POLITICS

Daring to Touch the Third Rail

Barack Obama avoids talking about the 'race issue,' but his wife doesn't. How Michelle is becoming the point person for African-American votes.

By Allison Samuels | NEWSWEEK
From the magazine issue dated Jan 28, 2008

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  • Posted By: fan_chor-cheung @ 05/11/2008 10:28:19 AM

    Comment: Obama and Black supportors reminisced wrestlers whose matches are pre-arranged and play by hitting under the belt theatric causing economic downturn just to win. So, stop watching American games. Obama's white supportors are insulting their own race as incompetent and incapable to manage their own country . Whether Obama will be elected his "super delegates", who endorsed at other's expense, must be sentenced to live in Black neighborhoods for more than four years to find out what they are really like. The democratic governor of Oklahoma who had just endorsed Obama must be executed for causing their tornadoes. The communication media of the U. S. are circus clowns not worth commenting on because they have not given honest election comments. Hillary Clinton, best candidate in history, can be identified as a unspoiling mother who has wasted her own $10 mllion just to warn her stubborn and ignorance daughter not to date strangers in the street. American voters in general are "blind" to good judgement. Call your mother! or grandmother! Happy Mother Day!

  • Posted By: concerned about immediate future @ 02/14/2008 7:38:40 PM

    Comment: I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT MICHELLE OBAMMA HAS BEEN COMPARED TO THE LATE MRS ONASIS, WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO. THAT IS AN INSULT TO MRS. ONASIS, MRS ONASIS HAD MUCH MORE GRACE , POISE AND INTELLECT , NO COMPARISOM WHAT SO EVER, I AM SHOCKED.MRS OBAMA HAS NO GRACE POISE OR FOR THAT MATTER HER INTELLECT IS NOT EQUAL TO THE LATE MRS. ONASIS, NOT TO MENTION IT SHOWS THE LACK OF HER OWN INDIVIDUALITY THAT SHE WOULD PRACTICALLY " PLAGERIZE" THE FORMER FIRST LADY!! THANK YOU THE UNSILENT MAJORITY

  • Posted By: Change is a verb not a platform @ 01/27/2008 9:57:31 PM

    Comment: Did you know it is much more difficult for a white to get into an IVY league school then a minority. Seems both Obama and his wife benefited from this fact. Not only the acceptance rate but the amount of available grants and scholarships is higher for minorities. When will tat be equalized? They aren't crying racism when it helps!

  • Posted By: Change is a verb not a platform @ 01/27/2008 8:43:19 PM

    Comment: Comment: Analysis: Racial divide could hurt Obama

    Do you really think so? Why is there a racial divide? Is it money? Education? Religion? Opportunity?What is it? What exactly do blacks want and what do whites want? I mean if a drug using black male of a single white mother is the next possible President, don't you think the playing field has leveled? Obama won S.C (not because he was black) and his supporters are still angry....Please someone explain why there is so much anger about being black. Thank you.

  • Posted By: jameswest @ 01/26/2008 4:38:31 PM

    Comment: Comment: Since you seem to know it all, and Barak is so right on this race card issue. How would you like it if the Clintons were to say all the White people have to vote for Hillary? Everyone needs to get over the race thing and get on with progress. Michelle Obama must remember, Barak came in as a supposed mender, bring everyone together. But he has now proven himself to be the single most divisive force in recent democrat history. Now, with that understood, how can the Democrat party beat the Republican enemy when Barak is intentionally breaking us up? And he has the audacity to run as the agent of bringing everyone together? The truth is he is weakening the party and the Republicans are loving every minute of it. He needs to grow up and quit the whining and using the race card issue. Hillary has worked successfully with dems, repubs and Independents, Blacks, Hispanics, rich, poor, corporations, small business, and everyone else. Knowing how he has broken up the bond of our Democratic party, we can only expect him to fail in working with any others. How will he unite any others when he has spent all of his energies dividing us? How many times has Michelle told the Black American that he is no good, oppressed, and not good enough? She is the very one trying to teach hate. She is trying to put some beliefs in the black American that can only harm. The truth is, Black people have come a long way. Many of them are very successful, just look around you. Why are you allowing her to bring your spirits down with a false since of OPPRESSION? The truth is I am Black man myself, and very comfortable in my skin. Very proud of my history and am very offended when my own people try to plant false fears in my mind. The truth is, Michelle is using race as a fear tool, but I am not afraid, I am proud of my Black heritage. I am proud when I see all of these Black reporters, lawyers, commercial actors etc., etc., etc., Please stop spreading fear in the Black Americans' lives. Lift us up. Stop trying to make us feel inadequate. Those of us that are proud of our people don't want to hear anyone saying we are less. Especially one of our own. I have never heard the Clintons tear us down like that; they have only tried to lift us up and empower our minds. Not try to make us think we are any less than any other man, or woman for that matter.

  • Posted By: Colonel Ray @ 01/25/2008 3:48:55 PM

    Comment: Comment:
    In Obama's own words yesterday he said he is not sure if the people who support him now would support Hillary if he (Obama) is not the Democratic Party candidate in November. Obviously he will not. He also said three days ago he would have to check and see how well Bill Clinton could "dance" before he would consider him to be a "brother". Some of my very best lifelong friends are Black, Hispanic, and Muslim. I am very, very concerned that Barrack Obama is a closet racist that will destroy the race relations in this country.

    So I humbly ask that you and all those you know to do your own investigation and report this if true and put an end to this divisive primary campaign before too much damage is done.

    God Bless You.

    Former Host, The All Things Military Show and The Daily Briefing Radio Show, with Colonel Ray,
    heard in Southern California.

    Please read below:
    "We were always playing on the white man's court -- by the white man's rules. If the principal, or the coach, or a teacher wanted to spit in your face, he could, because he had the power and you didn't. The only thing you could choose was withdrawal into a smaller and smaller coil of rage."

    Obama once described the white race as ???that ghostly figure that haunted black dreams.???

    ???That hate hadn't gone away,??? he wrote, blaming ???white people -- some cruel, some ignorant, sometimes a single face, sometimes just a faceless image of a system claiming power over our lives.???

    During college, Obama disapproved of what he called other "half-breeds" who gravitated toward whites instead of blacks. And yet after college, he once fell in love with a white woman, only to push her away when he concluded he would have to assimilate into her world, not the other way around. He later married a black woman.

    Obama???s book is primarily about his rejection of his supportive white maternal extended family in favor of his unknown black paternal extended family.

    At age 33, he wrote in "Dreams from My Father, that " he found solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance and animosity against his mother???s race.

    Obama vowed that he would "never emulate white men and brown men whose fates didn't speak to my own. It was into my father???s image, the black man, son of Africa, that I???d packed all the attributes I sought in myself, the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela."

    In his memoir, "Dreams of My Father," Obama writes of a story in Life magazine that influenced him -- about a black man trying to bleach his skin white. No such article could be found in Life or Ebony.

  • Posted By: Julia55 @ 01/24/2008 8:21:00 PM

    Comment: ABSOLUTELY agree with roncrow's post. Michelle Obama isn't going to convince me of anything because she's Black. As an African American female over 35, I've listened to her and she speaks highly of her husband and she says the things that hit all of the buzz words for those who aren't really listening. I've been listening. And still, race aside, sex aside, arguing during the debates aside, I'm still voting for Hillary Clinton.

