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Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Barack Obama
Most pundits like what they heard from Barack Obama, presumably Illinois' next senator, the youngish, black with a classic American story. The keynote speaker was even lauded as a possible future president by, among others, David Gergen. This is condescending. If he were not black, no one would be talking about the White House for someone who has never been elected to anything above the level of state rep. (or is it state senator?). Also, recall that after Mario Cuomo delivered a rousing keynote address at the 1984 DNC, he was hailed as a future president.
Anyway, 'nuff about what might happen in Obama's future and consider what he did last night. What Obama said, as several conservative commentators noted this evening, was more Reaganesque than Democrat. He talked about a United States of America, not a liberal or conservative America, not a black or white or Hispanic America. All well and fine and good but not standard Democratic fare; indeed, his party has done more to disunite America, to engender the grievance industry and to politically benefit from that, than anyone outside academia. Tucker Carlson said Obama's convention rhetoric didn't match his senatorial campaign rhetoric. Will the real Obama please stand up? Then we can talk about his running for president. Or perhaps we should wait for him to get elected to the Senate first; after all, he isn't Justin Trudeau. Such coronations are distasteful in a republic.
Posted by Paul Tuns on July 27, 2004 in Current Affairs | Permalink
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Comments
If it were not for his "story" no-one would have drafted him past town council. Let's face it: he is propaganda. A figurehead. They are playing on the pity aned sympathy of leftists to promote him, because leftist have heard so much bunk about identity politics and opression that they've convinced themselves that non-whites are inferior, need help, and deserve to become poster children for lefty pet peeves.
When are the democrats going to start treating minorities like the sane adults that they are?
Posted by: Joe | 2004-07-28 6:07:04 AM
So Barack Obama is the Donovan McNabb of American politics? It's not just the fact that he is black, but that he has been blessed with that most precious of political commodities: luck and good timing. Republicans were drooling over the prospect of self-made black millionaire Herman Cain winning the GOP Senate primary in Georgia and becoming the first black Republican Senator since reconstruction. Wanna bet he would have been a keynote at the GOP convention? Unfortunately, he lost to a non-descript congressman.
Obama came from way behind to beat the state Comptroller and a couple of other candidates because of his charismatic speaking style. Then his Republican opponent, Jack Ryan, flamed out over a sex scandal. This guy will be a Senator from one of the largest, most politically influential states in the U.S. Furthermore, while Barack is black, he is not from the Jesse Jackson school, captive to the shibboleths of American racial politics. His father is African-born, his mother is a white woman from Kansas, so Obama is not a product of racially charged Chicago politics, but a multiethnic outsider. He is also the first black to have been named editor of the Harvard Law Review (while you might get into Harvard based on a racial quota, you have to be pretty close to the top of the class to make Law Review). The Dems would be stupid not to highlight this guy. And while they may be evil, they are not stupid.
Posted by: Mark C. | 2004-07-28 7:20:04 AM
So Barack Obama is the Donovan McNabb of American politics? It's not just the fact that he is black, but that he has been blessed with that most precious of political commodities: luck and good timing. Republicans were drooling over the prospect of self-made black millionaire Herman Cain winning the GOP Senate primary in Georgia and becoming the first black Republican Senator since reconstruction. Wanna bet he would have been a keynote at the GOP convention? Unfortunately, he lost to a non-descript congressman.
Obama came from way behind to beat the state Comptroller and a couple of other candidates because of his charismatic speaking style. Then his Republican opponent, Jack Ryan, flamed out over a sex scandal. This guy will be a Senator from one of the largest, most politically influential states in the U.S. Furthermore, while Barack is black, he is not from the Jesse Jackson school, captive to the shibboleths of American racial politics. His father is African-born, his mother is a white woman from Kansas, so Obama is not a product of racially charged Chicago politics, but a multiethnic outsider. He is also the first black to have been named editor of the Harvard Law Review (while you might get into Harvard based on a racial quota, you have to be pretty close to the top of the class to make Law Review). The Dems would be stupid not to highlight this guy. And while they may be evil, they are not stupid.
Posted by: Mark C. | 2004-07-28 7:21:39 AM
Obama even managed to pepper his speech with that most Tory of watchwords, One Nation. He did not only sound Reaganesque (who was a Republican in party, but a Tory in philosophy), but even Disraelian. His status as an outsider of immigant descent furthers the comparison.
John Edwards' "Two Americas" is also evocative of Disraeli's call to bring together the "two nations... the rich and the poor." The problem is, while these young Democrats can talk the Tory talk, they cannot walk the Tory walk. Their solutions are not to strengthen the sense of nationhood, the social fabric, equality of opportunity, etc. Instead, their look to the old Democratic sacred cows of racial politics, general American guilt, and equality of outcome. The result is a party of bitterness, grievances, and divisiveness; it shuns the nation's Anglo-American heritage at its own peril.
Posted by: OJM | 2004-07-28 11:44:55 AM
I have a question. You say his father is black and his mother is white.
He himself is described as black. Why not white?
Is black somehow more powerful than or somehow negates white? Or are you just being politically correct.
I suspect the latter.
I personally do not care.
But I am curious.
Posted by: Michael | 2004-07-28 1:17:44 PM
To Michael, check out this website to see how the U.S. has defined "black."
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/mixed/onedrop.html
Nobody is trying to be politically correct here.
Posted by: Damian | 2004-07-28 3:22:16 PM
Well I withdraw my comment regarding political correctness as I was wrong. I do apologize if any offense was taken.
I was apparently wrong about several other things and will be changing my racial identification come next census.
Posted by: Michael | 2004-07-28 5:07:18 PM
"The problem is, while these young Democrats can talk the Tory talk, they cannot walk the Tory walk."
Yeah, OJM is right.
And of course it is also because no matter how eqalitarian the tone, liberals can only finance their dreams by taxation.
To paraphrase Hazlitt, they take capital out of the hands of the most efficient, and through re-distribution, put it into the hands of the least efficient.
Naturally the productive sector shrinks as it is deprived of its life blood, capital. And as the productive sector shrinks, so do opportunity, upper mobility and possibility.
America is not served by these young democrats, irrespective of their rhetorical flair.
Posted by: Greg in Dallas | 2004-07-28 9:45:30 PM
BTW - in case anybody is interested. A policy was enacted for Canadian HRDC programs a couple of years back whereby anybody who claimed to be Indian in Canada and wanting access to programs for Aboriginals via HRDC funding - has to be accepted as Aboriginal. No questions asked. You don't need a status card, or blood quantum letter or anything. You just need to claim that you are Indian.
Its not that well known, but it's the policy. So Next time you see a program, grant or some kind of funding through HRDC that specifies that recipients be Aboriginal - feel free to be as Indian as you want and grab some of that booty.
Posted by: MWW | 2004-07-28 11:15:12 PM
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