Obama In His Own Words

You need to watch this video:



Is Obama racist? You decide.

H/T John Hawkins

Obama's Candidacy Is A Win For Liberals Even If He Loses

According to liberals, the only reason a man so great as Obama could possibly lose is because he's black and Americans are racist. What a convenient belief. If Obama loses, Americans will hear for the next twenty years about their racism and badness. His loss would be further proof of America's evil. If Obama wins, America will hear about the perfection and lightness of Obama's being. His greatness will make America great.

I found this over at Ebonypolitics:

In America, Barack Obama can be a lot of things: a law professor, a state senator, a United States Senator and a presidential candidate, but one thing he can not be is white, and that is what might stop him from becoming president.

So, if he loses, it's America's fault. If he wins, it's because he's a Savior. It's a win-win for Liberals who cling to identity politics like a baby blanket. An Obama loss would be fuel for their discontent for years.

I'd like to put forth the notion to our liberal brethren that Barack Obama might lose not because of the color of his skin, but the content of his character, content of his socialist philosophy, and the lack of content of his resumé. Maybe liberals could also consider that Americans will choose the next president based on who they think is best for America.


Cross-posted at Right Wing News.

How Does White Guilt Help?

Megan McCardle writes about racism and conservatives (via Instapundit). The comments are really interesting. Go read them. The opinions range from a self-righteous defense of white guilt to diminishing the contributions of prominent black conservatives because they're not really conservative.

So let me get this straight: Liberals are better than conservatives because they feel bad that there's racism and they're justified in using blacks to make them feel better, but that's not racism that's "promoting diversity".

As Ms. McArdle says:

It's also worth noting that the presidential candidate who has done the most to exploit the racism of others this election season is liberal Democrat Hillary Clinton, whose campaign, though bullish on sexism, has spent a lot more time talking about how it is constrained by political correctness in its campaign against Barack Obama than being concerned with actual racism.

Conservative find discrimination based on race or gender repugnant. As the Democratic primary season has amply demonstrated, identity politics, when taken to its logical end, is absurd. What is the big idea on the Left these days?

How does feeling guilty for wrongs people committed generations ago change the reality today? How does feeling better because you're guilty help? It's irrational. And the policies that liberals espouse are irrational and lead to the exact opposite place they intend. New Orleans is a liberal government let to run amok for years. In the north, there's Detroit and Philadelphia. All three cities have been run by liberal policies. The results have been anything but good especially for black people. And in places like Key West and San Francisco, other places where liberal politics are practiced, poor people of any color cannot live there. Now, who exactly is discriminatory?

And then there are the individual implications. One of my genius friends happens to be black (he's not genius enough to be conservative). He was educated in a fantastic university and not because of affirmative action. But how galling would it be to work your ass off and be presumed to have needed lowered standards in order to make it?

It is irrational to believe that racism doesn't exist. It does. It is also irrational to believe that by focusing on race and feeling guilty, racism will end.

Cross-posted at Right Wing News.

About As Accurate As Hurricane Prediction

I've been wanting to link this: The Racial Resentment Index. Kinda like the Heat Index only more racist.

Handy Manny's Pervasive Racism

Bloggers live glamorous lives. We're like Hollywood starlets except were older, don't shower often and wear pajamas to the grocery store. Wait, that's just like a Hollywood starlet. While I sit here cranking out the content, one of my progeny uses me as a jungle gym when he's not watching Disney Channel or Noggin. I have become intimately acquainted with kid-fare and it's generally as repugnant as adult-fare. No wonder TV ratings are in the crapper.

Exhibit "A" is Handy Manny--the ode to Mexican immigrant greatness. I'm a huge fan of the industrious work-ethic that seems to be woven into the Mexican culture. I can personally attest to the fine work that Mexican-Americans contribute to our country and economy. Handy Manny exemplifies these traits. More power to him. In contrast to old Hanny Manny, though there is another character: Mr. Lopart. Mr. Lopart is be-speckled, be-fuddled, so smart he's stupid, messes up everything he touches, rather weak and feeble, and refuses instruction or help from anyone, even those who know more than him. In short, Mr. Lopart is the worst cliché of the middle-aged, white American male.

It makes me sick. Watch just the first 30 seconds or so. You'll see what I mean.



The Mexican, black, and oriental characters are all kind-hearted, have something broken and have the sense to get help from the super hero Handy Manny. Not Mr. Lopart. He's the stupid white guy. Watching it once or twice is one thing. Seeing this racism every single day is galling. And this unspoken but obvious message is burned into the hard drives of America's children. So parents, pay attention. Indoctrination begins young and could be happening right under your nose.

