Obama's Racial Identity Still An Issue

(CBS)  Barack Obama has said that the big city cab drivers who once refused to pick him up had no doubt about his blackness back then, nor should anyone else now, CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds reports.

Campaigning, he addresses the race issue without hesitation, once even mimicking gangbangers - he criticized their work ethic: "Why I gotta do it? Why you didn't ask Pookie to do it?" he said.

He quotes Martin Luther King and occasionally slips into the cadence of a black preacher, but recent polls show Hillary Clinton is the choice of more black Democrats, and it's clear that Obama's racial identity gives pause to some. He is not the descendant of African slaves, but is the son of a white mother and a Kenyan father, so he alone gets questions about just who he is.

"My black activist friends from here to Boston say that you are not black, you are multiracial, and I want to know how you self-identify?" he was asked at a recent event.

Obama replies: "I self-identify as African American - that's how I'm treated and that's how I'm viewed. I'm proud of it."

"The issue of whether he is black enough is not the primary issue," said Michael Fauntroy, a professor of public policy at George Mason University. "The issue is whether he has enough experience."

Besides, Obama may have other strengths. "He is seen as more palatable and more acceptable to larger numbers of white voters," Fauntroy said.

Of course, there are whites who will never vote for Obama because he is black.

"I don't want to sound prejudiced or anything, but for one, I am not going to vote for a colored man to be our president," said one South Carolina voter.

When asked if this country would vote for a black man for the highest office in the land, Sen. Obama deflects the question, suggesting merely raising it is a disservice to the American electorate.

But the American electorate has never had anyone quite like Barack Obama to consider.

[erasmus6]

"If you villify or find it easier or more believable that a black person commited a crime, or do you give mixed couples a mean stare or quick glance of disapproval." posted by chitown639


I find it absolutely unbelievable how bad the racism is in the U.S. It is just mind boggling to me.

[pakaal]

"The issue of whether he is black enough is not the primary issue," said Michael Fauntroy, a professor of public policy at George Mason University. "The issue is whether he has enough experience."

Does it take a professor to point out that we''re talking about whether or not Obama can be a good president, not what his ethnic heritage created in him as a human being?

Yeah, I know. All those crackers out there are so insecure they rail against the very thought of a Black man as president. And it seems like Blacks aren''t much better. I actually heard a Black woman say Obama can''t apply the term "African American" to himjself because of US historical connotations to the slave trade. His dad''s from Africa, and he was born in America. How much more frickin'' African American can the guy get?

The whole "Racial Identity" thing may be an issue, but of the range of issues facing America today, his self-definition of cultural heritage plays far further down on my worry list than say, Huckabee, Brownback and Tancredo saying they don''t belive in science.

[chitown639]

Black people aren''t really behind Obama''s Presidential Campaign because they know he has no chance of winning. African-Americans know that there is absolutely too much racism in America to elect a Black President. Most Americans wouldn''t want to think of themselves as racist. But, the daily decisions that we make, whether conciously or sub-conciously, show our true intolerence toward blacks. Whether you quickly check your purse or your wallet when you suddenly notice a black man standing near you, or cross the street when you see a black person approching. If you villify or find it easier or more believable that a black person commited a crime, or do you give mixed couples a mean stare or quick glance of disapproval. There are countless other things we do in our daily life, but we never really quite understand that African-Americans see these things we do as racism. Many blacks endure these sutle forms of racism everyday. They know the racism that''s out there. This country was build on racism, it''s enwoven into the fabric of our society. Racism is the cornerstone to many of the great institutions of our government. From our nations police and fire departments to the courts, to the schools and universities. From big cities to small towns, from your neighborhood to mine. Racism is all around us, something the black people know better than any of us. Which is why they also know better than any of us, that there won''t be a black president for a long time to come.

[yongamerica]

Some people call him an oreo cookie. I call him a smart cookie.

[kansas1946]

I love Obama and I am white. The majority of blacks so far are supporting Hillary, at least that is what the polls are showing. It is funny to hear that Obama "may not be black enough." As far as I can see, he is the blackest one of the bunch! I think he is great and would vote for him in a minute.

[dgal878]

cmp271:

We hear ya! Right on!

[dgal878]

thgdriver:
Boy you got that right! Sure get tired of hearing the so called minorities belly aching. WA-WA-WA

[tibu987]

I don''t give a hoot about Obama''s racial indentity.
What I do give a hoot about is voting for the person that I feel will unite this country, end the war, help to change the U.S. profile internationally, and lastly, be a honest, forthright president.
Yeah, I know, that is asking too much.

[nottellin1]

I ask, WHO WRITES YOUR SCRIPT?

Dear Senator Obama, challenge the media and critics who pigeonhole the human truth with sophomoric argument. Keep raising the consciousness of presidential debate by revealing the power and freedom of your honesty.

Lee Burkins, Author of Soldier''''s Heart: An Inquiry of War




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by Burkai at 11:01 AM : Nov 28, 2007

Uh, hello, writers strike, no scripts. Ha ha.

[nottellin1]

Great, now if your actions and words match your new self identity, soon others will also think you are really, really cool.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by brianbwb at 12:01 AM : Nov 28, 2007

Thanks for playing.