Sen. Obama, "A Politician" - no more, no less

Trust me, I know who Hillary is on the surface - a Washington insider, a wheeler-dealer who knows how things get done in that environment, a woman very publicly scorned by her husband and inextricably linked with the Monica Lewinski scandal because she chose to "stand by her man." I can live with that, because as I said - that's the persona we all already know. But somewhere deep inside, I'd held out some hope that the senator from Illinois might somehow be different. I get it now, he's not. To borrow a term from The Field Negro, Sen. Obama is no more than "politricks" as usual, a person absolutely counter to the campaign he's been running. Poor little interracial boy looking for a place to fit in notwithstanding, this old nursery rhyme (with my own modification for the times) now defines him for me: There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile. He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile. He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse, And they all lived together in a crooked little (White) house. Both he and his wife have chosen the political expediency demanded by white America and those in Black America who seem to want a Black president - by any means necessary. I wish them all good luck. As for me, the devil I know is way better than the devil I don't. If it turns out I'm wrong, I'll be the first to admit it.

Who will be the Last Democrat Standing?

I hope this will be the last debate between these two because I'm way past ready to see who the last Democrat standing will be. I do have to say, I didn't expect Rev. Wright and the "bitters" right out of the gate, though I did expect it at some point seeing as ABC was the network that first released the Rev. Wright clips. I don't think Sen. Obama was expecting it either - at least not like that. I saw the mirror crack a few times. First, when Gibson asked him about the "bitters," though it gave him an opportunity to clean it up a bit. And again, as he stuck to his story about not ever hearing those particular, now-famous soundbites. But when it was Sen. Clinton's turn to comment on both of those topics, his jaw was so tight I thought I heard his teeth grinding. He "misspoke," saying first, he'd disowned him. But when Stephanopoulos pounced, saying, "Disowned him?" - he immediately corrected and said he'd disowned "his comments" not him. It was evident he was flustered, his irritation palpable. He doesn't wear irritation very well. Neither do I. But then again, I'm not running for president. As I've said before, I'm not an Obama supporter, but I felt a little for him tonight given the circumstances. He tried to find the middle ground between, tearing each other to shreds and smarmy, not lobbing nearly as many grenades at Sen. Clinton as she did at him on the media-labeled, "character" issues. It was a smart move considering he was vulnerable, having just laid Rev. Wright's comments to rest and still smarting from the "bitters." It didn't work very well though. The questions were nothing new, particularly in light of a lot of other, more substantive issues that could have been raised. Their conversations on issues to date have been limited, pretty much to the same few. The only difference tonight though, was on the answers given on a question that's been asked before - whether each thought the other was electable. They both answered yes, which is a departure, particularly for Senator Clinton. Through that uncomfortable first 45 - 50 minutes, a strange thing happened. I heard myself saying, "Leave that shit alone Hill, he's not bothering you." My mother hen kicked in! For a fleeting moment I saw, as I've seen on a couple occasions, this little bi-racial boy trying real hard to find a place to fit in and I felt the need to protect him. It's a personal connection I feel, unrelated in any way to this race. Since I don't do polls, I believe only Tuesday will tell whether this debate hurt Sen. Obama as much as his die hard supporters currently think. But he did a good job trying to put his views out there without losing total control. For a very long time in this country, that line is one lots of Blacks have felt an absolute necessity to walk in order to really succeed - can't be viewed as the Angry Black Man/Woman. It's a road I too thought was important - when I was younger. But over time, I found that wasn't my truth because there's a lot in this life about which to be mad as hell. I don't particularly care anymore how I am viewed in that regard and as Robert Frost said in these few lines of the last stanza of his "Road Not Taken":

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."

It's an empowering thing that I wish the senator from Illinois would consider. But I know he won't. Despite all of his accomplishments, he needs this ultimate validation, not just from this country, but the world.

The Wizard Emerges from Behind the Curtain, Pulling the Elephant Out of the Corner with him

I listened intently to Sen. Obama's speech this morning. And it was a great speech. He emerged from behind the curtain, a "whole man," as my grandmother used to say, finally expressing what I believe were HIS complete views on race.

He stood up like that whole man and SAID, "I cannot disown this man...." though he's, in his words, "already condemned in unequivocal terms the statements of Rev. Wright that have caused such controversy and in some cases, pain." (Okay, he's still got some truth to face!) He stood up like that whole man and SAID, "Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American foreign and domestic policy? Of course." "Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in the church? Yes." "Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely, just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests or rabbis with which you've strongly disagreed." (Okay, he could have left that last part off, no need to qualify his disagreement by pairing it with that of others.). My point is - at least he stood up for a change.

