"Indeed, we need change, not a change of political parties, not a change in Washington, not a change of issues, but a change of beliefs--beliefs that set all these things that we don't like into motion in the first place.Let me show you what a black presidency can achieve:A black child, now born, or soon to be born, will come into a world where he/she will not feel/know the limitations of a barrier of any sort--a black president can do that. A white child, now born, or soon to be born, will come into a world where he/she will feel/know that blacks, too, can aspire to be the best this country has to offer, that it's not his/her privilege alone--a black president can do that.Should he be a good president, or a superlative president, or just a so-so president will not matter so much, as the mind-altering explosion of beliefs that a black presidency will indelibly etch upon the hearts and minds of the people of this country."
~~~The circle is complete~~
That great quote from a previous commenter ( I think his/her handle is "the circle is complete") got me thinking about this presidential race again.
I am back on the field plantation after a weekend in D.C., and pretty soon, like the rest of the folks in Pennsylvania, I will be caught up in presidential race fever. " The real March Madness."
Now with all due respect to "deb" who commented on the same thread, I am not an Obamaholic, and my position on the "O" man has been pretty clear from the jump. But now that Sean Insanity and the rest of the folks at FAKE NEWS have been beating him up on this church thing, I feel a need to get his back. Call it one black family member getting another one's back. I know I know, he is a half brother, but he is still fam.
But beyond my gut instinct to look out for one of my own, I wanted something more. Something to give me an insight into the Obamaholics soul, and something to make me justify supporting him on an intellectual level. I think that commenter crystallized it for me. Because even though I know deep down in my gut that Obama probably would not be any different than any of the other politicians in Washington, I can't get away from the historical significance of black man in the White House. With all due respect to Master Card: "Watching all those former Presidents turn in their graves, Priceless". I know the secret service would work overtime; but just to see the look on the faces of a certain segment of our population would be worth every tax dollar to pay for their overtime.
So the "change" part I am not so sure about, but the historical part, I am. I honestly don't think another African American will come this close to the White House in my life time. ---If anybody even had the thought of Colin Powell, or Harold Ford in their heads, please get it out right now;
neither one of those men have a shot. Obama does, and if he wins I will be as proud as the next person of color for his achievement. But please believe that if he fucks up in office, I will be blogging about his ass just as hard as I did George Bush.
36 comments:
All right. I am p.o.'d at the O-man for repudiating the pastor's comments
...his pastor sounds smart and informed, and principled...but OK, I will persevere in my Obamaholism. ;-)
I understand your feelings Field. I also don't think Obama can change the world, but I do believe that people's minds will change if he makes it to the White House, particularly considering every thing he had to overcome.
Oh, I posted something I think is fairly humorous about the Clinton's and their betrayal of the sacred trust that is honorary black status.
http://ravingblacklunatic.blogspot.com/2008/03/mighty-have-fallen.html
"A white child, now born, or soon to be born, will come into a world where he/she will feel/know that blacks, too, can aspire to be the best this country has to offer, that it's not his/her privilege alone-- "
That statement has crucial meaning to me. Most of us blacks always knew we could achieve just like anyone else given the chance. It's the entitlement mentality of the "others" that really played a big role in our limitations. Even the well meaning ones always think they are doing us the favor in advancement.
"I feel a need to get his back. Call it one black family member getting another one's back. I know I know, he is a half brother, but he is still fam. "
ah huh.. Sounds like you're softening up a bit field. It's ok, when you're ready to come out... we'll be here for you. Everyone has their own pace, take your time.
"But please believe that if he fucks up in office, I will be blogging about his ass just as hard as I did George Bush. "
Ay man, so you mean there won't be any racial nepotism breaks for the brother from another mother? Why must we black folk be so hard on each other. damn
Field, I feel the exact same way as you. Although I'm tempted to leave the Democratic party and become an Independent, I got Obama's back too.
It's really more because I've met Rev. Wright before and people got it all twisted. Wright is a good dude and his words were taken out of context.
But Rev had no business confusing the pulpit for a remote site of Operation PUSH. He should've preached the word at all times.
Then people wouldn't have a grounds for the recent backlash concerning the way that he's always preached in the first place.
I've got Obama's back as well. I'm going with him to the end of this thing!
I've got to!
I got Obama's back too yall.
