"Congrats, senator, you've just lost a supporter."

That's what Brendan Loy says about Barack Obama's deliberate decision not to take the high road, and instead "let this racial stew fester":

At a conference call with reporters this morning, somebody asked Barack Obama about the Clintons' recent controversial remarks and Hillary Clinton's response to the kerfuffle. Thus, Obama had a golden opportunity to make clear that he does not believe the Clintons' remarks were racist or racially insensitive -- and he chose not to do so. Instead, he said a bunch of other stuff that I have no problem with, but failed to do the one thing he needs to do, which is to unambiguously disassociate himself from this race-baiting nonsense.
Via Glenn Reynolds, who adds,
The last thing we need is a President who encourages festering racial controversies.
Middle Americans who support Obama do so under the belief that he is as refreshing as he looks, and that he can heal America's racial disharmony. (Guilt also plays a strong role.) Having just demonstrated that he is not as refreshing as he looks, Obama has done precisely the type of thing which, if it does not cost him the Democratic nomination, will cause him to lose in November.

I have to say that I'm disappointed. I can't really call myself a disapointed supporter of Obama (even though I did support him over Alan Keyes).

Mainstream Americans don't like race hustlers and cheap demagoguery. If Obama doesn't do something -- and fast -- he'll have no chance of winning them over.

I'm tempted to say "Congrats, senator, you've just lost an election."

MORE: Brendan Loy reports that Obama has disavowed the race card nonsense:

Mr. Obama urged Democratic voters not to become embroiled in racially-charged or motivated discussions.

"If I hear my own supporters engaging in talk that I think is ungenerous or misleading or in some way is unfair, I will speak out forcefully against it," he said. "I hope the other campaigns take the same approach."

(Via Glenn Reynolds, who credits Brendan Loy.)

If the Democrats are perceived as hopelessly hobbled by the race issue, it won't matter who wins the nomination.

posted by Eric on 01.14.08 at 10:31 AM





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Comments

It is time for Obama to have a Sistah Soljah moment.

Let him denounce the race hustlers like Al Sharpton that he embraced (not just metaphorically but actually). Let him say that Louis Farrakan - who his church honored - does not represent his views. That such views - that whites are not human - are not his.

Let him denounce all racism - black or white. Let him speak out loud about the Jew hatred that infects the black community.

If we are going to banish race as an issue - we have to speak honestly. The truth. That white racism does not excuse black racism.

It is past time he had his MLK moment. It is time to acknowledge that Jews were the core supporters of blacks before it became the general view that Jim Crow was wrong.

That the Battle Hymn of the Republic was a "white" song. Written by a white woman. Ju­lia W. Howe. That the abolitionists were mainly white men.

Here is a version (wait for it) by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Battle Hymn of the Republic

M. Simon   ·  January 14, 2008 11:22 AM

If Obama comes off as another black candidate a la Sharpton and Jackson, he'll lose.

I think the Clintons are intentionally pushing him that way. Obama is in a bind. He needs the votes of African Americans to win the primaries, but appealing to them too much will lose him the nomination.

The more 'black' Obama becomes, the less likely he is to win. So, any chance the Clintons get they will cast him in racial terms. Hillary Clinton will even say offensive things so that the resulting media imbroglio makes Obama look like a grievance artist.

Oddly enough, Hillary needs to run like a Republican. The media is the enemy, so she needs to get through to the voters directly. Making Obama act like Al Sharpton is perfect. She's forcing him to take positions and reveal who he is. Expect more revelations about Obama's church in the next few weeks. Obama had better have a plan for that.

John Lynch   ·  January 14, 2008 12:11 PM

This post is well taken. I had similar thoughts, though too detailed to post as a comment. At any rate, I have linked this comment as an update at http://wolfhowling.blogspot.com/2008/01/liberal-guilt-and-our-next-president.html

GW   ·  January 14, 2008 01:06 PM

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