Cross-posted at Right Wing News

Remember Crystal Magnum?

Duke. Rape. Stripper. False. Accusation.

Remember? Yeah, well this lovely piece of humanity received her college degree in, wait for it, Police Psychology. She should be in jail for wrecking lives and wreaking havoc on our justice system.

For the record, things are still whack in Durhum and KC Johnson is still on the job which is why he's still on my blog roll. Congressional sub-committees discuss the erosion of public confidence in the Federal Justice System. Hmmm.....now why would anyone lose faith?

Black People Are Right Brained, White People Are Left Brained: So Says Jeremiah Wright UPDATED

Now, ponder if you will, what would happen if a prominent white pastor made this statement. We don't even have to think too hard. Remember the hew and cry over Lawrence Summers' statement that men and women are different? That seems to be stating the obvious. But for a white person to say that a black person's brain is different, when there is zero evidence to support this assertion would smack of, what is the word I'm searching for? Oh yeah, racism. It's okay, though. The racist in question is black.

Michelle Malkin says:

If he’s this comfortable mocking black/white differences in front of media cameras, I can only imagine what he says in private to his faithful black liberation ideology adherents.

Michelle has a great round-up as usual with all the accompanying video of Pastor Right Brain. He also says that white people clap differently than black people. So, does Barack Obama clap like a white person or a black person?

And for those of you thinking that this isn't relevant, keep in mind Obama calls Wright his "spiritual mentor". For twenty years he's been letting this nonsense soak into his soul. I find it difficult to believe that the ideology he sought out weekly didn't affect him. We choose our churches and pastors, who they are and what they preach reflects who we are and what we believe.

UPDATED: Glenn Reynolds thinks that Jeremiah Wright is sabotaging Obama. Sure looks that way. The only other explanation is that he's a fame whore and doesn't mind killing Obama's chances so he gets to be the center of the media universe for a while. If that's the case, Obama must be ruing his excellent judgment about friends and associates. And I wonder. Does he now regret not booting the "crazy uncle" to the curb?

A reader asked what I make of the Bill Moyers nonsense. Well, I linked to the best piece on the whole debacle yesterday, but I'll link to it again today. Jeff Goldstein followed up with his own thoughts, which are precisely mine on the subject. He just says it better. So go read it.

Race: The Politically Uncorrect Truth

Well, John stirs the pot yet again. Here's a taste, go over to his Townhall column to see the whole thing:

Blacks are, on average, more racist than whites: As we've seen in the Democratic primary this year, black Americans are much more likely to vote for a person based on his skin color than white Americans. Also, most black Americans tend to think it's ok to belong to race-based organizations like the NAACP, while white Americans hold race-based groups like the KKK in disdain. Moreover, percentage wise, there are pretty clearly a lot more black Americans who dislike white Americans based on their skin color than vice-versa. Maybe that's understandable given the shameful treatment black Americans once had to endure in this country, but it's still the truth -- and don't even get me started on black Americans actually defending criminal scum like O.J. Simpson, Mike Tyson, and the L.A. rioters because they're black.

Do you believe this? I'm putting it up for a poll.

Blacks are....
	more racist than whites
	less racist than whites
	about the same as whites
pollcode.com free polls

Michelle Obama's Heart

Sigh. I don't like the candidates this year. And I don't like the Democratic candidate's wife and husband. They are just lame on so many levels it's fatiguing. One week it's Bill Clinton shooting off at the mouth. The next week it's Michelle Obama. She calls to mind a scripture in Matthew 12:34:

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Michelle Obama's heart appears to be filled with America loathing. Gateway Pundit reports what she said:

"It's easier to hold on to your own stereotypes and misconceptions, it makes you feel justified in your own ignorance...That's AMERICA"

Michelle Obama
Campaigning for Change at University of South Carolina
January, 2008

Oops!... She did it again!
Michelle Obama bashes America

I watched the video and as usual, it seems rather benign. She is admonishing students to interact more on campus. I remember the self-imposed segregation at my small college. It never seemed like racism or exclusivity to me and it didn't happen all the time. It struck me more as finding people like yourself with similar experiences and finding a connection. Still, it was a color divide sometimes. However, it didn't bug me personally because I counted many in the "black group" as friends.

Obama frames this issue as one of ignorance and stereotypes. I didn't feel that the "black group" was ignorant or steeped in stereotypes any more than I felt the greater majority of white people were ignorant and steeped in stereotypes. It seemed a matter of comfort. And yes, sometimes it's good to push past a person's comfort zone. But no, I don't think that Americans feel generally "justified in their ignorance". What a sweeping statement to make about America. Sure it describes some Americans, but all of America?

