So I've been watching a lot of CNN this weekend (not feeling well, so I'm sticking close to home), and one thing I've been noticing since the announcement of Biden as Obama's running mate is that they keep trotting out African American Democrats as pundits and asking them what they think of this comment of Biden's about Obama being "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy."

So far I've seen them do this about 5 times since yesterday morning, including with Rev. Jesse Jackson.

And of course, every one of them says, oh, pshaw, there's nothing to this, I don't see what the big deal is, he really IS articulate, he was just telling the truth about how wonderful Obama is, etc. Because this is the expectation. It's the expectation of the media, it's the expectation of the Democratic Party, and it's the expectation of the electorate as a whole. Don't rock the boat.

The reason this has been bugging me is because I think that what Biden said really IS racist. That doesn't mean I think Biden is "a racist". It just means I think he screwed up and said something dumb. We all do it.

And I feel that, not only is CNN trying to reinforce the "oh, some people are so politically correct" line, but I feel that the Democratic establishment is actively trying to ensure that the messaging goes, "We're not politically correct crazies. We don't think there's anything patronizing or racist about statements like that, which any nice white Liberal who means well might say. It's okay, we're not threatening just because we're running an African American for President. We're not going to challenge you on race."

The sad thing is, I don't think they have much choice. I think that any African American pundit who said, "Yes, that was a racist thing to say," would be completely marginalized. I think that any Democrat who would dare to say, "Yeah, that was a mistake - he didn't mean to be patronizing, but he was," would be accused of going "off-message" or of "helping the Republicans". I think if Obama had done anything other than what he did - shrug off the remark and say he wasn't offended - people would consider him too threatening, too "politically correct", to be the President.

So, as a result, Biden is made out to be the hero of plain-talkers everywhere. CNN makes sure they get 20 African American Democrats on record saying that it's okay to promote the old, racist "Good Black" thing, where praising an African American man by saying he's an exception due to those good qualities (heck, saying he's the FIRST, not an exception) is okay and that anyone who thinks otherwise is overreacting. Because that's the only way an African American will have a chance at becoming President, is if the Democrats make white Americans feel okay about racism in their society and in themselves.

Watching this was a real object lesson in systemic racism.

I couldn't blame the African American pundits or Obama for brushing aside the racism - because they are in a no-win situation when it comes to race in this campaign. They talk frankly about it and they lose, or they shut up about it and have a shot at winning.

I couldn't really blame the Democrats for their strategy - they're not stupid. They are worried about turning off white voters if they in any way seem "politically correct".

I could, however, blame CNN somewhat. At least they showed the clips and showed why some people thought they were racist. But they went out of the way to only ask African Americans involved in the Democratic campaign whether it was racist, knowing they would be compelled to brush it off. They didn't once interview anyone outside the Democratic or Republican establishment to discuss the issue, like say, a university professor, an activist, someone from the NAACP, whatever. They didn't even attempt to find someone to put it into perspective and give the other side of the argument.

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"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy," Biden said. "I mean, that's a storybook, man."

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So when the Republicans and their media acolytes make racist comments about Obama or his wife, the Dems don't want to respond directly, and they are left to kind of shrug it off. All the more so when your VP-designate lets slip the racist comments; you can't denounce his remarks, but just make excuses for them. That lowers the bar immediately for what can be gotten away with in the campaign; it's tough to avoid being called a hypocrite if you ignore Biden's remarks but start calling your opponents on their racist innuendoes and language.

One thing that isn't mentioned explicitly in that post: There's reference to a comment that Obama made about the GOP trying to scare everyone with the idea that Obama doesn't look like the other presidents on American bills. That was felt to be a racist comment on Obama's part. What digby, the blogger, doesn't mention -- maybe she takes it for granted that her audience knows -- is that the GOP had already run an ad with Obama's face on a dollar bill. I can't point you to it right now but I've seen it as a YouTube clip somewhere.

[ 24 August 2008: Message edited by: pogge ]

But what I'm saying is - what choice does he have? American society is not ready to be told about its lingering racism. They want to believe it's "solved". It's all over, it's okay, all that's left now is for Black people to pull up their socks and catch up and reach for the American Dream.

And so, that's what the Democrats give them. They have Biden and Obama claiming that they're examples of the American Dream and that if they can do it, anyone can do it.

As for his comments on African American fathers...to me, on the surface, that might also sound like racist pandering, but on the other hand, these conversations ARE happening on the ground in Black churches (which, by the way, are often places of social justice activism and a haven and place of rejuvenation for people who face racism every day), community groups, etc. I don't really feel qualified enough to discuss the issue because a) I don't know enough about it, and b) even if I did, coming from an outsider I think anything I say probably WOULD be racist and patronizing, whether I agreed or disagreed with him.

But Obama has lived experience on this particular issue and is, I believe speaking from that perspective, not just pandering to white racists. Maybe his approach is a mistake; I tend to believe it is, because the conversation he's having when he chastises African American fathers during a Presidential campaign isn't just within and between African Americans, and I think it does fuel white racism.

But is he to blame for white racism, or are white racists and/or racist society to blame for it?

Here is his full Father's Day speech. If you actually listen through it, you'll hear some stuff at the beginning of the speech that sounds rather individualistic. But persist; you'll find that closer to the end, he talks about societal supports that are necessary to help people fulfill their roles. Also note that he was giving this speech in an African American church as part of a church service, so he was not only addressing his own community, but he was addressing his church community. So clearly he's going to be tailoring his message to his audience.

[ 24 August 2008: Message edited by: Michelle ]

[ 24 August 2008: Message edited by: Michelle ]

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Originally posted by Michelle:
I agree with you, M. Spector, that Obama has made it clear that he doesn't want to focus on racism in his campaign. (Well, not completely - he did give a speech on it in March - and if you disregard a couple of objectionable sentiments, it was pretty incredible.)

