Comments on: Obama Launches Presidential Bid

By: Britgirl

Britgirl — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 02:42:50 +0000

@ Hillari and Christine - I was going to say the same as Christine! Except she explained it much better than I would have done. It is because he is African - born in Kenya in fact) and not descended from slaves. I wish I could remember the name of the woman on the Daily Show - maybe it was Debra Dickerson? Just can’t remember…but I was yelling (almost)at the TV as she was saying this crap. It made me so angry, because I could see the implications… The sad thing was when the interviewer (Colbert?)asked her some pertinent questions, she couldn’t but see she had backed herself into a corner. Even she realized how bizarre it sounded. It was surreal.

In a way it is almost good that this has come to the surface now. But on the other hand, it makes my heart sink. How much more divisive could it be? I can almost feel the African-American community (isn’t that a misnomer by the way?) wanting Obama to fail. What the… It is a very sad indictment of where we are today, and shows we have a long, long way to go.

As for Hillary - even though she does have her faults, it seems no one is interested in her credentials. Put all this together and no wonder you get Bush!

By: Christine

Christine — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 01:42:50 +0000

Good point Hillari, thank you, and I agree there is that but I think there’s more to it. It’s not just that he’s biracial.

Indeed, one can be biracial and be perceived as black and fellow African Americans and by racists too…remember the one-drop rule of slave times.

Many biracial individuals have been accepted by the African American community as members of their community. The reason is not (only) because he’s biracial but because of his not being a descendant of slaves. At least that is what all the media maelstrom is about now it seems.

The Debra Dickerson article in Salon an example of what I’m referring to. Ms Dickerson has been quoted all over the place in major media outlets since this was published as an example of this increasingly popular view.

“… I didn’t have the heart (or the stomach) to point out the obvious: Obama isn’t black.

“Black,” in our political and social reality, means those descended from West African slaves. Voluntary immigrants of African descent (even those descended from West Indian slaves) are just that, voluntary immigrants of African descent with markedly different outlooks on the role of race in their lives and in politics. At a minimum, it can’t be assumed that a Nigerian cabdriver and a third-generation Harlemite have more in common than the fact a cop won’t bother to make the distinction. They’re both “black” as a matter of skin color and DNA, but only the Harlemite, for better or worse, is politically and culturally black, as we use the term.”

By: Hillari

Hillari — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 20:10:55 +0000

The comments about Barack not being black enough probably come from the fact that he is of mixed-race heritage (his mom is white). Still ignorant comments, nontheless. Barack will have a lot of younger people pushing for him in addition to an African-American base of supporters. A lot of Americans have long grown tired of Bush and the Republican party, so that’ll help Barack’s cause as well. Hilary Clinton is smart, but she unfortunately has the baggage of her husband’s misdeeds hanging around her (so does Al Gore). You would think women would be behind her, but in this country, there are a lot of conservative women — backed by their religious right husbands — who have disparaged her for years.

By: mercurior

mercurior — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 08:43:37 +0000

i always wanted to vote for the monster raving loony party, but they never had the candidates here ;-(

the monster raving loony party is an good political party

http://www.omrlp.com/ much better than most politicians

By: Christine

Christine — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 01:47:54 +0000

I too was struck by the “he’s not really black” stuff. WTF indeed. I can’t speak from any experience but no doubt a black man in America is treated like a black man in America. The adult black experience is not alien to him. I like the way he phrased it on 60 Minutes — he sure feels black when he’s trying to hail a taxi.

I’ve been following this closely and reading up on the various articles. The Salon item by Debra J. Dickerson was interesting but it saddened me.

I admit I like him a lot. Sure he’s young and he’s green but he’s smart and charismatic. As you note Britgril, he’s the first glimmer of hope for a black president. And he’s a very bright glimmer. The US could do a hell of a lot worse….and it will get very messy, I agree.

Mind you, we have Stephen Harper and I don’t know how well Stéphane Dion will fare in that race. He very smart too but lacks pizzazz. But he’s getting better.

By: Britgirl

Britgirl — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 23:29:06 +0000

@mercurior - I hear ya… I haven’t yet met a politician that has stuck to their word. Even when they promise stuff, somehow as soon as they get our votes they forget what they said they’d do -until the next election. I vote for Jack Bauera and David Palmer as President (heh)
@ TT - Yep, it’s pretty shameful isn’t it? It’s a pity that skin colour should even matter at all - but you know it will in this one.
@Jay - Welcome …Yes. I’d call “messy” the understatement of the day. The knives are coming out, and it won’t be pretty.

By: Jay

Jay — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 02:02:21 +0000

I’m sad that most of what you’ve said here is probably quite true, and sadder still that “messy” is probably putting it mildly.

By: timethief

timethief — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 01:25:59 +0000

IMO it’s shameful that the “not black enough nonsense” and indeed that the skin color of the candidates is even a consideration. People are people. They have different skills, knowledge bases, experiences and opinions. Votes should be based on our choices based on those kind of factors and not on race. The color of a candidate’s skin is absolutely irrelevant. Oh when we will ever learn?

By: mercurior

mercurior — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 21:35:54 +0000

in my mind all politicians are the same, they are all self serving wretches only there to line their own pockets, at the expense of you..

i dont vote for any politician, i vote against them.

By: Jannette

Jannette — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 19:06:46 +0000

I know, the whole Barack thing is sad, I think he’s a good candidate, but it isn’t up to just me, and unfortunately ignorance rules the majority of America.