Transferring Transcendence: How Powell’s Endorsement Helps McCain
Posted on October 19, 2008 at 1:10 pmAs was speculated earlier this week, former Secretary of State Colin Powell did endorse Barack Obama for President of United States on Meet the Press this morning.
This action by Powell is being seen, predictably, as one of the final nails in the coffin of the candidacy of John McCain.
A man, who has in his own career transcended race, a man who spent much of his life in service of Republican Presidents, a military man who brings to the table many of the qualities Barack Obama lacks, has endorsed a candidate many white Americans still have questions about. What could be worse for John McCain?
The fact that a man like Colin Powell has no questions about Barack Obama leading this nation, the media elites say, contributes to the narrative that Barack Obama has closed the deal with the American people.
To the informed, enlightened center of the country, this will no doubt be how the endorsement is viewed. But this small sector of the American populace has already come to terms with Obama. Informed, elite opinion in America has already accepted Obama as a man they are comfortable with executing the duties of President of the United States.
However, this informed center, this malleable elite, will not make up the margin of victory for Obama in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida. It will be another sector of the electorate who will have the final say.
The average white man or woman in America is no longer overtly or even covertly racist by any honest definition of that word. Sure, many whites feel more comfortable with those who look as they do but this is a quality hardly unique to the Caucasian population of America.
Most white people see themselves as very much open to dream of Martin Luther King, that we should all be judged not by the color of our skin but by the content of our character. Ability, qualifications, intelligence and ideology — all of these things most whites believe should trump racial considerations.
This fundamental embrace of King’s dream by white America, however, is exactly what could cause them to be alarmed by the endorsement of Barack Obama by Colin Powell. Marc Ambinder said this morning that “to the extent that there remain white voters who have inchoate worries about Obama’s race, it helps to have him associated with a man whose race they’ve already gotten over.”
Yes, Colin Powell has transcended race for much of his life. But transcendence is not something that one can necessarily transfer and, in trying, Colin Powell risks to damage his own reputation on that score.
Colin Powell is, as has been noted over and over, a lifelong Republican, one of Rockafeller stripe to be sure, but a Republican nonetheless. He is a friend of John McCain and admires him greatly. In August 2007, Powell, gave to John McCain the maximum contribution of $2,300.
Colin Powell, a lifelong Republican, wanted John McCain nominated by the GOP and the Republican Party, to the surprise of many conservatives, obliged. But when faced with the choice of the Republican he favored in primary and whom he admires and calls a friend and Barack Obama, Powell chose Barack Obama.
Rightly or wrongly, many white voters will no doubt conclude, despite Powell’s protestations, that at least one of the deciding factors in his decision was race. Many whites will assume that the prospect of the nation’s first black president had become too real for Powell to just stand back and say nothing.
If that is the conclusion that whites reach regarding the endorsement then what are they likely to conclude about the prospects of colorblindness on both sides of the racial divide in America?
Most whites in America have no problem voting for a man who happens to be black to lead our country. What many whites do have a problem with is electing an explicitly black leader who will bring with him to the White House a racial agenda.
It is the fear of, as I call it, “The Big Payback.” While whites may never verbalize it, they are afraid of electing a black leader who will attempt to right the wrongs their ancestors perpetrated but which they had nothing to do with.
Most whites in America have no sense of racial solidarity. They do not think of themselves as white Americans or any kind of hyphenated American, they see themselves as simply Americans. Whether their actions and words contain vestiges and evidence of racism and white privilege, I suppose is an open question. The fact remains, however, that they do not see it that way and never will.
What they are capable of seeing, however, is racial solidarity among blacks and they are not the biggest fans. Whites see themselves as accepting of all races and judging people on their own individual merits. What worries them most is that their shrugging off of racial identity and solidarity is a one way street.
Colin Powell is certainly not unique among Republican types in his support for Obama and his reasons for supporting Obama may be very much similar to those Republicans and conservatives. Personally, I assume that they are.
But the fact remains that Colin Powell is still a black man and seeing a man line up with the black candidate in opposition to the party he has called home makes whites ask questions like:
“Would Colin Powell have endorsed Hilary Clinton against his friend John McCain?”
“How about John Edwards?”
“Would Colin Powell have endorsed any white Democratic candidate in a race against John McCain?”
When Barack Obama is trying to close the deal with white, working class voters who reject racial solidarity by both blacks and whites, I’m not sure that the endorsement of one the of the most admired blacks in America is quite the boon many in the punditocracy think it is.
SEE ALSO:
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Washington Post
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Comments
67 Responses to “Transferring Transcendence: How Powell’s Endorsement Helps McCain”
Again, the headline could be “Obama Wins Election In Landslide” and I honestly think you would find a way in which that’s a bad thing for Obama.
Great post Klanheider. I hope I have time to link to it later today. I never thought that Powell’s endorsement would make much of a difference, but I never looked at it this way. I don’t know if I agree, but it certainly makes one think a little bit.
