THE SPINE SEPTEMBER 27, 2006
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I''ve posted two pieces on The Spine (here and here) about John McWhorter's New York Sun article on Barack Obama. Then, legal scholar Cass Sunstein and American historian Michael Kazin wrote (also here and here) their responses to McWhorter on Open University, of which they are "faculty." Now, John himself, also a faculty member, has responded to his critics.
Don't miss any of this laden controversy. This gentle contretemps raises important issues about race in the United States and about racial preferences in the Democratic Party. Of course, as I pointed out, Obama is hardly Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton. Mike makes the point even more sharply. For whatever it's worth (and it isn't unpredictable), I'd be very happy with a Gore-Obama ticket.
2 comments
Without reading the heresandheres, may I simply agree with you! Gore learned how to run the country in eight years. Obama could too. When will we stop electing people we wouldn't buy life insurance or used cars from? (Of course, we did elect Gore.)
- Nancy Kirk
September 27, 2006 at 4:36pm
"This gentle contretemps raises important issues about race in the United States and about racial preferences in the Democratic Party.
Dr. Peretz, I am not sure what you mean by this. If you are implying that there is a disposition towards Senator Obama because of his race in the Democratic Party, I respectfully disagree. I am not saying that politicians have never been helped by race, religion, geographic background, or family name. Instead I am making a narrower claim only about Senator Obama. His appeal stems not from his race, but rather from a combination of his charisma, intelligence, liberal positions, and hard work. Race has very little to do with his popularity among the majority of Democrats. Any politician that has those attributes will be a star in the Democratic party irrespective of race.
I am disappointed that so many, normally astute, political commentators are weighing race so heavily when looking for reasons to justify Senator Obama's quick ascent in the Democratic Party. It dehumanizes him to say that one of the main reasons for his success was simply his ethnicity rather than his work ethic and natural abilities. I applaud University of Chicago's Professor Sunstein for his post which properly attributed Senator Obama's successes to the correct source, his impressive political abilities.
- burntedge
September 27, 2006 at 5:25pm