed no differently than anyone else, and my speech was normal standard American English like anyone else. Besides, Mid-City Los Angeles had always been white with very few latinos up to the early fifties when the African-Americans began to arrive.
(Continued)
Race issues in this country will never be a civil discussion between opposite races. It may start out civil, but it always ends up in a fight. Then it gets reburied with lots of tension left. It would be nice if we could all be able to discuss it and hear everyone's point of view, but I don't see it being done. It's sort of like this bipartisan debate...W
That is why we must keep calling the racism out and not give them any cover by denying it exists. Obama cannot speak on race, but we can and we should.
I say thank God for Jimmy Carter and thanks for nothing to Bill Clinton. Both of them southern born and bred and they both know racism when they see it. Its amazing that everybody is writing Carter off as an old coot. But Carter's eyes have seen a lot and we need to start respecting our elders and stop flipping them off.
YES!!!
YES YES
sherberg posted: "they both know racism when they see it. .. Carter's eyes have seen a lot"
Maybe I'm naive but I find it amazing that so many posters on this and other Democratic-oriented sites buy into Carter's allegation, with no real evidence other that his "eyes have seen a lot." What evidence really is there that the overwhelming portion of Obama opponents are motivated by racism?
I imagine an old time white sheriff in the South accusing some black man of raping a white girl. There is no evidence but the townfolk agree that the old sheriff's 'eyes have seen a lot,' and that he 'knows a rapist when he sees one.'
C'mon this is just magical and irrational thinking. No one doubts that there are some racists at the 'tea parties,' but the 'overwhelming portion''--what is the evidence???
Here is an dissenting view from a black minister who attended a 'tea party' event.
http://www
There is plenty of evidence that racism exists in America. There mere fact that it has taken 232 years to get the first non-white President should be one clue for you.
The evidence of racism towards Obama and the black community at large is overwhelming.
Citizens are screaming and crying that they want their country back. Back from where and from whom?
When the President wanted to give a pep talk to America's kids, parents told him to stay away from their kids.
A U.S. Congressman calls the POTUS a liar to his face in the Halls of Congress and then he raises $2M from those who appreciated what he did.
At the President's town hall meeting, you had citizens packing heat.
You have the birthers and soldiers refusing to deploy because Obama is not a real President.
Each one of these acts is unprecedented and do not reflect a resistance to healthcare reform. This is resistance to a black man being president. This is fear that is generational and is given validity by the conservative talking heads.
Racism only lays dormant until something comes along to wake it up. A black president has awaken the racists and they are out in force.
But, you have your dissenting view from a black minister.
That's always been the case. Being the black candidate has meant that for Obama's entire political career, he has had to be the moderate. In the democratic primary, for instance, his was the platform closest to the centre. If he'd tried to run on Edwards' platform he'd have been marginalised within minutes. Granted, Edwards' platform wasn't sincere (or at least, matches almost none of his voting record, as Russ Feinberg observed), while Barack Obama's moderate sensibility has always looked sincere to me, but it's the case that a black would-be president has to be the safest candidate in the race.
Thank you, Mr. Hutchinson. That has been my feeling since Gibbs was asked about race a week or so ago.
Obama is handling this issue well, and should continue to leave it to his supporters.
Excellent post, Mr. Hutchinson.
OP wrote: "Despite the GOP's wailing that racism has nothing to do with the white fury at Obama, the final presidential vote gave ample warning ... Obama bombed badly among Southern and Heartland American white voters. They gave McCain nearly 60 percent of the overall white vote. "
Way off base.
These are red states you're talking about. Of course they voted for McCain. Did you expect them to vote for a left-liberal just because he is African-American? If Alan Keyes got the GOP nomination, would you expect blue CA, OR, and WA to vote for him ?
You have not proven that Obama opposition is motivated by race. In fact, you provide one more indicator that those who cry racism are grasping at straws to try to substantiate their bogus allegation.
Well said, Mr. Hutchinson, and all true. To me, the good news is that even though overreaction of tsunami proportions occur every time our President gets close to saying anything about race other than the great laugh line he used on Letterman the other day, his own example of an intelligent, qualified President working as best he can for the good of all Americans will still make it easier for those who CAN accept a person of color as President be open to more diversity in the future. The people whose cognitive dissonance or coherentism can't process this are not going to be swayed by anything our POTUS does, so hoping that they cause no harm is about the most I hope for there. For the rest, that is those who might be able to accept that perhaps they were wrong to think the world would end when OB took office, it's going to be a long haul, of course. But every day that the Obama family shows that they are normal people like everyone else is a day that erodes in some tiny way this problem.
Excellent article. Thank you!
I think there's a very strong racial element in much of the opposition to Obama. However, I believe that element has been fed by the media and a few unethical, desperate politicians. I do not believe that it would have reached such proportions without the push that people like Beck and Limbaugh have given it. And I believe that the very best thing that Obama can do is simply ignore it and, yes, even pretend that it doesn't exist.
What's more, I do not believe that crying "racism" is ever going to make a positive difference. You can't force people to change. Change has to be voluntary - at least on a personal level. I believe the very best way to effect a change in attitudes about race is to do exactly what Obama is doing, ignore the ignorance and just keep being the best person that you know how to be. Little by little, attitudes will change. Something this ingrained is simply not going to change in a couple of generations. I do wish that were not true - but I believe it is.
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