  • Posted By: roncraw @ 01/24/2008 4:02:32 PM

    Comment: i beleive the Clintons are as "black" as Obama.ask any vet. civilrights leader and they can attest to the Clintons decades of work toward civilrights for all people.Obama was raised by a white mother and white granarents in a mostly white state.He spent hisearly years overseas where he didn't encounter racial discrimationas other children his age did. His participation in the civilrights movement was minimal at best.

  • Posted By: opinionsqueen252 @ 01/23/2008 4:44:10 PM

    Comment: First of all if that is true .09 more that caucasians make over African Americans is 3.60/week; 14.40/month; and 187.20/year based on a 40 hour work week. Mind you it really is not a lot of money and is barely enough to cover even one of my bills alone BUT why?? Why do white women make .09 more than black women??? What is the point?
    Secondly, Barack shouldn't touch base on his race. I am black and I am proud to be black. I was raised pretty well but I have lived on the worst side of things as well and I love the fact that Barack is out there setting an example of a smart strong African American man that could break through these hardships and be a man running for president. I love the approach he is taking toward hardship as a black man in America. Why the hell should he play on that in any way. Barack Obama is a man who is trying to run for president, leave it at that. Bush didn't have to talk about whatever hardships he may have had and neither does anyone else who runs for president. Sometimes as African Americans we cause ourselves more racism than is always neccessary. Lay off let the man be who he is ***!! He's balck, okay!!! What are his views on abortion and the war on Iraq? If you are African American let it be a plus that he is also but don't expect the man to have to be different and explain hardships as a black man. Being considered different is fuel for racism.
    Drop it!!! It is hard it is extremely hard the difference is you have people who dwell in that and are stagnant in overcoming these issues or you have people who try and push and break through and become president.



  • Posted By: yellowdogtarheel @ 01/23/2008 3:42:59 PM

    Comment: Why does Barack not speak out directly on the issue of the "black experience" in America? Why has he not used his wonderful rhetorical skills to create hope for upward mobility for the african-american underclass? I - like most lifetime democrats - believe that the issue of structural poverty among african-americans is a legitimate topic. It cries out to be addressed as levels of inner city unemployment and multi-generational family breakdown are at epidemic levels. If Barack Obama shared the experience of black america then it would seem natural for him to speak about this issue. The awkward truth is that Barack Obama's background does not reflect the black american experience. Abandoned by his african father at an early age, his upbringing was left primarily to his caucasian feminist iconoclast mother. Then as he approached adolescence his mother sent him to live and be raised by his caucasian grandparents in Hawaii where he attended an elite private school... then to Columbia ... then Harvard Law. So where does Barack get off passing as a "Black American", using black dialect in the neighborhood, suggesting that he shares the experience of average folks - either black, brown or white? Perhaps we democrats are about to get short changed in this deal. Could we be about to elect as our first "black" President someone who has not a clue about how to reach down to the underclass for a hand up?

    • Posted By: Dems2008 @ 01/23/2008 5:55:08 PM

      Comment: Yellowdog, I think you raise some very good questions here. Barack has not lived the typical life of an African-American. I think that is part of the reason he chose work as a community organizer in Chicago - to see firsthand how typical African-Americans live, and the situations they expericne in every day life. Michelle actually did experience it as a child, so she certainly can talk about it, and I'm glad she does. I think Barack's campaign recognizes that he needs to run a fairly race-neutral campaign if he is to win and put himself in a position to really address the very issues you raise, such as structural poverty. I think this is why the Clinton campaign has tried to inject race as an issue; not that it is not important, but I think they want to force Barack into discussions of it in the hopes that he loses white and Latino support in the process.

  • Posted By: pbr90 @ 01/23/2008 3:07:14 PM

    Comment: 9 cents more is what white women make over black women.

    What looks good may not always be good in the direction of the country, and it's possible that the disparity in wages between men and women mean that all women should be for Hillary, not Barak Obama.

    9 cents difference cannot be enough upon which to base an election deeply rooted in economic equity on gender or race.

  • Posted By: surfish12 @ 01/23/2008 2:39:26 PM

    Comment: Did you mention who is getting the Trumpeter Award? I beleive it is Lewis Fahrakon. This should tell you alot about, not only the award but the media as well. When will the media begin to report the news instead of trying to create it?

  • Posted By: nowhutimsane @ 01/23/2008 2:09:21 PM

    Comment: I have a sincere question, this is not racist or a smart-ass. If it is against the law to discriminate in housing, education and employment. Affirmative Action gives minorites favored treatment in some employment and education opportunites. What and where is the discrimination that prevents African Americans from succeeding?

  • Posted By: VICTOR @NJ @ 01/23/2008 2:05:14 PM

    Comment:

  • Posted By: wilk0243 @ 01/23/2008 1:23:11 PM

    Comment: http://www.newsweek.com/id/91424
    I hope that people are intelligent enough to take two minutes to do some real research before letting spam messages from sources like nvs9940 affect their opinions.

    I have no strong feelings against Hillary Clinton. I believe that she has the capability to succeed as president. And if she ends up with the democratic nomination, then I will gladly support her. However, I truly believe that Obama is the best person to lead our country out of its current mess. And as a white woman, I can honestly say that neither race nor gender had any play in my opinion.

    I can't help but respect anyone from a middle class background that works hard enough to get into Harvard Law School based solely on his own merits and not his or her last name. But then to also graduate at the top of his class and run the Harvard Law Review? He is an inspiration and a true reflection of what this country is all about. I am so very ready for someone that knows what being an average American is all about, not one that was born with a silver spoon in their mouth.

    And while some people choose to be afraid of Obama's foreign family and youth abroad, I think it makes him an even stronger candidate. He has a better idea of foreign cultures and opinions because of it. And at this point in time, where the US is viewed negatively by almost every other country, we are in desperate need of a president with foreign sensitivity. The US is a very small portion of the world and our status as world super power is slipping every day. The more we do to work harmoniously with other countries, the better off we will be.

    And those that say that he doesn't have any substance behind is talk of change and hope, are obviously too lazy to do a little digging before forming opinions. But besides that ... since when is having hope that peace is something to work towards a bad thing?

  • Posted By: williamsl @ 01/23/2008 1:05:20 PM

    Comment: nvs9940, this article is about Mrs. Obama and the help she gives to her husband. The post u did on "who is Barack Obama" has been on email which was written by either a black person (who thinks they have arrived) or a racist white person. Does he have control over what his church does? Is he running the church? If that's true. You should have been scared for your future 20 years ago, but if you want 24 years of bushes and clintons then cast your vote. If the choice is hillary then i will cross party lines. I think it's time for a total change.

  • Posted By: williamsl @ 01/23/2008 12:56:32 PM

    Comment: Americans have the same BS with them as in the 1400's till now. Blacks have been brained washed and think they have arrived and are accepted by white folks, for the most part that is not true. So to the black woman below nvs994, you need to wake up. Obama's church and who they named as man of the year doesn't have anything to do with him. The thing u posted "who is Barack Obama" is being sent around on email, started and sent by a black (that doesn't know he's black) or a racist white. If u want 24 years of bushes and clintons then vote of hillary. To tell the truth you should have been worried about your future 20 years ago, but you voted for who u thought your savior was.......

