Obama's problem is figuring out how to exploit identity politics without getting bitten by it.
A year ago he refused to talk about his "race." He was above such petty hate-mongering.
But then the Farrakhan-Jackson-Sharpton triumvirate publicly accused him of acting like a White man. Within weeks, on 60-minutes, he embraced a Black identity in the most orthodox way--using the rhetoric that he had no choice, that White folks had forced it on him.
He continued this tack by defending Wright's insane hatred, saying that to distance himself from Wright would be to disown his A-A heritage.
Months later, when he had the nomination sewed up, he began to shift away from the Black zealot image by repudiating Wright.
The shift away from in-your-face Blackness continues. His TV ads show him only among White people (his relatives) and today he shrugs off Jackson's nut-cutting threat, rather than caving in like last time. In addition, he has recently encouraged his fans in the media to potray him as embraced by Hispanics, especially those overseas.
Whether Black, Hispanic, Jewish, or whatever, exploiting identity politics is a tricky game for someone who seeks the presidency of all Americans. Personally, I think that the risks of polarizing the electorate by embracing identity politics (in any direction) outweigh the risks of being rejected by any single ethno-political voting bloc.
Obama obviously disagrees. He thinks that he can exploit identity politics to attract one group but then dodge the reaction when it tries to bite him by alienating other groups. Amazingly, he seems to be pulling it off.
Joined: 27 Nov 2004 {Posts: 1449 } Location: Hudson Valley, NY
Posted: Wed 16 Jul 2008 17:05 Post subject:
Quote:
Obama obviously disagrees. He thinks that he can exploit identity politics to attract one group but then dodge the reaction when it tries to bite him by alienating other groups. Amazingly, he seems to be pulling it off.
He's pulling it for now. In politics, there's still a long time left until the election. I expect things to change drastically for Obama after Labour Day.
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