Really, Adam? So you’re beyond taking a man at his word now? He told you why he endorsed. He believes Obama to be a singular leader and he thinks McCain is running a scummy campaign. Among my own straw poll of eastern Kentucky ex-military swing vote racists (bless their hearts), Powell’s nomination is playing very well. McCain had them at hello, but lost them with his selection of Palin.
So you’re beyond taking a man at his word now?
Well, I am untrusting by nature but if you read the post you will find that I state that I personally do take him at his word.
“Colin Powell is certainly not unique among Republican types in his support for Obama and his reasons for supporting Obama may be very much similar to those Republicans and conservatives. Personally, I assume that they are.“
my favorite part was when basically said “yes, it’s true, white people are deeply racist, but that’s fair because every other ethnic group in the world is racist, as well.” your comment, meant to dismiss cultural bias as universal, just serves to remind us how deeply our bigotry runs, and how far we’ll go to pretend that it does not.
In summary, you say that white voters may see Colin’s endorsement as a black man supporting a black man, ignoring the content of Colin’s character and the substance of his words. You may embrace Martin Luther King’s dream, but you’re not convinced a black man is capable of it. That is racism, for all your fancy words dancing around the subject.
And look the the others things you’re saying - this conclusion is acceptable, “rightly or wrongly”. It is based on “fear”. In other words, it’s ok to be stupid and cowardly.
And what about this: “The fact remains, however, that they do not see it that way and never will.” What a great message for America - accept the world as it is, because you’re never going to change it. If you have (or plan to have children), I hope there is someone else in their life to teach them the real story of America.
This is the first overtly racist piece I have read in this entire campaign.
White White White repeated again and again.
I am shocked. I shouldn’t be. I grew up with segregation. I’m from the North and as a child I came to Florida and was shocked on the bus, at the water fountain, etc, etc.
Bathrooms are white. Onyx is black.
We are all shades of hemoglobin and flesh.
And you have no shame. You are the dead world.
Dividing people by race is racist. I make no pretense that this is accidental.
You all reading this. Take a deep breath and see for yourself.
RACE IS DECORATIVE. CULTURE IS REAL.
[...] Posted on October 19, 2008 by Mark Kleinheider goes a long way in attempting to paint Powell’s endorsement as ineffectual and possibly a win for McCain. As part of his reasoning: Most whites in America have no sense of racial solidarity. They do not [...]
African-Americans can never win an argument about race with an enlightened white GOP member who goes out and acts enlightened because once they voted for Michael Steele, or J.C. Watts. While Republicans in East Tennessee will reflexively vote Republican until the cows come home, and are never criticized for not looking at the issues and only voting the same straight stale party-line like good Stalinists would have in the 1930s..
In a class on American Political Culture, we read Colin Powell’s autobiography as an example of the “evolution of a conservative.” Many Republicans in Knox County stated that if Colin Powell would have run, they would have voted for him, ergo they aren’t racist.
Colin Powell didn’t just endorse Obama he laid out the succinct reasons why every American should vote for Obama.
1) Sarah Palin is only qualified to run the State of Alaska or a medium-size city in the lower 48. Otherwise, she is a threat to get us all killed in a real crisis.
2) Obama demonstrated a composure during the debates that most Americans long for in a leader. He wasn’t shrill, he stated his opinions, and was largely unnerved by McCain’s occasionally vein-popping responses.
3) Obama has the intellect to deal with difficult issues and not respond with stale rote answers, but by dissecting the problem come to a real solution.
There are a few good nuggets in this post, but honestly - Powell’s endorsement helps McCain???
I don’t think it necessarily helps Obama all that much, but does it help McCain?
Um, no.
One of the greatest things about America is that Adam Kleinheider gets to second-guess Colin Powell. The right to second-guess doesn’t make it right, however. In this instance, Adam, I respectfully suggest you’ve wandered into some dangerous territory.
What is “explicitly black?” Is it related to skin color? Is it identified by the company one keeps? The music one chooses (if this is true, most teenagers in Williamson County qualify)?
And what is a “racial agenda?” I can’t even begin to articulate what this might be to you, so you will have to explain it to me. I know of one racial agenda put into action over the past century, and it involved nooses, trees, firehoses, and police dogs. I don’t think that’s the one you’re talking about.
When you say “most whites in America have no sense of racial solidarity,” what evidence do you have for that? When Sarah Palin speaks to all white audiences and talks about “the real America,” is that coincidence?
As for the pure politics of the thing, it’s fair enough to question the impact of the Powell endorsement, or any endorsement, 16 days before an election. I happen to think it will confirm Obama’s qualification in the minds of current Obama supporters, an important thing in an election where the only hope for McCain is to sew doubt in those voters’ minds.
A Republican African American leader today stood up for a Democratic African American leader, and that very fact is going to encourage millions of white voters in both parties, not because of Colin Ppwell and Barack Obama’s race, but because of the content of their character.
That isn’t a reason to vote for Barack Obama. There are others, ample in my view. But it’s one reason, in the face of much contrary evidence, to be hopeful about the direction our country may yet take.
“What they are capable of seeing, however, is racial solidarity among blacks and they are not the biggest fans. Whites see themselves as accepting of all races and judging people on their own individual merits. What worries them most is that their shrugging off of racial identity and solidarity is a one way street.”
