Race Card – What Race Card?

Wow, I find myself surprised to be in total disagreement with you. OK first of all:

"Simply put, he is neither White nor Black; his father is Kenyan and his mother is American. Therefore, by definition, Barack Obama is not African-American; rather, he is an American citizen that has an African person as a father."

I'd argue that calling a guy who has very inmediate African and American roots an "African-American" is actually entirely appropriate, even more so in his case than in others.

As for saying that he is neither white nor black because he is half white and half black is disingenous at best. The definition of race is slippery, but I think that the coloquial definition does not require purity. You don't need to be 100% black to be considered black in the US. If that were so a huge number of African Americans would have to be considered non-blacks since so many of them have at least some white ancestors.

Obama is biracial, but in the US he would be universally recognized (and is recognized) as a black man. This is relevant because no matter his upbringing in a white family, if he had walked a rich white neighborhood in Chicago at age 20, he would have been recognized as, and treated as, a black man. This, much more than the actual origin of his melanin, is what counts.

Culturally, you could argue that he has not had the "full black experience" in the same way as someone for whom both parents are American blacks living in black neighborhoods with typical lifestyles (which means little money), but then that would disqualify any black person born into priveledge as well. Colin Powell under your definition is even less black than Obama, with Jamaican immigrant parents and multiple white ancestors.

Race politics cannot be eliminated through legalistic loopholes. As long as Obama is identified as a black man, and African Americans identify with him, and some non-blacks can feel unease due to his race, then the race card is in play, technicalities be damned.

Oh and you might want to check the wikipedia on "African American"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American#W...

It even includes Obama as an example of how African American is used for multiracial people:
"For example, 55% of European Americans classify Senator Barack Obama as biracial when they are told that he has a white mother, while 66% of African Americans consider him black.[61] Obama describes himself as black[62] and African American, using both terms interchangeably,[63] and is generally considered to be African American.[64]"

Yes, exactly. Most Black people are voting for Obama because he looks like them. After all, look at Nikki Tinker's landslide victory in a predominantly Black district...oh, wait.

But really, didn't Debra Dickerson (very publicly) make this same mind blowing observation in January 2007? (http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/01/22...) Extra points if you can find the YouTube video where Colbert eviscerates her...hilarious.

Also, have you read Dreams of My Father before telling us who Obama is? Why not give it a glance and let him tell you himself? I'm not of mixed race, but it seems to be more complicated than you think.

Example, wherever his parents are from, American race relations take up some head space:

One day my grandmother Toot came home to find a crowd of children gathered. As Toot drew closer, she could make out the sounds of mirthless laughter, the contortions of rage & disgust on the children's faces. The children were chanting, in a high-pitched alternating rhythm: "Nigger lover! Dirty Yankee!" The children scattered when they saw Toot, but not before one of the boys had sent the stone in his hand sailing over the fence. There she saw the cause of all the excitement: my [white] mother and a black girl of about the same age lying side by side in the grass, their heads propped up on their hands in front of one of my mother's books. The two girls seemed perfectly serene beneath the leafy shade. It was only when Toot opened the gate that she realized the black girl was shaking and my mother's eyes shone with tears. The girls remained motionless, paralyzed in their fear, until Toot finally leaned down and put her hands on both their heads. p. 18

...and at times he certainly felt it himself:

The older woman in my grandparents' apartment building who became agitated when I got on the elevator behind her & ran out to tell the manager that I was following her; her refusal to apologize when she was told that I lived in the building. Our assistan basketball coach, a young, wiry man from New York with a nice jumper, who, after a pick-up game with some talkative black men, had muttered within earshot of me and three of my teammates that we shouldn't have lost to a bunch of niggers; and who, when I told him to shut up, had calmly explained the apparently obvious fact that "there are black people, and there are niggers. Those guys were niggers." It wasn't merely the cruelty involved; I was learning that black people could be mean and then some. It was a particular brand of arrogance, an obtuseness in otherwise sane people that brought forth our bitter laughter. It was as if whites didn't know they were being cruel in the first place. Or at least thought you deserving of their scorn. p. 75

IMHO, if any card gets played too much, it's the "race card" card. Legitimate grievances get lumped in complete bull crap and completely minimized, so that something like the murders of Sean Bell and Baron Pikes get lumped in with the use of the word "fairy tale" or the presence of blond ladies in McCain attack ads. If I were a conspiracy theorist, I'd point to the fact that only the bull crap seems to make the news.

Some White folks are not voting for Obama because he looks like he is African-American

A healthy conversation about this unhealthy subject would have to address this reality.

No one can define this problem away.

But just to show that everyone agrees that claims of racism are sometimes bs, check this hilarious video: http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/b2662e31e9.

I keep hearing how white folks aren't voting for O because he's black. Where are these people? Is this an urban myth or something? (or maybe it's a rural myth, he he.) The truth is not that more people every day are seeing thru' the Obama hype and realizing this is an election for the most powerful person in the world, not the Teen Choice Awards.

I understand what you're trying to say Tony. And on one level you're probably right. By virtue of Obama's heritage and upbringing he doesn't fit neatly into the usual narative of African American history. His wife does, but not him. On the other hand, I cannot imagine how he could have failed to share in the typical African American experience. Many months ago, when Obama first started his run, a reporter asked Michelle if she worried about what might happen to Barack while running for president. Her reply was something to the effect of, "I worry about Barack when he goes to the gas station."

I'm not black, so I can't speak with any first-hand authority about what it's like to be black. But I've had lots of black friends, and I have been in plenty of situations where I (as a white guy) was in the distinct minority. And I have to say, I've witnessed my share of bigotry -- from both sides. Most of the time it wasn't blatant. Sometimes it was so subtle that it left you wondering whether another motive predominated. One small example: one night some friends of mine and I were traveling down the turnpike headed back to Connecticut from New York when we were stopped by the state police. The cop claimed that a tail light was out. That seemed very odd to me, because it was a late model Beemer. So, from the back seat, I asked if he would mind if I got out to check it out. I did. And all the lights were in perfect working order. Despite the fact that the cop continued to claim that there was previously a problem he allowed us to go on our way without giving us a ticket. I thought it was an honest misunderstanding. But when I got back in the car I was met with icy glares. "What are you trying to do, get us killed?" was the predominant opinion. I turns out it was par for the course in their experience. What the cop was doing was making sure the black kid behind the wheel actually had legal claim to the Beemer he was driving. You don't question it, you just go along -- because questioning it could be very dangerous. Well, that whole notion just really pissed me off. In contrast, their reaction was... welcome to our world white boy.

That was many years ago. And things have certainly changed. But have they been eliminated everywhere, and in every situation? Hardly. And because they haven't, to think that someone, anyone, could be entirely neutral doesn't seem realistic. But that's not really what is required. What is required is to progressively approach neutrality. And in that respect it is hard to imagine anyone with more experience on all sides of the fence, or a better role model than Barack Obama.