Nixon, politicians, swiftboating and Obama's race
(can you tell that the softball season is winding down?)The whole Rev. Wright thing is amazing to me. What about his comments suddenly struck a chord? What causes one story to have legs and others to die? HRC tried to push this Rezko story, but it went nowhere. Yet, a some video of Obama's pastor is now moving the political heavens and earth.
Could it be that after Richard Nixon, people look for the worst in politicians? That if you are in public service, you must secretly be a crook?
Think about why the swift boat attacks on John Kerry worked. Because they undermined or brought up the idea that maybe he isn't as brave as he claimed to be. That he was somehow just "normal" and really acted selfishly like the rest of us under fire, rather than selflessly.
So is that why the Rev. Wright attacks are sticking on Obama? Because we (the white majority of this country) can't believe in our heart of hearts that Obama isn't really just a pissed off black man? Sure he can say all the right things, but we know that when he goes back to "his people" he is just an angry and bitter man. He's black. He can possibly believe this reconciliation and post-partisanship stuff, can he? Now that we've seen Rev. Wright, we have confirmation that Obama is as we expect him to be. He isn't different. He isn't new. He is guy our gut tells us he is.
Can the explanation for why Rev. Wright's words are hurting Obama be because of a subconscious Nixonian racism in the white majority of America?
posted by Expat Teacher @ 4:17 PM