That one paragraph above was all I expected from this Black man running for president confronted with a media-fueled firestorm such as this. And had I heard it when he wrote On My Faith and My Church." for The Huffington Post, my expectations would have been met. But he did the knee-jerk thing - first (no doubt on the advice of those "handlers" of his), denouncing the words of his mentor and denying he ever even heard him say anything like that.

That didn't sit well with me at all for a couple reasons. First of all, anybody with a few firing brain cells could figure out he'd lied about never hearing Rev. Wright's statements over the 20+ years he's sat in that church. And secondly, but most important for me, "denouncing" and distancing himself from somebody who'd had his back far longer than those "alleged kingmakers" he calls advisors for the sake of making history was unconscionable to me. It had me thinking, "Shit, if he'll do that to his mentor, what about me?"

And what do I think now? The jury's still out on that one, mainly because he was "forced" to do the right thing. I know, I know - he did the right thing regarding his pastor! But would he have? He's been campaigning for a little over a year and it sure didn't look like he would have.

If this had not become an issue, would he have continued his "change-train" without ever addressing the fundamental issue driving the inequity in this country? Was he planning to be the "undercover brotha," stealthily pulling the elephant out of the corner after he'd gotten the nomination, the seat? And if that was the plan, that ain't too cool either because plenty white folks would have felt bamboozled for sure - and rightfully so. I don't care how much they protest, many of them would not have been supporting him so vociferously had he come out at the bell with this speech. What happened to John Edwards is evidence of that.

I can't say for sure how this will all play out or how I will respond in November (I'm a "hold the feet to the fire kind of girl"). But this much I know is true, he has done today what needed to be done as a Black man running for president in my book - he stood up. Granted it was grudgingly, but he stood up. This speech allows him to really become the agent of "Change We Can Believe In." I hope he is being honest. And if he isn't? Well, at least he's raised the bar - a little, making race a topic his opponents will have to address.

Oh, and Rev. Wright, you can safely roll on out from under that bus now.

Tim Wise on Obama and the Politics of Race

I tell you, my head is swimming with this election season! It boggles my mind that we, in Florida, find ourselves, knee-deep in this madness of an election brouhaha yet again! I went to vote on January 29th, not only to choose a primary nominee (even though the DNC said it wouldn't count, I voted for John Edwards), but to say YES - to Verifiable Paper Ballots (given the 2000 selection here that put Shrub in the White House, that was priority one for me. I also went to say No - to Amendment1, a property tax reduction amendment about which I felt strongly because it served the wealthier of us in exchange for cutting local services, most notably our schools budget! I live here - they were important. So much so, that I dragged my ass to the polls though I didn't really feel like getting up. I voted for John Edwards for the nominee among the others because I believed in what he had to say and because I liked he had the guts to say it - out loud. Then he suspended his campaign. As I watched, listened and read about the remaining two, I struggled about which of them would receive my vote. The more I watched Sen. Obama's train picking up steam, I could not rid myself of this nagging feeling he was NOT saying what Edwards was saying about the state of the "Two Americas" - and probably never would. That would upset wa-a-a-ay too many white folks and jeopardize his chance to make "history." I chose to support Sen. Clinton instead. At least she had the courage of her convictions to speak up about women's issues which often go ignored and are still running hard on the heels of racial inequality. The Devil I knew seemed a much better choice. That nagging never did go away though. As a matter of fact it got worse. I blogged about it, talked about it with people in person and on other blogs and then blogged about it some more. But to no avail. It seems, history over substance, lying over truth and denouncing the honest words of a long-time mentor and spiritual advisor for the sake of political expediency, are just minuscule points to overlook because the candidate looks "Black Like Me" (John Howard Griffin, please don't turn over too hard in your grave, I just couldn't resist!). Anyway, "White Like Me - Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son" author, Tim Wise made me feel a little better. His recent essay, "Uh-Obama: Racism, White Voters and the Myth of Color-Blindness," at least let's me know I'm not losing my damn mind! The senator from Illinois has now been forced, it seems (due to the Rev. Wright dust-up), to talk about that dreaded "R" word. He's scheduled a big speech later on today. Should be interesting. Hey Tim! Hope he sought your counsel on that one since he's not listening to Rev. Wright at all! Maybe it would go down easier if he had you helping him present it to the masses of white folks who are up in arms, as well as the Black folks willing to give him a pass so he can "transcend!" We'll see.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place - Sen. Obama Chooses

On the heels of the Geraldine Ferraro uproar, came the release of some videos yesterday, followed by a deluge of blog posts and comments regarding the words of Sen. Obama's pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. No need to post any of the videos here as they've more than made the rounds of network and cable television stations and the internet.

