Barack Obama In "08"?

[BlueCat]

What Obama isn't: black like me
by Stanley Crouch

If Barack Obama makes it all the way to becoming the Democratic nominee for President in 2008, a feat he says he may attempt, a much more complex understanding of the difference between color and ethnic identity will be upon us for the very first time.

Back in 2004, Alan Keyes made this point quite often. Keyes was the black Republican carpetbagger chosen by the elephants to run against Obama for the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois. The choice of Keyes was either a Republican version of affirmative action or an example of just how dumb the party believes black voters to be, since it was obvious that Keyes came from the Southeast, not the Midwest.

That race was never much of a contest, but one fascinating subplot was how Keyes was unable to draw a meaningful distinction between himself as a black American and Obama as an African-American. After all, Obama's mother is of white U.S. stock. His father is a black Kenyan. Other than color, Obama did not - does not - share a heritage with the majority of black Americans, who are descendants of plantation slaves.

Of course, the idea that one would be a better or a worse representative of black Americans depending upon his or her culture or ethnic group is clearly absurd. Even slavery itself initially came under fire from white Christians - the first of whom to separate themselves from the institution were Quakers. The majority of the Union troops were white, and so were those who have brought about the most important civil rights legislation.

Why then do we still have such a simple-minded conception of black and white - and how does it color the way we see Obama? The naive ideas coming out of Pan-Africanism are at the root of the confusion. When Pan-African ideas began to take shape in the 19th century, all black people, regardless of where in the world they lived, suffered and shared a common body of injustices. Europe, after all, had colonized much of the black world, and the United States had enslaved people of African descent for nearly 250 years.

Suffice it to say: This is no longer the case.

So when black Americans refer to Obama as "one of us," I do not know what they are talking about. In his new book, "The Audacity of Hope," Obama makes it clear that, while he has experienced some light versions of typical racial stereotypes, he cannot claim those problems as his own - nor has he lived the life of a black American.

Will this matter in the end? Probably not. Obama is being greeted with the same kind of public affection that Colin Powell had when he seemed ready to knock Bill Clinton out of the Oval Office. For many reasons, most of them personal, Powell did not become the first black American to be a serious presidential contender.

I doubt Obama will share Powell's fate, but if he throws his hat in the ring, he will have to run as the son of a white woman and an African immigrant. If we then end up with him as our first black President, he will have come into the White House through a side door - which might, at this point, be the only one that's open.

Originally published on November 2, 2006 - Stanley Crouch
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/idea...p-393261c.html
Stanley Crouch is a columnist, novelist, essayist, critic and television commentator. He has served since 1987 as an artistic consultant at Lincoln Center and is a co-founder of the department known as Jazz at Lincoln Center. In 1993, he received both the Jean Stein Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a MacArthur Foundation grant. He is now working on a biography of Charlie Parker.

THANKS for this article. I really enjoyed reading it. In enforced one of my main
reasons for wanting Obama for President. He will focus on Africa the genocide and hopefully will not be full on empty promises.

BlueCat Reviewed by BlueCat on 12-08-2006. Barack Obama In "08"? Rumor has it this dude may run in "08"..........any thoughts? http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Barack_Obama_SenateMatch.htm Have a good one!:thumbsup: Rating: 5

[aznson01]

who?

[VoidLivesOn]

Has anyone thought about this? I'm sure oyu have I just wanna know what you people think.

I mean we've had presidents for countelss years now. All white, every one of em'...I think. Don't get all technical on me now...skin tone was WHITE.

If Obama WERE to win how plausable do you think something like assasination would be? I mean the first non-white president could turn a few heads and piss off the wrong people. Even though were in the 21st century and we like to pretend racism isn't an issue by being PC from time to time, it's obviously still is.

What do you think?