And if integration and stepping outside of the comfort zone is so important, why does Ms. Obama go to a black church teaching black superiority, hate toward Jews and weird conspiracy theories designed to inspire paranoia of America? You'd think she'd go to a multiracial church where universal values like love, forgiveness, reconciliation and charity are taught.

Good Friday? Great Friday!

I want you all to have a great Good Friday so I'm putting together some interesting links for you to peruse at your leisure. Yes, you're spoiled rotten, but since you don't whine and wake me up in the middle of the night, I like you.

First, it's March Madness. Brendan, brace yourself and don't be hatin' (for those who don't remember, Brendan is my blog husband, yes, he's married, yes his wife just had baby, yes, he's a lawyer in Tennessee, yes, he's my junior by a decade, but in an alternate universe we discuss college basketball, Tolkien, politics, and sci-fi and I ignore his weather babbling), anyway, Brendan, I'm going to the NCAA tournament game tonight--Vanderbilt verses Sienna. I care little about either team, but it will be an experience. And it's okay to love Pat Summit. It's okay. If your wife can share, I can share.

Do the Democrats want expensive gas or don't they? My thought? They want to bitch about high gas prices and also tax gases for supposed environmental reasons (aka increase tax revenues to dole out pork). Yes, it's contradictory, but who says that they make sense? That's right, no one.

The Anchoress brings to mind this memory: When I was a toddler, I lived in Detroit on a street where we were the one white family. My best friend was a little black boy my age. We moved out a bit when I got a little older, but went to a church that was half black and half white. My parents were very open about race. My parents liked cards--specifically pinochle, bid whiz, and bridge. We'd go to friends houses all over Detroit, sometimes needing an escort out of the neighborhood after dark. We'd have friends over to our house too. It caused problems once or twice with white neighbors, but my parents didn't buckle. Well, we had a church fundraiser and the ladies made Raggedy Ann dolls and I remember my mom sewing black Raggedy Ann dolls. It seemed normal to me that a black girl would want a black doll. But the store shelves had white dolls only. My sense of justice found this situation angering. It wasn't fair for a girl to not have a doll that looks like her. That has changed, as The Anchoress notes, but some racial attitudes still pervade society. She says this (please, please, read her whole post):

Dolls and action figures have changed, of course, but both this incident and the other, at work, made me think of the psychic duality that must be part and parcel of being black in America. You’re not simply a man or a woman, you’re a black man, a black woman, and when people see you it is what they notice first, and then their brains begin to process stereotypes and horror stories or stories of ridicule. And the psychic duality is that your fundamental personhood is being challenged daily, by a thousand little unintended insults - like the lack of a black doll to play with - that you’re supposed to over-look, and by other, more overt and intentional insults (or buffooneries) that you are supposed to transcend, all while maintaining your dignity.

Some might say all of that is not limited to the black experience, that a fat person faces those same snap-judgments and stereotypes, and that is true, but only to a point. A fat person may shed the extra poundage; a black person cannot shed the skin.

There is absolutely nothing simple in the matter of race in America, and I don’t envy any black man or black woman their daily grind

We do have a long way to go with race in America. A long way. It seems to me that the pass given to Obama is because of his skin color. People are afraid to criticize for fear of being perceived as racist, which is, in itself, racist. We have a long ways to go.

Staying with the race theme, Ann Althouse has a video that was made by some marketing firm, but forwarded by a guy in McCain's camp. She feels it's incendiary and offensive. What do you think? I think this proves The Anchoress's point, is what I think.

As an aside, I believe Obama has the Democratic nomination sealed. There is no way the Democrats will go for Hillary now. It will seem racist to deny Obama. And Obama will lose to McCain. It's done. MaxedOutMama has a complete and thoughtful analysis of the whole thing and believes the same problem afflicts both Hillary's and Obama's campaign:

The questions about Obama's psychological maturity are what he really has to face. He's relatively young, very inexperienced, and it is reasonable for the voters to care a great deal about his fundamental character. It's fine to be hopeful and optimistic. We could use a heaping load of that in our leaders. We also need that optimism to be deeply infused and engaged with reality - otherwise it's just wishful thinking. And yes, some of Obama's comments about sitting down to talk to certain world leaders do strike me as wishful thinking.

A president infected with victimology would be a disaster, and I think that is precisely what is causing Hillary problems.