Absolutely..and I just wish that one time, one of the high flying liberals would admit it. My hang ups with Obama have nothing to do with the color of his skin. I have my own very definative reasons for not voting for him. But I do think it is an absolute tragedy that reporters can go into Harlem and speak to the average black voter there and ask them why they support Obama. Their response is generally that “they support his policies”. When questioned further, McCain’s policies were laid out by saying “so this is what you believe in”, and 90% responded “yes”, even though it was McCain’s policy not Obama’s. Now I am not naive enough to really believe that they support either person’s policies, but I am smart enough to realize that they have absolutely no idea what the policies are and that they are simply voting for Obama because he is black. They so desperately want someone black in that office, they don’t care who it is, as long as he is black. It makes me almost insane with anger when I read these posts and take blow after blow after blow about how white people won’t vote for Obama because he is black. Why don’t we just one time, discuss the enormous amount of black voters that have just registered to vote for the first time in their lives to vote for Obama simply because he is “black”. Which by the way in the average American black neighborhood wouldn’t be accepted because he is half WHITE. I hope you are all extremely proud that you have help put a woman in the White House as first lady that “for the first time in her adult life is proud to be an American.” I know that personally I have been very proud to be an American as long as I have lived, and I am even prouder of the fact that my father died in battle so she has the right to stand up there and actually say that to families that have so freely given of themselves and their lives in prices that some of you can only fathom. Angry, yes, I’m angry, but not because Obama is black, because I despise the fact that people are so blind that they actually believe this guy is any different from every other politician out there.
Contrary to what many want to believe, Powell’s endorsement is a big nothing. It won’t sway anyone. Despite his great career, Powell is old history and matters little to today’s voter.
Sorry, but the fact that Powell contributed to John McCain and now supports Obama does lend itself to a question of racial identity and I do think most of America will see it that way. Whether you like it or not, that is the way it will be perceived. I didn’t know Powell had contributed to McCain’s campaign until now. I truly believe that Powell waited to see if Obama would be able to pull it off before he made an endorsement one way or the other. Now I am suspicious of the whole endorsement. And as far as endorsements are concerned, so what? McCain has Stormin Norman’s endorsement, so as far as I am concerned one cancels the other out.
Colin Powell’s endorsement saddens me. It shows me that African American’s are not looking beyond the racial divide. If Obama were white, would Colin Powell be endorsing him and his liberal politics? I very much doubt it. Colin Powell has already been shown to be a man who can justify to himself anything, thus allowing him to give his speech to the UN. But the bottom line is that he is going to support the black man, regardless of the amazing disparities of belief as evidenced by Powell’s life long commitment to the Republican party and Obama’s far left platform, simply because the man is black.
[...] AC wrote a very thoughtful post today in which he made the argument that Powell’s endorsement actually hurts Obama. I don’t know if that is true. Actually I think it neither hurts nor helps. But for many of the reasons that AC outlined in his post, I think the endorsement hurts Powell. There is really no reason that Powell would endorse a guy who was serving in the Illinois State Legislature four years ago against “his friend” John McCain, other than race. Maybe Powell really believes the Democrat talking points he repeated today on Meet the Press. Obviously, I don’t know his heart. But it sure as hell doesn’t look good. After all, as El Rushbo pointed out, there aren’t a lot of other liberal Democrats out there that have recieved the General’s endorsment. [...]
I want to respond to Barbara up there.
The world we live in is populated by human beings of DIFFERENT RACES. This is part of the diverse nature of humanity and is, quite simply, a fact. While racial identity may not matter to you, it certainly plays a role in the development of CULTURE and can hardly be tossed aside as “decoration.” Racism isn’t an acknowledgment of distinct races. It’s an assertion of superiority by one race over another. You don’t heal it by pretending that everyone is the same race. That’s like trying to end homophobia by pretending that everyone has the same sexuality. It just isn’t true. The reality requires an embrace of difference, not a imposition of sameness.
Republican by Nature:
I love how some whites who know maybe 3 black people in their personal lives think that they can comment about what black people do or don’t do. Blacks have voted for whites for years, sometimes even over white candidates. I live in Maryland, where blacks overwhelmingly voted for white Senate candidate Cardin over black candidate Steele just two years ago. As far as blacks not accepting biracial children, your complete ignorance of black culture is showing as blacks have always accepting the products of interracial unions, while whites invented the “one-drop” rule and disowned anyone who not pure white.
Wabrenna - Guess it would really surprise you then that I am black…..lived in black communities all my life!
How come nobody ever asks if Joe Lieberman supports John McCain over the nominee of his own party because he’s white?
Republican by Nature-
If you are really black, which I doubt, then you know perfectly well that black people are a rainbow of colors, and that mixed race blacks have fit seamlessly into the black community. The idea of being “biracial” is relatively new, since whites on the whole rejected the products of interracial unions while blacks embraced them. You also know that blacks has always in recent history voted 90%-95% Democrat regardless of color. Powell and Rice and other black Republicans were and are used as convienent trophies to deflect from the party’s generally anti-black agenda- I hope it did not take just Obama running for Powell to realize the obvious. When is the last time a black Republican won a major statewide office?