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But what I'm saying is - what choice does he have? American society is not ready to be told about its lingering racism. They want to believe it's "solved". It's all over, it's okay, all that's left now is for Black people to pull up their socks and catch up and reach for the American Dream.

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As for Obama's infamous Father's Day speech, I will defer to what one black civil rights organizer had to say about it, including the following:

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It was no big surprise that after the speech those critical of Obama were dismissed “as out touch” with the new “post-racial” illusion. Bob Herbert of The New York Times appearing on MSNBC’s Hardball went so far as to say that anyone who disagreed with Obama’s Father’s Day admonition to black men was living in a racial “fog” of the past. Newspapers across the county affirmed the smear with headlines like “Obama tells black men to shape up” or “Obama speaks ‘inconvenient truth’ to black men” or “Obama calls black men irresponsible” or “He's saying things people don’t want to hear” - with the inference that truth was flowing from his tongue....

A black man would have to be full of self or group hate to believe that black men are more irresponsible than white men or men of other races or ethnic backgrounds. George Bush, Dick Cheney, and a host of other white guys who lied America into the Iraqi war, which has resulted in countless deaths, prove the point. And that’s just the most recent example of white, male irresponsibility. The history of the United States is drenched in blood due to the decisions of immoral, irresponsible white men.

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Yes, he said that he disagrees with what Wright said. He also said a lot more things about Wright that were supportive and loving.

Furthermore, Obama did NOT say that "racism is a dead issue in America". That's your interpretation of a few sentences out of a 40 minute speech. He spent a lot more time in that speech talking about the legacy of racism and slavery in America in order to help white Americans understand why African Americans might say angry or radical things within their own communities and churches. He said explicitly that the reason African Americans are behind the rest of America is directly linked to racism and slavery of the past. He said it simply and in language everyone could understand.

[ 25 August 2008: Message edited by: Michelle ]

[ 25 August 2008: Message edited by: Michelle ]

(Former President) was from (state). (Former President) was rooted in (state).

But Obama was born in Hawaii and raised in Kenya. Next, we'll examine rootlessness and the election.

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Originally posted by Michelle:
Um, what?

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He spent a lot more time in that speech talking about the legacy of racism and slavery in America in order to help white Americans understand why African Americans might say angry or radical things within their own communities and churches. He said explicitly that the reason African Americans are behind the rest of America is directly linked to racism and slavery of the past. He said it simply and in language everyone could understand.

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The problem is also not, as one paper characterized Obama's position on his minister, that Wright is stuck in a "time warp," in a period defined by racial division.

No, the problem is that Wright's opinions are well within the mainstream of those of black America. As public opinion researchers know, the problem is that despite all the oratory about racial unity and transcending race, this country remains deeply racially divided, especially in the realm of politics.

Most white people and the mainstream media tend to be horrified (in a titillating voyeuristic type of way), when they 'look under the hood' to see what's really on blacks folks' mind. Two thirds of whites believe that blacks have achieved or will soon achieve racial equality. Nearly eighty percent of blacks believe that racial justice for blacks will not be achieved either in their lifetime or at all in the U.S. In March 2003, when polls were showing strong support among whites for an invasion of Iraq, a large majority of blacks were shown to oppose military intervention.

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Originally posted by Frustrated Mess, quoting from Michael C. Dawson in The Root:
Two thirds of whites believe that blacks have achieved or will soon achieve racial equality

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Obama feeds into this white self-delusion:

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In Selma, Alabama, Obama claimed that Blacks had already come "90 percent of the way to equality" - a signal to whites that the days of Black racial agitation were nearly over. - Glen Ford

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ETA:
In another article in The Root, Dawson talks about the obvious "racial divisions laid bare" in the government response to the Katrina disaster. But he goes on to note that last December Obama was quoted by the NYT as saying, "The incompetence [in New Orleans] was color-blind."

Obama may be the only black man in The USA who really believes that - if indeed he does.

ETA:
By the way, would it kill the webmaster at The Root to actually put a date on the articles? Yeesh!

[ 25 August 2008: Message edited by: M. Spector ]

Is that mainstream African-American or mainstream (white) American? I think what I get from the CNN comment is that Barack Obama is mainstream because white Americans are generally comfortable with him.

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Originally posted by TemporalHominid:
what's a Biden ?

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A Biden Me.

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Originally posted by unionist:

A Biden Me.

The three words with which Jesus invited his disciples to place their faith in His love as they walked to the Garden of Gethsemane that last fateful night.

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"You don't have to be a Jew to be a Zionist": Biden

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Originally posted by TemporalHominid:
what's a Biden ?

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Originally posted by unionist:
A Biden Me.

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A Biden with me,
Fast falls the eventide.
The darkness deepends;
Lord with me a Biden.

Thanks Michelle for the OP as the media messaging is very important.(here as well, at rabble) I'm disturbed also with the Biden comments and subsequent analysis.

edit: How the heck did I have Nader on the miind?

[ 26 August 2008: Message edited by: RevolutionPlease ]

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Originally posted by RevolutionPlease:
I'm not sure I get the jokes/drift.

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I'd be happy to explain - which parts didn't you get?

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Thanks Michelle for the OP as the media messaging is very important.(here as well, at rabble) I'm disturbed also with the Nader comments and subsequent analysis.

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It's all getting confusing now. I just wasn't learning anything except beer-drinking songs.

Thought I was in the anti-racism forum but I've been known to wander.

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Originally posted by RevolutionPlease:
I just wasn't learning anything except beer-drinking songs.

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