  • Posted By: jsu4193k @ 01/23/2008 6:59:22 AM

    Comment: nvs9940 ......You are just another paid dumb@ss and the Karma chasing this slime you are spreading about Obama is upon you now trust me. OBAMA IS A CHRISTIAN and all muslims aren't evil.

  • Posted By: FactCheck @ 01/22/2008 10:10:58 PM

    Comment: Xenophobia is an ugly thing. Especially for any citizen of a country that is only about 200 years old and built on the back of immigrants. Being isolationist does nothing for this country - check out the loss of our competitive edge in the world, our loss of connection with the trends of global transformation, the course of the global economy... Americans should be proud of the day they can stand tall again in the world because really, we're just a small part of this globe. And a quick correction to jameswest regarding white people pulling the racecard - White people has held the race card in this country since before its establishment as a sovereign nation. So no need to pull the race card, you know?

  • Posted By: Christina112211 @ 01/22/2008 12:14:10 AM

    Comment: About Obama's church..it is true...It DOES exist...you can't cover up the facts.

    PLEASE...I CHALLENGE YOU...KNOW THE FACTS: Go to the church's website (tucc.org) and click the link to the church magazine "The Trumpet". Their headline story on the front cover? An Empowerment Interview:The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

    Now you want to talk about racism and hate...talk to Louis Farrakhan!

  • Posted By: Christina112211 @ 01/22/2008 12:12:19 AM

    Comment: Barrack Obama was just an interm actually supervised by Michelle? OK, that's kind of weird!

  • Posted By: Christina112211 @ 01/22/2008 12:08:34 AM

    Comment: About Obama's church..it is true...It DOES exist...you can't cover up the facts.

    PLEASE...I CHALLENGE YOU...KNOW THE FACTS: Go to the church's website (tucc.org) and click the link to the church magazine "The Trumpet". Their headline story on the front cover? An Empowerment Interview:The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

    Now you want to talk about racism and hate...talk to Louis Farrakhan!

  • Posted By: Lady Yashica @ 01/21/2008 5:56:22 PM

    Comment: Well let's just hope that fairt tales become exposed for what they are.
    As we have seen in the past several months, the masses CAN be moved by fairy tales.
    If you are charismatic enough, you can say just about Anything and the Americans will start panting.
    When all the hoopla dies down, the one with the brains will prevail - Hillary.
    God help us if we can be fooled by charm and a pretty face.
    Listen to what they say people.

    • Posted By: jameswest @ 01/22/2008 7:01:26 PM

      Comment: Now you are talking sense. Oh, and don't forget the truth about the race thing, Michelle started all of this race stuff, so let's quit trying to pretend Clintons did, we all know better. White people are not even allowed to pull a race card.

  • Posted By: Saltydog_0 @ 01/21/2008 5:41:31 PM

    Comment: When I first saw the title of this article; "Daring to Touch the Third Rail" I was momentarily excited as I expected to hear that some candidate was finally going to address social security directly and honestly for once. Imagine my dissapointment when I realized it was just another waste of energy dealing with a topic that has NO relevance to issues that matter.

    Who said what about nothing first? Who cares?!! Oh yeah. . . .I forgot. America does. This is the kind of inane *** that moves the masses. People suck.

  • Posted By: Lady Yashica @ 01/21/2008 4:32:49 PM

    Comment: This isn't about race at all...it's about what Obama stands for, which no one seems to be able to figure out.
    Change, change, cjange, change, change....
    Change what?

    He's says the word all th time but doesn't seem to have any substance. come back in a few years when your are grown up and experienced and then we will se what you are made of.
    Wait

    • Posted By: jameswest @ 01/22/2008 7:03:01 PM

      Comment: Oh yes change change change. I do not want to see what kind of change he has for me, no thank you i will stay the same.

  • Posted By: LEMON8R @ 01/21/2008 12:40:58 PM

    Comment: Why would we put the Clintons and all their baggage back in the White House? Notwithstanding her qualifications, Hillary is an invitation to continue partisan politics.
    AVOID CLINTON DRAMA, VOTE FOR OBAMA

    • Posted By: Lady Yashica @ 01/21/2008 5:22:03 PM

      Comment: The one who first brought up race was Obama...I'd say along with his pretty face he's quite the drama queen.

  • Posted By: Don from DC @ 01/21/2008 11:25:43 AM

    Comment: It's real smooth that certain people can't tolerate a black person supporting another black. But it's ok that blacks support Hillary...GIT REAL!!! or just maybe America is afraid the sleeping giant will wake up... " THE FUTURE IS OBAMA"

  • Posted By: old scout @ 01/21/2008 11:10:02 AM

    Comment: It is so frustrating to read the garbage that people come up with because they are looking for some way to express their own bigotry without sounding like a bigot. Does anyone really think that a Black candidate will not address Black issues as he campaigns? Would anyone respect a candidate who abandons his own race in order to appease other races? Does anyone entertain the slightest notion that racism is no longer with us? Barack Obama will be attacked no matter what he does or says. But we have to hope that most people will be rational and use their votes intelligently no matter who they vote for. Senator Clinton, Senator Edwards, and Senator Obama are all good candidates who would make good presidents. It would be truly historic to have the first female president in Hillary Clinton. But it would be transcendant to have the first Black president in Barack Obama. One thing is certain. We need to throw off the yoke of Republican social, economic, and international policy. It has harmed this country in every way that government touches our lives, and it has done systemic damage to our institutions. Let's please focus on those issues, and if Blacks want their chance in the political sun, more power to them. They have been denied throughout our history. I have no fear that a black man who went to Harvard Law School, was the president of the Harvard Law Review, and then eschewed offers to work in Wall Street law firms to practice public interest law in Chicago is going to try to do harm to me or my white race just because he wants to help his own race.

    • Posted By: Saltydog_0 @ 01/21/2008 5:51:22 PM

      Comment: Ahhhh. . .reason and sanity. It's too bad that views like old scout's don't sell advertising or we might actually have some semblance of intelligence surrounding the political process.

      I can't blame the media though. They're only sellin what people are buyin: hysterics, partisanship and insanity.

  • Posted By: nathan silva @ 01/21/2008 10:29:56 AM

    Comment: Barack Obama is the perfect Janus candidate, one side black, the other side white. He avoids the "race issue" so that whites can forget he's black. His wife pushes the same issue so that he can get blacks to vote for him because he's black. Apart from being just as cynical as anything the Clinton's have done, this raises the question of whether he will take care of their legitimate special interests when he is elected, or whether he is just another politician exploiting the black vote to get where he wants to go. Obama has made it clear he intends to be the president of all the people. Fair enough; sounds good. For those black voters voting for Obama because they think he will take care of his own, how white is the other side of Obama's face? Some will see this as a racist question. It is not. It is a question about who Obama is.

  • Posted By: u.s.patriot @ 01/21/2008 10:26:41 AM

    Comment: jwilly48519...Is that all you can contrbute to this discussion? Obviously, you are not smart enough to come up with an intelligent opinion or any facts, as I have pointed out. How sad!

