There are, however, a few things askew re the argument in the Black Commentator.
(1) The interpretations of anti-Obama remarks, such as the SNL sketch, are sometimes less than convincing. What really makes the case is Hillary's claim that she and McCain are qualified, Obama not, and a number of other remarks not mentioned. (2) This business about white skin privilege and the white racist backlash overlooks some important differentiations among the older white Democrats who don't support Obama. Many of them would like to play it safe for a number of reasons. One is that white for them is safe, and black may be acceptable it if goes out of its way to prove itself ten times over. The experience argument, or perhaps the longevity on the national stage, also factors in. Also, the vacuousness of Obama's campaign. For older people, if they can believe in Clinton after having been betrayed by the Clintons and the Democratic Party for a generation, there is no change they can believe in, no empty promises from an unfamiliar source. These factors work in synergy with one another. The racial double standard certainly factors in, but in many cases, it does not work by itself. Obama is exotic to whites in a number of ways, throw in Jeremiah Wright and Obama loses. The only way to salvage the situation may already be foreclosed by Hillary's behavior: when she tries to rally support for Obama, she may not be able to persuade her constituents. (3) Also overlooked is the way that Obama got positioned as he did to become one of the two leading contenders: how was he cultivated, who encouraged him to run, who were the big donors, and what were their motivations? And what were his? What were the forces that made Obama a candidate at this time, and say, not 2012 or 2016? The very fact that this campaign has been so handily racialized, given that Obama started out with white support only, and that anyone would think there was anything worthwhile about the Clintons in the first place, and that anyone would place the race or sex of the candidate above his/her actual political positions, shows what a nation of dumbbells this really is. If a Southern white man running on a populist program could not get any play, who could think that Obama could win? Tavis Smiley repeatedly questions this black infatuation with Obama. Indeed, it would be an important symbolic victory, but it is such a gamble based on such shaky premises and saturated with such self-delusion, who can believe in it? At 01:27 PM 5/8/2008, Charles Brown wrote: >http://lists.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/marxism/2008-May/027996.html > >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > From Marxmail > >Quote: > >Interesting and well- thought out argument for supporting Obama's bid >for >the nomination while maintaining that also supporting McKinney is not >a >contradiction. > >(http://www.blackcommentator.com/276/276_white_bloc_must_be_stopped_mann_guest.html) > > _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