One more thing-
The very idea that somehow if Obama gets elected that he is going to institute “payback” for slavery and Jim Crow is so ridicious that I am not going to insult my fellow Americans who happen to be white by thinking that more than a few believe such nonsense. Anyone with basic knowledge about this country knows that blacks are no more than 13% of the population, and therefore Obama, in order to be elected, and also re-elected, he needs a large number of non-black votes. Any mere appearance of favortism towards blacks will cost him votes. In addition, the president is not a dictator- Congress is still overwhelmingly non-blacks, and are hardly going to be interested in any sort of “payback”. Frankly anyone who believes in a black payback scenario belongs in a looney bin.
The idea that African-Americans are voting for Obama ONLY because he is black doesn’t stand up when you consider the record of black voters, who went for Kerry over Bush by what, 90-10 or some such?
Looks like white voters have no problems with Obama:
http://www.nationaljournal.com/njonline/pn_20081014_9064.php
McCain-Palin are not going anywhere. Senator McCain has done great things for the country but what he has to offer is not what the country needs right now. As Collin Powell stated: Obama offers a “calm, patient,intellectual, steady approach.” Although running a campaign is not the same as being President of the US, I believe that Obama’s outstanding work in running his campaign is an indication of how he will run the country. Obama has the potential to be a great President.
McCain’s worst strategic mistake was to put together a campaign team made up of people from the same Bush campaign that attacked him before. He might not be George Bush but if he wins he will owe to all those people who also worked for Bush and expect a continuation of the same old policies.
We can’t afford four more years of policies that let the rich keep more money and wait for them to pass it down to the rest of us. With George Bush’s policies, the working class works harder and harder and makes less and less if one is lucky to have a job. It is time to change direction.
…Powell and Rice and other black Republicans were and are used as convienent trophies to deflect from the party’s generally anti-black agenda-
Please specify exactly what is that anti-black agenda. Democrats always talk about that “agenda” but Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and fought the war against slavery. Democrats support welfare systems that have effectively kept millions of blacks repressed, dependent of meager government checks, and living in government funded slums for the past 50 years.
Colin Powell is a great American military leader, and polls show, the most admired American public figure today. His endorsement will make a difference, especially to independents and republicans still on the fence, and it may just give them the comfort they need to come to Obama’s side. And he articulated well what caused him not to be able to support John McCain despite their long friendship and Powell’s support of him the primary: McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate was a rash, erratic, impulsive move that put politics above this country’s welfare. That, for a true American like Colin Powell, sealed the deal. Good for you, and thanks, General Powell.
I used to think Colin Powell was several cuts above, but he showed us, with the Iraq mess, that he is just another cog in the wheel of deceit and propaganda rolling us into the river. An embrace of Obama OR McCain would fit him.
I think Powell’s endorsement will help Obama a bit. He is an admired man, a Republican, and has foreign policy cred.
Racial and ethnic solidarity is universal and understandable. We identify with those who look like us. I identify with Sarah Palin easily because she has five kids, a child with a disability, and is very ordinary (though like Joe Biden I am not as good looking as Palin).
I do remember going into homes in my neighborhood growing up and it was not unusual at all to see a picture of the pope and one of Jack Kennedy hanging side by side. There was enormous Catholic pride in Jack Kennedy. Frank Rizzo would get 99% of the Italian vote when he ran for mayor of Philadelphia. Sam Katz won the Jewish vote overwhelmingly.
I don’t see McCain, who I supported in the primary, a very admirable man with a compelling story, winning this election. I don’t fear Obama nearly as much as I do Pelosi and Harry Reid. As for me, time to start playing the role of the loyal opposition and to assume that role with an emphasis on “loyal.”
As a tactitul matter it is time to encourage Republicans to start recruiting good candidates who happen to be black and brown. Many Latinoes and African-Americans are limited-government conservatives.
Democrats always talk about that “agenda” but Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and fought the war against slavery.
1964 was 44 years ago- literally 15 years before I was born. The New England Republican and the white Southern Democrat has gone virtually extinct, so I am more concerned with the Republican in its current incarnation, not ancient history. Currently, the party makes it very clear that “real” Americans are white, Christian, and from a red state. Others need not apply. Why would I, or any other black person for that matter, want to be in a party where they are always seen as the other, no matter what their views may be? And no, I don’t need you to “save” me from the inner cities or welfare; this may shock you but there are actually middle class blacks around.
I consider myself a centrist and independent voter. I have voted for Bush senior in the past and was on the fence for the longest time between Mccain & Obama. I consider myself more conservative on fiscal issues, more pragmatic on foreign policy, and more liberal on environmental and social issues.
After watching the debates and weighing Mccain’s increasingly negative Rovian Campaign and nomination of Palin as his running mate, I have decided that come election day, I will vote for Obama.
I am an educated individual, having both a BA and masters degree in psychology, and consider myself an egalitarian when it comes to issues like gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, and most any other subject.