  • Posted By: grammagram @ 01/21/2008 8:15:08 AM

    Comment: It's refreshing to hear Michelle's candid honesty. No spin, Not a member of the established spin machine, ie CLINTON machine. Hillary's 'bull dog' of spin in getting pretty borning. Remember he was not exactly camelot in the White House. We desperately need good, honest change. Either McCain or Obama would bring that to the hill.

  • Posted By: jsu4193k @ 01/21/2008 7:58:23 AM

    Comment: If you where trying to buy a GREAT HOUSE and with you eyes blind-folded, you are taken into a house, when inside the house the blind fold is then removed and you love the house by just looking at the interior, the decorations and furnishing is perfect would you buy that house? Thats how Americans are. Most Americans including the writers have lived within the country all there lives. They see just the interior and know nothing about the exterior. They can't even see the color of the house they live in. They can't think outside the box even if they wanted to. Obama as the president will be the best thing that will happen to our great nation, ask any American who has lived outside the U.S and has seen this GREAT HOUSE from the outside too. This great nation has so many divides. Many good folks, whites, blacks, asians, latinos, indians are unintentionally racist and don't even know it. Its very sad as we are in the 21st century. Some of our perspectives are thwarted. This country needs serious unification, someone who sees beyond race, someone who has seen this GREAT NATION from the outside and knows how diverse it is, if it is to remain a vital force in the 21st century

  • Posted By: jsu4193k @ 01/21/2008 7:57:41 AM

    Comment: If you where trying to buy a GREAT HOUSE and with you eyes blind-folded, you are taken into a house, when inside the house the blind fold is then removed and you love the house by just looking at the interior, the decorations and furnishing is perfect would you buy that house? Thats how Americans are. Most Americans including the writers have lived within the country all there lives. They see just the interior and know nothing about the exterior. They can't even see the color of the house they live in. They can't think outside the box even if they wanted to. Obama as the president will be the best thing that will happen to our great nation, ask any American who has lived outside the U.S and has seen this GREAT HOUSE from the outside too. This great nation has so many divides. Many good folks, whites, blacks, asians, latinos, indians are unintentionally racist and don't even know it. Its very sad as we are in the 21st century. Some of our perspectives are thwarted. This country needs serious unification, someone who sees beyond race, someone who has seen this GREAT NATION from the outside and knows how diverse it is, if it is to remain a vital force in the 21st century

  • Posted By: jsu4193k @ 01/21/2008 7:21:30 AM

    Comment: RACISM IS STILL AN ISSUE IN THIS COUNTRY. EVEN FROM THE TONE AND PERCPECTIVE OF THIS PIECE. I KNOW THE WRITER ISN't A RACIST, BUT THINK ABOUT IT. MICHELLE TALKS TO BALCKS ABOUT HER HUSBANDS PRESIDENTIAL BID, AND YOU SAY SHE IS PLAYING THE RACE CARD, "SHE IS BECOMING THE POINT PERSON FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN VOTES." IF BILL TALKS TO A WHITE AUDIENCE ABOUT HILLARY, NO ONE SAYS HES PLAYING THE RACE CARD, PANDERING FOR THE WHITE VOTES. SOME GOOD PEOPLE ARE RACIST UNINTENTIONALLY. IT'S IRONIC, THAT THIS CANDID PIECE COULD BE RACIST DEPENDING ON HOW YOU LOOK AT IT. HOPEFULLY, SOME DAY, WE COULD ATTAIN SOME KIND OF SOCIAL EQUALITY, BUT EVEN IN MY HOPE AND FAITH I KNOW THERE WILL ALWAYS BE RACISM SADLY.

  • Posted By: jsu4193k @ 01/21/2008 7:21:13 AM

    Comment: RACISM IS STILL AN ISSUE IN THIS COUNTRY. EVEN FROM THE TONE AND PERCPECTIVE OF THIS PIECE. I KNOW THE WRITER ISN't A RACIST, BUT THINK ABOUT IT. MICHELLE TALKS TO BALCKS ABOUT HER HUSBANDS PRESIDENTIAL BID, AND YOU SAY SHE IS PLAYING THE RACE CARD, "SHE IS BECOMING THE POINT PERSON FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN VOTES." IF BILL TALKS TO A WHITE AUDIENCE ABOUT HILLARY, NO ONE SAYS HES PLAYING THE RACE CARD, PANDERING FOR THE WHITE VOTES. SOME GOOD PEOPLE ARE RACIST UNINTENTIONALLY. IT'S IRONIC, THAT THIS CANDID PIECE COULD BE RACIST DEPENDING ON HOW YOU LOOK AT IT. HOPEFULLY, SOME DAY, WE COULD ATTAIN SOME KIND OF SOCIAL EQUALITY, BUT EVEN IN MY HOPE AND FAITH I KNOW THERE WILL ALWAYS BE RACISM SADLY.

  • Posted By: brborde @ 01/21/2008 7:17:49 AM

    Comment: God Bless Mrs. Obama and family. We will continue to hold them up in prayer for their safety. As a retired service member of 27 years, I never thought twice of the race or faith of my shipmates, whom we all have made safrafices for this great nation. Not to live in fear, but to embrace all that makes us human beings. People don't be afraid of those who are different from you. The diversity of our United States is what makes us strong. Jewish, Christian, Muslim and all other religion can live here and be heard, thats why we are Americans, thats why my military brothers and sisters are giving their lives today for people like you.
    God Bless and Peace be unto you. Senior Chief (Retired)

  • Posted By: brborde @ 01/21/2008 7:09:41 AM

    Comment: good on you Mrs Obama, never be afraid to speak the truth. As Christians we are praying for you and your families safety. I've spent 27 years in Military servce for this country, never thinking twice of what color the shipmate was beside me or their faith. Sad to say, there are still people in america who are still afraid of any thing that is different from them. Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Budhist, we all bleed red blood, and its time to unite not live in fear. God Bless ...... Senior Chief (retired)

  • Posted By: DrTroy @ 01/21/2008 2:05:01 AM

    Comment: Michelle Obama's playing the race issue is a desperate and opportunistic attempt to get votes for her husband. She was quoted as saying that for Barrack to wait to run for he presidency is not even an option
    This is truly an arrogant and narcissistic attitude and what the country needs is leadership and experience to help us pull through amidst thee difficult times. She is a racist.

  • Posted By: JWilly48519 @ 01/20/2008 10:55:08 PM

    Comment: Editing/spell-checker mistake: it's "flak", not "flack". Very different meanings.

  • Posted By: NiqqerJim @ 01/20/2008 10:32:34 PM

    Comment: Comment: THIS DOESN'T SOUND RACIST? WHO ARE YOU KIDDING! IT IS CLEAR THAT MICHELLE AND BARACK ARE TRYING TO PANDER TO THEIR GROUPS OF "INTEREST" TO SEAL THE DEAL. REREAD MICHELLE'S STATEMENTS AND INSERT THE WORD "WHITE" WHEREVER YOU SEE THE WORD "AFRICAN AMERICAN" OR "BLACK", NOW DO YOU SEE THE UNDERLYING RACIST TONE? RACISM CAN AND DOES GO BOTH WAYS! YUCK!!!

