[The Times, U.K.]

 

 

The Daily Sun, Nigeria

Barack Obama May

Win, But He's No

African-American ...

 

"Strictly speaking Barack Obama is not an African-American - but an African who is American. He's not a descendant of the enslaved Africans who built America without reward or respect for their contributions. He is in fact a first generation American, while the real African-Americans are people whose lineage can be traced back fifteen generations and more. … Yet if he doesn't get the Democratic nomination, it may well be simply because he's Black."

 

By Lindsay Barrett

 

January 31, 2008

 

Nigeria - The Daily Sun - Original Article (Spanish)

Obama and Hillary: Will Obama overcome? ...

The emergence of Barack Obama, the African-American presidential aspirant in the U.S., has overcome many doubts about the feasibility of a Black person actually ruling that once profoundly racist nation.

 

The young man isn't just a formal candidate, but given the events of recent weeks he seems poised to mount a real challenge to the concept of dynastic political inheritance in the so-called "home of modern democracy." The main challenge he poses is to Hillary Clinton, whose major asset - let no one doubt it - is the fact that she was Bill Clinton's wife, serving in the unelected position of “First Lady,” before becoming a Senator.

 

This challenge is based largely on Barack’s belief that a fundamental change in the conduct of government is needed. His diagnosis is that Hilary represents the status quo, although as a woman she could also be regarded as a harbinger of change. As a consequence of Barack Obama’s articulation of these doubts, Hilary’s assumed push-over victory is now far from assured.

 

So instead, she's now fighting for her political life. Meanwhile, her husband’s legacy is being reassessed even by his one-time supporters. In fact, Barack Obama has earned the respect and support of many of Clinton’s natural allies. This hasn't only damaged Hillary's campaign - it has redefined the parameters of the Obama candidacy beyond the confines of the exotic, which is how many observers always regarded the idea of a Black American running for the Presidency.

 

There are several fundamental issues that must be clarified to understand the importance of Obama's candidacy. First of all, strictly speaking Barack Obama is not an African-American - but an African who is American. He's not a descendant of the enslaved Africans who built America without reward or respect for their contributions. He is in fact a first generation American, while the real African-Americans are people whose lineage can be traced back fifteen generations and more.

 

Parents of Barack Obama

Nevertheless, because of the inherited racist perception in America that considers even a single drop of African blood as being the dominant factor in establishing one’s ethnic identity, Barack, whose mother was a White lady, is seen as an African-American or "Black" person.

 

But there is a side to his character that well-illustrates the differences between himself and the average “Black American.” For instance, when speaking of his heritage he points proudly to his living relatives, such as his grandmother in Kenya, as an important element in his upbringing. He doesn't have the burden or the challenge of discussing how his ancestors overcame prejudice within the very society that he's striving to rule. He doesn't have to refer to the disenfranchisement and dehumanization of his ancestors when he speaks of the legacy that he represents.

 

He's a proud African whose father is a Kenyan immigrant, and he didn't have to undergo the conventional inner city black American’s experience of fighting off internal community disenfranchisement in education and economic empowerment. Obama is a middle-class American of African descent who has mastered the rhetoric as well as the formalities of American political discourse.

 

If only because of his background, he is a unique and exciting factor on America's modern political firmament. His style and ability has created a phenomenon in America’s democratic arena; a Black man whose values and relevance are not confined to his community, but are acceptable and effective across racial lines.

 

This helps explain the incredible endorsements he has garnered from liberal political heavyweights in recent days, such as Senator Ted Kennedy and former Democratic Presidential aspirant John Kerry. They see a chance to be seen as change agents by association rather than through acts of their own and have, like true political opportunists, leapt on the bandwagon of Obama's success.

 

[The Times, U.K.]

There's no doubt that Barack Obama is running a successful campaign. If he doesn't get the Democratic nomination, it may well be simply because he's black. In terms of effective politicking he has beaten the Clintons hands down. It's unfortunate that the otherwise brilliant couple is now being forced to hope for a racial backlash in order to claim victory over someone who in other circumstances they might have loved to work with.

 

Barack Obama, whose ancestry relates to the African-American community, but only by the remote historical connection of having come from the same continent under vastly different circumstances, is by no stretch of the imagination a traditional leader of that community. Nevertheless, his challenge to the status quo of American politics bears a close resemblance to the traditions of protest and reform that African-Americans have consistently espoused. So when he uses the conventional strategies of Democratic Party politics in his campaign, he can't be said to be a traditional politician.

 

In developing a campaign strategy, he not only had to overcome racial prejudice but also had to encourage fundamental reform and the rejection of privilege as a basis for the selection of candidates. In achieving this he has become much more than just a Black candidate.

 

He has become the agent of political change that America needs to replace the failed and incompetent George Bush. Ironically, while it is assumed that Barack will promote liberal economic and social policies, some of his ideas are likely to be surprisingly conservative. He has quietly avoided raising some of the more controversial issues regarded as iconic liberal standards, such as support for gay marriage or his stand on abortion. He has also been noticeably silent on immigration policy and other very sensitive issues. His silence on these and his utterances on other issues suggest that he may not be a knee-jerk liberal, and his faith as a devout practicing Christian indicates that his views might even be more acceptable to White conservatives than Hilary Clinton’s ever could be.

 

The supreme irony is that this man who could very well become the first Black president of the United States could do so by achieving acceptance among elements of White America which would never have been expected to choose a Black man as their leader.

 

On the way from St. Louis, Missouri to Wilmington, Delaware, Feb. 3.

Barack Obama’s position on change includes, but is not exclusive to, the acceptance racial equality. That battle was fought and won long before Obama came along by the descendants of African slaves. But it is he who is not a descendant of slaves that is using the opportunity they created - but without carrying the baggage of communal despair that most of those who emerged from the legacy of slavery still bear.

 

This doesn't detract from his importance or the historic relevance of his challenge. But it does raise serious questions about the relationship that he will have with the traditional African-American community if or when he becomes President. There are outstanding debts that the White American community still owes their African-American co-inhabitants, which Barack Obama might not feel inclined to call in.

 

There are also fundamental issues that regard restoring the historical dignity of the Black American community. These are issues that are deeply embedded in the African-American psyche, which are issues that Barack Obama may not personally relate to. It will be interesting to see what kind of reforms he pushes through as an American from Africa, but not as an African American in the fullest sense of the term.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[WORLDMEETS.US Posted January 31, 3:05am]