My demographics are: white, early 30s, married, homeowner (suburbs), middle-class.
I also consider myself patriotic, having served with honor in the US Navy for 4 years, which did include 9/11.
I will give my take on this issue, but let me first lay out my principles that guide most of my current political analysis.
1) As a general rule of thumb, the vast majority of people do not understand enough of their own biases to attribute true motives to their actions in areas that tie into their beliefs, passions, or personal identity.
2) Political discourse in our current national culture is treated more like rooting for opposing sports teams than a civic-minded debate of issues as our founding fathers intended.
3) I respect facts, I don’t respect opinions unless the individual expressing his/her opinion has a track record for insight into the area the opinion being expressed belongs, and a demonstrated devotion to the truth as opposed to any agenda or bias.
4) When point 3 is applied to points 1 & 2, I consider most, not all, but most posts on almost any political forum as biased and ill-informed as any other political discourse in this country.
5) Given point 4, you could consider me an intellectual elitist. From a certain point of view, this could be a fair assessment. However, I am not an elitist in believing that any of the rest of the individuals in this country can’t do the same as me, or better, I just believe that most don’t have the inclination as they are largely comfortable with how their current culture encourages them to participate in the political process. The populous needs to become more involved, informed, and, most importantly, more challenging of engaging in political discourse and analysis of political information in a rational fashion (not blind sports-like loyalty), when such analysis comes in conflict with currently held loyalties to parties or ideology.
Ok, having said all that, I think the original poster has a point. He explicitly said that he takes General Powell at his word. I do too, very much so. However, he made a viable social analysis which projected that some white voters may infer that racial solidarity was a strongly contributing factor for the endorsement. I disagree that racial solidarity was a driving factor in General Powell’s endorsement of Obama; however, I can think of a number of associates of mine who could likely be suspect of this.
I cannot entirely fault them for this suspicion, though I myself do not share it. There has been a strong show of solidarity in black communities for Obama. I don’t believe that all of that is based on race, I don’t think that if he was a republican you would see that level of commitment - and I do think that Obama is a figure who transcends racial boundaries, with the movement he has created also in large part being responsible for the high percentages of the black vote he is receiving. However, given the extraordinary levels of support he receives from the black community being leaps and bounds above any other demographic, one could fairly infer that race would be a driving factor.
However, I don’t believe that General Powell’s motivations are in line with most any one else’s, whether their demographic be white, black, latino, protestant, catholic, muslim, etc. I think that General Powell is a statesman, and shares more in common with our founding father’s political philosophy than most other elected officials in Washington. However, not all of America may see it this way. I could be wrong. The original poster could be wrong. I hope we are, and in truth, I don’t think that any backlash will be all that strong. However, I do believe it to be a viable point that certain voting demographics may interpret General Powell’s endorsement of Obama as being influenced by racial solidarity.
I also believe that those posters who have levied allegations of racism against the original poster ought to re-evaluate their criticisms and, hopefully, either temper their remarks or issue an apology. I don’t actually expect most of these posters to do so, as I don’t expect most people to show the inclination to look at their own opinions, beliefs, interpretations, and biases in a critical and insightful manner. I do want these posters to prove me wrong, however. I want very much one day, for someone to demonstrate to me that I should toss out those principles that I laid out in my post, and embrace instead the idea that the citizens of this country can gather together and engage in political discourse through a thoughtful exchange of ideas, welcoming those wonderful opportunities where someone points out when we are wrong, with us becoming wiser when we accept new truth and actually change our opinions to be in line with this truth, rather than rejecting the truth to save our opinions.
“The average white man or woman in America is no longer overtly or even covertly racist by any honest definition of that word. Sure, many whites feel more comfortable with those who look as they do but this is a quality hardly unique to the Caucasian population of America.”
Interesting that several previous posts of yours seem to point to something of a belief in the “Bradley Effect” (which was based on election results from 26 years ago, if memory serves) when you’re willing to argue this. I think you like having your arguments both ways.
Powell’s indorsement of Obama is the most overty racist thing I have seen a major public figure do or say since George Wallace. But since it’s the “other way around” The already leftist media, drunk on Obama’s kool-aid, ould never see this obvious truth. If they did, they would not report it because journalism is dead. This is chilling. The video of the little school kids singing for Obama is every bit as chilling as those Hitler youth newsreels I have seen on the history channel. I feel like I am having a bad dream where I am in the middle of a bad remake of “invasion of the body snatchers, except it is the “mind” snatchers. The final nail in the coffin of a democracy is always when the underachieving majority realize they can vote themselves a check. Look at Detroit. God help us.
I would like to point out that Dave here illustrates quite nicely the sports metaphor referred to in my post (3rd post up above this one). I had pointed out that political discourse in this country had begun to resemble more the dialogs and back-and-forth you see among sports fans of opposing teams than intelligent, rational debates on the issues.
The most flattering characterization of Dave’s post I can give is to label it as a political analog of a sport fanatic’s rant.
A less flattering characterization of Dave’s post would be to suggest that, given General Powell’s sterling reputation as a patriot and statesman, that such an extremely vitriolic assessment of General Powell’s racial motives offered here by Dave might find their source in his belief structure or world view, as their doesn’t appear to be any factual source to support them - not to the level that Dave suggests, anyway.