    • Posted By: NiqqerJim @ 01/20/2008 10:36:34 PM

      Comment: Hilary should use the same tactics and pander to women. Who are you kidding? Oh yea. She is.

      • Posted By: lalaw @ 01/21/2008 10:47:16 AM

        Comment: Michelle Obama is brave to speak out on racial issues. As you know racisim continues to divide the country and we have to tell our children that they live in two Americas one for blacks and one for whites.

  • Posted By: u.s.patriot @ 01/20/2008 10:30:22 PM

    Comment: I am in agreement about Hillary. She is not the best woman for the job. And, when it all comes down in November, another Republican will be spending the next four years in the White House.

  • Posted By: u.s.patriot @ 01/20/2008 10:27:31 PM

    Comment: sean2002..okay. Let's say that John McCain's wife only tries to appeal to white voters and makes references to promote and edify Caucasian Americans..would that be okay? She would be treated worse than Imus was for making the comment that he made about the black women's basketball team. Let's face it, there are 2 different sets of rules. And that is what ticks people off and turns me off to vote for somebody like Obama.

    • Posted By: NiqqerJim @ 01/20/2008 10:39:38 PM

      Comment: Get real. Let's say Hilary only tries to appeal to women and makes references to promote and edify women...would that be okay? It's amazing how some people are so simple. Simple Tools.

  • Posted By: NiqqerJim @ 01/20/2008 10:24:54 PM

    Comment: It is unfortunate that every time a woman who can't seem to compete on the playing field fairly, always uses the gender card. Or they start using the woman success or any other woman historical moment in history. Let's face it, Hilary is not the right woman for this job.

  • Posted By: drholbritt @ 01/20/2008 10:21:59 PM

    Comment: All I know is I hope Hilary wins.

  • Posted By: u.s.patriot @ 01/20/2008 10:19:21 PM

    Comment: It is unfortunate that every time a black person who can't seem to compete on the playing field fairly, always uses the race card. Or they start using the Martin Luther King success or any other black historical moment in history. Let's face it, Obama is not the right Black man for this job. If Colin Powell was running, then we would have an experienced politician who is a great orator and would be a great military and world leader. Obama however, is only interested in pursuing his own personal agenda. Do not forget that he refused to pledge the allegence to the flag (United States) early on in his campaign. His loyalty is to Africa. And there are truths about the Trinity United Church of Christ that he is a member of. The web site is www.tucc.org. Here is their mission:
    The Pastor as well as the membership of Trinity United Church of Christ is committed to a 10-point Vision:

    A congregation committed to ADORATION.
    A congregation preaching SALVATION.
    A congregation actively seeking RECONCILIATION.
    A congregation with a non-negotiable COMMITMENT TO AFRICA.
    A congregation committed to BIBLICAL EDUCATION.
    A congregation committed to CULTURAL EDUCATION.
    A congregation committed to the HISTORICAL EDUCATION OF AFRICAN PEOPLE IN DIASPORA.
    A congregation committed to LIBERATION.
    A congregation committed to RESTORATION.
    A congregation working towards ECONOMIC PARITY.

    Just as I would be disguted if a candidate running for President had a white agenda, I am equally disgusted by this mentality. There is no difference in their respective ideologies.

    Where is their comitment to the United State of America??? In most Protestant churches, a Christian flag and the U.S. flag is visible on the podium. You'll see on the web site, their church has neither.
    If the Obama's only want to pursue a certain race, then make that known. Just be honest!!
    Obama is not who we need (not that Hillary is a great choice, but). It is amazing how the media has forced Romney to explain his Mormon religion and justify what he believes. And Huckabee, who has received flack for his beliefs. Let's look at who is the best person to put this nation back on track. Anyone can give eloquant speeches...easily trained. But look at experience, character and lack of personal agenda. May the best person for the most difficult job in the world be the one who makes ALL of our lives better, not just some.

  • Posted By: sean2002 @ 01/20/2008 10:17:22 PM

    Comment: People think when Michelle talking about race, it means she is racist. This is more than silly. It is naturally for her to speak to her own people-African Americans--with natural ways. Inclusion doesn't mean we don't acknowledge that there are differences among us. Equality is acknowlege there are differences among people, but based on that understanding we respect each other. We want a system is based on equal opportunity, but that doesn't mean we don't acknowledge the differences among us. Actually we should appreciate our differences.

    • Posted By: jameswest @ 01/21/2008 12:43:46 AM

      Comment: Sooooo, let's seeeeee, that means that the White candidates can speak to their white people as if they are different than their black voters. Michelle needs to QUIT HER RACISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Posted By: speakingupforusa @ 01/20/2008 10:15:58 PM

    Comment: how horrible that she would do this. How racist is this. Shame on her and shame on Obama for letter her do this. He is already shameless for speaking at the Church. I hate this and I hope now that he doesn't win. SHAME SHAME SHAME

  • Posted By: drholbritt @ 01/20/2008 10:09:10 PM

    Comment: I was saddened to read the above article by Michelle Obama. We have been criticizing the media for making the Presidential election a race issue only to read this article and realize that Michelle Obama herself is guilty of this. Shame on her, and voters beware!!

  • Posted By: drholbritt @ 01/20/2008 10:06:05 PM

    Comment: I am appalled at her speech. If it doesn't sound racist, I do not know what does.
    I agree that the media is somehow making this a "race issue". But if Michelle Obama actually made the speech you just printed...IT IS RACIST. It makes me alittle sad. I was thinking maybe the Obama's would care as much for the white race as the black race but she made it clear that this will not be the case. Voters beware.

    • Posted By: jbingocat @ 01/21/2008 2:43:10 PM

      Comment: Are you serious????

  • Posted By: waitingontheworldtochange @ 01/20/2008 7:54:11 PM

    Comment: I think it is so sad that instead of having real issues to talk about the press has started nit-picking Senator Obama and his wife. I really don't see what the big deal is. Hillary speaks to Blacks and changes her accent and flecks her speeches with references to MLK,Soujourner Truth and other prominant black figures. She and her husband even go as far as pimping themselves to black churches and being sure to have whatever ethnic group that is popular at the moment behind them when speaking. So Michelle spoke the truth about what she feels and knows big deal. People are just mad that Obama has not given into this whole race things and he has the ability to inspire young, old, black, white, asian,and hispanic. People are just scared that there is a real chance the Sen. from Illinois is actually capable of uniting this country.And what on earth would we do with an America that is really for all people not just in theory but reality?

    • Posted By: rocktommy @ 01/20/2008 9:57:32 PM

      Comment: I actually thought this was a very interesting, and very positive article on Michelle Obama. This kind of coverage is helpful to people who want to know more about the candidates and their spouses. I don't think the references to Michelle changing her mode of speaking depending on thet audience was intended as a judgement or criticism. I thought the tone was more complimentary. I have been a Clinton supporter who also happens to like Obama very much. I would probably be happy with either of the two winning the nomination.

  • Posted By: annevilla @ 01/20/2008 6:15:43 PM

    Comment: "OBAMA PORTRAIT MUSIC VIDEO" on Youtube - Don't Miss It!

