Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Obama and the 'They' Sayers

washingtonpost.com: By Eugene Robinson

Are white Americans really, truly prepared to elect an African American president?...

One of Barack Obama's principal tasks in the coming months may be convincing African American voters that this whole phenomenon -- a black candidate with a well-financed campaign, proven crossover appeal and a real chance to win -- isn't just another cruel illusion.

I hear from African Americans who are excited about Obama's candidacy but who suspect that somehow, when push comes to shove, "they" won't let him win. It's unclear who "they" might be -- white voters, the "power structure," the alignment of the stars -- and it's unclear how "they" are going to thwart Obama's ambition. The point is that, somehow, he'll be denied.

This anecdotal evidence finds some empirical support in the polls, although it's far from definitive. ...

"What I see is a lot of press fascination with a black candidate who does not yet have 100 percent of the African American vote," Obama said yesterday in a telephone interview. "It's fascinating to me that people would expect that somehow I would be getting unanimous black support at this stage of the campaign, when probably only about 50 percent of black voters know much about me at all."...

Asked about fatalism or resignation among black voters, Obama said, "I'm sure there's some of that going on. The way to solve that problem is to win."...

I have no special sources of insight into how Barack Obama is seen within the African American community(ies), and don't expect to devote much blog attention to that issue--there are other and better sites for that purpose. I do see Obama as offering the best hope of my political lifetime to take us beyond the most divisive aspects of racial block voting, and to establish a new model for American politics and leadership, and a new vision of America in the world--one we desperately need after the depradations of the Bush Administration.

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