Now, to something less weighty but revealing nonetheless. Just keep Shelley's quote in your mind: The eyes bring to seeing what they wish to see. Also, consider this when you contemplating "eye witness" testimony. It's not all that reliable.

Want to be a blog star? I know I do. Will it happen? Not sure. But here's some good points. My least favorite point: Don't expect to make money. Hmph! I want to make money doing this!

Money can buy happiness, but there's a catch. It's an important catch.

Hope you all have a great Friday!

Obama Throws Grandmama From The Train

Barack Obama's mellifluous speech contained more to offend. Here's a question: Why is Obama afraid of showing his white side? Is he embarrassed to be white? Did he feel like he had to attach himself to one identity? Has he always had to prove, like he had to prove at the beginning of the campaign, that he's black enough?

Obama equated his white grandmother's fear of passing a group of black young men with the good Reverend's racism and anti-semitism and anti-Americanism. Nice. Victor Davis Hanson deconstructs the sermon:

Instead, to Obama, the postmodernist, context is everything. We all have eccentric and flamboyant pastors like Wright with whom we disagree. And words, in his case, don’t quite mean what we think; unspoken intent and angst, not voiced hatred, are what matters more.

Rather than account for his relationship with a hate-monger, Obama will enlighten you, as your teacher, why you are either confused or too ill-intended to ask him to disassociate himself from Wright.

The Obama apologia was a “conversation” about moral equivalence. [emphasis added, -ed.]

Hanson continues:

2) We are all at times racists and the uniquely qualified Obama is our valuable mirror of that ugliness: Wright may say things like “God damn America” or “Dirty Word” Israel or “Clarence Colon,” but then it must be balanced by other truths like Obama’s own grandmother who also expresses fear of black males (his grandmother’s private angst is thus of the same magnitude as Wright’s outbursts broadcast to tens of thousands).

I'm liking Obama less every day. I wonder if the general electorate feels this way. It seems that his Democratic nomination for President is assured.

Barack's Speech

Do you see what I see? Shelby Steele writes this before Obama's speech today. This is important stuff, people. What is articulated here has been what I've been trying to say for some time:

But bargainers have an Achilles heel. They succeed as conduits of white innocence only as long as they are largely invisible as complex human beings. They hope to become icons that can be identified with rather than seen, and their individual complexity gets in the way of this. So bargainers are always laboring to stay invisible. (We don't know the real politics or convictions of Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan or Oprah Winfrey, bargainers all.) Mr. Obama has said of himself, "I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views . . ." And so, human visibility is Mr. Obama's Achilles heel. If we see the real man, his contradictions and bents of character, he will be ruined as an icon, as a "blank screen."

Thus, nothing could be more dangerous to Mr. Obama's political aspirations than the revelation that he, the son of a white woman, sat Sunday after Sunday -- for 20 years -- in an Afrocentric, black nationalist church in which his own mother, not to mention other whites, could never feel comfortable. His pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is a challenger who goes far past Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson in his anti-American outrage ("God damn America").

How does one "transcend" race in this church? The fact is that Barack Obama has fellow-traveled with a hate-filled, anti-American black nationalism all his adult life, failing to stand and challenge an ideology that would have no place for his own mother. And what portent of presidential judgment is it to have exposed his two daughters for their entire lives to what is, at the very least, a subtext of anti-white vitriol?

What could he have been thinking? Of course he wasn't thinking. He was driven by insecurity, by a need to "be black" despite his biracial background. And so fellow-traveling with a little race hatred seemed a small price to pay for a more secure racial identity. And anyway, wasn't this hatred more rhetorical than real? [Emphasis added, -ed. This, by the way, was the point I've been trying to make--this racism cant works rhetorically, but the real world where Obama succeeds integrates races.]

Now, read Obama's speech with that in mind. Here is what he says:


Well, I don't think Obama can disown Reverend Wright. This speech is about doing what he could do with the commitment he made to a church where the preacher inculcates, teaches, inspires and recommends anger and resentment. Reconciliation, Obama's subtext for being, plays no part in his preacher's perspective.

Tom Maguire says this:

Still, this will slide him past the Dem primary voters. For the general, time will tell.

OH, YEAH! Obama does summon the Dem dream of working class white and black (and brown and yellow) uniting against their oppressive corporate overlords.

Gateway Pundit is not at all impressed:

A few observations:

** "Trinity embodies the black community in its entirety"- Frightening.
** "As imperfect as he may be, he has been like family to me"- G-Damn right!
** "I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community"- You're done.
** "These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America"- That's G-damned America, thank you.
** Man cannot live on bread alone- add mustard and relish.

