Kathleen Parker, Now Hailed by Liberals, Questioned Obama's Americanism Back in May

Kathleen Parker, the conservative syndicated columnist (in the Washington Post and many other papers) and frequent TV guest, earned plaudits from liberals during the fall campaign by bravely speaking out against the Palin pick (even urging her withdrawal), which drew the wrath of many of her fans. Then, in a column yesterday, she revealed that she wept on watching Obama declared the winner this week. Parker concluded: "The little speck of difference that kept us imperceptibly apart had been dissolved in a lovely instant of national consensus that race no longer matters."

One hates to be churlish at a time like this, but allow me to point out that this is the same woman who in a quite different column back in May strongly questioned Obama's patriotism, "DNA" and Americanism.

If you want to be kind you could take that as an example of how far Parker, and maybe America, have come since then.

Parker's mid-May column, which drew wide condemnation in this space and many other places, followed hard on the heels of a Peggy Noonan piece in the Wall Street Journal. Noonan had opined: "Hillary Clinton is not Barack Obama's problem. America is Mr. Obama's problem." She wondered if Obama had ever gotten "misty-eyed " over the Wright Brothers, D-Day, George Washington or Henry Ford. "[W]hat about Obama and America?" she asked rhetorically. "Who would have taught him to love it, and what did he learn was lovable, and what does he think about it all?" She concluded: "[N]o one is questioning his patriotism, they're questioning its content, its fullness."

Now here's what Noonan wrote two days ago: "The explosion of joy in large pockets of the country Tuesday night was beautiful to see, and moving....It is a matter of profound importance that everyone in a nation know that with whatever facts they start their life, there is a clear and open route to rise. It is a less great country in which routes, and heights, are closed off or limited by things that, if you some day get to heaven, you will look back on and realize were silly, stupid: class, color, condition."

Back in May, Kathleen Parker had borrowed the words of another to set forth her central premise. She opened her mid-May column by quoting 24-year-old Josh Fry of West Virginia who said he backed John McCain over Barack Obama in that state's primary: "His feelings aren't racist, he explained. He would just be more comfortable with 'someone who is a full-blooded American as president.'" Of course, West Virginia went strongly against Obama in both the primary and later in the general.

But Parker assured us that her own views had nothing to do with race:

Full-bloodedness is an old coin that's gaining currency in the new American realm. Meaning: Politics may no longer be so much about race and gender as about heritage, core values, and made-in-America. Just as we once and still have a cultural divide in this country, we now have a patriot divide. Who 'gets' America? And who doesn't?...It's about blood equity, heritage and commitment to hard-won American values. And roots.

Some run deeper than others and therein lies the truth of Josh Fry's political sense. In a country that is rapidly changing demographically -- and where new neighbors may have arrived last year, not last century -- there is a very real sense that once-upon-a-time America is getting lost in the dash to diversity. We love to boast that we are a nation of immigrants -- and we are. But there's a different sense of America among those who trace their bloodlines back through generations of sacrifice.

Parker, of course, ignored the fact that Obama, in fact, is half-white, is related (god help us) to Dick Cheney, and can trace his family back as far as McCain in America -- to George Washington, even. And speaking of "generations of sacrifice": Obama's grandfather fought in World War II.

Those fine small-town Americans may not know any of that -- and Parker sure didn't remind them. "What they know," she related, "is that their forefathers fought and died for an America that has worked pretty well for more than 200 years. What they sense is that their heritage is being swept under the carpet while multiculturalism becomes the new national narrative. And they fear what else might get lost in the remodeling of America."

Even Hillary Clinton has "figured it out," Parker wrote. Her "own DNA is cobbled with many of the same values that rural and small-town Americans cling to. She understands viscerally what Obama has to study. That God, for instance, isn't something that comes and goes out of fashion."

After noting other true American values such as easy gun ownership, Parker concluded, "Full-blooded Americans get this. Those who hope to lead the nation better get it soon."

Judging from Parker's misty-eyed writing now, you'd have to believe that Obama suddenly "got it" sometime between May and November.

Or maybe she's the one who got it. Maybe her tears were more about that than anything else. It would be nice if she admitted that.
*
Greg Mitchell is editor of Editor & Publisher and its hot new blog The E&P Pub. His next book, on the 2008 campaign, will be published in January (for more information on that go here.

Comments

[denholt]

We're either ALL Americans, or none of us are. Period. Why do conservatives always have to trot out patriotism and flag-waving?

[jalowe1957]

Some people...don't know what "Americaism" is anymore...But then, like beauty, Americanism is in the eye of the beholder.

[murphysgirl]

Thank you for writing this piece. I was one of those people who was truly offended by that awful column Parker wrote. Although I applaud her efforts to stand up against the GOP for trotting out Palin, I will not hold my breath to consider her true sincerity towards Obama..

[LisaLisa1234]

'She wondered if Obama had ever gotten "misty-eyed " over the Wright Brothers, D-Day, George Washington or Henry Ford. "[W]hat about Obama and America?" she asked rhetorically. "Who would have taught him to love it, and what did he learn was lovable, and what does he think about it all?" '

This is inane. Who would have taught him to love it? Um, uh, his American mother? His American grandparents who helped raise him? His veteran uncle, maybe?

Perhaps he learned a little U.S. history at his AMERICAN high school?

Does Ms. Noonan not think Hawaii is part of America?

[liz]

She and Cokie Roberts must have gone to the same finishing school. They did not really have to know history or geography. Maybe Sarah Palin was also a classmate. They think Hawaii is maybe next to Micronesia.

[kellygrrrl]

all the fires these conservative writers and pundits started, are still blazing in the hearts and minds of some small percentage of Americans.
they Freepers are still obsessing over the Birth Certificate.
The Lies and Smears are shameful and harmful and dangerous -- and anyone with half a brain should be ashamed of what they have done to this country.

