I thought I would let you know…
I don’t think people are truly realizing the fact that Obama is black. I mean he is BLACK people. Does anyone fully grasp that? I went to a catholic school and had no black people in my class. There was one in the grade ahead of me and one in the grade below me. Sheldon and Nelson and from 6th grade to I think first there wasn’t another black child.
My mother’s father was a bus driver in Jackson Ms back in teh 40’s to the 70’s. I remember her mother telling me that the one thing they never said about Rosa Parks was that she “smelled” and that was part of the reason they wanted her in the back of the bus. I visited my grandmother one weekend while I was in school for the Navy. I remember my grandmother telling her husband, “Why don’t you take donviti to watch the Niggers at the mall”
and we did…
I don’t think people really realize that a black person is favored to win the white house and god willing will.
Unreal people, absolutely unreal. I couldn’t be prouder as an American for my country. It softens a lot of wounds this country has and soothes many recently created by bush. I think that is why people are flocking to him and I thinmk it is that wave that will propel him to the White House, it is also that which we have to caution ourselves against and remember that even though he is black, he is still a politician…
BUT GOD DAMN! A BLACK MAN COULD BE OUR NEXT PRESIDENT….UNREAL!
Hop on over to Delaware Politics. Frank has a “concern” post on Obama’s race.
My brother lives & works in London. It has been fascinating during this campaign to hear the views of those overseas (& the journalism!!). Today he e-mailed me an article from The Times: “America’s Moment” an excerpt:
“[Can we all get along]…Such questions have been answered by Barack Obama in a way that rekindled America’s faith in it’s prodigious powers of reinvention- and the world’s admiration for America.
Details of the delegate count no longer matter. This moment’s significance is it’s resounding truism about America as a land of opportunity: Mr Obama’s opportunity to graduate from Harvard & take Washington by storm; the opportunity that the worlds most responsive democratic system gives it’s voters to be inspired by an unknown; the opportunity that outsiders now have to reassess the superpower that too many of them love to hate.
For a generation, the politics of America have been commodified by pollsters & analysts. Its political landscape has been minutely mapped; it’s online constituencies targeted by by “dog whistles” & YouTube narrowcasts. Mr Obama has torn up much of these analysts’ conventional wisdom with what he calls the audacity of hope.”
My brother says by & large people in London are pretty baffled by all this….it just wasn’t what they were expecting….he says this article sums it up best.
thanks stella
hell you guys must be living in never never land In 1952 i was at sallies which was located at 8th and west streets at the the time and we had blacks in our class in fact it was such a big deal at the time that the news journal came to our school and took pictures of these guys. LOOK it up Al you have the photos in your files. So it is beyond me that all you guys think that this is a big deal that obama got the nod. So many of you think you are breaking new ground but you weren’t there when the real fights were happening. I also remember the early sixties when students from Lincoln university were arrested for attempting to buy tickets to enter the Rialto theater in Wilmington . I know this from first hand experience because i was there. So please don’t try to preach to folks of my age about race
We aren’t preaching…we are celebrating!!!!
Ah, TT, you forget about the suburban generation, kids who attended school before deseg. I lived through that time.
Also, you really need to take a deep breath. We have our nominee. I know you’re not happy, and have admitted that I would feel the same if our positions were reversed. But, at some point, you’re going to have to let this go.
Hey youse guys did you forget:
Sen. Obama is as white as he is black….he was raised by his mother’s white relatives. He is aculturated to Europeans…values, behavior, etc.
Remenber, its content of character, not color of skin.
P. you are the one who has to take a deep breath for no matter what the subject is you think it’s always about Obama winning and Hillary losing how wrong you are so you better get over yourselves the primaries are over we are moving on to the general election. it appears that some of the obama supporters are so obsessed over Hillary that they just can’t let go god you folks remind me on all theses fools on MSNBC who haven’t realized that their guy won
DHBViti…what?! I never knew that. (snark!)
So, is this going to become the Miller Lite commercials of the past (great taste – less filling)?
He’s black! He’s white! No, he’s BLACK! No, he’s WHITE! Brawl ensues and Eucker is in the front row.