“The average white man or woman in America is no longer overtly or even covertly racist by any honest definition of that word. Sure, many whites feel more comfortable with those who look as they do but this is a quality hardly unique to the Caucasian population of America.”
Two problems with this paragraph (a premise on which so much of the rest of the article is built): I think one honest definition of the word ‘racist’ (in this case probably more accurately deserving of the qualifier ’somewhat’) would be met by saying that someone is more comfortable with someone who ‘looks as they do’ (in this case having same skin color). Then even more absurdly the auther contends that whites aren’t guilty of racism in this case because their discomfort with someone who doesn’t look as they do (a logical rewording of ‘whites feel more comfortable with someone who looks as they do’) would not be unique to Caucasions. Seems to me the correct logical conclusion is that all populations are somewhat racist if they are more comfortable with someone of their own skin color and that racism is a pretty hard thing to shake.
“Most whites in America have no problem voting for a man who happens to be black to lead our country”. What’s your evidence for this? Although it is an old occurrence the so-called ‘Bradley Effect’ can justifiably be offered as direct evidence to the contrary. What’s your evidence to support this again?
Two extremely conflicting statements/premises from the article I’ll juxtapose here:
“A man (Powell), who has in his own career transcended race, a man who spent much of his life in service of Republican Presidents, a military man who brings to the table many of the qualities Barack Obama lacks, has endorsed a candidate many white Americans still have questions about”
and
“But the fact remains that Colin Powell is still a black man and seeing a man line up with the black candidate in opposition to the party he has called home makes whites ask questions like”
If Powell had truly transcended race, then the premise that he will be perceived as endorsing Obama out of racial solidarity could only exist if there had been some mention on his part of this. So has Powell transcended race or not?
I have seen nothing in the campaign (except perhaps raised as a specter by fear mongers) that Obama will bring a “racial agenda” to the Presidency. But if the simple endorsement by a respected public military figure that happens to be black means that whites will start fearing, as you put it, “The Big Payback” and start trying to resolve the silly hypothetical “what if” haven’t you again said or implied that whites are prone to the racism that you absolve them of at the beginning of the piece?
I’m just trying to understand the apparent contradictions in the article; it doesn’t seem that cogent to me…
Currently, the party makes it very clear that “real” Americans are white, Christian, and from a red state.
Examples please. Once again, nothing but your biased opinion.
[...] that said, let’s go to the race issue. I have read the thread over at Kleinheider’s, and I respectfully disagree with him on some of his statements that he wrote. He presented a [...]
Transcending race, if you take that phrase literally, is a myth. The current thread is the evidence. Though many want to say that we don’t take Powell’s race into consideration when we laud him with praise, others want to suggest there’s “Racial solidarity” afoot with his endorsement. He’s only transcendent until he supports Affirmative Action or endorses a Black candidate?
Heck, Obama’s only half “black” and he still can’t transcend.
One could go further and argue, for both men, part of the reason of their super high popularity within their respective political parties is because of race, not in spite of it. Don’t know that I’m so cynical to agree, though, but the arguments have been laid out before (Republicans need a Black mascot, Dems, well they’re just being liberals, you know).
DADvocate, you, like our bud Phil Valentine take the party out of context. The GOP of Lincoln and the GOP that voted for (often kicking, sometimes screaming) the Civil Rights bill need to be understood in the context of their time, not just name dropped for debate points. Anyone with a slight knowledge of recent history knows that the passage of the CRA of ‘64 was a battle, with obstructionist tactics from Southern Democrats and a bill that had to be tweaked before Republicans in the North would sign on. What you suggest, that the Republicans rose up en masse and demanded equal protection is a myth. When you look by region rather than party, you will understand the situation better.
Since those days, since the “Southern strategy,” the GOP has not supported issues that African Americans support. Moreover, since the party leadership of the 60’s, LBJ, JFK, Humphries, RFK, etc were out front on issues like Civil Rights, there was an even greater perception that Dems supported civil rights more than did Republicans.
[...] Transcending race, if… [...]
Is that Kleinheider or Klanhead….
You said…”Rightly or wrongly, many white voters will no doubt conclude, despite Powell’s protestations, that at least one of the deciding factors in his decision was race.”
Don’t be so shallow…for I could use your own analysis on Lieberman….A white democrat choosing friendship over party line…is Lieberman racist?…NO.
I use to live in the US for 17 years and left…your view is one of the prime examples of what is holding America back in terms of its true potential…your use of “The Dream” to justify your rhetoric is deplorable.
Powell endorsement of Obama is just what it is ….a Republican endorsing a Democrate…like Liberman, a Democrat endorse McCain a Republican…
It may be surprising to you but the Old Republican party was originally the party for Blacks in the USA…it lost its way and that is why a majority of Blacks are now Democrats… Powell is just another casualty of that exodus… Liberman a casualty of friendship with McCain.
“lost its way” is a terrible justification for “democratic hi-jacking and lies.”
