Should
We Want A Black President?
By Margaret Kimberley
17 May, 2007
Black
Agenda Report
Is
Barack Obama more worthy of Black "loyalty than any other Democrat?"
The answer is no - Black America should not "purchase a lemon"
just because the "seller looks like us." Obama has mastered
the fine arts of bullshitology, while avoiding issues of core concern
to African Americans in order to make white people feel comfortable.
Although no worse than Hillary Clinton, Obama is no better either, on
war, health care, the economy, mass incarceration or affirmative action.
Why should Black America vote for a man who proclaims "there is
no Black America?"
"Obama has mastered
the art of political bullshitology."
When Colin Powell considered
running for president, the question on everyone's mind was whether or
not he could win. In other words, would white people who said they liked
him really vote for him? Powell eventually decided to shoot for a high
profile gig with the next Republican administration, and the question
remained unanswered.
Unlike Powell, Senator Barack
Obama has entered a presidential race. He is the candidate with all
the buzz, and he has raised a ton of money. Hillary Clinton thought
that being the boss's wife would be enough to waltz into the nomination.
All she had to do was bask in the Clintonian after-glow and presto,
instant oval office residency.
Sadly for her, she shares
her husband's politics of meaninglessness but none of his personal charisma.
She can't get away with fence straddling, triangulating, or insulting
the party base. Along comes Obama, a living reincarnation of Clintonian
political charm straight from the glory days. Now that Hillary has been
out Clintoned, she looks less like a sure thing.
"Is Obama more
worthy of Black loyalty than any other Democrat?"
Obama has mastered the art
of political bullshitology, and proven campaign fund-raising prowess.
He does look like a contender. The likelihood of white people voting
for him is still open to question, but that may not be the most important
question. Black Americans will again support the Democratic nominee,
but is Obama more worthy of that loyalty than any other Democrat?
If he is a winner, it will
be in large part because he is willing to throw black people under the
bus. He proved as much in his overrated speech at the 2004 Democratic
national convention. "There is not a Black America and a White
America and Latino America and Asian America - there's the United States
of America." Of course there is a black America, and most of us
don't want to pretend otherwise.
Obama's 2004 speech does
not mention racism, not even to say something bland such as, racism
is bad. Obama sells color blindness in a country that is all about the
color spectrum. It makes no sense for black America to embrace this
obvious canard. Will we purchase a lemon if the seller looks like us?
When Obama says that the
best way to end poverty is to keep teenage girls from having babies,
he is insulting us all. If he wants to channel Bill Cosby he must know
that it comes with a price. Our support is not his birthright. If he
can't bring himself to talk about the loss of high paying union jobs
and the deliberate destruction of black public schools, he must know
that he can't expect unqualified support.
"If Obama wants
to channel Bill Cosby he must know that it comes with a price."
Obama doesn't just represent
the dangers of being proud when one of our own gets what the system
tells us is the brass ring. He is also the culmination of the dumbing
down, and selling out of the Democratic party.
In every election Democrats'
choices are worse and worse. Authentic Democrats can't raise money or
are ignored or destroyed by the corporate media. Just ask Howard Dean.
The Democratic party's insistence on selling out and not standing up
for an ideology of any kind has all but destroyed the likelihood of
having a decent presidential nominee in the foreseeable future.
The eventual nominee will
in fact stay the course in Iraq. Hillary has openly said that she will
keep troops there. Corporate Democrat chicanery causes apathy, fatigue,
and finally acceptance of phony progressives like Obama. True progressives
will legitimately conclude that compromised Democrats are as good as
we are able to get.
While legitimate, those low
expectations are very dangerous. Black Americans would be more likely
to call Hillary out when she acts against our interests. Obama would
get a pass from the "aren't you proud to have a black president"
crowd. He encompasses the worst of all possible worlds, a corporate
beholden Democrat who won't even be put on the spot by the party's most
loyal and most insightful constituency. In a spirit of charity, it could
be said that Obama is no worse than Hillary Clinton. The expression
"damning with faint praise" comes to mind.
"If Obama is
the party choice, it will be because he makes white people feel comfortable."
Every four years progressives
wring their hands and vote for a Democrat they don't really like. Obama
would just be the latest manifestation of that sad quadrennial spectacle.
If he is the party choice, it will be because he makes white people
feel comfortable, and by definition that means not addressing the interests
of black people.
Does it make sense to want
a black president? Will we feel better seeing a black president even
if he can't find the right time to leave Iraq, institute single payer
health care, end mass incarceration, or fight for affirmative action?
In the future, we will again see a black presidential candidate claiming
that there is no black America. If we adhere to the belief that a black
face in a high place is always good, that throwaway line in a speech
might just take on a more ominous meaning.
Margaret Kimberley's
Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR. Ms. Kimberley lives
in New York City, and can be reached via e-Mail at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgandaReport.Com.
Ms. Kimberley' maintains an edifying and frequently updated blog at
freedomrider.blogspot.com.
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