Who doesn’t?

We must have a frank discussion about the problems facing all Americans (black, white, hispanic, asian, ect). That entails stating our experiences, biases, stereotypes, misconceptions, and BEING Real.

In case you haven’t noticed, we have been doing this in America for decades. All races in this country get their chance at the proverbial mike on a daily basis. And fortunately through those discussions, this country has not moved backwards in the area of race relations (contrary to what some folks would have us to believe).

or to state racism or discrimination has ended.

Tell you what, if you find the person who believes that racism has “ended”, slap them for me. In fact, just slap ‘em twice.

He states we must get past these fears in order to conquer the major problems facing America.

But you don’t “get past” fears or pretend they do not exist– you deal with them head on. That oftentimes means that you have to make decisions that are not always popular or applauded by the media. All the things you mentioned are very real and it requires a proven leader to address them accordingly. IMO, neither of our choices this fall are willing to risk anything to do the right thing.

If you look at politics now and how race has been used to strengthen the conservative base

Democrats get well over 85% of the Black vote all while calling the Republican party the party of racists (or the party of “White boys” according to Donna Brazile). Plus, wasn’t it LIBERAL commentators starting and maintaing the discussion over whether or not Obama was “Black enough”?

he invented this unity phenomena

EVERY politician speak of unity when they want to be elected. Obama invented nothing here.

The reality is that Obama is giving a larger perspective on race relations in America. Sure we have made strides as a country in the acceptance of all Americans, but he insists there is more work to be done.

We must have a frank discussion about the problems facing all Americans (black, white, hispanic, asian, ect). That entails stating our experiences, biases, stereotypes, misconceptions, and BEING Real. I think it would be disingenuous to ignore the subtle societal subversive techniques used to negatively effect race relations in this country or to state racism or discrimination has ended.

If you look at politics now and how race has been used to strengthen the conservative base, i.e. illegal immigration, affirmative action, gay marriage, fighting terrorism. The use of wedge issues to systematically divide and conquer the American electorate, you can understand where Obama is coming from. His campaign is a breath of fresh air. There is open discussion of fears, hopes, dreams on both sides. He states we must get past these fears in order to conquer the major problems facing America.

Instead of nitpicking or mis characterizing Obama’s position …i.e. he invented this unity phenomena, why aren’t focusing on those who want America to be segregated and nonequal?

As far as him getting shot, that was a stupid comment from the part of his wife because her and I both know that in the city of Chicago or in Illinois in general, her husband is more likely to get shot by a “brotha” rather than by some white lunatic trying to keep the “White Power” slogan alive.

Sincerely,
Debbie, Newport News, VA

What would have been nice here would have been for Obama and wife to turn the tables on Kroft and ask him why was he making this such a big deal. Unfortunately Michelle went along with it with her comment.

Something you said on Darkstar’s site I really agreed with:

Because the press really doesn’t think he’ll get the Democratic nod.

This is a perspective I have not heard and I agree with it 100%. It really makes you wonder why 99% of the coverage on him has to do with his race and very little coverage on his stances. I think that if he does not take a more aggressive approach against the type of coverage he is getting (“the ‘Black” canadate), it is gonna make it harder for folks to take him seriously beyond his “diversity”.

Her exact quote was already mentioned in the post. Go to cbsnews.com if you need to hear her say it. She, not the interviewer made the comment.

That’s not what his wife said. That is what the interviewer insinuated. When he brought up Colin Powell. What his wife said is that he can get killed doing anything. So it should not stop him from running for President.

MSM is quickly proving to be his worst enemy by spending more time talking about “his Blackness” than the meat and potatoes of his platform.

Maybe so, but this is America. And we LOVE race here in the USA. And you cannot ignore the fact this is a Black man who probably has a better chance of getting the nomination than Jesse EVERY did. Though I would like to hear more about his platform at least before the election noise machines ratcheting up and I start ignoring most election related media altogether.

So why did his wife have to emphasize that his Blackness makes him a possible target for violence? JFK was shot and killed, Reagan was shot, Ford faced two assassination attempts–all three Presidents were White. He also felt the need to plug in the fact that at times he still faces challenges catching a cab in New York.

To me, he is doing some doublespeak here. MSM is quickly proving to be his worst enemy by spending more time talking about “his Blackness” than the meat and potatoes of his platform.

Both.

Obama’s subtle depiction of an America that is just coming out of the dark ages as it relates to race relations was used as a jumping board to call out folks who share this same sentiment. Unlike the news depictions (and online/offline chatter) of an America that is still on the brink of 1950′s style racism, the truth is that this country has made great strides when it comes to race relations. In most cases, we are treated just like everyone else–we just choose to emphasize the one or two incidents within the past 10 or so years where we were discriminated against. This is why many Black folks who feel that nothing has changed in this country since the Civil Rights era jumped on the Katrina incident because they needed new “validation” for their invalid and outdated claims.

“I think if I don’t win this race it will be because of other factors. It’s gonna be because I have not shown to the American people a vision for where the country needs to go that they can embrace,” he tells Kroft.

“Not at all,” Obama says. “I think that there is a assumption on the part of some commentators that somehow, the black community is so unsophisticated that the minute you put an African-American face up on the screen, that they automatically say, ‘That’s our guy.’ A black candidate has to earn black votes the same way that he’s gotta earn white votes. And that’s exactly how it should be.”