[Blazed and Confused]

Are you for real, Blazed, in thinking there's only been one terrorist attack in the last decade? You might want to refer to this list, which lists the terrorist attacks perpetrated by Al Qaeda alone. Trust me. There've been others. You must not read any news.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0884893.html

Excuse me, I was not clear enough. I meant to US civilians within the borders of the United States. Since ,generally, liberalism is centered around community and conservativism is centered toward the self, I believe these are the only types of attacks Bong would have to worry about. Granted, I have made alot of assumptions in this claim, point being, the terrorist scare is vastly bloated to the common American, despite what Rumsfeld's Color of the Day is (oops, was).

[BlueCat]

Excuse me, I was not clear enough. I meant to US civilians within the borders of the United States. Since ,generally, liberalism is centered around community and conservativism is centered toward the self, I believe these are the only types of attacks Bong would have to worry about. Granted, I have made alot of assumptions in this claim, point being, the terrorist scare is vastly bloated to the common American, despite what Rumsfeld's Color of the Day is (oops, was).

LOL good one Blaze :clap:

Void, I have thought about who I want for president a lot I find Obama's exposure to other cultures an asset. One can only hope our country has grown beyond making skin an issue. HAHAHA what am I saying?
I worry about the idiots out there too. It is asking a lot of Obama and his family. Still I hope he runs.

[Torog]

LOL good one Blaze :clap:

Void, I have thought about who I want for president a lot I find Obama's exposure to other cultures an asset. One can only hope our country has grown beyond making skin an issue. HAHAHA what am I saying?
I worry about the idiots out there too. It is asking a lot of Obama and his family. Still I hope he runs.

Howdy BlueCat,

First off,let me say Welcome back !

Now then,from what I've heard,it sounds like the probable course of events will be that Obama runs for prez,but will be outshined by Hitlery,and Obama will probably wind up as her VP,in order to git the black vote in for Hitlery.

We shall see....

Have a good one ! :jointsmile:

[BlueCat]

Howdy Torog!

It is nice to be back. I hope you and your family are well.

I don't know if Obama would take a VP offer from Hillary or not. They don't see eye to eye on a lot of issues. Frankly I see Obama as the stronger figure.

I would never vote for Hillary simply because of her involvement in Mena Arkansas during Bush Sr. era. and because she NEVER takes a real stand for or against anything. She tries to stay in the gray all the time. I find that rather cowardly. I know the Republicans are all wanting her to run but I think that is because they know she can be easily beaten public convidence is simply not with her. I did a phone survey with Moveon a few weeks ago and on the question of Hillary no one seemed to really trust her. I am afraid I feel the same.

Good talking to you again.

Cat

[medicinal]

The idea of Obama for president excites me! I think that is the main reason I like him. He exudes positive energy. It sure would show the world that were not white supremests, and some fresh Ideas are sorly needed inside the beltway. My favorite ticket is Obama-Edwards, or Edwards-Obama, I think they'd make a great team!

[birdgirl73]

That is precisely who I'd like to see on the Democratic ticket, Medicinal! I think they're both sincere, intelligent men who have the interests of the American people--not just rich ones--as their top priorities. I have been an Edwards fan for four years, and the more I see and read about Obama, the more I like him.

[Breukelen advocaat]

From Obamaâ??s own website, here is a perfect example of a leader with a special interest in education. Notice the spelling in the last sentence of his position regarding the issue of â??Homeland Securityâ?�.


Education
Senator Obama is committed to providing every American with the opportunity to receive a quality education, from pre-kindergarten to college or vocational school to job retraining programs.

Homeland Security
Senator Obama believes that greater attention needs to be paid to the nationâ??s homeland security. To that end, he has supported efforts to distribute more funds to cities like Chicago most at risk of a terrorist attack. He has also introduced legislation to strength chemical plant and drinking water security and to enhance disaster preparedness.
http://obama.senate.gov/issues/
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Maybe this guy Obama should worry about enhancing the literacy of his web writers before he goes on about his commitment to educating the rest of us.