MyrtleBeach,South Carolina -- I waited, listening, but there was nothing. Not a single journalist asked the question that I wanted asked. Not a single journalist, probably, even thought to ask the question.
At this week's center stage of the campaign trail, the CNN Presidential Debate in South Carolina, after three grueling weeks starting at the first caucus in Iowa, again the question has not been asked. Every question has been thrown at all the candidates, yet not this one.-
"Still photographers!" a woman yells walking up and down the aisles. "Still photographers to the lobby, shuttle bus ready to take you to the debate hall."
A motley crew, hair tussled, eyes glazed, faces twisted, about fifty "shooters" shuffle past saddled heavy with microphone poles and giant lenses and camera bodies hanging and sprouting every which way. Writers have a natural revulsion for those who blabber incessantly about images and prefer a nasty crouch rash to discussing an issue. I fight the impulse to slide my foot into the aisle.
Their departure leaves the hall swarming with the cream of the communication crop. "A Team" newspaper and magazine journalists, radio gadflies who will take on any and every subject, television stars strutting in front of their cameras, Internet bloggers who are the rough riders of American politics. Each group is seated separately in assigned sections, yet all are pumped to pounce on the truth -- except truth from this one question. And the debate roared: economy crashing, oil prices rocketing ... "The rich are getting richer, and the poor are...." Bad trade deals and good tax cuts ... But these issues were soon swiped away, by the heat of the competition: "While you were sitting on the board of Wal-Mart, I was a community organizer" -- "I was resisting the policies of Ronald Reagan while you were representing the interests of a slum lord in inner Chicago." The debate degenerated into a catfight, until boos and catcalls rose from the audience.
"This sounds like a marriage," sneers a female photojournalist over my shoulder, having just returned from the debate hall.
With journalists not allowed into the debate hall -- the still photographers had only a quick photo shoot there -- we're camped out in an ad hoc media center located in Phillips Seafood Restaurant across the road from the hall; writing articles, filming interviews with politicians, thinking, thinking harder, running thoughts and impressions by fellow journalists.
There are nearly 400 journalists here at the debate. Many are seasoned political warriors of the campaign trail, some are armed with an abundance of corporate resources, others have an invaluable wealth of experience. There are the unorthodox journalists and those who are hard edged without much experience. And then there are the simple stenographers on the short chain of bullying editors, mindless without backbone, they are always the worse. All of these journalists, however, seem clueless about the question not asked, has never been asked.
Yes, there is an elephant on this campaign trail, walking from state to state, from debate to rally to fundraiser, never publicly acknowledged, never even seen. The silence is driving me nuts.
Starting in Iowa, traveling to New Hampshire, now in South Carolina, I have waited for someone, anyone, to say, "Hey, how about that elephant?" But it doesn't happen.
Hilary Clinton came roaring out of the debate box and Barak Obama immediately responded with force. John Edwards was left on the sidelines, as usual.
Yet, catcalls have a powerful effect on catfights. So the discussion whipped back to issues of substance, although not always discussed with enough substance: homeless veterans increasing, taxes that must be lowered, the history of racial discrimination and the future of foreign trade deals and.... There was, interestingly, the question "Is Bill Clinton the first Black President?" which Obama handled mostly with humor. That question came somewhat close to the unspoken elephant on this campaign trail. What question am I talking about? Simple: Why does Barak Obama call himself "a Black man?" Why doesn't he call himself a Black and White man?
A man of mixed race, he needs to stand up and embrace both races with equal respect. That would be a powerful message for America. Adolf Hitler defined who was a Jew, as many horrible people have defined others, as American slave owners defined who was a Black, but the president of the United States must not be defined by others. No American should be defined by others. Obama needs to define himself according to the new America he seems dawning in America.
So he needs to speak the truth that he is not "a Black man," not only a Black man, but a product of American Black culture and American White culture. And this influences his thinking as it guides his actions.
As the first candidate in this campaign emphasizing the theme of change, as the candidate most consistent and sincere when speaking about uniting Americans, as the candidate most attractive to a new generation of voters, emphasizing his mother was White and his father was Black would concretize what many Americans already intuit: that Obama is somehow a post-race person. Obama speaks the words we need to transcend race, he should use his life as a model for that trascending.
I am not advocating the old, stale discussion on race relations, a rehashing of our ugly history, whining and guilt-making and deal-making.... But for Obama to step forward as a new symbol, one grounded upon his own reality, one that says America is moving forward and needs to continue moving forward as one nation with not only separate races but also mixed races. That is our future, where we need to go.
Stewart Nusbaumer is a journalist and writer. He is currently on the campaign trail writing a book on the "endless campaign." He has written for numerous print publications and online magazines.
But that question.... I'm guessing he doesn't get asked it because when you look at him, you see a black man and for most people, that's what counts.
Many, maybe even MOST African Americans have some caucasian genes. Perhaps being a black American is not about pure African negro blood, it's about having lived as a black in America.
I haven't lived a day in a black man's skin, but it seems to me that that's where the real question lies, if anything. Has Obama lived as a black? And I think the answer is yes.
by
Rob Kall (809 articles, 3927 quicklinks, 333 diaries, 1708 comments)
on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 at 9:55:25 AM
This question doesn't need asking. It is irrelevant to our future or picking a leader. I will say up front I support Obama. I believe he is the best person to lead us forward. He is the most positive. He is the most visionary. He is certainly one of the more intelligent candidates. He has the ability to work with others and seek consensus. I strongly believe he would have an open and transparent administration, certainly far more transparent and open than one of his opponents. Thus, whether he is white, black, female or Asian is irrelevant. He is just the best potential LEADER. Why does color matter?
by
Peter Wedlund (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 167 comments)
on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 at 11:07:33 AM
Some people say he is secure in his black identity because that is what, supposedly, America says he is. That's not good enough for me because it is not the whole truth. This is a truth that denies another truth.
Others say the question of who he is racially is irrelevant. I don't like that either. Race remains important in America and is an influencing factor.
This is an elephant in the room, closing our eyes by saying "society says so so it must be" or "it's not important" is not the way to deal with this. The subject needs to be brought up, dealt with, and then we should move on as our society moves on to a multi-racial and mixed society.
by
Stewart Nusbaumer (10 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 18 comments)
on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 at 12:21:52 PM
Race, as a philosophical topic, does not exist. Biracial persons make that explicit. If it's a matter of which ethnicity prevails in American politics, we have to parse that with the statistics of the Census.
So is the question: In a nation with multiple ethnicities, why are we stuck in 19th century thought paths?
by
Margaret Bassett (25 articles, 1699 quicklinks, 29 diaries, 1023 comments)
on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 at 1:13:49 PM
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