    For those of you who still have not heard:

    There is a WONDERFUL and INSPIRING music video on Youtube.com entitled "Obama Portrait Music Video by Bjarne O."
    You can use the free downloaded high-quality stereo version from the composer's website in DVD form to show at house parties and fundraisers. Even people who knew nothing at all about Obama have been moved: either a thrilling introduction, or further inspiration for those of us who already know and fight for Obama.
    The music soundtrack, which incorporates excerpts from the famous 2004 speech, can also be downloaded separately in high-quality.

    So please, SPREAD THE WORD!

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=mCPwbozpIzM

    YES WE CAN

    Anne

    • Posted By: jameswest @ 01/21/2008 12:28:42 AM

      Comment: Fancy words, heard them all before. I don't see where the problem is. Most of us already know that rhetoric. Now let's here something to make jobs, pay and economy. This speech is just trying to start up racism again. Get a clue, this is 2008, the 60's are over. His speech didn't do anything for me.

  • Posted By: HigherMinds @ 01/20/2008 6:06:16 PM

    Comment: It is disturbing to see someone who has attended such ivy league schools as Princeton and Harvard talk about inequality of opportunity ... how did someone from a working class family come to attend these expensive schools? My guess would be through scholarships and grants ... and an admissions system that was operating under legislated quota systems ... those very quota systems designed to equalize opportunities for all minorities. It feels false to me to hear someone who has clearly benefitted from the efforts of others [including many, many white people] to make things better for all minorities without once at least acknowledging this fact. If the Obamas truly want to unify Americans, starting by acknowledging what is right and what has already been done by the many of us who have voted and worked diligently for the betterment of us all, might be a good start.

    • Posted By: waitingontheworldtochange @ 01/20/2008 7:03:15 PM

      Comment: What the He#@ are you talking about? Obiviously you did not benefit from an Ivy league education or a basic one at that?

  • Posted By: 3L3R1G @ 01/20/2008 4:48:41 PM

    Comment: ???if you???ve ever watched infants of different races playing with each other, you would notice that they are totally oblivious to the differences of race although the adults are.

    As these children mature through their adolescent years, they ???dream??? of what they might become because all they have for the moment are their dreams. Parents, and other caring adult figures, listen intently in the ???hope??? that they will one day be able to realize their dreams.

    Some of these children go on to college, graduate, and with a diploma and ???little??? to ???no??? experience, set out to realize their dreams. Most understanding that experience comes with opportunity.

    These ???hopers and dreamers??? too often encounter people who figuratively take their ???hopes and dreams,??? put them in a glass bottle, and crush them with the weight of ???today???s??? realities. They never get a chance to live out their dreams, change their world, and make things better for their children. Unfortunately, they only inherit the world of those who came before them.

    A dream deferred...

  • Posted By: dhaneshaney @ 01/20/2008 3:22:37 PM

    Comment: So I guess if it is okay for Obams wife to weigh in on race and talk about it.. it should be okay for Bill Clinton too.

    But guess wht? If he did and accidentally said something negative.. the " race yellers" would be all over Clinton.

    Seems there is a double standard here, no?

  • Posted By: jameswest @ 01/20/2008 2:29:13 PM

    Comment: Since you seem to know it all, and Barak is so right on this race card issue. How would you like it if the Clintons were to say all the White people have to vote for Hillary? Everyone needs to get over the race thing and get on with progress. Michelle Obama must remember, Barak came in as a supposed mender, bring everyone together. But he has now proven himself to be the single most divisive force in recent democrat history. Now, with that understood, how can the Democrat party beat the Republican enemy when Barak is intentionally breaking us up? And he has the audacity to run as the agent of bringing everyone together? The truth is he is weakening the party and the Republicans are loving every minute of it. He needs to grow up and quit the whining and using the race card issue. Hillary has worked successfully with dems, repubs and Independents, Blacks, Hispanics, rich, poor, corporations, small business, and everyone else. Knowing how he has broken up the bond of our Democratic party, we can only expect him to fail in working with any others. How will he unite any others when he has spent all of his energies dividing us? How many times has Michelle told the Black American that he is no good, oppressed, and not good enough? She is the very one trying to teach hate. She is trying to put some beliefs in the black American that can only harm. The truth is, Black people have come a long way. Many of them are very successful, just look around you. Why are you allowing her to bring your spirits down with a false since of OPPRESSION? The truth is I am Black man myself, and very comfortable in my skin. Very proud of my history and am very offended when my own people try to plant false fears in my mind. The truth is, Michelle is using race as a fear tool, but I am not afraid, I am proud of my Black heritage. I am proud when I see all of these Black reporters, lawyers, commercial actors etc., etc., etc., Please stop spreading fear in the Black Americans' lives. Lift us up. Stop trying to make us feel inadequate. Those of us that are proud of our people don't want to hear anyone saying we are less. Especially one of our own. I have never heard the Clintons tear us down like that; they have only tried to lift us up and empower our minds. Not try to make us think we are any less than any other man, or woman for that matter.

  • Posted By: jameswest @ 01/20/2008 2:28:43 PM

    Comment: Since you seem to know it all, and Barak is so right on this race card issue. How would you like it if the Clintons were to say all the White people have to vote for Hillary? Everyone needs to get over the race thing and get on with progress. Michelle Obama must remember, Barak came in as a supposed mender, bring everyone together. But he has now proven himself to be the single most divisive force in recent democrat history. Now, with that understood, how can the Democrat party beat the Republican enemy when Barak is intentionally breaking us up? And he has the audacity to run as the agent of bringing everyone together? The truth is he is weakening the party and the Republicans are loving every minute of it. He needs to grow up and quit the whining and using the race card issue. Hillary has worked successfully with dems, repubs and Independents, Blacks, Hispanics, rich, poor, corporations, small business, and everyone else. Knowing how he has broken up the bond of our Democratic party, we can only expect him to fail in working with any others. How will he unite any others when he has spent all of his energies dividing us? How many times has Michelle told the Black American that he is no good, oppressed, and not good enough? She is the very one trying to teach hate. She is trying to put some beliefs in the black American that can only harm. The truth is, Black people have come a long way. Many of them are very successful, just look around you. Why are you allowing her to bring your spirits down with a false since of OPPRESSION? The truth is I am Black man myself, and very comfortable in my skin. Very proud of my history and am very offended when my own people try to plant false fears in my mind. The truth is, Michelle is using race as a fear tool, but I am not afraid, I am proud of my Black heritage. I am proud when I see all of these Black reporters, lawyers, commercial actors etc., etc., etc., Please stop spreading fear in the Black Americans' lives. Lift us up. Stop trying to make us feel inadequate. Those of us that are proud of our people don't want to hear anyone saying we are less. Especially one of our own. I have never heard the Clintons tear us down like that; they have only tried to lift us up and empower our minds. Not try to make us think we are any less than any other man, or woman for that matter.

