Tom In VA wrote:Smackie,
The question was posed to me by a co-worker, as to whether or not, Washington will stand in Obama's way - because he's black. That, at least, indicates to me there might be a response, if Obama fails, that he wasn't allowed to succeed based on his race. I think that's where Dio was heading.
Who in Washington is gonna stand in his way? A Democratic Congress? The liberal media that is being credited for whisking him into office?
While I don't agree with his use of the n word, what he's proposing is that somehow there will be an outcry that Obama wasn't allowed to succeed because he's black.
There is
always going to be that element. Even if he wildly succeeds, do you think those who are now crying that the sky is falling will give him any credit for it? They'll practice revisionist history by claiming that the credit
really belongs to the thoughtful foresight of Dubya and the policies he put in place, and that Obama was merely the fortunate individual who was in office when those policies bore fruit. Of course, it doesn't work in the other direction, though. The fact that he is inheriting two wars and an economy in the shitter won't keep him from being blamed for
not being able to turn things around, even though we don't hear the same criticism about Shrub. We'll hear how much better things would have been if McCain were elected. And race has little to do with it. Clinton gets no credit for presiding over a period of unparalleled prosperity (that belongs to the dot com boom and the wisdom of Reagan and Bush 41), but he gets the blame for 9/11 and the economic downturn that occurred around the time of Dubya's inauguration. Essentially, here's how it works: if there is credit to be given, it can NEVER be a Democrat who gets it, and if there is blame to be placed, it is ALWAYS a Democrat who is responsible. If the economy is good with a Democrat in the White House, the argument is that the President has little impact on the economy. If the economy blows while a Democrat is in the Oval Office, it's his fault.
Our racial issues in this country run deep. Based on the question asked by my co-worker, I can't help but think that there is an underlying suspicion that should Obama fail, apologists will not hold HIM accountable but hold some remnants of an oligarchy of white males accountable and suggest he wasn't allowed to succeed because he's black.
Sure, that'll happen. There will also be those who will blame it on a) Obama being black, b) Obama being a Democrat, and c) Obama being a black Democrat. But the notion that Obama is basically a test case to see if blacks are capable of being President is what I take issue with. That's basically doing trend analysis on a sample of one. There are certainly those who will do that, but they are not representative of the majority of voters (at least outside the South). The minds of those who think that way can't be changed. They're convinced that is the case now, and they'll remain convinced irrespective of the job Obama might do, if he's elected.