Obama had some nice words but will it be enough to heal the damage done by his pastor?
...Doubtful.

And Ace has what everyone is missing, as per usual. The MSM will go back into their protection mode:

Who Put the Turtle on the Fence Post? I don't blame Hillary for pushing this story too the press, assuming she did, which I do in fact assume.

What annoys me is the MSM. No Republican could push this very legitimate story to the press because the headline would not be about Wright. The headline would read:

Republican Operatives In Whispering Campaign of Racial Code-Words and Hate

But of course if a liberal in good standing brings the same issue to the press, it's legitimate, and they run the actual story.

Note there is not a bloody word from the press about who brought this to their attention.

The implication seems to be the MSM discovered this on their own, dug it all up, tracked it down with their own dogged determination and love of hard, painstaking detective-work.

Dan Collins, blogging for the perpetually indisposed Jeff Goldstein says this and it's my conclusion too:

This still doesn’t begin to answer why it’s somehow excusable for a pastor to spew demagoguery and outright lies from the pulpit. You want healing? Begin with the truth.

And that leads me to my point. Reverse this. Reverse this whole situation. Imagine for a moment that a white man went to a church where it was preached that black people caused AIDs as a conspiracy to kill the race, that the white guy's white power preacher said "God DAMN America", that the preacher married him, baptized his children into hate-filled rhetoric. Just imagine all this. And now imagine the white presidential candidate saying that he refuses to repudiate his pastor because he's like family.

We will know America isn't cowed by race when a black man is held to the same standards as a white man and is judged by the content of his character. Right now, people are ignoring Obama's character, his lifetime of actions, and judging him by the hope of what they project onto his skin color.

Shelby Steele is right. When Obama becomes a complex man, he ceases to become the icon. Will people insist on keeping Obama simple? And how is that less racist than anything in the past?

Barack's Birds of a Feather

Didn't your mother tell you that you'd be judged by the company you keep? She was right and you resented it, but you thought about it at the most inconvenient times--especially when your buddy was being a complete dumbass. You'd have been mortified if you got caught. Or, maybe you did get caught and had to explain yourself.

There's a reason why the dude driving the getaway car gets thrown in the pokey right along with the robber. The robber needed the driver to do the deed. They worked as a unit. Their crime couldn't have as effectively been committed without the other.

Enter Barack Obama's circle of friends. Enter Barack Obama himself. Obama proclaimed, after 9/11 that he didn't need to wear a flag pin or outward sign of patriotism. Obama has had trouble finding his heart during the national anthem. Obama seems uncomfortable with public displays of affection for the country that has feed, clothed and supported his sorry ass. Just. Can't. Do. It. And this inability to demonstrate, to act loving toward his country stands in stark contrast to his words of reconciliation, healing and love-building. Or does it?

I actually think the reconciliation talk is just a pernicious extension of the negative beliefs the Obamas hold about America. America is racist. It's divided. It's evil. And all that can be ameliorated with someone like Barack Obama. He's painted as the savior, because he is the savior. He's a savior from sin, transgression and evil. He's a savior FROM America because America itself is evil. Obama is the Leftist Jerry Falwell.

Michelle Obama enthused about her husband's success. I think her delight and amazement that he's doing so well has genuinely surprised her. Why, America is a racist, bigoted place where white people are weened on hate and degrading "the other" is just what white people do. So, it challenges more than a few beliefs to see white people lined up for miles to see her husband. And not just see him, but cheer him, kiss him, just desire to touch him.

How could two Ivy Leaguers, who benefited from all the intellectual and physical plenty America has to offer still hold such tarnished views? It's the company they keep. Black or white, the far Left in this country believes the crazy spouted by their beloved pastor, Jeremiah Wright. Hang out at Daily Kos for a day. Nutty conspiracy theories, racism, sexism, rants against corporations, environmental hysteria, and on and on and on are just the normal talk on any given day.

Jeremiah Wright's weekly diatribes reinforced the wine-sipping discussions around the Obama dining room table (in the house they got via Tony Rezco, but that's just Chicago politics as usual). Words like "God DAMN America", which are so offensive to the average American, sounds like sweet music to people who believe that America screws everyone. And I believe, that until this election which has opened their jaded eyes, somewhat, that the Obamas believe or believed that America screws everyone.

Birds of a feather flock together. Barack Obama's flock is just revealing the dark underbelly of Leftist cant. It isn't pretty. Obama has shown no desire to moderate his Leftist policies. Yesterday, it was a trillion dollar tax increase. He is a classic statist Leftist. There is nothing new under the sun. The sad thing is, this vile belief system washed and nurtured the Obamas. And they aren't going to change once they get to the White House.

