The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Going for Barack

5.2.08 @ 12:01AM

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Re: R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.'s The Tragedy of Campaign '08:

Racism is alive and well, but seems to be emanating from a hitherto hidden source. For too long the mainstream media has assiduously avoided mentioning, much less criticizing the likes of the Reverend Wright.

Race has little to do with Obama's problems. It is his lack of experience (exactly when did cross the aisle and act as a uniter in the U.S. Senate?), his poor judgment (subjecting his children to the rants of Wright et al.), and his obvious political maneuvering (the most charitable explanation for his membership in Wright's church) that has doomed his chances. Wright was correct about one thing: Obama is just another calculating politician.

Race relations have indeed suffered a serious setback. Unless the hate mongers such as Wright, and Farrakhan et al. are exposed, isolated and condemned by the black community, there will be no further progress.
-- K.S. Gimbel, MD
Atlanta, Georgia

This is the first honest article I have seen about the damage done to race relations due to not only the Clintons but also the piling on by the press on the Rev. Wright issue and in particular people like Sean Hannity who have been relentless. Certainly we can ask questions about his pastor but it was time to move on ten days ago and this failure to move on has caused blacks to close ranks and see it as a racial issue. Emmett is correct damage has been done and we won't know the extent until years from now.

Not only have politicians missed a leadership opportunity but so have journalists. Kudos to Emmett for demonstrating courage and rising above it all. This from a fellow Conservative who wants to beat either D candidate with our ideas on the issues.
-- Tom

You have it exactly backwards. Senator Obama is not being rejected because of his skin color. He is falling in public opinion because Senator Obama has a long history of association with people who are racist bigots, demonstrably so.

It is not the "embittered, chip-on-the shoulder lower class voters" who support Senator Clinton who have the belligerent, hostile, in your face attitude. The people with a chip on their shoulder are the hostile, hate whitey mobs best exemplified by the recent actions of one Ms Conyers on the Detroit city council, beyond those voiced by Rev. Wright.

I am a white male (why does that make a difference? Who is the racist here?) who disagrees with Senator Obama on his policies (those policy positions I can actually discern beyond "hope" and "change").

Further, it is awfully presumptuous of you to accuse me of being '"embittered, chip on the shoulder lower class voter" when you know nothing about me, simply because I oppose Senator Obama and simply because I am a white male.

You, sir, fling that charge of racism much too broadly, and aim it at people simply because of the color of THEIR skin. Who is the racist here, sir? You ARE!
-- Thomas Lenon
Skandia, Michigan

The very danger of even considering this foolish inexperienced old style radical Liberal candidate as President has nothing to do with those facts or Reverend Wright the loon. It is not even Obama's willingness , even eagerness, to meet with the enemies of our country and of our friends with no conditions but my greatest fear is the question of what he would agree to in such ill-advised meetings. Hamas and others who hate us just seem way to anxious for us to elect this vain silly arrogant man. As one my old college professors once said, have you ever noticed it is those who have the least reason to be arrogant that are the ones most likely to be such?
-- Jack Wheatley
Royal Oak, Michigan

No one is making this campaign about race except the racists and the black Democrat primary voters who vote 95 percent for Obama because of the color of his skin.

The problems Senator Obama faces are not because he is part black but because he is inexperienced for the job and associates with some nasty people. Since he has no record to judge him by we must judge him by his associates. The fact that the most prominent of those nasty associates, for now, is black is irrelevant. Obama's indicted scumbag associate Tony Rezco is white. It is irrelevant. Obama's ex- and unrepentant terrorist associate Bill Ayers is white. It is irrelevant. Obama's mentor, pastor and member of the family, Jeremiah Wright is black. It is irrelevant unless you wish to make race the issue rather than making an issue of the fact that Wright is an anti-American, racist, raving lunatic that the would-be President of the United States took his family to listen to for twenty years.
-- Tom Thompson
Hurst, Texas

Sadly, it appears more and more so that by overt default or covert design, Barack Obama may be one of the most racially divisive pols to come down the pike in a long time.

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