Will someone play the "race card" against Obama?

[kentuck]

Not the usual, "He's black and he can't win" card, but the one that he is not a true "African-American". He has not experienced what most blacks or their ancestors in America have experienced. He was not involved in the Civil Rights marches. His father was Kenyan - not American.

I have heard this mentioned by other blacks - not by any of the present candidates running. That was their excuse for supporting Hillary in SC and other places. Does this matter? Will someone bring it up later in the primaries?

[demnan]

1. Alan Keyes stumping for Huckabee

It's inevitable in the general election. I hope our side has more sense and class than to do that.

[CK_John]

2. Not directly, but I will label it the "Name Card" this time around. n/t

[Mike Daniels]

8. If calling Obama "Hussein" (which seems to be Coulter's tactic)

is the best the Repubs can come up with they're toast.

The general voter may not be that swift but they'll see through that desperation gambit just like they saw through Gore bringing up Bush's DUI conviction at the last minute.

[unpossibles]

11. I want to believe that

but this is the same electorate who thought Kerry was a traitorous wimp not a war hero, that Gore lost the election, that Iraq was behind 9/11, that the consensus is out on Global Warming and Evolution, and that Obama is a Muslim. Sadly, I still see/hear people saying that.

Sorry. The cynic in me sees this as the perfect example of why we need an educated populace and a responsible media - and vice versa.

[BlooInBloo]

3. Only you.

[kentuck]

7. Are you trying to censor me?

Or anyone else?

[Deep13]

4. Yes, if there is a card to play, it will be. nt

[Avalux]

5. If Obama wins the nomination, you can bet Republicans will.

They will stoop at nothing (as we well know). I would expect they will attack him for his father's background, his middle name and ties to Islam rather than overtly attacking his race.

[bdamomma]

9. or they will get him on his "experience" if he is up against McCain.

[hedgehog]

6. You don't have to be the descendent of American slaves to suffer from

racism in America. Just ask Abner Louima or Amadou Diallo.

[AlGore-08.com]

10. Of course. And if Hillary wins the nom (she could still pull it out) they will play the gender card

And if Edwards does (by some miracle) we will endless hear how the Democrats are all closet racists and sexists because when we had the chance, we rejected a woman and an African-American as our nominee, where as the Republicans walk the walk (Colin Powell, Condi Rice, Alberto Gonzales, etc., etc., etc.)

You can bet money on it.

[The_Casual_Observer]

12. They seem to be playing it FOR Obama.

[MedleyMisty]

13. Can someone define playing the race/gender card to me?

In other conversations it seems to mean acknowledging that racism and sexism are real and still exist. Like if you point out that a person with darker skin pigments has a harder time getting into positions of power, you're accused of playing the race card.

But here I'm not sure what it means.

[NorthernSpy]

14. I'm calling bullshit on this!

... he is not a true "African-American". He has not experienced what most blacks or their ancestors in America have experienced. He was not involved in the Civil Rights marches. His father was Kenyan - not American.

I have heard this mentioned by other blacks - not by any of the present candidates running. That was their excuse for supporting Hillary in SC and other places. Does this matter? Will someone bring it up later in the primaries?

Wrong.

Blacks were overwhelmingly backing Clinton early on, in part because of a pessimistic assumption that whites would not vote for Obama, and that his candidacy would therefore go nowhere. There's plenty of election history to back that up.

When it turned out that Obama had tons of white support, black voters decided that the Obama campaign wasn't an exercise in futility after all, and apparently came to believe that automatically throwing their support to Clinton might be an overly-cautious strategy.


Oh, and the fact that Obama's father was Kenyan? That makes no difference at all in most contexts, including this one.


If you would only consider listening to what black America actually discusses -- instead of taking Steve Sailer's word for it (or any other wannabe meme-generator of the right), then you'd have known this already.