Some Blacks Don't Have Obamamania

You'd think that Barack Obama would have a lock on the black vote, but some in that community are not so excited about the Illinois Messiah:

US political darling Barack Obama has received enthusiastic support for a possible 2008 presidential bid -- except from fellow African-Americans, a group many believed would be among his staunchest backers.

In contrast to the effusive reception Obama has received from white Americans, many US blacks so far have been cool, saying that while they may share skin color with Obama, they do not have a common culture or history.

"Obama did not -- does not -- share a heritage with the majority of black Americans, who are descendants of plantation slaves," wrote African-American newspaper columnist Stanley Crouch last month in an article entitled "Barack Obama -- Not Black Like Me." ...

"While he has experienced some light versions of typical racial stereotypes, he cannot claim those problems as his own -- nor has he lived the life of a black American," Crouch wrote in his New York Daily News column.

"If we then end up with him as our first black president, he will have come into the White House through a side door -- which might, at this point, be the only one that's open."

In other words, if Obama hasn't suffered through a life of racial discrimination, he's not really all that black. That's pretty silly, if you ask me. It's sort of the same logic that was used against Condi Rice and Colin Powell who dared to serve in a Republican administration - something that no self-respecting black was supposed to do according to people like Crouch.

Obama's problems with becoming president have nothing to do with the "paleness" of his life experience. His problems are outlined here by Captain Ed:

Obama would make a lousy President, but not because of his supposed identity issues. His policy choices are lockstep liberal, and his rhetoric is superficial, even if expertly delivered. He will remain a top-drawer political figure because of his genuine nature and his likability. Obama will remain enough of an outsider to produce pithy analyses of the Capitol Hill environment, and he will represent the liberal constituencies of Illinois well. Even if he doesn't win the White House, he may help to end the ridiculous practice of identity politics over the next couple of decades -- and if he does, that will be legacy enough for any man or woman of this era.

Maybe if he hangs out with Robert "KKK" Byrd a little more he'll satisfy Crouch's requirements for racial discrimination.