Field, precisely because your position on the "O" man had been crystal clear before, I said "LATELY" seems like you've been sippin' on that O-Ade from Mrs. Field - not drinking daily doses. :-) I respect Circle's and your point of view on the historical significance of it all and the eloquence with which Circle expressed that point of view was beautiful. I just disagree on some points.
As I said in my response to Circle on the other post, "In my mind, enduring progress without positive effects and notable changes isn’t progress. It is Stepin Fetchit, writ large. You’re right though, we CAN have it both ways - if we have a candidate who is both Black and qualified. Is that too much to ask?"
I think the danger in setting the bar too low for the sake of historical effect is that we set ourselves AND our children up for the smackdown that will surely follow. Sado-masochism is just really not my thing. I know, I know - I am not the optimist here, I just prefer to call things as I see them.
I can appreciate your need to back up fam on the Rev. Wright thing, but is the reverend not fam too? Just because he's not running for POTUS he gets no love? He's been preaching like that and inspiring folks, INCLUDING Mr. & Mrs. "O," for a long time. That all these folks are beating up on him for this means the reverend deserves to be "denounced" so as not to upset some white folks? Man, I just can't get with that. Even I would have stood with the "O" man had he stood with the reverend!
I agree with you that there probably won't be another African-American to come this close to the White House, certainly in my lifetime and absolutely not unless we have a serious paradigm shift about what is and what is not important to, and for us in this country. You're dead-on about Colin Powell and Harold Ford not having a shot though! The company Colin kept AND in which he believed killed it for him. And Harold Ford, well...suffice it to say that a Fox News position is probably the best "public" position to which he can aspire.
I have to be honest and say that I'm conflicted right now about how I'll feel if he wins. Guess I'll have to wait and see. And I have no doubt that you will be blogging about his ass just as hard as you did George Bush if he fucks up. Just as I'm sure you'll be blogging about his ass if he does well. I'm looking forward to your commentary either way!
Another reason to back Obama Field is the obvious Democrat Party attempt to justify possibly naming Hillary as the nominee. Obama was not on the ballot in Michigan and he did not campaign in Florida that resulted in her winning both states. Obama won primary states and delegates’ FAIR AND SQUARE.
When the Clintons did not think Obama was a threat, her camp had no problem honoring the Democrat Party decision to void Michigan and Florida primaries…now they want the states to count. The fair thing to do is to split the delegates straight down the middle instead of spending millions to hold new primaries.
I am not an Obamaholic, but Obama is my choice for the Democrat nominee. I was willing to hold my nose and vote for Hillary until too many patterns from their camp start jumping off. One thing I know for sure I WILL NOT VOTE for Hillary if she is the nominee.
It may not matter in the long run, but for me NOT voting for Hillary will be my way in taking a stand against the Democrat Party for allowing her to throw another Democrat under the bus (her supporting McCain over Obama) and for blatantly trying to steal the nomination because she believe she is entitled to be the next POTUS.
@deb:
"I think the danger in setting the bar too low for the sake of historical effect is that we set ourselves AND our children up for the smackdown that will surely follow."
Unlike you, I'm persuaded that Obama will do no worse than his predecessors, and will, in all likelihood, do better.
I don't think that the risk of him being unqualified, as you seem to suggest ("setting the bar too low"), is as hazardous as you think.
Sure many black firsts have had to be superbly qualified even to be considered good enough to break the "color barrier."
Jackie Robinson comes to mind.
Now, again, we're faced with the same old platitude: a black first must be light years more qualified than a comparative white person to aspire to, and land, a job historically reserved for whites.
You're suggesting that, if Obama fails as the first black president, then a whole generation of blacks will be traumatized by that failure, that it will "set ourselves AND our children up for the smackdown".
Yet, if we compare Obama's experience with that of others who have aspired to be, and have landed the job of POTUS, in many instances, he's overqualified.
As you know, that has been the case for black firsts countless times.
I just don't buy the argument that he's lacking the qualifications that are the hallmark of presidential suitability.
That said, I do feel your concern, but I just think, in this case, it's a concern that's misplaced.
I'd urge you to join us, and let us all work together to do our part to make sure that his presidential bid is realized, and that his presidency exceeds our greatest hopes and our unbridled expectations.
shonufded: Wonderful comment!
