Last week the issue of race opened up in the Democratic contest and today Richard Cohen offers us a glimpse on how it might take shape in editorial pieces and in the public discourse. In his latest Washington Post column Cohen notes that Obama is a member of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ. That church recently gave an award to Louis Farrakhan.
Farrakhan is head of the Nation of Islam and is seen by many as a figure of racism. Farrakhan has made endless statements against people of Jewish descent and has talked of “jewish conspiracies” and questioned aspects of the Holocaust giving blame for the slaughter to Jews themselves. Cohen notes that there is nothing to show that Obama shares the beliefs of Farrakhan, but that the candidate hasn’t publicly denounced or questioned the award either.
Cohen believes that Obama should take a clear stand on the issue.
In March of 2007 Farrakhan spoke about Obama to ABC News saying:
“If avoiding me would help him to become president, I’d be glad to stay in the background, because of the taint that’s on the minister,” he said.
But, he added, “I haven’t made myself available to him … [and] he hasn’t made himself available to me.”
Larger than one journalist or opinionmaker it is a sign that there is more about Senator Obama as a person and a thinker that we as the voting public are not aware of and will undoubtedly come to inquire about in the next few months. Questions about his beliefs, his stances, his ideas about race relations and on social issues that might be important to some voters. This isn’t to say it will be all negative, in fact we may learn a great deal about the Senator that will endear him to the voting public. It is just to say he hasn’t faced the same level of public scrutiny as Clinton, Edwards, McCain, Giuliani or others running for president.
In many ways, Democrats who have used the race issue to hold Republicans accountable for their support of figures like Strom Thurmond and their accusations that the Bush administration had a racial agenda in ignoring victims of Hurricane Katrina, have welcomed such questions and accusations in the public discourse and undoubtedly this is just the beginning.
Earlier today when asked about recent comments by Bill & Hillary Clinton that some saw as racially motivated Senator Barack Obama said to ABC News “I don’t think it was in any way a racial comment. That’s something that has played out in the press. That’s not my view.”
Obama also called reporters together to say he did not want to see the campaign “degenerate into so much tit-for-tat, back-and-forth that we lose sight of why all of us are doing this” and “Bill and Hillary Clinton have historically and consistently been on the right side of the civil rights movement.”
“Over this past week, there has been a lot of discussion and back and forth - much of which I know does not reflect what is in our hearts.
“And at this moment, I believe we must seek common ground.
“Our party and our nation is bigger than this. Our party has been on the front line of every civil rights movement, women’s rights movement, workers’ rights movement, and other movements for justice in America.
“We differ on a lot of things. And it is critical to have the right kind of discussion on where we stand. But when it comes to civil rights and our commitment to diversity, when it comes to our heroes - President John F. Kennedy and Dr. King – Senator Obama and I are on the same side.
“And in that spirit, let’s come together, because I want more than anything else to ensure that our family stays together on the front lines of the struggle to expand rights for all Americans.”
After a weekend of both campaigns hitting each other and surrogates going out of their way to both help and hurt their candidates, I am sure both sides wouldn’t mind a cooling off period.
During an appearance yesterday on Meet the Press Senator Hillary Clinton cited media reports to suggest Senator Obama’s campaign has been distorting statements by herself and her husband to give the impression that they were fueled by racial insensitivity. Clinton demanded that these statements be put into context so they could be shown as attacks against Obama’s comparison between himself, John Kennedy and Martin Luther King as well as his record on the Iraq War and not an attack on his race as some have seen them. Clinton again charged that Senator Obama has not maintained a consistent position on the Iraq war and maintained that it will take a record of achievement in creating and moving forward legislation and not just speeches to create societal and governmental change.
Yesterday Senator Obama responded to these charges. On the charge that his campaign was distorting her comments he said, “I am baffled by that statement by the senator.” He also added:
She made an ill advised statement about Dr. King suggesting that Lyndon Johnson had more to do with the Civil Right Acts. I did not make the statement. I haven’t commented on the statement. For them to suggest that we’re injecting race as a consequence of a statement she made that we haven’t commented on is pretty hard to figure out. Maybe you can tell me and explain to me how we distorted her statement.”
After a few days of commentators on MSNBC praising Barack Obama’s strategy of not using race to divide the electorate, host Chris Matthews appeared on the networks Morning Joe program and claimed New Hampshire voters lied to pollsters because they were afraid to admit their racist feelings about voting for an african american. What are they putting in the water over there?
It wasn’t the only odd bit of logic or outrageous claim made by Matthews this morning. Rapid City Journal also saw the broadcast and recapped it quite well.
“She didn’t win on her merit,” Matthews said. “It was about the humiliation of Bill Clinton.”
Well,OK. But it doesn’t say much about Hillary, or New York voters.
Nor does Matthews’ position on the alleged polling lies say much about the strong turnout of women voters for Hillary in New Hampshire. But Matthews has it figured: Dumb voters in New York. Racists liars in New Hampshire. And a woman who isn’t even qualified for the Senate now back in the race for president. It beats simply saying you were wrong, I guess.
Matthews also said that from now on Obama would have to take 10% “off the white vote” in remaining states when looking at polls.