    • Posted By: sstansbe @ 01/20/2008 10:22:36 PM

      Comment: I have a hard time believing you are actually black. I'm guessing you're just a white guy posing as such in an attempt to make your point seem more valid. There is absolutely nothing divisive about Obama. If you want to talk about people causing division, then you should mention Bush. He not only manages to divide our nation internally, but also divides us from the rest of the world. Yes, blacks have come far, but to not openly discuss the issues of race is akin to ignoring the proverbial elephant in the room. I am actually half black, and I can assure you that there is nothing in Michelle's message that brings my spirits down. In fact, seeing an African American as a viable contender for the White House only fiils me with pride. Also, I truly believe that little black children growing up in ghettos will also be filled with a sense of pride and posibility. So many whtie people complain about affirmitave action; a black man as president would be the first truly big step of uplifting blacks out of the mentality that necessitates such programs. A mentality of inferirority that has, mind you, been brought on by so many years of OPPRESSION. You should also take into account the socioeconomic situations that such oppression created. You can't expect the children of parents who were mostly uneducated due to Jim Crow laws, to suddenly be successful. It's going to take more than one generation to recover from our forefather's lack of opportunity. If you don't think these issues are real, especially as a "black man", then I think you are seriously deluding yourself.

  • Posted By: ladydiane91 @ 01/20/2008 12:44:24 PM

    Comment: This is the USA and that inherently means that this is a racist country and anyone who denies that needs to read some history books. Race is a part of everything in this country and that will never change. Black people who actually believe in the Clintons are deluding themselves and are probably racist themselves. The Clintons are about power and they have used black people over the years to advance their political ends. Blacks, whites, purples--whatever--need to realize that Obama is the best person to be the president of the USA at this time in our history. Putting Clinton in the role of President is not what this county needs right now. I'm all about seeing a woman as President one day but Hillary is not the person--she will give us pretty much the same old approach that her husband took and honestly--where did that get us?

  • Posted By: Don'tStealMyDream @ 01/20/2008 11:34:16 AM

    Comment: I can't cover up my feelings
    as I chant Barack Obama
    Fired up, ready to go
    Or play it safe
    By voting for Hillary Clinton
    Just because she???s a woman
    For a while Hillary was an easy choice
    She was Bill Clinton wife
    But when Barack Obama came along
    I???ve lived to see my dream
    that one day this nation will rise
    to elect a President on my side
    And if living to realize my dream
    Is what I'm guilty of
    Go on and sentence me
    I'll still be free

    It's my turn
    To see what I can see
    I hope you'll understand America
    This time's just for me

    Because it's my turn
    With no apologies
    I'll cast my vote for Barack Obama
    It???s me I???ll have to please

    America now it's my turn
    And what I know for sure
    Barack Obama is the answer
    Oprah lets raise our voices
    Yes, it???s our turn
    It???s our turn
    Its our turn
    With no apologies
    I'll cast my vote for Barack Obama
    It???s me I have to please
    It???s my turn
    At least this one thing I know
    I'll take my share of chances
    ???Ain't no use of holding on
    To Washington politics
    Let it rain, Barack Obama speaks change
    Good change won't hurt nobody,
    Let change rain, let it rain
    And not the lobbyist game
    Let the Republicans go
    I know it won't be easy
    'Cause many people fear
    To taste true freedom

    It's my turn
    With no more room for lies
    For years I've seen my life
    Go down the drain, my
    Dreams whittled away and died
    Starting from Reganomics
    Through the Bush-Cheney times
    Its my turn
    Its my turn
    To try and find a way
    To ensure it???s Hillary lost
    Because Barack Obama will win this race
    It's my turn
    To see what I can see
    I hope you'll understand America
    This time's just for me
    Because it's my turn
    To turn and say goodbye
    I???m sure would like to know
    That Republicans are not on my side

    Because it's my turn
    It's my turn
    To go for number one
    Trying to undo
    The Bush-Cheney legacy
    And the damages that they???ve done

    But now it's my turn
    To reach and touch the sky
    No one's gonna say
    At least I didn't try
    It's my turn
    Yes, it's my turn
    To cast my vote for change
    I want the world to know
    Barack Obama is his name
    Let change rain
    Let it rain
    I believe the hope I see
    On my knees I???ll pray
    He looks like you or me
    And the Lord chose Barack Obama for me
    It's my turn
    To cast my vote for change
    I won???t the world to know
    Barack Obama is his name

  • Posted By: theinnerlight @ 01/20/2008 11:21:21 AM

    Comment: It's sad to see some o the comments here. First of all, those of you who always want to throw up this idea of a "race card" don't realize that you are holding Barack Obama to a much higher standard than the Clintons. During the last debate, Clinton talked about "black and brown, black and brown" in a way that Obama could not, or else it would have been seen as playing some imaginary race card. Barack Obama could not have made it as far as he has without knowing that in general, whites feel uncomfortable talking about rae and would penalize him for making it a part of his campaign. It is the Clintons who have to gain, not Obama for keeping racial issues at the forefrfont of this campaign. Obama is sending his wie out to try to connect with Black voters. So what? You want to call that pandering and playing the race card? What do you think Hillary Clinton is doing when she goes into Black churches throwing on a fake accent and trying to act all "down home?" What do you think Bill is doing when he tells Tim Russert that he is going to go door to door and church to church in SC to deliver that constituency to his wife? Whites who want a democrat in the White House need to wake up and stop crying foul whenever they perceive that Obama's camp is making an issue of race. Obama has worked hard to appeal to all people and their desire for a different way of running governement and elections too. Blacks know Hillary and Bill are the ones truly playing the race card. They are burning some bridges that hopefully they won't be in the position to regret come November.

  • Posted By: monkey65761 @ 01/20/2008 11:11:29 AM

    Comment: this is a good artical, but there is something I would like to know. The church that he is supose to belong to is is raciest. They don't let anyone into the church that isn't black, and have Africa as their Mother country, I read this on their web site. Does he really belong to this church and if so he is a raciest. Thats not good. I don't care what color the president is but I do care if he is a raciest.

    • Posted By: waitingontheworldtochange @ 01/20/2008 7:01:16 PM

      Comment: That information is such a crock. you ought to be ashamed of yourself for saying that just because you claim to have seen something on the web does not make it fact! Was that the churches official website? How stupid would Sen. Obama be to openly state that he attends a church that does not allow non-blacks? How did he even make it to Illinois state senator if that were the case? He has been an "elected" (that means the people chose him) official since 1996, while Hillary was still playing second string to monica in the Whitehouse. If all this hateful non documented by actual journalists/researchers, (just ignorant/hateful bloggers and closet racists/religious fanatics )were true the senator from Illinois would not even be an issue now! So if you are going to to discredit the senator get some actual facts i.e. his voting record, not internet hearsay, from real sources.

  • Posted By: monkey65761 @ 01/20/2008 9:45:31 AM

    Comment: This is a good artical and very to the point. I would like to know more on what their belief is though. I reas a web page on the church they go to, and only Blacks can go there and they have Africa as their Mother country. is this true. They say all are equal and want the children to come to them but not the whites. So why do they belong to this church?We have mixed marriages in our family and do believe all are equal. But it doesn't look like they do. I would really want to know about the church they are supose to belong to and do they?

