Obama critiques conceal racism

Dennis A. St.Rose Albemarle County
Published: September 17, 2008

When 84 percent of the people say that they are dissatisfied about the direction in which the country is headed, then it is simply mind-boggling why a candidate who advocates change is unacceptable to so many of these constituents.

Those who oppose Barack Obama’s candidacy have offered countless reasons. There are claims that he is inexperienced, he’s aloof, he’s un-known, he’s elitist or all of the above.

The veiled truth, however, is that these phrases are no more than code language for — he’s black.  The baseless concern about his readiness to lead this country should instead be whether the country is ready to be led by a black man.
Even more perplexing is why John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin to be his VP running mate has given his campaign a boost. Palin, who has a questionable if not a non-existent grasp of the issues plaguing this country, is being put in a position literally a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Can we in good conscience imagine a President Palin ne-gotiating global issues across the table from Russia’s Vladimir Putin or North Korea’s Kim Jong Il or assuaging the daily domestic crises that confront us?
Although many of McCain’s policies are seen as the continuation of the failed doctrine of the Bush administration, recent polls have indicated that voters are prepared to support his candidacy and overlook the disastrous experiences of the last eight years.

We can argue that McCain is a maverick — he is different from Bush. But then, if not due to racial motives, how do we explain the Democratic Party having almost a 15-point lead over the Repub-licans generally while Obama, the Democratic nominee, enjoys a single-digit lead or is actually behind his Republican counterpart in some of the polls?

For reasons that are obviously politically expedient, Obama has refused to inject race into his campaign, but let’s not be lulled into thinking that racism is not alive and well in 21st-century America.  Let’s recognize its existence and confront our prejudices.