Posted by
TangoBravo on Friday, March 14, 2008 7:52:35 PM
Even as a life-long libertarian-conservative, I am soothed and comforted as I watch Obama in his debates and news conferences. I don't like to admit it but Barack's presentation skills are magnetic. Combine that with the fact that I have been sufficiently trained by society to not, not want him and my initial impressions of Barack are to like him and to consider his presidential run as positive for American politics. However, some disturbing realities are beginning to be made public that suggest his run may set back race relations another twenty years.
In America's search for a "clean" black candidate, what might happen if Democrats have rushed to conclusions and chosen the wrong ambassador? Clearly, America is hungry to present a legitimate minority presidential candidate to the world and many would find nirvana in electing the same to the office. But what if all of the questions currently growing about him are eventually answered in the negative?
Reverand Jeremiah Wright recently brought this question to the fore. Combine Wright's hateful, racist, and anti-American rantings with Michelle's, "I am proud for the first time" comments, along with Obama's connections to Farrakhan and by association, we have the picture of white America's worst nightmare--someone in the White House motivated to impose social and financial punishments against white citizens. Of course, Obama has not even suggested this (although a $1.2 trillion tax increase might be interpreted as such) but the few reported media slips by Obama's friends and family that have penetrated the air waves certainly generate the worst possible allusions imaginable.
The problem is not that these suggestions are true. Even if Mr. Obama is the polar opposite of such a representation, the seed has been planted and his future actions will forever be compared to this background. Pundits will be quick to point out that he can be no better than his past. Worse, I am reminded of the sex scandals that floated during Clinton's first election. I am sadly smug when I wonder why only conservatives considered this a portent of things to come during Clinton's tenure. Yet now, even ardent Clinton supporters see the logical progression of events that turned during the 1990's. Could these recent circumstances be a foreshadow of an Obama regime? If a future President Obama commits, wittingly or otherwise, to any action that validates white America's worst fears, what price will be paid by future black politicians? What price will be paid by future Democrat politicians?
In the words of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, "the chickens coming home to roost" may very well be the result of the selection of poor Democrat presidential nominees. Fair or unfair, failing to recognize damning screening criteria for presidential nominees may be the Democrats' greatest fault. (It is sometimes an unfortunate reality that candidates disqualify themselves due to their past). Yes, the Democrats won the White House twice in the nineties with a flawed candidate but the current Hillary and Bill show is now showing the country just how fundamentally flawed the Democratic Party was. We have yet to see how the growing anti-Clinton sentiments will translate into lessons learned for the Democratic party but one lesson that the Democrats should now clearly recognize from the Clintons: even a relatively benign or successful Obama regime may paint black Democrats negatively if Obama's connections to ugly racism becomes the slate to write his legacy. If that happens, President Barack Obama will not be known as the great uniter but instead as the great divider and future black politicians will be tarred as something worse than racist.
This will be a great tragedy for Republicans as well, since we have many talented politicians of color in the queue.