- Matthew
The mention of Joe Lieberman raises an interesting point for me. Under the logic presented here, I should be more likely to vote for Lieberman if I lived in Connecticut, since there should be greater “solidarity” among a religious minority. But you couldn’t pay me to vote for the schmuck.
I have voted democratic for over 40 years. Not this year. I am checking out all sources of information about BO. I believe he ran a dirty campaign in the primaries with the help of the DNC. I watched & heard him during the primaries. While a good speaker, he had no substance or solutions. Solutions began arriving after Hillary bowed out and supported him. There are too many loose ends, where was he born, is he a citizen - if not then under the constitution - he can’t be President. He belonged to a black theology church; remember the Black Panthers? Oh yeah, then there is Ayers - an American born bomber like McVeigh. Just want some credible answers…
Heather,
Poor thing, you need a vacation. Perhaps you could rent a cabin in the woods of Montana for a couple of weeks to decompress. You obviously have been emotionally scarred from the primary.
To “Republican by Nature”:
Michelle Obama said, “for the first time in my adult I am REALLY proud to be an American” with the emphasis on “really”. It does make a difference. She says she regrets it as I’m sure McCain regrets calling his hispanic roomate at the naval academy varoius unpleasantries. Cut her some slack, if for no other reason than your racial solidarity. Which, BTW, if you ARE black, proves that K. is wrong in at least one case.
By endorsing Obama, Powell just eradicated whatever remaining credibility he had. All that was missing was a testtube of “yellowcake” for him to waive around.
Obama has run a very racist campaign, and Powell’s endorsement will just reinforce in most people’s minds that Obama is the pinnacle of Affirmative Action “correctness”, where merit matters less than the ability to check a box based on melantonin.
Obama frightens me on so many levels; once I began reading up on his endorsement, monetary support and active campaigning for Raila Odinga, I realized that Obama is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
I refuse to be a sheeple and am voting NOBAMA.
Race isn’t the factor; his worldview and political ideology are. An Obama win will mean an even more deeply divided America.
Remind me about this next time my subscription renewal arrives.
Somehow I can’t shake the feeling that we should dust off the prophecies because fulfillment is at hand.
As for me, I will vote in solidarity when common sense arrives.
At the end of the day this is Powell’s chance to show the Black community he is not an Uncle Tom; which he, Condie Rice, and Justice Thomas are all considered to be. Plus, it’s self-serving; he knows Obama is going to win. I had hoped he would be the first black Republican presidential cannadate… now I wouldn’t vote for him if he did run.
Please vote for Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party’s candidate for president.
Only Bob Barr opposed the bailout and the use of US government money to invest in banks, which is Socialism.
Both McCain and Obama were in favor of the bailout and the use of US government funds to buy equity in large banks.
And Bob Barr opposes Fannie and Freddie even more than McCain. Bob Barr wants to shut down Fannie and Freddie.
With the election probably lost by Republicans, it is a good time to vote on principle. Send a message to both parties that we oppose the bailout and oppose Fannie and Freddie!
Please vote for Bob Barr for President on Election Day.
I truly believe Colin Powell endorsed Obama or the
Democratic man, because he thinks the Bush administration, which McCain is part of whether he
thinks so or not would still rule the WhiteHouse, it
time for real change, McCain is not the change, he is
the same old same, the old generation with ties to
hate and prujudice. So why not Obama, I don’t think in this case race has anything to do with it. Besides Obama is smarter than McCain, and he’s not sick. Remember the Palin choice, put the nail in the coffin, it was exactly what made me decide to vote for Obama, I don’t want Sarah the Nazi, Palin near the Whitehouse.
Colin Powell made a speech about a generic candidate; he did not speak with any substance; he only talked about the surface and superficial such as “eloquent” speech and anybody who practices long enough or reads from a monitor long enough can give an eloquent speech, whether white or black. This is an election based on lies, money and power. And when we are a socialist country, I want to hear what all you nay sayers have to contributee. Or maybe you will not be contributing because you’ll be in the food or job line too long to be able to drag up the energy to get on line.
And might I ad, the Governor with 80% approval rating, the highest in the country, has more executive experience than the 3 other candidates combined. At least she was Governor more than 143 days. I wouldn’t take my dog to a vet out of vet school only 3 months. So since this man, or shall I say God of Gods, has not been vetted, he will not get my vote. I had to produce my high school transcript, my notarized birth certificate and other legal documents to secure a job with the Fed. and or the State Government. So I’d think a candidate for the highest job in the nation should be properly vetted. Obama was not! Respond intellectually to that comment please.
L doesn’t want a Nazi in the WhiteHouse but L would vote for a socialist. Germany is a Socialistic country, L or did you miss that history lesson? Obama stinks of socialism with all those entitlement and free programs. Hawaii’s health care system is the prototype of what Obama wants; the Hawaii health care system is bankrupt. And Chicago crime and bad housing that was in place when the exhaulted Obama was a “community organizer” are still in the same deplorable condition. Tell me one thing he has accomplished besides horn-swaggling the masses? He has no resume with substance. He did not write any papers for the Harvard law review; he will not produce his transcripts from College; and his own grandmother can’t fly, but he has not seen her in 2 years until now: Oh, he’s leaving the campaign because she’s dying. That is so lame; he should have chartered a flight and gone to see her every month AT THE LEAST. But remember, in the beginning he said she made racist slurs, so maybe there’s some underlying hate for her! He says she was the rock of his family and I don’t believe a word he says. OR else, he would have been there. And why isn’t Michele taking the children to see their Great grandmother or Michele to see her mother-in-law? Hate, maybe?