The Clinton's also have ties with Obama's church:
Trinity members point out that Obama is not the first presidential candidate to have an alliance with a controversial minister, nor is he the first to have a connection, however tenuous, to Farrakhan. In 1996, while running for re-election, Bill Clinton sent out a mass mailing to friends and prospective donors—including one to the Nation of Islam. In it, he invited Claudette Muhammad, who at the time was chief of protocol, to be on his steering committee. "It is my way of saying thank you for your past friendship and it is my way of asking you to join me in this new campaign," he wrote. Muhammad reprinted the letter in a memoir; a spokesman for Clinton declined to comment.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/123604/page/3
Barack Obama will be our generation's John F. Kennedy. He means so much to so many here in the USA and around the globe. In fact, European leaders won't even waste their time now on the Bush cretin -- instead preferring to wait for an Obama administration. It's taken more than 200 years for Obama to reach this point. We should all feel lucky to have lived long enough to see this amazing day.
~
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng stock index closed down 5.2 percent on Monday.
Asian Stocks Tumble on Bear Stearns News
Concerns about the global banking network and the fallout from the bargain-basement sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase drove Asian and Europe stocks lower.
http://nytimes.com/
If given the choice betwixt a $200 billion loan to the Bear Stearns Companies or giving $200 thousand dollars to one-million U.S. families to help revitalized the economy, which do you think President Obama would do?
We live in a multi-polar world, the EEC and China don't give a damn about Black babies, and neither will a President Obama.
Your saviour North American Negroe, is neither Jesus, nor Obama; it is your own punk-damn selves.
"The circle is complete", indeed.
`
"Ay man, so you mean there won't be any racial nepotism breaks for the brother from another mother"
Nope!
deb. I do agree with some of your points, and that exchange between you and "the circle is complete" was classic. It was informing and civil,even though you both disagreed on some points.
That's what's up.
Zack, I don't know if I mentioned it; but thanks for yout insights from "the Chi".
"ah huh.. Sounds like you're softening up a bit field. It's ok, when you're ready to come out... we'll be here for you. Everyone has their own pace, take your time"
Ahhh, I don't think so :)
Ok folks, for a humorous "got your back", check out Tracy Morgan on SNL... I guess that since they were bombarded with so much anger at the way they were backin Hillary, they present this:
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/play.shtml?mea=229454
My favorite line is if being married to the president makes her qualified, then Robin Givens must be the heavy weight champion of the world!
A bit of funny to start your day.
Jody
Just found you all, I've been a refugee in the blogosphere too long! and I am proud to say that I am house raised but field certified as well! We are neighbors too, shout out to Philly, I will be watching and reading your inspired commentary
NuttyProf
"But please believe that if he fucks up in office, I will be blogging about his ass just as hard as I did George Bush."
-I wouldn't expect anything less.
The only brother that had a legit shot at POTUS and passed on it was Colin Powell. Everyone respected him until he shucked and jived for the Bush Administration, and lied this country into a war with no end in sight.
Harold Ford is the one Negro the Pat Buchanans throw in our face when trying to replace a bonified brotha or sista and hope we won't notice we got fooled. Please.
I'm glad you got Obama's back, but he slung his pastor under the bus, and I already have problems with that, because if you can't stand up for God, or the man representing God, you tend to fall for anything. Yeah, I know he didn't exactly sling Rev. Wright under the bus, but as a person who has sat under Rev. Wright's sermons, he hasn't said anything that wasn't true about America or her "Christians".
Whenever you tell the truth about America, and it's not a pretty truth, the masses, the patriotic posers, like Sean Hannity, whine like lil byotches and everyone else shuts up.
"Animal Farm" or "1984", anybody? Cause we truly live in Orwellian times...
Field, sorry I didn't catch up with ya here in DC - let a sista know the next time you'll be here.
Please Read!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/obamas-minister-committe_b_91774.html
"Religious Right leader Frank Schaeffer denounced America and even called for the violent overthrow of the US government, he was invited to lunch with presidents Ford, Reagan, and Bush Sr".
There is a double standard for a black Jeremiah Wright comments, which by comparison are mild.
All is okay if a white Religious leader speaks about the nation's sins & he is rewarded for it but let it come from a black Jeremiah Wright, he is condemned!
God help us!
Great Field! That little sip didn't taste so bad, now did it? Go ahead, gulp.
