Jackson Free Press

A long New York Times magazine feature by Matt Bai explores the question on everyone's mind: Can white men bring themselves to vote for Barack Obama in November? This is near the end:

I asked Obama if it was frustrating to have seen, throughout the campaign, so many polls that showed him trailing badly among white men with lower incomes or less education.

"It's not frustrating," Obama said, shaking his head. I found this believable; Obama seems almost impervious to frustration. "There are a couple of things at work here. No. 1, let's face it — I'm not a familiar type." He laughed. "Which means it would be easier for me to deliver this message if I was from one of these places, right? I've got to deliver that message as a black guy from Hawaii named Barack Obama. So, admittedly, it's just unfamiliar. [...]

Which, by the way, is a different argument than race," Obama continued, pausing to make sure I understood. "I'm not making an argument that the resistance is simply racial. It's more just that I'm different in all kinds of ways. I'm different even for black people. I went through similar stuff when I ran against Bobby Rush on the all-black South Side of Chicago." In that race, a Democratic primary for Congress in 2000, Rush, the black incumbent, handed Obama his first and only political defeat. "It's like: 'Who is this guy? Where'd he come from?' So that's part of it.

"The second part of it is that I'm trying to do this in an environment where the media narrative is already set up in a certain way. So it's hard to not be dropped into a box."

Worth your time. Even you white guys. ;-)

Previous Comments

ID

139129

Comment

Barack is being very smart and calculating here. He doesn't want to make the same mistake of talking about people clinging to religion and guns he made before that the Clintons and now Palin and McCain are getting mileage from. Barack knows well that his color is a major factor in this election, but his color isn't the only factor. The average unreconstructed or unenlightened white men can accept a black men who denounce totally his blackness or don't know he's black. Colin Powell would be rejected by the average white person despite all the lies I've heard white males tell about accepting him. Colin knows he's a black man and the average white man won't like that, in my opinion. In other words, the white men still prefers Uncle Toms, a negro who loves and worshipps him more than he does himself, and therefore would never be any threat to his way of life, his opinion of himself, his quest to run and rule all, and his delusion and illusion about his divinity and superiority. What y'all think? I could be wrong but I doubt it!

Author

Walt

Date

2008-10-15T14:08:06-06:00

ID

139149

Comment

What a long column! I gotta take this home to finish reading it. I'll say without reservation that Obama is a rare black man and is seemingly without much fear of rejection or failure as the average black man wouldn't even try to step into the cultural underpinnings of the white male seeking edification, understanding or open hands since even a casual reading of history tells most of us blacks we will see things we don't want to see any more of and can never penetrate honestly and openly without harsh racial resistance. Anyway, I say again, Obama's multiple racial identities and socializations have made him an exceptional human being who believes he can do things other can't and has given him the sense to not defeat himself with fear and without trying. I guess if you're going to run for the presidency of the United States of America you shouldn't be the faint at heart or man without great courage. Win or lose he should have the story of a life time to tell. I bet Psalms 23 is his driving motto and motivation.

Author

Walt

Date

2008-10-15T16:07:58-06:00

ID

139153

Comment

While Barack may have received some resistance from the blacks community initially because of his different appearance, home life, unusually good education, rare socialization or envoromental facturing, muti-racial identity, et al; I bet the resistance, rejection or dislike or hatred, if any, in our community weren't as hostile and impenetratable or overcomable as that he recieves from the majority community. The black community has always accepted people who look like Obama fairly freely, but with some random hostility and distrust, I have to admit. Some of it earned and some of it not. Yet our everpresent compassion toward our fellow man and shared past abuse usually made us quite accepting of others similarly situated or worse situated.

Author

Walt

Date

2008-10-15T16:42:42-06:00

ID

139244

Comment

Baquan, this is the silly Uncle Tom Negro from Milwuakee who now stays up all night without sleeping for fear that someone wants to kill him. My cousins up there say there are more snipers near his abode looking for the right moment than there guards quarding the white house. I hope he took some food in with him before he went into indefinite seclusion.

