Barack: The Non-White Candidate

Barack Obama isn't white. There, I said it. If only the media could say it we could move on, Instead of childishly hiding behind easy rhetoric to remind voters of his lack of whiteness.

Obama's foreignness has always been an issue of contention with the mainstream press. Not one middle-of-the-road persona or outlet will make a specific claim to O's race; rather they passively allude to it by referring to the hopeful as Barack Hussein Obama or jumping on shallow, flimsy angles in an attempt to remind voters of his ethnicity.

The nonstop media points out how much time he has spent living abroad (he lived in Indonesia during his childhood). They make reference to his race (he's not white, remember) and use surrogates to bring it up without having to appear directly racist. They talk about his background by being indirect, using any and/or every excuse to refer to his "otherness."

Just a few weeks ago, in an attempt to call attention to Obama's not quite whiteness (whiteocity?), the press jumped on Hilary's campaign of almost stressing Obama's race, which her campaign wisely decided against. Nearly a year later, the press turned a campaign idea into a national headline. What the hell is going on?

The single person eager to talk about Obama's race is Jerome Corsi, author of The Obama Nation. The guy explains the title: "The play on words is fully intended, because Obama's radical leftist politics, driven by the cult of personality he has intentionally manufactured, would be an abomination in that the result of those policies would be to lead the United States in a costly and self-destructive direction, both at home and abroad."

I'm embarrassed to say, but I read the first chapter (standing at Barnes & Noble). I didn't mean to but then, crap, the whole chapter had just been published in the New York Times too (shame on them but good for the PR people!). Corsi spends half the chapter explaining why he isn't racist. It's creepy. Non-racists don't talk about not being racist. Corsi explains himself in a protesteth too much manner...

"In all my writings on that subject [of race], I have been a strong opponent of any form of racial violence and a strong advocate for eliminating all forms of racial discrimination, inequality, and injustice." He then goes on to list all of the black people he has known in his life. Come on, that's laughable, or would be if he weren't the only one talking publicly about having black friends of friends!

Obama is speaking up against the slanderous book, and in turn taking a stand against the networks that use story angles like this as an excuse for calling names. He pointed a finger at Fox News by saying the book "gets a lot of play" on the fa-bal network, stating ferociously that attackers "will run negative ad after negative ad, attack after attack, with the goal of making you lose focus on the issues. ... and focus on me and try to make me out to be a risky, scary guy."

With that, he's taking a stand and Baracking all over the place. He in turn feeds right into the media's "Please give me something" tendencies to cover another big nothing. Oh, election era ...when there's an exciting moment every day. And nothing is ever in black and white.

I'm Richard Laermer of the book 2011: Trendspotting, which is all about the really good future coming up.

Follow Richard Laermer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/laermer

Comments

[AlanBJ]

America's Moral Issue.

There is no "whites only" sign at door of the Whitehouse, or is there?
The vile that comes from the hearts of those who speak against a good man with the right judgment for president, who just happens to be of color makes me realize that America's moral standing is subpar. Years ago, it was the police batons, savage dogs, angry lynch mobs, fire hoses, beat downs with whips and chains, that stood in the way for the pursuit of happiness. All this was being played out during the Cold War, from Moscow, to Paris, to Beijing, all noting America's hypocrisy.

As I see the treatment of O, and the thoughts by many racist Americans of his presidency, I see hate has come full circle. And once again, we are may be at a New Cold War, thanks to failed Republican foreign policy. And once again, Moscow, Paris, Beijing, and the rest of the world watches at a sign of America's hypocrisy, or hopefully, America's moral high road.

What will we do?

"This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring ...... from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! MLK