Letters to the Editor
chimpygo
Published Letters: 201 Editor's Choice: 2
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Stacked Deck
[Read the article: Geraldine Ferraro still needs to apologize]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]There are clearly benefits to Obama being a black man (the chance to be the “Jackie Robinson of the Oval Office” motivates press coverage and voters, for example).
There are just as clearly, though, plenty of hurdles he faces BECAUSE he is black and has non-WASPish name. In fact, many of these hurdles seem to be coming from the GOP and the Clinton Campaign, which just might be why Ferraro’s purportedly “innocent and merely analytical” comments are so scrutinized.
First of all, Obama (President of the Harvard Law Review) is clearly no Dan Quayle or George Bush Jr. who stumbled his way into office due to favoritism.
Secondly, consider the political atmosphere: the GOP actually polls to see just how racist they can go before it turns people off. There are whisper campaigns—which both pander to and inflame group-think hatred and, in fact, hate crimes—directed at Obama which bring us back to Rove 2004: “McCain has a black baby” and “Jon Kerry is a French Draft Dodger.” The same dude who once wasn’t “black enough” is now being painted as a frightening militant black terrorist. And Hilary’s principles don’t seem to compel her to “denounce and reject” the support of racially frightened whites. THIS is the part that makes this a story.
The biggest reason the deck is stacked in favor of Obama, by his own admission, is that people are fed up. Obama represents genuine and principled political reform, while Hilary looks more and more Machiavellian as each day passes.
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That people value ideas and ideals…
[Read the article: Barack Obama delivers make-or-break speech on race]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]…(or have the temerity to hope) does not in an of itself lead to the conclusion that they lack common sense or practical competence.
(As a corollary: Obama, though dealing with a quite germane topic, isn’t unaware of Iraq, our economy, etc.)
Great institutions have both mission statements and vision statements, and our country’s vision—what we think about the kind of people and nation we want to be—matters a great deal. The Statue of Liberty is properly titled Liberty Enlightening the World for a reason.
Of course, eloquent truths don’t themselves guarantee sincerity or practical competence, but after researching Obama’s ideas, record, and plans for the future, I’m feeling kinda hopeful.
“The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here…” Lincoln was wrong, of course, but the humility that impelled him to say that, and the depth of his understanding of the human tragedy taking place, allowed him to speak to his fellow citizens at an important time and make a lasting contribution to our national dialogue.
I’m not comparing Obama to Lincoln or today’s speech to the Gettysburg Address, simply pointing out that because we do face so many real-world challenges, now is a fine time to think about what our core values are and how we’d like to embody them.