Thanks for trying, Senator Obama. Thanks for trying to rise above the fray, for trying to embrace a post-partisan world and impart a sense of promise and empowerment that many of us have not felt for a very long time. It was wonderful while it lasted.
And though I hope I’m proven wrong, I’m increasingly concerned the mass electorate is simply not ready for you.
This concern is based on much more than the Rev. Wright’s recent assault on your campaign. Though I largely agree with Eugene Robinson‘s take on that matter — “Politically, by surfacing now, [Rev. Wright] was throwing Barack Obama under the bus. Sadly, it’s time for Obama to return the favor.” — I’m not sure such a move would do you much good.
I’m unconvinced of the utility of said bus-throwing because, if I’ve learned anything during your campaign, it’s this: There remains in this country far too much fear, far too much bias. And yes, far too many simple minds — minds that are either unable or unwilling to realize that, if we were all to be damned by our associations, then we would all be … well … damned.
There are among us none who have avoided complex, close relationships with contradictory people. There are among us none who have ourselves been perfect, period, either in our actions and words or in our ties with the actions and words of others. Unfortunately, those realities don’t stop us from holding you — and, frankly, your colleagues, Sen. McCain and Sen. Clinton — to higher standards than we hold ourselves.
Some will argue that this dichotomy, this double standard, is only appropriate — that we should hold the three of you to a higher standard because you are running for the highest office in the land. Perhaps they have a point … to a degree. But I’m concerned we’ve moved well beyond a degree to the realm of infinite degrees, seeking perfection from imperfect people in an imperfect world.
Thanks for trying, Senator Obama. Maybe four years from now, or eight, or 12, the world will be ready for you, after you’ve had more time and more opportunity to prove that you should be defined as we all would be defined, not by whom we have known, but by who we are.