Team of Rivals

I admit I was disappointed when Barack Obama announced his vice president selection. The governor of Virginia was my preference and it seemed to be a likely choice in terms of his interests and the demographics. Then I remembered that Obama is a big fan of Abraham Lincoln and he loved Doris Kearns Goodwin's book, Team of Rivals. In that book, Goodwin spells out the details of how Lincoln, a one-term congressman, won the nomination from other better-known candidates, largely because he was a great speaker and he refused to excoriate the men running against him. (Sound familiar?)

Then, when Lincoln was elected, he asked his former opponents to join his cabinet. Ever heard the aphorism, "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."?

So, it looks as though Obama is emulating Lincoln, which is not a bad way to go. For more on Goodwin's book, click here.

Obama's Vice President

I was going to write about this but somebody else already said everything I wanted to say, so check him out.

Thanks.

New Territory for Blacks

Some of us are not yet ready for prime time.

Jesse Jackson wants to cut off Barack's nuts.

Bernie Mac tells one of his standard hangin' on the corner jokes at a Barack fundraiser where people paid $2500 to attend.

Unfortunately, for people who have made a living exploiting black victimization, Barack Obama's being thisclose to becoming president of the U.S. is uncharted territory. Threatening uncharted territory.

Many of us who are interested in exploring the new territory are jubilant and excited. However, others may be inhibited by the fear of not knowing what to do. And some, like Jesse, don't want to go into the new territory at all because that means a total revision of a comfortable lifestyle dependent on casting blacks as victims.

Humans are notoriously resistant to change, even when it's for the better. There are black people who are having real problems with even the IDEA of a black president. It is just unbelievable for them. So much so that they are predicting some ominous secret looms over Obama that when revealed will stop him in his tracks. They are unsettled by the prospect of a black man in the White House. They never expected it; they don't know how to react. It alters their view of the world and their role in it.

The Pragmatic Obama

A NY Times column says we haven't been paying attention; that Barack has not moved to the middle; he's never been an ideologue.

And you know, she's right. We are so desperate for something new and better, we heard what we wanted to hear. But that's fine with me. All along I've observed that Obama actually wants to bring people together. Lots of politicians say that, but it's only rhetoric. Barack means it. And the older I get the more I understand that extreme positions, although absolutely essential, don't ordinarily get the job done because people are inherently resistant to 180 degree change, preferring things to change incrementally, if at all.

The best example of this occurred during the Civil Rights Movement. Malcolm and the Muslims, the Black Panthers, and SNCC made King's "radical" nonviolent demonstrations acceptable. And in turn all kinds of other things were accomplished. So, we extremists definitely have to keep Barack's feet to the fire, but I believe that with the support of the people his campaign is organizing, he will get some necessary things done--like universal health care, improving the economy and bringing troops back from Iraq.

Of course, we mustn't forget the importance of Bush's contribution. His extreme bad judgment like tax cuts and no-bid contracts for his wealthy friends (Halliburton, oil barons, etc.) have made things SO BAD that the country is seriously considering electing a black man president.

Note to Barack Obama

So, it's not just me, there are others who believe that the Barack Obama who managed to wrangle the Democratic nomination from the formidable Clintons, has abandoned his winning approach to appeal to the highly touted "middle."

Barack, that's not how you got here. It was your offer of CHANGE, not only in the way you run for office, but also in your policies, that so galvanized those of us who had become weary and disenchanted with the political process. If you become another Democrat who waters down his message to court Bush's minions, you could lose the enthusiasm you generated during your primary run, and lose those voters.

Arianna Huffington says the same thing in more detail.

Clarence Thomas Officially White

"All the judges are white and/or old; most are both."

The above statement is from a Newsweek column by Dahlia Lithwick. Now, I admit that there is nothing about Clarence Thomas's voting record on the U.S. Supreme Court to indicate he is a member of the group descended from Africans who were enslaved, but I hadn't realized that he is considered to be white. Or, is it that Ms Lithwick forgot about him altogether?

Am I Setting My Sights Too High?

I wasn't expecting perfection from Barack Obama. As a matter of fact, the one fear that I had about his run for the presidency was that he might find it expedient to behave like the same old politicians we've become accustomed to. And it's happened already.

I don't mind that he decided not to accept public financing for his campaign after pledging to do so. Changing your mind when you have more information happens to us all, even seekers of political office. What bothers me is that rather than saying, "I made a mistake when I made that pledge. I had no idea then that I would be able to raise so much money from such a broad base of the electorate. Now that I see that possibility, I am no longer interested in public financing."

Instead, Barack decided to "spin" his decision. That was such a typical run-of-the-mill political response. And I'm disappointed. I expected honesty and candor from him. Is that setting my sights too high?