Transformational; A Unifier

The polls are closed in New Hampshire. The last one closed less than 15 minutes ago.

I've been thinking all day about Barack Obama as a unifier, as a "transformational figure." And he will be, if elected, at least insofar as race is concerned. But this is to state the obvious.

I want to ask a few questions; these questions are offered not as an attempt to influence anyone's vote, as the polls are closed at this writing (at least on the east coast). They are strictly designed to anticipate potential scenarios should Barack Obama win tonight.

If this election cycle has been ultimately defined by race, meaning that Americans were eager to vote for the first-ever African-American nominee for president, then I am wondering what race relations might look like in the future under the following conditions:

• What will become of racial unity in America if President Obama is a terrible president?
  
• What will become of racial unity in America if President Obama governs too conservatively? too liberally?
  
• What will become of racial unity in America if President Obama has a cabinet mostly consisting of white members?
• What will become of racial unity in America if President Obama has a cabinet that is almost entirely African-American, and he and the cabinet perform poorly?
  

You and I need not answer these questions. We need not speculate. But these are exact samples of the finite number of possibilities of an Obama presidency. My sense is that if any of these comes to pass, racial unity could quickly dissolve. I think that a poorly performing (really poorly) President Obama could create a racial firestorm. I think we could hear some of the most incendiary racial speech this nation has heard in more than 60 years; such speech would come from both sides of the racial divide. I am not hoping for this; I am not saying this WILL happen; I am hoping it does NOT happen. I am merely saying that a Barack Obama presidency does not necessarily mean what many of us have thought it might mean.

My sense, then, is that Barack Obama may be an overly-cautious president, trying too hard to avoid the many pitfalls that his particular situation presents. He may even be paralyzed by his fear of offending those who have pinned such high hopes -- particularly about race -- on his leadership. One misstep could fracture any current unity he may have forged.

I will not explore this too fully. My interest is in the possible outcomes; I accept that there are others that I have not considered here. Let me mention at least one: A great and effective Barack Obama presidency will be a fantastic boost for racial unity in this country. That seems a priori true.

©2008. All Rights Reserved.

Barack Obama: An Affirmative Action Nominee?

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Without ANY help from the dirty old political machine called the Republican National Committee, the Democrats are doing a fine job wreaking havoc on their own party.

Take Missouri Democrat Emanuel Cleaver, a US congressman. Here's a black man, admittedly loyal to Hillary Clinton, who, without flinching, says he'd be "stunned if [Obama] is not the next president of the United States."

Why does Rep. Cleaver believe Mr. Obama is likely to win? A news report, based on an interview Cleaver gave to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, gives us an answer:

In the interview, Cleaver insisted he would not back away from his endorsement of Clinton. He claims much of the support for Obama is driven by a sense that his election will prove the country has solved its problems with race.

“I think for many white Americans, they are looking at Barack Obama and saying ‘This is our chance to demonstrate that we have been able to get this boogeyman called race behind us,”‘ Cleaver said. “And so they are going to vote for him, whether he has credentials or not, whether he has any experience — I think all that’s out the window.” [emphasis mine]

Cleaver adds this gem about Mr. Obama being an "articulate" black man:

"For white Americans, it’s like, this guy can speak..."

So, WHITE Americans are just fascinated with Barack Obama as he's an "articulate" black man (by the way, Mr. Obama only seems articulate when reading his speeches, at least to this writer), is that it? And WHITE America is going to vote for him -- irrespective of whether he's qualified? All this to show that WHITES are no longer racist, or that America has solved the race problem?

(By the way, much of this sounds EXACTLY like what Shelby Steele said in his engaging books, White Guilt, and, though to a lesser degree, A Bound Man. Steele is a black man born of a white mother -- and conservative.)

Clearly we can conclude several things. First, once again, the DNC is not above injecting race into its own primary processes. Second, once again, someone's suggesting that Barack Obama will likely be president solely because he is well-spoken and black: Qualifications, be damned!

To paraphrase Rep. Cleaver: WHITE America is going to absolve itself by promoting a black man above those more qualified. All this suggests that this is an affirmative action project if there ever was one. (And I do not use the word 'project' without noting its brutal irony.)

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Alas, there is more. Rep. Cleaver cleaves a fine line between what race-conscious America wants and does not want.

Yet Cleaver asserts that Obama as president could actually hamper efforts to curb racial injustice. He said future concerns about race “would be met with rejection because we’ve already demonstrated that we’re not a racist nation.”

What does Rep. Cleaver mean? Is he suggesting that Americans -- black or white -- also DON'T want Barack Obama to be president? Will his election suggest race is no longer a national issue, and hence RACE as a political leveraging tool will be destroyed? Is he saying that whites will use Obama's presidency against those who still see racial injustice: "We can't be racially divided, we've elected a black man!"

It must be wondered, then, where all this leaves us. It seems to me that Mr. Cleaver is saying that Barack Obama as the nation's first black president will merely be symbolic, token, even, sadly, illusory.

Oiks! No wonder people grow tired of politics!


Peace.

(HT: James Taranto)

©Bill Gnade 2008/Contratimes. All Rights Reserved.