WP: Has the nation's white majority evolved to a point where it can elect a black man as president?

[DeepModem Mom]

How Big a Stretch?
For Barack Obama, Winning the White House Would Mean Bridging The Biggest Gap Of All
By Lynne Duke
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 7, 2007; Page C01


Supporters say Barack Obama's message of unity and inclusion, plus the charisma factor, are factors in his appeal, especially to white voters. (Tami Chappell - Reuters)

They watch him. They listen to him talk. Is he the kind of person they think he is? The kind of black man? The stakes are oh so high. It's the presidency he's after, the breaking down of a historic barrier. Can he transcend racial divisions? Is it safe to support him? Is he safe from harm while running for president in a nation of such abiding racial tension?

For Sen. Barack Obama's white supporters, this is the dialogue of race, the parsing of perceptions and expectations as they watch their man campaign....

***

If the United States is to elect its first black president, it is white voters like (Katie) Lang who largely will make that choice. Though much has been made about whether Obama is "black enough" for black voters, perhaps a more relevant question is this: Has the nation's white majority evolved to a point where it can elect a black man as president?

Obama's political future rests in part on the complicated answer to that question. In separate interviews, 10 white supporters who attended the Tampa fundraising rally talked about their perceptions of the dicey realm of race and its impact on Obama's electability. Though they admire his character, achievements, charisma and political philosophy, many expressed fear that racial prejudice might stymie his campaign. They discussed, haltingly in some cases, their own racial beliefs and perceptions as well as the cues they pick up from Obama to learn something of his racial philosophy. They listen to the timbre of his voice and the substance of his message to discern whether he is speaking to "us" and not just to "them."

Lang, a native New Yorker, says her upbringing was all about bridging ethnic and racial divisions. She grew up amid a melange of people. Her playmates were African American, Jewish, Korean, Samoan, Pakistani and, like herself, Irish. She became accustomed at an early age, she says, to looking beyond race and ethnicity. Today she conducts diversity training in her workplace and is a proponent of affirmative action, a position she staked out in college. Stepping out of the conservative tradition of her family and eschewing her previous support of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) , she believes Obama offers a new vision of politics and leadership.

Yet, as much as she would like to not focus on Obama and race, on reflection she realizes that she does. She sometimes wonders: Does Obama feel pressured to "go above and beyond and work even harder" than do whites? Or: Is he safe from the "evil people" who could be agitated by the presence of "an African American with a name like that? . . . So I think he's taking a huge risk," she says. For that, she admires him even more....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/06/AR2007050601255.html

[butterfly77]

1. No...

[treestar]

2. Most of us can consider the actual important factors

Like leadership capability and stands on the issues.

It's the MSM that considers only the shallow things. That article has the blacks and the whites both being racist about it. He's half of each, too. I know when you're half you're treated black, but half of your family is white and your white parent raised you, too.

Enough of this crap. Put the focus on the leadership capabilities and stands on the issues and leave the relatively few "are we ready for a black president" whites and the "he's not black enough" blacks to their racist idiocies.

[TwilightGardener]

4. Yep--well said. Obama is polling so well because people are

certainly considering him presidential matterial--race won't be as big a factor as many on this forum would like to believe, unless you're one who thinks that all those polled, and all those thousands of people that show up to see him, are all TOTALLY insincere. Please.

[primative1]

3. What is Troublesome ....

This dem presidential primary reminds me a lot of our last Massachusetts state governors primary ....
In it, a relatively fresh (politically) black man was nominated and eventually won the general election.
The difference there was .... I don't recall a single instance of anyone even mentioning that he was black .... It was not a point for conversation, no one cared ....
When it comes to Obama it seems like its a statement that is incorporated into every sentence I read.
I find this odd and unsure who is behind it and why.

[SaveElmer]

5. Yes is the answer....

And I also believe we are ready to elect a woman as well!

[Zywiec]

6. Yes, I hope so. n/t

[MidwestTransplant]

7. He's not black, Rush said he's Barack the Magic Negro or a Halfrican (take your pick)