  • Posted By: princessssss @ 01/20/2008 8:03:17 AM

    Comment: legally obama is white as his mother is white

  • Posted By: akchonan @ 01/20/2008 5:37:18 AM

    Comment: As one smart blogger noted today, ???In the face of tough situations and defeat, it is disappointing to watch Obama's behavior contradict his rhetorics for positive change. He has been dismissive of Clinton while uplifting of Reagan. That instigates division among democrats. He was quick to acknowledge a black man's contribution to civil rights and totally unrecognizing of other white men's contribution and even spanned racist sentiment against Hillary for equalizing the contributions of MLK with Johnson's. That instigates division among Americans. When he lost in Nevada he lost his grace and whined, even suggesting the others did not run a clean campaign. His campaign even gave misleading statements about the delegate-winning process. If he's not ready, he's not ready. It's tougher in national elections. He cannot be whining and accusatory all the time. If he thinks being ordinarily candid about questions like "what's your weakness" is good, he's being naive. His answer is not wrong but it's not the kind that will come prudent and respectable in the world stage and even presidential league. No president can be perfect but America cannot go from one extreme (GWBush) to another extreme (BHObama). The experienced person can fail and there is greater probability that an inexperienced person would fail. Obama is running for the presidency now, not because he is called for a vision, but because he is compelled by a favourable condition. His candidacy is not about hope. His hope is about his candidacy. ???

    As for Obama???s aides and the latest misinformation from the Obama campaign ??? keep spinning, we are not listening???you are an Obomination to the democratic process AND your candidate???

  • Posted By: maris01 @ 01/20/2008 1:23:45 AM

    Comment: THIS DOESN'T SOUND RACIST? WHO ARE YOU KIDDING! IT IS CLEAR THAT MICHELLE AND BARACK ARE TRYING TO PANDER TO THEIR GROUPS OF "INTEREST" TO SEAL THE DEAL. REREAD MICHELLE'S STATEMENTS AND INSERT THE WORD "WHITE" WHEREVER YOU SEE THE WORD "AFRICAN AMERICAN" OR "BLACK", NOW DO YOU SEE THE UNDERLYING RACIST TONE? RACISM CAN AND DOES GO BOTH WAYS! YUCK!!!

    • Posted By: NiqqerJim @ 01/20/2008 10:32:08 PM

      Comment: Hilary should use this tactic and pander to women. Wait, oh yea. She is pandering to women.

  • Posted By: Shirlee @ 01/20/2008 1:17:10 AM

    Comment: I believe that we need to get beyond the race issue and focuss on the reality of what this election is all about. This country as a whole is a mess and if Clinton and Obamma cannot get beyond this then my vote is for Edwards. The economy, diplolomatic relations, the war, medical, and so on...Show us how you you care for Americans and not genders and race.

  • Posted By: djkevc128 @ 01/20/2008 12:03:42 AM

    Comment: The media is making this campaign about race. I don't see how folks cant see that. Barak is doing a great job trying to keep the topic on change. This Country is at such a divide. How can Huckabee even think we in the East want to hear him saying the Confederate Flag should still fly anywhere? wtf IS UP WITH THAT? We need to address the real problems of the Nation and move on from them so our people can stop wanting to kill each other all the time. The economy is so bad it almost seems like the easier thing to do is sell drugs and get fast money. Sub-Prime is a sickning thing to even think about but still banks are loaning money to people who they have to know cant afford it. We need to read about our selves more to understand who we are and maybe we can start to instill real values in our children and give them a sense of self worth.

    • Posted By: waitingontheworldtochange @ 01/20/2008 7:35:49 PM

      Comment: This is so true. The media is making this more about race. The focus has been on Clinton and Obama, What about Edwards? They are not focusing on Edwards because he is white and how can they play the race card on him? Not to mention it has been Clintons supporters( shanin,johnson,her husband and others) who have actually been documented by credible media sources(nopt hateful blogs) for making bad statements.

  • Posted By: donjuan78 @ 01/19/2008 10:51:45 PM

    Comment: michelle obama is doing her husband wrong. thanks to her, they lost nevada. She was boo'd in nevada when she took stage...that says alot about how she is participating!

  • Posted By: dd12 @ 01/19/2008 9:51:03 PM

    Comment: i think the last person that wrote completly on track but the first ine i don't what you are talking about and you are completly crazy barak is the best boooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

    • Posted By: dd12 @ 01/19/2008 9:54:43 PM

      Comment: cool i think you are cool

    • Posted By: dd12 @ 01/19/2008 9:53:38 PM

      Comment: cool i think you are cool

  • Posted By: TheoNash @ 01/19/2008 5:23:35 PM

    Comment: Michelle's comments are very unfortunate. The Obama's are making this campaign about race, and while that may play very well in the Democratic primaries, it's a sure loss in the general election. In pitting blacks against whites in the nomination process; the Obama's are going to face a major backlash in the general election. While a black voter will more likely support black candidates simply because of skin color, in a general election this type of racism does not play well. While Obama and his wife are using every race card possible to win the nomination, they are at the same time insuring that we will have another four years of religious fundamentalist rule in our country. The best thing for the Democrats, and the country, is for the Obama's to lose fast and early. Obama is no MLK, Jessie Jackson, or Al Sharpton; and if he makes it to the general election his drug use, non-existent experience, and his racist wife and church are going to be the end of the Democratic party.

    • Posted By: lindagma01 @ 01/20/2008 6:15:41 PM

      Comment: you are right, he's not MLK, Jesse Jackson, or Al Sharpton,nor does he proclaim to be. He's just a man trying to bring change to a country that's truely needs healing. The overtone of your comments has nothing to with him as a person...You speak on a drug use that occured over 30 years ago. Are you a closet racist?

    • Posted By: djkevc128 @ 01/20/2008 12:18:51 AM

      Comment: You need to wake up! The media is the one making this a race issue. Do you watch MSNBC? And I am glad Obama is no Al Sharpton as he (AL) is a disgrace to his own race. He cant even pay his car note on time. But he is an idealist and a realist who wants to change the old way politics are and I am am for that. This economy is very weak. we look bad OK . Sub-Prime, High Gas, Public Schools, Murder rates in big Cities. We need change! Barak can do it and Michelle is not bringing him down . How can you even fix youe face to call her a racist? Get it together !!

    • Posted By: toniblyby @ 01/19/2008 11:08:20 PM

      Comment: obviously you have not been listening to the messages that Michelle have been giving. She is merely giving a truthful and human vision of her husband. she does not portray him as someone who does not have flaws as the clintons obviously do(Bill that means you). Ilike the fact that he is not perfect. He is a normal person like you and I that overcame personal problems and has the courage to speak about them and to attempt to change the way people think.

  • Posted By: TheoNash @ 01/19/2008 5:09:22 PM

    Comment: Michelle's attitude is exactly why Obama cannot win in a general election. The Obama's are consistently using race as a campaign issue, and although it may play well in the Democratic primaries, in a general election this is going to come back as an issue that promises to put yet another crazy fundamentalists Republican in the White House. Our only chance of having a Democrat in the White House is for Obama to lose fast and early in the nomination process. Otherwise, look forward to an evangelical or fundamental baptist in the White House and our county becoming a theocracy.

  • Posted By: jakie @ 01/19/2008 5:05:25 PM

    Comment: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/

    It's about more than the history, it's about the future. Barack Obama has the best ideas and the best record of working with people across the aisle to get things done. I don't want a "fighter" or an "insider" I want someone with the conviction to get things done and with the humility to listen and work with others.

 
 
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