On Barack Obama's "blackness"

Looking at a recent cover of Time Magazine, I am reminded of the fact that it was the white members of Obama's family who did the "heavy lifting" when it came to raising him. In any case, he decided that he was black, and he decided to settle in the south side of Chicago. In order to "get religion", he joined a church, and not just any old one, but rather one run by an aggrieved pastor, Jeremiah Wright, who preached "liberation theology". A church which recently gave a "lifetime achievement award" to the minister Louis Farrakhan.

Fine and dandy. He and his wife Michelle were free to choose whatever neighborhood and ambiance they desired. They are both talented and dedicated people, and Barack is, among other things, a legal scholar, a fine teacher and a skilled, charismatic orator. He is also, at heart, a crafty and ambitious politician.

And there's the rub. He now wants us to believe that he can rise above everything, like Mary Poppins, and lead us to the promised land, where people transcend race, partisanship and God knows what else, and hammer out their differences through serious and meaningful dialogue.

This requires a "leap of faith", which I and a lot of other people made. We had hope, and we wanted his vision to be realized. But there are a some racial diehards out there with big followings, like Farrakhan and his "mirror-image", Rush Limbaugh. Also, Obama of late has shown signs of being an elitist, not a good thing when you are courting blue-collar voters.

So, do I still prefer him over Hillary Clinton? Yes.
Do I think he has a better chance than she has of defeating McCain? No.
Hopefully, McCain will have enough "senior moments" during the remainder of the election campaign to defeat himself, regardless of who his opponent is.

I close with some thoughts of Ethel Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy's widow. Near the end of 2005, Obama's first year in the Senate, Ethel Kennedy asked him to speak at a ceremony for her husband's 80th birthday. At the time, she referred to Mr. Obama as "our next president." "I think he feels it. He feels it just like Bobby did," Mrs. Kennedy said in an interview that day, comparing her late husband's quest for social justice to Mr. Obama's. "He has the passion in his heart. He's not selling you. It's just him."

Her sentiments alone are enough to make me "keep the faith" for a while longer.

reference
New York Times, January 28, 2008