It seems a fair comparison to put Obama in the same category as Jimmy Carter. And that's more than a little terrifying.



And just as an aside, imagine a white person talking about black people this way. Try to imagine it. There will be no reconciliation when one race damns another.

For a somewhat dissenting view, read the Anchoress who believes that these tapes were put forward by the Clinton campaign. She also believes this isn't racism, but classic victimhood ideology.

Obama's Unbearable Blackness of Being

Last week, I wrote that this presidential campaign might be more civilized because the press may continue their love-fest with McCain lest they give the conservatives ammo and well, they'll be nice to Obama because he is their guy. It might just be more civilized because of white guilt.

How will this play out in the election? Howard Kurtz wonders at the "pulled punches" because Obama is black:

"As conservative columnist Peggy Noonan wrote this month, 'Mr. Obama will not be easy for Republicans to attack. . . . There are many reasons, but a primary one is that the fact of his race will freeze them.' "

It certainly won't freeze them on the issues. But on personal matters and insinuations, that's probably right.

Politico's Ben Smith says Obama may be milking the contrition of his rivals:

"Most of them have apologized for saying something insensitive about Obama's race, his name, or his heritage. And the dynamic of outrage and offense this campaign has proved race to be a much touchier subject than gender. At times, Obama's campaign has sought to downplay burgeoning outrage. At others, he's stoked it for political advantage.

The problem with the pussy-footing is that it is, in itself, racist. When a black man or woman can be criticized or challenged like a person of any other color, then we'll know that equality has been achieved.

I don't think we'll see "equality" in this election by either the press or the candidates.

Black Is Better II: "Identity Politics Is Rational"

Sunday I wrote about Frank Rich's racist and cynical views. First, he is viewing the world through a color prism. Second, he believes all Americans are as racist as he is racist.

Evidently, Rich is in good company at The New York Times. Today it's another white male, Stanley Fish, opining about how identity politics can be a good thing. Well, at least these guys are coming out of the racist closet and airing their views instead of pretending at fairness. Fish says:

We should distinguish, I think, between two forms of identity politics. The first I have already named “tribal”; it is the politics based on who a candidate is rather than on what he or she believes or argues for. And that, I agree, is usually a bad idea. (I say “usually” because it is possible to argue that the election of a black or female president, no matter what his or positions happen to be, will be more than a symbolic correction of the errors that have marred the country’s history, and an important international statement as well.) The second form of identity politics is what I call “interest” identity politics. It is based on the assumption (itself resting on history and observation) that because of his or her race or ethnicity or gender a candidate might pursue an agenda that would advance the interests a voter is committed to. Not only is there nothing wrong with such a calculation – it is both rational and considered – I don’t see that there is an alternative to voting on the basis of interest.

A commenter made the point that on the Right Christians voted based on a candidate's specific religion and that too, was a form of identity politics, yet no one criticizes that. Well, I happen to believe that voting that way is also wrong and foolish. It is nice when one finds a candidate whose personal beliefs mirror one's own, but please, if his policies are repugnant, who gives a flip if he thumps his Bible on Sundays ala Mike Huckabee?

The Right screwed themselves over, as others have noted, because they held on to identity politics of just this sort. Religious prejudice harmed Romney's chances as much as anything. I know this because I had more than one shock-inducing conversation with religious conservatives around Houston. They were voting Huckabee because Huckabee was a good Christian man. To which I responded, "Who raises taxes."

My philosophy in politics is the same as in medicine: Are you the best? Do you want a surgeon who prays but can't cut his way out of a paper bag? Or do you want a surgeon who can cut, and worships Abraham Maslow? I'll take the latter, thank you. My preference would be a world-class surgeon who also prays, but you know what, sometimes we don't get what we want.

This political season has been all about not getting exactly what we want. And both the Right and Left are making moronic choices in candidates because they're choosing form over substance. Black skin is form. Ovaries is form. Bible beating Baptist is form. The substance is symbolic, but politicians will be making real decisions that affect real lives. Christopher Hitchens says:

People who think with their epidermis or their genitalia or their clan are the problem to begin with. One does not banish this specter by invoking it. If I would not vote against someone on the grounds of "race" or "gender" alone, then by the exact same token I would not cast a vote in his or her favor for the identical reason. Yet see how this obvious question makes fairly intelligent people say the most alarmingly stupid things.

