February 09, 2007 Here We Go I'm sure we all expected this.
Acknowledging that his presidential campaign has opened a racial debate, Sen. Barack Obama, who has a white mother and an African father, says if you look African-American, you are treated like one. Obama and his wife, Michelle, who also addresses the race issue, appear in an interview with Steve Kroft to be broadcast on 60 MINUTES, Sunday Feb. 11 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS television Network. If, as expected, Obama declares his formal candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination tomorrow, it will be his first interview to be broadcast after that event.
When asked by Kroft if growing up in a white household had caused him to make a decision to be black, Obama replies, "I'm not sure I decided it. I think... if you look African American in this society, you're treated as an African-American.Ó "It's interesting though, that now I feel very comfortable and confident in terms of who I am and where I stake my ground. But I notice that... I've become a focal point for a racial debate," says Obama.
Obama's wife also addresses the race issue when asked by Kroft whether she fears for her husband's life as a black candidate. "I don't lose sleep over it because the realities are that... as a black man... Barack can get shot going to the gas station," says Michelle Obama. "You can't make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen."
This is Obama trying to inoculate himself from any criticism. The so-called "racial debate" nonsense is just a little preview of what's to come. As long as Obama keeps his race an issue, then he can use it as a shield from criticism.
Be prepared. As long as Obama is running, his race will be made an issue. Not by his opponents, but by himself.
-- Clinton's Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, was so sure Saddam had stockpiles of WMD that he remained "absolutely convinced" of it even after our failure to find them in the wake of the invasion in March 2003.
On Sat, 10 Feb 2007 10:50:49 -0500, "Harry Dope" <Harry
D...@earthlink.net> wrote: > Acknowledging that his presidential campaign has opened a racial debate, >Sen. Barack Obama, who has a white mother and an African father, says if you >look African-American, you are treated like one.
He's right about that! Do we think of Keanu Reeves as Japanese? No, but he's as much Japanese as Tiger Woods and Obama are black. We think of Woods and Obama, and Colin Powell, as black because they're dark. We judge them by the color of their skin, just as we always have judged race in the US.
Here is a link about a controversy which I tried to start, after resding Jarry Dope's original posting (which was actually written by Matt Margolis of GOPBloggers.org and BlogsForBush.com):
