Frank’s Case Book

It was perhaps too much to hope for. With the election of the first American black president who began his term with a near 70% approval rating, it could be argued that Americans had largely overcome their original sin of racism. No one would ever argue that racism has disappeared, but we could hope that we would only have to suffer under residual remnants in isolated pockets.However, 18 months into the Obama presidency, it appears that race has once again bedeviled us. There have always been voices like Janeane Garofalo who seems to believe that any opposition to President Barack Obama must be rooted in latent racism, as if no legitimate criticism is possible. This argument can be easily refuted by considering a thought experiment. If President Barack Obama were white and the current political and economic conditions were identical would the opposition be as great?

It would probaby be more intense, not restrained by fear of charges of racism. Indeed, one could argue that with Obama’s approval at about 50%,  with a 9-plus percent unemployment rate extending over many months, and with severe public anxiety about record deficits, Obama enjoys unprecedented goodwill. By contrast, President Ronald Reagan’s approval rating during the recession of his first two years fell to the mid-40’s.

It was perhaps too much to hope for. With the election of the first American black president who began his term with a near 70% approval rating, it could be argued that Americans had largely overcome their original sin of racism. No one would ever argue that racism has disappeared, but we could hope that we would only have to suffer under residual remnants in isolated pockets.

However, 18 months into the Obama presidency, it appears that race has once again bedeviled us. There have always been voices like Janeane Garofalo who seems to believe that any opposition to President Barack Obama must be rooted in latent racism, as if no legitimate criticism is possible. This argument can be easily refuted by considering a thought experiment. If President Barack Obama were white and the current political and economic conditions were identical would the opposition be as great? It would probaby be more intense, not restrained by fear of charges of racism. Indeed, one could argue that with Obama’s approval at about 50%,  with a 9-plus percent unemployment rate extending over many months, and with severe public anxiety about record deficits, Obama enjoys unprecedented goodwill. By contrast, President Ronald Reagan’s approval rating during the recession of his first two years fell to the mid-40’s.

Race as a policitcal argument in the recent context has largely been introduced by the Left. Congressional black leaders claim derogatory racial references were made as they walked by Tea Party activists to cast a health care vote. Despite the presence of press cameras, ubiquitous cell phones, and a reward for a video or other recording demonstrating such language, no evidence has surfaced.In response to charges of racism, Tea Party activist Andrew Breitbart dug up a video of Obama Agricultural Department employee, Shirley Sherrod. She  suggested in a portion of the the video that she she treated a white farmer differently than black farmers. The complete story revealed by the entire recording was that Sherrod had overcome this feeling decades ago. While Sherrod was treated unfairly when the Obama Administration initially fired Sherrod, the NAACP audience in the video seemed amused by the thought of a white farmer being treated dismissively. While such comeupance might be understandable given centuries of similar treatment at the hands of whites, it is surely not the act of well-meaning  people ostensibly devoted with racial reconciliation.

This issue could spiral out of control and make the legacy of Obama with regard to race divisive. Obama needs to exercise leadership that only he can. He needs to calm the roughned waters of racial feelings before they grow to destructive waves of anger. Obama needs to restrain his supporters from using racial allegations. If he shows such leadership, any racial divisiveness by those who oppose him will be more conspicuous and more easily dismissed.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 25th, 2010 at 8:01 pm and is filed under Politics, Social Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.