Who gives a frick if he’s polka-dotted and sports a fuscia skin base?
It is indeed historic, though, and the moment in time needs to be embraced. Doesn’t mean he’s guaranteed my vote, but I can understand the importance of it and it is awesome.
WDEL’s listener-feedback poll today was “Are we (this nation) ready for a black president?” I didn’t bother to call, but my response would have been:
“LOOK it up Al you have the photos in your files. ”
You’re not so hot on more recent history, TT. I haven’t worked there in more than 2 years, and the photo files were all but gone long before I left.
The Times article Stella references is here.
My own friends in Europe, who have spent the last 7.5 years sending me email after email with attachments of the lastest BushCo atrocity asking ‘What happened to you guys?’ are certainly getting reinspired by the US:
the opportunity that the world’s most responsive democratic system gives its voters to be inspired by an unknown; the opportunity that outsiders now have to reassess the superpower that too many of them love to hate.
Leave it to our friends on the other side to more than a year late to the conversation about Obama’s blackness. But it is funny that these friends would come out of the shoot trying to delegitimize Obama’s self-proclaimed racial identity, when you know full well that the next 5 months are going to be all about trying to use his race to scare the bejesus out of folks who are vulnerable to those fears. I really wish more of them could really know how admired our capacity to not let the worst of our history keep us from striving for a more perfect union is around the world.
RSmitty’s comment @9, though, is completely brilliant and the perfect response to a fairly useless question.
I agree R. Smitty’s comments are on the mark It’s just a shame that MSM keeps asking these questions about all candidates that tend to divide
Thanks for the linkie Cassandra!!
My brother scanned the newspaper article & sent it to me…..he is in an area of London that has been ahead of the US in progressive thinking…..they have been scratching their heads about all this fuss over female versus black guy (like some of us are)…..but I just don’t think they expect the US to move past our “Bush…. great to have a beer with” mentality.
I’ve said it many times before: even if John McCain wanted to run a campaign based entirely on Barack Hussein Obama being a Negro, he wouldn’t have to mention it once: the pitiful fools in the left blogosphere and the professional media would inundate us with all kinds of stories about the “historic” nature of Mr Obama’s nomination and queries about whether a black man really can win the election.
Yesterday’s Philadelphia Inquirer confirmed it for the professional media, and you confirmed it for the left blogosphere.
Well folks it appears that the tide is turning the main stream media is now taking aim at Obama . none other than David Broder who in his column this morning stated ” what Democrats are just beginning to figure out is that John McCain is positioned to compete with Obama” Broder goes even further stating that Obama ” for all his early strengths he limped into the nomination as a vulnerable and somewhat diminished politician” So all you folks who loved MSNBC’S Matthews and his ilk while they were bashing Hillary get used to these so called pundants turning on your guy It’s just their nature
Thanks Cassandra and TT. Dana (the commenter here, not the other Dana), I’m not on the left one-iota, maybe center, but not left.
I’m trying to figure out if you are pretending there is no historical significance to Obama (eventually) becoming the nominee, chastising those who manipulate it, or wanting to manipulate it yourself. It’s hard to tell.
For me appreciating what IS historical significance of his nomination in no way endears me to the man or concludes who I will vote for. It is simply appreciation that the opportunity has finally become reality and, admittingly selfish on my part, I was around to witness it.
That said, DV (sorry, DHB) is correct when he said:
Later, I commented (in response to that WDEL question):
Good reporting Stella. My sister lives in the South of England and a lot of my relatives live in Austria…..It is indeed very interesting to hear their opinions. So far all seem pleased with our selection…..Lets hope Obama can bring this new “audacity of hope” and a new approach to foreign policy to fruition. The whole world is waiting
I disagree that it is a useless question. First, Senator Obama is a person of color not a black person. He is of mixed race ancestry and is the first person of African decent to obtain the nomination of a major party.
I think it would be a shame to make it a major issue. It is not, but I think it would be a major shame not to realize the historic change. 50 years ago this country embrassed white supremacy as fact in most circles. Now it is a footnote. That indeed is worth noting.