What amazed me was the number of people who vehemently expressed disgust, surprise and fear about the comments therein. I found much truth in the sermon, though I disagree with the characterization of Bill Clinton "riding us dirty like he did Monica Lewinski," since I, like most of the American middle class enjoyed, an economy unparalleled by the last seven years of Shrub (that's what having a "colonized mind"will do for you I guess).

There were Clinton supporters expressing some real schadenfreude at the senator's apparent comeuppance. There were Obama supporters staunchly defending their candidate saying he could not be held accountable for what others say - strange, since they just as rigorously and continuously held Sen. Clinton accountable for Ms. Ferraro's comments. But I digress. There were other Obama supporters who felt and said they had been "hoodwinked and bamboozled" by the senator's talk of "Change We Can Believe In." I came away from all this with a headache and a thought: America REALLY needs to talk openly, honestly and productively about race. If it took Ferraro's and Wright's comments to get us closer to that discussion - so be it.

Let's be clear. Communications between blacks and whites have historically been, and continue to be, difficult. Different cultural styles seem to play the most important role in that great divide. And, even though it is so important to bridge that chasm with acceptance and respect, I'm not so sure that many of us are willing or able to go there. There are obvious differences in the way we communicate. Blacks tend to be emotional when they discuss issues that are extremely important to them. Our voices often become louder and our speech more rapid. This is definitely reminiscent of those Sunday church services, where the minister's voice rises and falls and his sermon is peppered with exclamations and questions that could be felt in the pews. Much like the "call and response" of slavery days, the congregation would invariably throw in more than a few "Amens!" "Praise the Lords!" and "Preach Revs" to let the minister know that they were "feeling him," as my kids would say.

Conversely, when whites engage, it is the exact opposite. They seem to work very hard to deliver their message in calm, deliberate tones presumably to show that they are reasonable, proper and in control. So, when the two groups get together to discuss important issues, the result can be, and often is, miscommunication. The emotion blacks express tends to turn whites off, and the seeming indifference of whites infuriates blacks. What whites deem aggression, blacks call passion. What should have been constructive discourse, degenerates into name-calling or worse. Nothing is accomplished but bitter, hurt feelings and meaningful communication is non-existent.

I think Sen. Obama missed an excellent opportunity to become a real instrument of change that could, and would have guided the much needed dialogue about race in this country. Well, only if all who voted for him really believed in overall change, that is. Maybe if he had not distanced himself with his "change - speak" that so publicly seemed to ignore his associations in the Black community, many whites and others would not have inferred that "change" meant, "We don't have to talk about or deal with issues of racism - institutional or otherwise." Had he been honest about ALL his beliefs, to include the Black empowerment about which Trinity United Church of Christ preaches (definitely not a bad thing even though it frightens the bejeezus out of some white folks), Rev. Wright's sermons would not be the "bombshell" it is today. Granted, he may not have won as many states/delegates as he has, but you never know -- he may have. 

All I'm saying is, you cannot heal wounds whose existence you ignore - and the wounds of racism run deep. It permeates all of our institutions which materially affects the lives of Blacks in this country. He chose to straddle that line (a political strategy maybe?) instead of being 100% honest and now it seems to be exploding in his face - at least right now.

I remember listening to Rev. Sharpton's radio show last year on the day designated for Rev. Wright's daughter's segment. She expressed her concern that Sen. Obama's "handlers" had convinced him it wasn't a good idea to have Rev. Wright fully participate in his announcement ceremony in February on the Old State Capitol steps -- "where Lincoln once called on a divided house to stand together" (Rev was there, though not in the capacity they all originally thought he would be).

So in some part of the campaign, they saw the presence of Rev. Wright as a liability and tried to contain it.  Guess they could have been right. Last night I was thinking out loud, "He still has an opportunity to be totally honest to the American people, his church and himself , but not by dodging this as a non-issue, because it obviously IS an issue to a lot of people.   It may not be politically expedient, but it may be the only thing that turns this one around." 


Well, this afternoon, with the groundswell of dissenting opinions about what he should or should not do regarding Rev. Wright, Sen. Obama released a statement to CNN and ran this post echoing the statement, in The Huffington Post: On My Faith and My Church." After listening to it on CNN and reading the actual words on The Huffington Post, this quote immediately jumped in my head: "True self is the part of us that does not change when circumstances do." -- Mason Cooley.  Seems he chose the hard place of the presidency over the rock, that was his pastor, mentor and spiritual advisor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.