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Originally posted by TonyB06
Interesting piece. Not that I think Obama was trying to do it, but it appeared the author was, in a nuanced way, trying to scrub away, de-emphasize Obama's blackness, and to somehow offer this as at least a secondary reason for Obama's rise among white voters. Is he somehow saying Obama's political positions are different than they might be had he grown up in "the hood?" does this make him somehow less polarizing, or less "threatening" to white voters?
I don't know Obamas positions well enough to even partially refute this (maybe Epitome1920 can help) but it's a curious theory to express. I wonder what he would say about Harold Ford Jr., another seen as a rising star in the D party. Does he rise somehow, because he's seen as "less black?"
things that make you go hmmmm......
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It's hard to say for sure. Obama seems to be a liberal, and I'm sorry, I don't think there are that many white liberals left in this country.
Also, what I suspect is the combination of being a first-generation American, as well as being biracial, may account for his appeal. He doesn't come from what is called "resentment block" black politics. I first read about this years ago, in a Miami Herald column.
The writer talked about black politicians being in two basic camps: the opportunity block and the resentment block. To my interpretation, someone like Harold Ford Jr. would be opportunity block, while John Conyers would be resentment block.
I saw that basically as being a class issue. Opportunity block people generally represented the middle class, while resentment block represented the underclass and those others left behind.
This was years ago, but I think it still applies today.
Hope I made sense. I'm in a lunch-induced coma.