Madeleine Albright has said that there is "a special place in hell for women who don't help each other." What are the implications of this statement? Would it be an argument in favor of the candidacy of Mrs. Clinton? Would this mean that Elizabeth Edwards and Michelle Obama don't deserve the help of fellow females? If the Republicans nominated a woman would Ms. Albright instantly switch parties out of sheer sisterhood? Of course not. (And this wearisome tripe from someone who was once our secretary of state . . .)

On Day 1 in office, Obama or Clinton will cease to be symbols and become the leader of the free world. Mocha skin tone and female gonads mean little in the face of real challenges--except that in both of these cases, these candidates are weak and will project American weakness--and not because of their color or reproductive organs, either. They will project weakness because their policy positions are weak and because they believe America is weak and flawed. Suddenly, their policies matter.

Well, policies matter now. Character matters now. And these should be the determining factors in this election. But with guys like Rich and Fish extolling identity politics for its own sake, we can be sure they represent a considerable number of people who feel just the same.

Superficial vs. Substance

The Anchoress notes that the conservatives argue ideas while the liberals argue skin color and other vital statistics.

Worthwhile Reading

I'm wandering around the web today. This last week has been challenging--sick kids and other concerns--so I haven't been reading and/or blogging much.

I still find myself sick of politics. My bottom line: this election seems exceedingly important to me and I have never seen such a weak field on both sides. Mark Steyn says "it's a shame one of them has to win". Indeed. On the Left, both Clinton and Obama are untested. Clinton has everything the Clinton name implies which so does not interest me. Four years of that, again. Obama seems a mile wide and an inch deep. There just doesn't seem to be any there there. Lot's of people love him, though. McCain strikes me, above all else, as still angry. Others use the word "briny". I know it's a cliché, but he just doesn't have a presidential temperment--his refusal to buckle on anything seems recalcitrant not righteous. Romney, has business experience sure, but I just feel uneasy about him. Is destroying the conservative movement worth any of these people?

This all sounds vague and nebulous, I know, but those are my overarching impressions--never mind the policy decisions they've all made. Other impressions:

Betsy gets at why Bill Clinton has been so wheels off lately.

What place does faith have in elections? I mean, we vote, asserting our point of view. If we were truly faithful, would we vote or get involved with politics at all? Well, Christians do have dual citizenship, feet in two worlds, so it stands to reason to be fully present in both, voting would happen here and praying would happen for there. But how to do this? Does the shrieking hysterics from the likes of Ann Coulter constitute a lack of faith or is she asserting her place in this world? The Anchoress writes on the "hand wringing" and urges conservatives to pray. Like me, she thinks we'll be missing G. W. Bush after he's gone. I think that's a given at this point. Her post calls to mind my favorite scripture: I John 4:18. "There is no fear in love. Perfect love casts out fear." Fear just doesn't go away, it must be replaced with something and that something is love.

That brings me to something else. My Australian friend and I were Skyping last night (isn't technology amazing?) and contemplating the election. For what it's worth, her friends think that McCain will be the American president. Meh. A friend in France was calling it for Giuliani and that's not going to happen. Back to the point. We agreed that people rise to the occasion, that the Presidency forces a person to grow. Now, some Presidents refuse to grow--Jimmy Carter strikes me as one. He chose to stay the peanut farmer. Part of my worry about Mike Huckabee was just that. We don't need a President who refuses to grow into the role. I do feel that for all their faults, any of the people now seriously considered as candidates would attempt to grow (except possibly for McCain), but I do think the Democrats would put forward horrible policies for the nation. The economy is shaky. We don't need shaky leadership.

Back to faith and life. My friend Maxed Out Mama is alive today because someone believed she was worth saving. She discusses forced starvation by dehydration, the medical version of doing harm without actually "doing" anything. It is barbaric and wrong and almost incomprehensible in this day and age, but it happens all the time. I have two friends who were severely brain injured--one in a car accident, the other thrown from a motorcycle. In both cases, they came out of their problems different than they went into them. They are both whole and both could have been left to wither away. Meanwhile, the 35 year anniversary of Roe v. Wade was this last week. What we do to the innocent.

Quote of the week via LaShawn Barber:
I freed thousands of slaves. I could have freed thousands more, if they had known they were slaves. – Harriet Tubman

Her whole post is worth reading, but I'm taking the idea in a different direction. To one extent or another, we are all slaves. Most of us are enslaved by our own beliefs and dogma. For those of us trying to live aware lives, it can come as a shock when we are blind-sided by a blind spot. But we are ready to see when we're ready. When the shake-up happens, the experience begs the question: where else am I enslaved? The benefit of friends, and of therapy or coaching, can be to see the blind spots and change.

