Paul McCartney once asked via the lyrics of a silly love song whether the world needed another silly love song. I would answer him in the affirmative, at least compared to another political post such as this one. (See my blog title as an explanation.) But in the wake of his "pastor disaster", Obama's speech -- while intelligent and thrillingly non-patronizing - was a non-sequitor. To paraphrase Tina Turner, "What's race got to do, got to do with it...." ? This was about anti-Americanism, which is most deadly for candidates we don't know real well or who have had little experience.
To give someone the benefit of the doubt is one thing; to give them your vote for leader of the free world is another. This ain't a city council election. Certainly an American who is anti-American is no more uncommon than an individual who is self-destructive: you can hate your country as easily as you can hate yourself. The funny thing about the McCarthy era was that there actually were a lot of Communists in high places, something not confirmed until after the opening of Soviet files during the '90s. (And it's not pandemic to the left; there are those on the right wing who talk about America having killed 'one million Iraqis' during the Iraq War even though most credible sources put the number of Iraqi deaths at a tiny fraction of that. I think - I'm still working on my personal definition, although I sense that it's like pornography in that you'll know it when you see it - that anti-Americanism is best demonstrated by believing the worst about our country when there is evidence to the contrary. The patriot doesn't miss the flaws of his country but neither does he purposely exaggerate them.)
[Update]: Condoleezza Rice makes a good point in saying, "What I would like understood as a black American is that black Americans loved and had faith in this country even when this country didn't love and have faith in them — and that's our legacy."
Obama's speech was mostly painful to a conservative's ears because it showed Obama would not transcend either race OR politics; if some thought he would bring liberals and conservatives together, the speech showed he is resolutely liberal. If some thought he was beyond race then his even comparing his white grandma's comments to Rev. Wright's racism shows that Obama certainly hasn't transcended race.
I read somewhere once that James Joyce writings used Catholicism, used its themes and could be said to be dependent upon Catholicism for the richness of his writings. I wonder if being black is felt, by Rev. Wright and his followers, only in its opposition to whiteness. In other words, instead of being a positive thing on its own terms, 'authentically black' is defined negatively by bonding against a common enemy (whitey). The scapegoat, as Girard wrote of, is usually one person singled out, or a minority such as the Jews, but here we see it applied to a majority (whites).
This is why for some in the black community if you take school seriously you are "acting white". Can you believe it? So sad. But that's what happens if you define yourself only in reaction to someone else. You become not your own - you become merely whatever someone else isn't.
If you want someone with 'street cred' with both conservatives and liberals, blacks and whites, then look no further than John McWhorter, a black man who has written extensively on race. His is an independent voice with friends (and enemies) in both communities. I am more swayed by McWhorter's views on race than anybody left or right - here is a man who can bring the country together, or at least made me try to think outside my ethnic group and background. Nothing Obama said particularly calls me to that. Obama's tone is great; but the substance of his rhetoric leaves something to be desired.
McWhorter is an Obama supporter who thinks that the race speech was brave, which is the sort of feedback that helps. It never occurred to me that black Obama supporters would see his disavowal of Rev. Wright's comments as particular galling. (Although I'm skeptical since I think polls have shown him losing a lot more black support than white support.)
On C-Span recently McWhorter touched briefly on the reasons Colin Powell and Condi Rice have proved to be of so little inspiration to black kids; mainly because they don't give a lot back to the black community and that they are, of course, tainted by their being in a Republican administration. And they are not in THE leadership role. He says that he thinks Obama having four years, especially eight years, in the White House would have a very positive effect on black children, in seeing the Obama's and their children grow up in the White House. He doesn't see it as a cure-all for race relations of course, but that it would push the ball forward.
McWhorter asserts that the black family was relatively intact and the ghettos not so terrible before welfare. The Great Society was the turning point. You can say that a government program ruined the black family; can a government position (i.e. a black as President) help repair it?
What's interesting about this year's election is that it involves three candidates who would have fatal flaws but for the wide-open nature of this election, and it's going to be fascinating to see which flaw is the "least fatal". Obama didn't have one until now (I tend to think his association with Wright will likely cost him the White House). Hillary carries the Jacob Marley chains of lying and self-righteousness that birthed the word "Clintonian". And McCain has made two fatal statements: one, about being in Iraq a hundred years, but even more about the economy not being his thing. McCain can say that he'll surround himself with economic experts but that won't fly after George Bush. Experienced hands under Bush turned out to be not as advertised. Late night television comedians are also doing their best to bring McCain down due to his age, so that's another potentially fatal flaw.
This year it's the battle of the blind versus the lame versus the deaf. Rock-paper-scissors. I think a lot will depend on what happens in the debates between John McCain and ----? (Democratic candidate to be determined).
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