Author

Walt

Date

2008-10-16T13:37:39-06:00

ID

139248

Comment

One Uncle Tom can justify and affirm the wrong thinking ways of thousands of white people, a whole town even. It only takes on vocal Uncle Tom to fix a town back to the 1950's.

Author

HardTravelin

Date

2008-10-16T13:47:20-06:00

ID

139267

Comment

Baquan I predict that black republican won't make it through this election without suffering a beatdown of some sort. Once he opened the door - all hell will quickly break loose.

Author

Walt

Date

2008-10-16T15:18:59-06:00

ID

139276

Comment

I hear you on Steele. If you listen to him uncritically he will easily fool you by claiming to knows our struggles and pains so well because he had them too. However, as soon as Mr. Charlie or the modern day master says, "let's go, boy," he'll get right up and leave you standing or sitting there dumbfounded. I've long written him off. Larry Elders too. Both are modern day slavecathers for sure. Elders even had a book called Stupid Black Men or something like that. Every time I see one of his book in the library or bookstore I wrote on the cover Uncle Tom then leave the book store or library. I hope I'm really helping his botton line.

Author

Walt

Date

2008-10-16T16:15:41-06:00

ID

139278

Comment

The killer for laughs was when he got down on his knees, his lips quivered and he kissed Sarah Palin's dainty little Moose killin' hand. You betcha, you can't make up jokes this good (ha ha). full disclosure: I imagined the lips quivering a la Jamie Foxx playing She Na Na on In Living Color

Author

FreeClif

Date

2008-10-16T16:35:21-06:00

ID

139284

Comment

full disclosure: I imagined the lips quivering a la Jamie Foxx playing She Na Na on In Living Color Jamie played Wanda on In Living Color.

Author

golden eagle

Date

2008-10-16T18:37:38-06:00

ID

139287

Comment

Whitley, Jamie Foxx's character was named Wanda. Martin Lawrence's character is She Na Na. I know, it's hard to tell them apart! LOL

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-10-16T18:49:50-06:00

ID

139321

Comment

Thanks for the correction LW and golden! I WAS thinking of Jamie playing Wanda.

Author

FreeClif

Date

2008-10-17T10:17:49-06:00

ID

139325

Comment

No prob, Whitley. The characters were popular around the same time. I remember when I went to a JSU homecoming game and two guys were dressed like them and dancing on the field. Ick. LOL

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2008-10-17T10:37:39-06:00

ID

139328

Comment

I finally read the long column referenced by Donna. It seems uneducated and poor white males want the Democrats to do something for them the republicans certainly aren't doing (and haven't done) beyond talking bad about blacks and playing into their fears. If the republicans are delivering so much to them why are they still dissatisfied, poor and suffering. I suggest Democrats learn to talk good smack to them too since that's all they expect, it apparently fills their cupboards and they don't seemingly hold doing nothing against anyone if you're white too. Otherwise, they would be sick of republicans too by now and would have switched parties a few times since Johnson made the great decision to deliver the south to the republicans. However, we all know, it's not merely about what you do for them, it's more of how you look or appear to them. If you're white, you're apparently alright, and if you're black you had better get back and stay back. Obama is trying to win and change America's poor self-image as of late and American's present poor mindset, for the good of all, here and abroad, in my opinion. Consequently, he has undertaken the distasteful task, for many blacks, of going where few black men will go seeking to confront stereotypes, misplaced blame, suffering, pain, perceptions, racism, prejudice, et al, in order to see if he can understand, address and rectify the sufferings, pains and needs of people who may not openly welcome him into their houses, homes, arenas and stadiums. I applaud him for doing this and understand why he doesn't feel as comfortable as Bill Clinton felt doing the same with the same people. Obama might be half white in actuality but he's not as welcomed by rednecks and racists as Clinton was by Black people and others of all sexes, cultures and races. Any winner will tell you that winners don't waste time crying about how different their plight is from others. Instead they spend their time doing what they have to do to win.

Author

Walt

Date

2008-10-17T13:49:10-06:00