But the fact remains: we must acknowledge that we are slaves. To get to freedom, we have to admit we're not free now. It's still the beginning of a new year and a good time to reevaluate beliefs. Are they helpful? Are they true? Do they build joy and happiness or do they limit and create misery?

And with that, enjoy the game. There are winners and losers in life, but the biggest losers are the ones who refuse to play. This week, get in the game!

The Racist, Sexist Democrats--UPDATE

If you're black, does it mean you're going to vote for Barack Obama?

If you're a woman, does it mean you're going to vote for Hillary Clinton?

Big feminists line up behind Hillary. How surprising! Blacks line up behind Barack Obama. And this is all on the Left. I seem to remember this little speech by this historical figure who said this:

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

I'm guessing that Martin Luther King wasn't interested in his children being judged by their reproductive organs, either, but if they're members of the current Democratic party, they'll be making judgments on exactly that. Democrats are all about skin color and gonads. Integrity and character seem of secondary concern.

These days, you can be a "wrong" kind of Democrat--Hillary just got booed in New York at the Martin Luther King Rally. And people are reacting to Hillary and Obama's "tussling" over who understands black America better. Are we really having this conversation?

We're having this conversation. The Democrats might be snickering about the Religious Right's hold on the Republican party, but the ideal held by Democrats--that we're defined not by character but by our form--is currently tearing them apart.

When one of them wins the nomination, will the opposition within their own party be able to be healed? It seems like this election has the potential to divide more than red and blue. This election has the potential to divide black and white, men and women, young and old.

Civil rights leaders a generation ago dreamed that one day blacks and women would have equal opportunity to be anything, do anything. And look! Today, in America, a black man and a middle-aged woman run to be the ruler of the free world. It should be a day to celebrate. Instead, the Left is being torn asunder by concentrating on the gender and color instead of the character of their candidates. Of course, if they focused on character, they'd have other problems.

UPDATE:

As usual, The Anchoress is reading from the same page and putting it together better. Here's what she says:

Okay. I doubt I’m alone in wondering how much sub-conscious bigotry is being unearthed by Obama’s candidacy - but that’s for another post. Certainly, since Obama is a Democrat, we will not see the sort of racist cartoons and offensive photoshopped images the left have offered up to depict Condoleeza Rice or Michael Steele, so that’s a mercy, anyhow.

And about Hillary Clinton (long quote, but I want you to read it):

I recall reading that Hillary Rodham Clinton was a graduate of Yale School of Law and a partner in the prestigious Rose Law Firm, in Arkansas.

So, it was a little surprising to see her say this while pandering at a job-training center in California:

Clinton…said she understood borrowers who didn’t read their mortgages. “I’ve got to tell you, I skim my mortgage papers. I didn’t read them. I didn’t know there was all that fine print and those pages and pages of legalese,” she said.

[emphasis mine - admin]

So, after - by her count - 35 years of public life, Hillary has “found her voice,” and her voice is full of shit.

Hillary wants to be president so badly that she’ll even pretend to be stupider than the meanest caricature of George W. Bush if that’s what it takes. I read that quote and wondered if she’d thought to put on buckteeth and her ghastly hillbilly twang while she unloaded that disingenuous bit of horse manure.

The only politician I can think of who is more manure-laden than Hillary is her husband; the amount of it they shoveled this weekend alone could fill a truck.

Couple all that with these racial gaffes. Once upon a time Mrs. Clinton would pander to the African-American voters, declaring “I don’t feel no ways tired” (try listening to that today - it’s shudder-inducing) and “you know what I’m talkin’ about,” Lately, Mrs. Clinton, in her new voice, seemed to minimize the work of Dr. Martin Luther King and ascribe the success of the civil rights movement to President Lyndon Johnson.

This election is turning over the Democrat's rock and revealing a lot of nasty stuff.

It's Not A Hate Crime..... --Updated

......if you're white. If you're white, it's "simple assault".

Update: Here's the assaulted white guys. And here's the city's response via Gateway Pundit:

The City of Baltimore is denying that this was a racist attack.

The victim of the first bus attack, Sarah Kreager, has been placed in a witness protection program, after a cousin of one of the accused sent her a threatening message at the homeless shelter where Kreager stays, according to a law enforcement source.

Can you imagine if these people were black? Where's Al Sharpton? Where's Jesse Jackson? Their silence equates racism.

More on Race-Baiting

Gateway Pundit has more on the Jena Six and the notion that America is an unfair place for black people. Do Americans of any color really know lack? They may know lack, but do they know lack of opportunity?

No American knows that lack.