Jun 02 2008
Why Must the Obamas be Racists?
There seems of late, to be a concerted effort to show that Barack and Michelle Obama are racists. First, there was the affiliation with Reverend Wright and his assertions about the “KKK” of America. Then, there was Rev. Michael Pfleger, a guest speaker at their church, who claimed Hillary Clinton believed in white entitlement. And, somewhere in between, the Internet went wild with rumors that there was a tape of Michelle Obama hanging out with Louis Farrakhan at a panel discussion at the church. The claim is that she used the word “Whitey” in a racist manner.
I haven’t seen the tape. I haven’t seen anyone who claims to have seen the tape. But I have seen Michelle Obama. She is an intelligent woman who has spent much of her life married to a politician. She is a graduate of Princeton and Harvard. She is a veteran of Chicago politics. Her father was a ward committeeman in Chicago. She is not some newbie who had no idea that Barack was going places politically. So, I personally find the rumors of a tape to hold little sway.
It is, in my opinion, yet another means to try to get Barack out of the race for the White House using his race. Remember the old adage “Methinks he doth protest too much”? That seems to be the state of the campaign against the Obamas. No, not Senator Clinton’s campaign, though I’m not saying she’s incapable of it, but this is a bit too insidious even for the Clintons.
This is the multi-fronted attack on the Obamas because they are black. We heard early on that they might not be black enough to appeal to African-American voters and then we heard that they were too black for white America. Those were official, above-board discussions.
Then, there were the slimy, snake-in-the-grass attacks designed to be rumor and innuendo. Everyone and their brother got the email claiming Barack is a closet Muslim and that there is some special significance to his middle name being Hussein. Everybody wants to play on people’s fears and stereotypes. It’s not okay to officially be opposed to a black man running for president, but it’s acceptable to discriminate against him based on a rumor of religious affiliation.
When people saw through that ruse, the enemies of the Obamas had to find another way to point out to us, middle class white Americans that the Obamas aren’t like us. So, they looked for evidence that he was different. They found it in his church. He attends a church that, shock! gasp! encourages people to be proud of their heritage!
They found out that Barack had served on a board with William Ayers and tried to equate the domestic rebellions of the 1960s with the current fear of terrorism. Because Barack had a business relationship with a man who is now a professor of English, we were supposed to fear his judgment. Nevermind that a huge part of the Weather Underground’s message was racial equality, Ayers was a terrorist. Just ask Sean Hannity; he’ll tell you.
And, when all that barely tarnished the image of Barack, they started picking at Michelle. Now, they circulate these unsubstantiated rumors about her, casting aspirtions on the lady’s good name just because they think that we are stupid enough to buy into it.
Thankfully, I have more faith than that in American citizens. They can see past the ruse and the besmirching of the Obamas’ good names as the racist tactic that it is.