Yea, if Obama wins and fucks up, we definitely won't see another African-Amer. in the office in our lifetime. But he knows that. He's probably one of the smartest guys to run in MY lifetime, so we've got a chance to have a good president besides an historic president. . . and wouldn't it bee great if his goodness as a president eclipsed his historic blackness?
We've still got a loooong way to go to the White House, but glad you're onboard.
Hello everyone...I've been lurking in the background for a bit but I wanted to add my two cents.. I don't feel that he threw the Rev under the bus, I think he did what needed to be done. I understand where the Rev was coming from BUT I don't feel the pulpit is the place to be focusing on politics etc. Saying "God Damn" in the pulpit was just waaaayyyy to much for me to stomach.
I think Kool-Aid pops are appropriate to serve at this time. *lol*
Field,
Have to second the motion. The idea of Bushippers having a black Commander-In-Chief is absolutely delightful. The wails and moans of not-so-closeted bigots will be laughed at as Obama destroys the BushLegacy (as would any sane person). In fact, for the first time in 300 years, the US will live up to the standard we wave so much in the rest of the world's faces.
Mold
Ive always rooted for the underdog, and thats one reason I voted for Obama in the DC election. But Im sorry to say that I do think youre wrong on one point: I think that Colin Powell had a good chance of getting into the White House. He was a military man, he was a Republican, hell, he was Black! I strongly believe that he would have won just based on the first two qualities. But I might be a wee bit biased cause I think the brother is hot, lol.
L
Greetings...I am a newbie to this site but first...I am InnerCityRose and I am a Obamaholic. Look forward to joining the group.
@ Lola... if you always root for the underdog, you should have voted for Hillary!
AP's Fournier has a piece out today that I read as saying more or less Barack and Michelle are uppity negroes
here are some gems:
Arrogance is a common vice in presidential politics. A person must be more than a little self-important to wake up one day and say, "I belong in the Oval Office."
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But there's a line smart politicians don't cross — somewhere between "I'm qualified to be president" and "I'm born to be president." Wherever it lies, Barack Obama better watch his step.
He's bordering on arrogance.
...
both Obama and his wife, Michelle, ooze a sense of entitlement.
....
If arrogance is a display of self-importance and superiority, Obama earns the pejorative every time he calls his pre-invasion opposition to the war in Iraq an act of courage.
....
But voters expect arrogance from Clinton and her husband, Bill. It's part of the package. It's a 90s-thing. The Clintons' utter self-absorption comes with a record of achievement and brass-knuckle passion that Obama cannot match — and that Democratic voters know could come in handy against GOP nominee-in-waiting John McCain.
Sorry. It's hard for me to believe that if B. Obama does make it as President, it will mean great things for Rainbow (read, badly, "black") aspirations. This has been seen before, on levels approaching the national. The bag has a way of being mixed.
The first "black" mayors of Washington, D.C. weren't enough to stop the almost simultaneous first appearance of gangs in that city and the resulting high murder count ever since. And that reached its nadir with Marion Barry, a refugee from somewhere else who was the bombastic sort and who set the best kind of example by being caught in the room of a woman who was definitely not his wife, while he was smoking crack.
With Barry in there, I was slick enough to move to Virginia, just in time to proudly throw the lever for Douglas Wilder, the first ever "black" governor of a state. He, unlike Barry, spent the one term that the law allowed in a perfectly respectable but unremarkable way, and he was followed by the state going on to being for a long time an almost solidly red place, with true enlightenment not being particularly noticeable and the millennium for "his people" not quite having been reached.
Now it looks as if there's a strong possibility that I will also get to vote for a man to be the first President with a skin coloration close to mine.
But I still like H. Clinton just as much, precisely because she has had to endure so much bullpoop over the years and has dealt with it without losing her cool -- great qualities for a President to have in difficult times.
There's a saying from Iraq or thereabouts that goes, "My goat would've gotten to Mecca if it hadn't been for the wolves by the side of the road." For B.Obama there are still numerous packs of wolves loping alongside, including, if you don't mind me saying, his most rabid supporters, like the ones you see here. I don't trust them. They are too fanatical, and it is the nature of heroes and their followers eventually to betray each other, one way or the other. Christianity proved that, centuries ago.