Obama has not been vetted? With all the media coverage of him over the past two years pro and con, Sidney, that statement makes no sense.
Bobbyblevins, Vetting includes a copy of one’s birth certificate, a copy of the person’s college transcripts and other documents which Obama has not been forthright in producing. No, he has not been vetted and the media has not produced those documents either.
Are you kidding me??? Powell gave every rational reason for not voting for his friend and long time association John McCain. His erratic behavior, the frightening choice of a completely unprepared and unqualified VP running mate, and the desire for a “new generation” of intellectual thinkers to run this country. You sir are the one that feels you must stay with your party regardless of who is running. You sir are the one that sees color, you sir are the racist.
Sidney,
You are a dipshit–those documents have been provided and verified by Fox News. Now crawl back in a hole and snuggle with your sister.
Well at least you’re honest that this will be seen as a black-on-black endorsement by those who want to see it that way. However, I’m confused as to why you pointed out that the average white is not covertly or overtly racist, when choosing to see this endorsement as purely racial is, indeed, racist.
I know many people (all white) who supported McCain in the primary and despise him now due to his flip-flops, overtures to the far right of the party, and choice of Palin. This has nothing to do with race, and Colin Powell is far from alone.
This article is really bad. I am glad that most other people thought so too.
Is it about race?
Only one person knows for sure…and that’s Powell.
Powell claims that he’s not happy with the “rightward shift” of the Republican party.
Any merit in his accusation???
Listen to Republican Senator Michelle Bachmann
Click to watch Senator Michelle Bachmann’s interview
So…what do you think??. Is Powell just imagining things?
I think that that it is asinine and ignorant to even assume that Powell is endorsing because either one of them is black. There is no history from Powell’s past that would lead anyone to think that he works like that. There is no indication from his experience and his career that has made decisions based on race before, so why would he do that now? Answer, he wouldn’t. He picked Obama because he is a better choice, something any intelligent, thinking person can see. COLOR being irrelevant when the brain is used.
I couln’t believe what I am reading. This fool columnist is saying, “Be afraid, be very afraid. The niggers is risin’ up an they goin’ to kill us in our beds!” Good God Almighty, get off the plantation, you fool!
This is the biggest joke of an analysis I’ve ever read.
Let me get this straight out of all the moderate and conservative republicans that have endorsed Obama did they all do so just because he’s black or is it just Colin Powell’s endorsement that is contributed to such narrow-minded scrutiny. Let’s go down the list:
Son of the National Review’s founder Christopher Buckley is voting for Obama because he’s black?
Granddaughter of the 34th President Susan Eisenhower is voting for Obama because she’s black?
Neocon Kenneth Adelman is voting for Obama because he’s black?
Conservative drunk Christopher Hitchens is voting for Obama because he’s black?
Conservative Talker Michael Smerconish is voting for Obama because he’s black?
One time publisher of the National Review Wick Allison is voting for Obama because he’s black?
Conservative author Andrew J. Bacevich is voting for Obama because he’s black?
Former Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee is voting for Obama because he’s black?
Former 15 term Republican Congressman Jim Leach is voting for Obama because he’s black?
Hmmmmmmmm, none of the above individuals are black nor biracial so what is the reasoning that a black man who happens to be one of the most respected indiviuals in the world, why is his decision to endorse Obama narrowed down to race only and not for the reasons he said. I think McCain is getting more votes because of his whiteness than Obama ever would because of his blackness. I believe former Secretary of State Colin Powell articulated his reasons for voting for Obama very intelligently. What a great many of you are saying is that a black candidate cannot be the better choice for the job when it comes to other blacks supporting that candidate. This question has never been put to whites who have endorsed Sen. McCain. Some of you need to obviously come out of the time warp you are in and quit putting people in the small boxes you apparently see the world through.
The media elites … Who are you? Are you not a product of an elite southern university? Come on. What a bunch of crap.
I know I’m not the first to point this out, but “explicitly black”? That phrase has absolutely no meaning. It’s like saying someone is “precisely white.” Are you trying to say that he’s very obviously black, as in the way he acts? If so, then you’re just being ignorant. If not, perhaps you’re just not that “explicit” of a writer, preferring to leave confusing and grammatically incorrect phrasing up to the reader’s imagination.
It’s also good to know that racism has come to an end (at least for white people)! One would have thought there would be a news story about it or something.
Here’s a question for you: Do you actually believe this ridiculous nonsense about how white people have moved on and are living in a post-race world, or did you just write this to be a contrarian in the face of popular opinion about the Powell endorsement and for the sake of having something “different” to say?