No one thinks Americans are racist. The election wasn't about race-- exits polls showed that the main issues upon which Americans voted were economics and international policy.
"Virtually without exception, liberal commentators and “left” political tendencies have ignored or downplayed all such indications that Obama intends to pursue a conservative course and reject anything that suggests a more democratic and egalitarian restructuring of American capitalism. This has been facilitated by their interpretation of the election almost entirely in racial terms. The obsession with race, which for 40 years has been the mainstay of liberal politics in America, has, if anything, been accentuated in the aftermath of the election. This is despite the fact that the election was a powerful refutation of the portrayal of American working people as racist, backward and hopelessly in the thrall of religion and conservative “values”—a political myth that assumed the status of an unassailable truth after the reelection of Bush in 2004. Typical is the column in the Sunday New York Times by Frank Rich, which begins, “On the morning after a black man won the White House, America’s tears of catharsis gave way to unadulterated joy.” Rich notes approvingly that the election disproved what “we’ve been told by those in power… that we are small, bigoted and stupid—easily divided and easily frightened.” He then makes the significant admission that “We heard this slander of America so often that we all started to believe it, liberals most certainly included.” It is obvious that Rich, speaking for liberals in general, employs the same superficial impressionism, buttressed by an obsession with race, that led him to buy into the old illusions in order to embrace a new one—that Obama represents a new dawn of democracy and progress in America. It is legitimate to recognize that the vote for Obama would not have been possible were it not for the fact that social attitudes in America have changed profoundly over the past 50 years—something that was for all practical purposes denied by Rich and his fellow liberals. Nor is there any doubt that the movement to the left of broad sections of the working class overcame any hesitations linked to the lingering influence of racial attitudes. But there is a disturbing undercurrent in the response of Rich and other liberal and “left” commentators to the election. For them, it is all about race, and not about the social sentiments, policy questions and class issues that actually determined the outcome. They define the election as the victory of a black man, not the result of a wave of popular opposition to Bush and a Republican administration that lifted a candidate into the White House who happens to be black. This indicates that Rich and others of his political stripe will be prepared to tolerate policies that they considered unacceptable under Bush when they are carried out by Obama—which was precisely the point of the promotion of Obama by his establishment backers. To the extent that Obama is able to exploit his identity to politically disarm workers, his administration becomes all the more dangerous to the social interests of the working class. What happens when the working class begins to fight for its social interests and comes into conflict with an Obama administration, when the class nature of the Obama administration is revealed and workers come forward to oppose it? Then the class basis of liberalism as a political standpoint of a section of the bourgeoisie and the petty- bourgeoisie will be revealed, and its fundamentally reactionary nature exposed." On Nov 13, 6:49 am, jgg1000a <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > or is it the rest of the world racism and the lack of racism there an > Urban Myth as well??? The MSM made it to be the US and fed into the > storyline that the rest of the world was not... The shame is perhaps > it is the reverse that is true... > > Many in the extreme LW and RW America refuse to seek out, or > comprehend the totality of American Exceptional ism... The LW by > denying that there is the good and generous American Nature, the RW by > seeking to limit the extension of that nature... > > Perhaps the majority of the problem lays iwith the rest of the world > wishing to deceive itself... > > http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/iraqis-watch-us-elections-with-admiration/ > > >>. mericans, especially those who are used to voting for Republicans, have > >>demonstrated their patriotism and their adherence to what America stands > >>for. People in the Middle East are amazed by the large number of white > >>people and Republican voters who voted for the “other.” America — who is > >>always accused of racism — has shown us that in fact our countries in the > >>Middle East are where racism flourishes. We didn’t choose that, but it’s > >>the rule of tyranny and repression that uses hatred and intolerance to > >>further itself. > > It is liberty and democracy that allowed America to become the great > humane and mature nation that she is. It’s days like November 4 that > make people in the Middle East yearn for answers to questions like: > When will we see a Copt become president in Egypt? When will we see a > Kurd become president in Turkey? Will we ever see Iran led by someone > who isn’t Shiite? > > Throughout her relatively short history, America has always been the > nation to spearhead progress. Indeed, America became the leader of > human civilization, surpassing other nations whose histories stretch > over millennia. > > The victory is for whites and blacks and for Republicans and > Democrats; it’s America’s victory. America presented a rare example > that other nations aren’t familiar with — a magnificent case of > bringing down the walls of partisanship and race for the sake of the > country. In our part of the world, immigrants are refugees, and they > and their offspring are destined to remain inferior and despised for > as long as they live. Not so in America. > > Even more amazing was the scene of losing leaders saluting the winner > with utmost sincerity and graciousness. In my opinion, McCain’s speech > was more powerful and moving than Obama’s. I wish our leaders in the > Middle East enjoyed half the courage of America’s leaders to > acknowledge loss when they experience it and respect the winners. > > Finally, I would like to take off my hat for the man who’s leaving the > White House: President George Bush, the liberator of Iraq. Invading > Iraq was a sound decision in spite of the mistakes that were made. He > and Senator McCain, whose surge strategy saved Iraq from slipping down > the brink of civil war, will be remembered as heroes by millions of > freedom-loving Iraqis. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
