Rig.

I've read back through your posts and I think you are a sincere intelligent person who has the best intentions in mind and has fairness as their goal.


I think that on this issue you have simply missed the point.

The race issue doesn't benefit Obama as an election tactic.

As long as it keeps recurring, attention is deflected from the issue of presidency to the issue of race.

Eventually, harping on like this could make people feel jaded, wound up, bored, fatalistic, tired etc etc ...

And they'll lose the will to support him.

But that's simply the hors d'oevres


Here's the main meal!


A squabble about race is the last thing Obama wants because if he gets drawn into it and comments critically on the subject of racist tactics, the result will be a war of words about racism from that moment until he crashes out in a hail of headlines about "Black activist candidate" Obama.

The people of America don't want to elect a special interest politician, be he environmentalist, pro life/choice, or a "black activist".

He doesn't want to be compared to Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, or Jesse Jackson as they are still viewed as the voice of Black people.

He doesn't want to be seen as the voice of black people, he wants to be the chosen voice and representative of all American people.

He needs White people, Black people, Hispanic people ... etc etc ...to feel that he cares about all their interests equally.

He wants White Jo Bloggs to think "Obama is the guy who's gonna make it better for ME" as much as he wants Black Jo Bloggs and Hispanic Jo Bloggs to think the same thing.

If he can't sustain that confidence then he will lose.

If white jo bloggs sees two candidates, one of whom is fighting a black mans cause and another who is presenting themselves as everymans candidate then he'll vote for the one who has included him in their vision.

If he thinks he might even be the target of a black mans anger and sense of injustice because he's white he'll actively vote against the black man as he'll see him as representing interests that may threatening to him.

Obama does not wish to engage in a race debate. He would rather not even talk about a race debate - unless you are talking about the presidential race.

So far he and his PR team have succesfully presented him as not being a "black activist" but as a caring everymans politician.

And by not responding to Clinton and Ferraro as he has, and showing understanding, he's saying to white Jo Bloggs - "I don't blame them (you), I'm not bothered by that kind of inconsequential silliness, we have more important issues to discuss like your welfare and security", which is what white Jo Bloggs wants to hear.

He needs everyones trust.

So the best way to shoot him down is to keep baiting him and to keep the race issue alive in the media.

He's shown he can keep from being drawn into the whole race quagmire.

The challenge for him now is to keep peoples attention focussed on his vision of change for all america and not let them get bored or distracted.

It's tough and it will take guts and willpower to get there, but if he has them, then it could be the proof of what great presidential material he is.