Obama, Race, and Liberal Hypocrisy

Barack Obama's election is indeed historic.

He is the first black man to be elected president of the United States.

Has America closed the chapter on racism?

From the Boston Globe:

Is racism in America dead?

The answer, coming as people began to digest the fact that a majority of Americans had chosen a black man, Barack Obama, to be the 44th president, was not nearly as straightforward. No, but sort of. Maybe, but probably not. While Obama's achievement was profound, its psychological lift enormous for many, the impact on the rhythms of people's everyday lives was revealing itself in subtler ways.

...Amid the hope, there were reverberating notes of caution.

"Racism is not dead in America," said Wayne A. Budd, former US attorney for Massachusetts, who in 1979 became the first black president of the Massachusetts Bar Association. "But I think the president-elect transcended race in many ways. People see him as Obama, the person, the leader, the powerful figure, and don't necessarily focus on his race. That in itself is an enormous accomplishment. But racism? Is it dead? Certainly not."

Race relation scholars agreed it was too soon to write the obituary of American racism. One man climbing to the mountaintop - famously described once by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. - does not mean that the journey is over for everyone else, said Tatishe Nteta, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. On the contrary, Nteta said, black Americans still have a long way to go before they overcome inequalities in critical areas like access to education, healthcare, and jobs that provide personal wealth.

"It's not something that's going to be eliminated overnight," he said, "because we've elected one person."

But electing that one person, Nteta added, definitely does help. Suddenly, following Obama's victory, the mountaintop, once elusive, feels attainable to many. And sociologists say Tuesday night's triumph revealed other truths about America, including one shocking thought: Perhaps we aren't as racist as we believed ourselves to be.

"Are there racist people out there? Absolutely. Is our society racist? No," said Dan Monti, a professor of sociology at Boston University whose specialty is race and ethnic relations in the United States. "I know there are people who will think that's just wrong. But I think Barack Obama winning the presidency of the United States is the single clearest example that we are not. Because if we were, it wouldn't have happened - period."

Generally speaking, scholars agree that it's too soon to tell if Obama's election marks the end of racism in this country. I don't foresee a day when racism or hate of any brand will be permanently eradicated anywhere in the world.

Eliminating institutionalized racism? That's possible. Ending racism in general? No.

However, it's undeniable that people of all races and ethnicities did vote for Obama.

The New York Times examines "The Racial Effect That Wasn't."

All the ominous predictions, all the fretting about hidden votes and closeted racists frustrating a victory for the nation’s first African-American president came down to this: the so-called Bradley effect did not exist.

People did not lie — to pollsters or to themselves — about whether they would vote for a black man. The polls, national and statewide, generally predicted the results with accuracy.

“The unambiguous answer is that there was no Bradley effect,” said Mark Blumenthal, the editor and publisher of Pollster.com, a Web site that publishes and analyzes poll results.

Obama's election is considered a giant leap. Many Americans, of all colors and socio-economic classes, were moved to tears on Tuesday at the announcement of Obama winning the presidency.

Images of journalists, commentators, political officials, and celebrities choked up over the election results were everywhere. Jesse "I wanna cut his nuts off" Jackson was sobbing, as was Oprah. This was a turning point.

And it is. The president of the United States holds the most powerful position in our nation and in the world. That is a significant leap.

The reaction is somewhat troubling to me. It's the hypocrisy.

The Leftists are patting themselves on the back.

Aren't we wonderful? We're so enlightened. What a great moment!

How did those Leftists react to the many gifted black CONSERVATIVE politicians making a run for higher office?

They didn't flock to vote for them. Far from it.

The achievements of conservative blacks aren't met with the adulation that Obama is receiving. They're met with disdain from the Left. The instances of intolerance or indifference for conservative black Americans are permitted. No outrage. No social condemnation.

Michael Steele was mercilessly attacked. That "Uncle Tom" was pelted with Oreos, by DEMOCRATS.

Instead of Clarence Thomas being a hero and role model for Americans, many brutally abuse him.

Colin Powell was often dismissed as an "Uncle Tom," though he's redeemed himself since endorsing Obama.

The point is there have been opportunities for Americans to take giant leaps and to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of conservative blacks. The American Left hasn't seized those opportunities.

If Obama were conservative, he wouldn't be hailed as a messiah. He'd be called an "Uncle Tom."

If a Republican had been the first black president, if Colin Powell had decided to run for president as a Republican in 2000 and he had won, would it have been a giant leap for the country?