[Giblatsai]

Up until this electoral victory for ALL Americans, I had never heard the word 'post-racial' and it had such a newness and freedom attached to it that I smile in the thought of such a word. And it reminds me of the great speech by MLK before his passing where he referred to 'all' his brothers and sisters, of all colors and backgrounds, to meet in the Promised Land, having been to the mountain and seen this glorious moment in America. Even now, I get choked up at the realization of the 'Dream' MLK had, and we are now realizing, and the whole world is witnessing, even our Republican brothers and sisters...though it does appear, at first, as crocodile tears, they can't but feel the resonance of American Courage, Bravery and Freedom in this monumental victory for Democracy. Hail to the Chief, Obama the Brave and the True!!

[tinarm]

The funny thing is none of us are "americans." The only americans are the native indian tribes that lived here before Europeans landed. People in the South when asked what their ancestory was replied, "American." Hum, now you or I would say something like "German and French with a little of this or that included." That is a fundamental problem with the south, they are unwilling to admit that our heritage comes from Europe, but oh, lord not those snotty Europeans again. Being an American means you have read the constitution, understand your rights, understand your governments responsibilites and try to do no harm. Nothing more, nothing less, and until the people on the right realize that we are all americans who are citizens or residents they will be in big trouble. I guess the soldiers who just got their citizenship in Iraq aren't real americans according to those on the right.

[applebutter]

Interesting piece, thanks. This level of ignorance makes me feel ill:

"We love to boast that we are a nation of immigrants -- and we are. But there's a different sense of America among those who trace their bloodlines back through generations of sacrifice."

Slavery? The civil rights movement? Hard work, scholarship, service, and preparation?

What is wrong with these women? They are Republican - proud members of the party of ignorance, superstition, and intolerance. The party that mocked "community organizers" with zeal at its convention, sets religious tests for government office, celebrates mediocrity, clings to Reagonomics after it has failed (miserably) and equates centrism with socialism. I am not looking for much insight from any of them, at any time soon.

[WilliamGossett]

Colin Powell could say what the Obama camp could not: "He's [Obama] is not a Muslim. He's a Christian. But so what if he were a Muslim?" He then went on to describe the grave of the fallen Muslim American soldier, Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan.

In that statement Powell restated the standard for being an American with no gradations of such a status. That was and must remain the core of our Nation's ideals as stated in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men [persons] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

That statement by Powell was the equivalent of Joseph N. Welch's statement to Joseph McCarthy in 1954, " Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" This statement started the downfall of McCarthy's powerful position based on Communist-hunting [he NEVER exposed ONE Communist.]

Powell thus destroyed the pseudo-patriotism of the hard core GOP and hopefully, this will last.

[Shieldmaiden]

They act as if being descendant from Europeans only makes one a full American. They act as if coming from any other continent makes one an "other". The only full blooded Americans I know are Native Americans - everyone else either came here in the hull of a ship, crossed a desert border, or came over on a plane. My mother was born on an island in the Caribbean. She is no less American than Kathleen Parker or Peggy Noonan.

[brynn6]

Ah, but even the Native Americans crossed over from Asia long ago. Their ancestors originated in Africa, so there you go. Full circle.

[Dave4ObamaSinceDay1]

Great article. I became a naturalized citizen about 35 years ago. Up until now I had been straddling two cultures, never feeling quite a member of either. I now "get" what it is to be an American but not thanks to Parker or Noonan or Republicans or Democrats. I am proud to be an American thanks to Barrack Obama.

[prudd]

what a great article - thank you! I think a credible, continuous source where the public can find out media lies - like the content of this article - is a good idea.

I remember listening to the mainstream media during the buildup to Bush's 'war' was nothing short of propaganda in my view. The news bureaus favored talking heads who favored the war and castigated the opposition. But to hear these same people -- Blitzer, Brokaw, Russert et al talk recently and now: they are saying the exact opposite! Last week Hitchens gave me whiplash he moved around so fast. I understand, people want to keep their jobs and sign more book contracts and make more deals with the new government. But I think when your convictions run so thin, you might not be serving the job you are doing very well, whether it be the government or the media. In my view, we should assess the shift and throw them out.

[JulieKay]

Greg Mitchell,

Thanks for a great article. I never knew anything about Noonan and Parker until after they started writing about Palin. Noonan and Parker are examples of elitist, being born into the "right" family is more important than the individual.

While the election results were wonderful, my eyes were opened to the level of hatred and judgmental people making statements about someone they do not know. From the supposedly educated to the less educated.

Obama was destined to be President. It is possible that God selected Obama's parents to design a person that lived between two worlds, but never fitting into either one until he moved to Chicago. One of the best things that happen to Obama was having his father leave. His father and grandfather in Kenya were angry men that beat their wife(s) and children. Obama's half-brothers had difficulties because of their father. Obama's half-sister in Kenya hated her father.

Obama's mother and white grandfather told Obama stories that made his father into a hero. They gave Obama the self-esteem, love, and a good education. Obama's father gave him his speaking ability. His white grandmother gave him the balance he needed because his mother and white grandfather were dreamers. Obama got the best of all of his family. I hope that they can see him from heaven.

I wonder whether Noonan and Parker ever think about God's hand in the world. The Republican party think they have a lock on religion.

[majorteddy]

Full blooded American?---sounds like a lot of those "full blooded Americans" are running about a quart low on brains.

[btanner]

It is disingenuous to not admit that this "full-blooded Americanism" isn't about race. But the truth is that it is about race. And people who have to declare they're not racists actually are. Let's not forget that the original Americans are the native Americans.