The cold reality will be that the majority of the votes that B. Obama needs to win will come from people who will feel assured that he will look at things from a Rainbow perspective as little as possible -- preferaby even less. There are after all many other issues threatening the country that he will be expected to address that affect more than just one group. Iraq, climate change, an economy built over a sinkhole of debt, the freedoms lost due to the "War on Terror," the Immigrant question, taxes, drug use, health care, Iran, nuclear proliferation, the coming oil shortage, gun control, the coming eruption of the supervolcano under Yellowstone that will render us all null and void anyway -- the list goes on and on and can't be ignored in favor of a lot of rah-rah as if for a halfback who is about to break into the open ...er ...field.
He was a military man, he was a Republican, hell, he was Black!
Colin Powell is black?
Excuse me, but ask his wife whether he's black. Hello, she wasn't the only one thinking that someone of his stature and accomplishment and skin colour was bound to be assassinated.
In fact, that is STILL my biggest nightmare through all of this, that Obama will fall to some freaking bag of hate with a gun, but if he and his family can stand to chance it then may all our prayers be with them and ourselves.
Please though, I know you all are very passionate but man, I HATE when I get called as not being "____" enough and it makes me uncomfortable enough to comment when I see or hear it applied to ANY one else.
@gregory:
Fournier's article:
I read the article and I see he gave Bill & Hillary a pass.
I'm SHOCKED, SHOCKED, I tell you...:-)
Fournier's AP article is absurd.
Field,
It's okay. You can take another sip of the Obama-aid. It's okay to admit it was good. Hey, it will make you do great things. It (and most of you commenters here) convinced me to go with my conscience and re-register as a Democrat this afternoon.
I've officially got his back now. Let me hear you say it, Field. (laughs)
"It's okay. You can take another sip of the Obama-aid. It's okay to admit it was good."
Robster, "ANOTHER SIP? I never took a first one.
Carl (akasofarsogoo) I respect your strong support of Hillary, and you make some good points. But calling the "O" man's supporters "too fanatical"? Hmmm I don't know, I have met some Hillary supporters and they tend to be just as bad.
"Greetings...I am a newbie to this site but first...I am InnerCityRose and I am a Obamaholic. Look forward to joining the group."
Hi "innercityrose", welcome to the fields. Feel free to jump right in.:)
Honestly, this whole notion of O-aid is starting to irk my nerves. I support the dude because he is my candidate of choice. As a former Gubment worker I am all too familiar with the limitations of the office and I therefore don't expect more of him than what he can honestly deliver. The fact that I am passionate about my support for him doesn't mean im deluded or brainwashed and Im pretty much done with the whole "drinking the kool-aid" symbolism. It implies that our support lacks any kind of logic and rationality and that it is somehow plugged into my melanin.
This sounds like typical white supremacy BS to reduce our political support to being duped by some Jim Jones wannabe.
Embracing that insulting meme doesn't make it acceptable.
Shit, I forgot what the post was about. Lemme go back and read it.
*reads*
Oh yeah.
I don't begrudge Obama for rejecting the remarks in question. Whatever truth that was in them was drowned in a whole lotta extra rah rah. I have been listening to Jeremiah Wright sermons off and on for almost 20 yrs and when dude sticks to getting his Jesus on, he is untouchable as a Minister of the Gospel. Sometimes, he, like ALL great speakers, occasionally overswings and Sprays a few foul balls. The nature of the game. Dude is in the pulpit an hour a week ERRY week 48-52 weeks a year and that aint even COUNTING all the revivals and whatnot. the 2+minutes they have shown amounts to a drop in the bucket.
My momma tells me ALL the time that she hates some of the stuff i say about this or that, but she still loves me. Renouncing and rejecting the WORDS is not the same as renouncing and rejecting the person.
Here's a comment by an even angrier writer: "The truth is that Mozart, Pascal, Boolean algebra, Shakespeare, parliamentary government, baroque churches, Newton, the emancipation of women, Kant, Marx and Balanchine ballets don't redeem what this particular civilization has wrought upon the world. The white race is the cancer of human history; it is the white race and it alone — its ideologies and inventions — which eradicates autonomous civilizations wherever it spreads, which has upset the ecological balance of the planet, which now threatens the very existence of life itself. What the Mongol hordes threaten is far less frightening than the damage that Western 'Faustian' man, with his idealism, his magnificent art, his sense of intellectual adventure, his world-devouring energies for conquest, has already done, and further threatens to do." — Susan Sontag, "What's Happening in America," 1966, reprinted in Styles of Radical Will
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