(Chicago Sun-Times) It’s official: Sen. Barack Obama announced that he is forming a presidential exploratory committee. His candidacy will undoubtedly test America’s consciousness. An Obama bid for president raises two critical questions: Is America really ready for Obama? And is Obama ready for America?
Perhaps all of the racial, ethnic, gender and religious diversity featured in the new 110th Congress is the best indicator that America is more open than ever to having an African-American president. Obama has leaped from relative obscurity to national icon almost overnight, and while he has vital and unyielding support from blacks, his largest constituency is whites.
Blacks, particularly Chicagoans, view Obama as a loyal member of their community, having witnessed his evolution as a lawyer, community activist, law professor, state senator and national statesman. While some African Americans believe that Obama has yet to prove himself as a U.S. senator — let alone the president — others believe he can do no wrong. What’s unique about black discourse concerning Obama is that his expected candidacy has blacks and others contemplating issues important to their existence beyond race.
This is also the case for many white Americans who view Obama as a moderate Democrat and advocate for a new America. T their perceptions of him do not seem to be shaped by his race or a careful examination of his politics or even his voting record, but by his carefully crafted image as a bridge builder and his message of national unity, which implicitly offers a type of racial amnesty for a legacy of discrimination and disenfranchisement. Unlike Tennessee Democrat Harold Ford Jr., Obama is so popular that attack ads featuring white temptresses might work in his favor.
To many Americans, Obama seemingly offers the perfect combination of intelligence, charisma, sincerity, humility, diversity and unity wrapped in a pleasant appearance that radiates hope.
But the hard reality is that whether Democrat or Republican, white voters generally do not support black candidates. Whether this is because of overt racial bias or other prejudice is uncertain; however, the outcome remains the same: White men rule. With all of its new diversity, the 110th Congress includes only one black U.S. senator and a measly 42 blacks in the House of Representatives — predominantly from majority-black districts. If America is ready for a black president, why have only three black U.S. senators been elected since Reconstruction?
I question whether a nation 42 years out of Jim Crow segregation and one year removed from Hurricane Katrina has the political and psychological maturity to have a color-blind election. If the most recent national elections are any indicator, race is as divisive an issue as ever. In order for Obama to be elected president, whites must be ready to overturn the racially exclusive tradition of the American body politic.
This unlikely scenario is compounded by the question of whether the Democratic party is ready to be led by Obama and whether he is ready to lead America.
The Democratic party does not have a strong record of supporting African-American candidates, particularly in majority-white districts. Consequently, it has silently reinforced racially based voting while its leaders fervently sing ”We Shall Overcome.” There is a dearth of expertise in the party that truly understands how to make African Americans viable candidates in white areas — a reality that Obama must confront head-on.
Obama will need to campaign in hostile terrain on a platform that can redirect the consciousness of the nation in the areas of national security and accountable governance while simultaneously refocusing party priorities to deal with critical issues that white Democrats conveniently ignore, such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic in minority communities; rebuilding New Orleans; rampant homelessness and poverty; inadequate access to health care; protecting affirmative action, and revamping the public education sector. Whether he can do all of this is secondary to the question of whether 54 years after the lynching of Emmett T ill, white America is ready to have a black man hug white women and kiss white babies.
