When I first founded this blog, looong ago (like April), one of my signature angles was this whole Barack Hussein Obama for President Campaign. As I've stated at various points in the past, after looking into this guy's background I thought he'd make a fine Commander In Chief. I liked him so much, I did something I'd never done for any politician before: I actually cut him a check, albeit a small one.
Months later, the Barry 4 Prez series has ground to a halting screech. While Obama gets money like Curtis Jackson, he still can't translate this into any sort of traction in the polls. So, the other day when Obama reported a $19M 3rd quarter, it made me wonder. If this guy is still raking in donations like a backwater preacher during revival week, why in the heck can't he make a dent in the still-growing Hillary Clinton lead?
In short, why are people still cutting checks for a guy who has a Mike Gravel's chance of winning?
The more I thought about it, the more I thought about the sorts of people I've viewed during Obama's campaign stops and espousing his greatness. No disrespect intended to my growing Caucasian fanbase (and I thought it was Mike Baisden's MingleCity crowd all along), but I can only conclude that some trace level of white guilt is behind this inexplicable financial support of Obama.
Whites, as we know, love the feeling of being unencumbered with issues of race. Denying that we're beyond racism as a problem is a tenet of white privilege just as American as apple pie and Jessica Simpson. White's can't identify with racism, just like a fish can't identify with being dry. It's just counter intuitive, illogical thinking. They at their core want to feel colorblind and accepting of all, even though they still lock their car doors at 65 mph when I pull up beside them on the Beltway, and clutch their purses when I sit next to them on a cross country flight. Again, there's some level of delusion definitely going on here.
So, when Obama, who is "clean and articulate", Ivy League educated, and let's not forget biracial, steps into the arena, he's a safe enough choice to expunge all past sins and purse clutchings. He is a peddler of hope in the limitless potential of this country, and the guilt free existence of it's historical oppression. In short, giving to his campaign, voting for him, or at least telling people you support him, is the the ultimate personification of the "See, I'm not racist, some of my best friends are black" ethos.
Let's not even get into the number of blacks who consider Hillary Clinton more of a Negro than Obama, given the fact that her husband is "The Original Black President". Meanwhile, poor Barry can't even pull 50% of the black vote, which is pretty shitty when you really think about it. And of course, there's still a large part of our country in complete disbelief that blacks can order an iced tea without shouting an expletive that sees right past this bullshit and rolls with with G-G-G.O.P-Uniiittt anyway.
When you add it all up, Obama doesn't have a chance, and despite my $5 $500 donation, he never really had one. Such a 'cluster' is far more indicative of the sad state of race relations than it is reflective of his capabilities and qualifications.
And that, in the words of my buddy Dallas, is fucked the fuck up.
Oh, and despite his $19M haul, Hillary still managed to upstage him with with $27M of her own.
That said, this post marks the official retirement of the Barry 4 Prez Tag.
Rest in peace, ole' tag. Shirley Chisolm is crying inside.
Clinton Blocks Obama at Nearly Every Turn [WaPost]
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
White Guilt and The Doomed Candidacy of Barack Obama
Tags Popped: Barry 4 Prez, Crap Music, PoliTricks as Usual, White Men Gone Wild
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