On Obama, Ferraro, and race
The big MSM controversy yesterday was over this comment by Geraldine Ferraro:
If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.
The Obama folks are, as expected, up in arms over the comment, and have demanded that Hillary and Ferraro do the PC-perp walk before the world-wide media and beg for their forgiveness.
Having a monster of your own making turn on you is always a tragedy, isn’t it?
Anyway, let’s address the merits of Ferraro’s contention, shall we? Would Senator Obama be where he is today were he not black?
Ramesh Ponnuru is inclined to agree with Ferraro, noting:
Ferraro is clearly right as an analytical matter. Some Obama supporters back him because they want to make history–and his race has a lot to do with their belief that he will. It is also the reason he has such strong support from African Americans, without which Clinton would be beating him.
While Ramesh is right in many respects, I don’t think it is fair to Barack Obama to suggest that he is in the position he is today primarily because of his race. In my view, Barack Obama is beating Hillary Clinton because he knows who he is (read: authentic), and is able to communicate his vision for the United States, flawed as it is, in a way that Hillary could never dream of.
I think it is also important to keep the following in mind:
(1) At the beginning of the presidential campaign, Obama only had a slight lead over Clinton with respect to the African-American vote;
(2) Many prominent African-American leaders have questioned Obama’s “blackness” (whatever in the heck that is) throughout this campaign;
(3) The dream of an Obama presidency began in lily-white Iowa;
(4) The dramatic shift in African-American support from Clinton to Obama (from an almost statistical tie to 85%/15% in favor of Obama) is largely attributable to a post-Iowa belief among African-Americans that Obama can actually win and disgust within that community over the Clintons’ race-baiting campaign tactics.
So, while I don’t doubt that Obama had some core African-American support from the very get-go, this support, in and of itself, is not the reason why he is leading Hillary Clinton in the race to be the dem nominee. Obama is beating Hillary, IMHO, because he is an extremely talented politician who has tapped into the psyche of a large segment of the American public (both black and white). And that has nothing to do with race, and everything to do with extraordinary political ability.
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