Playing the race card

Some controversial comments out of South Carolina yesterday, as reported by Mary Mitchell of the Chicago Sun-Times:

"It's a slim possibility for [Obama] to get the nomination, but then everybody else is doomed," [state senator Robert] Ford told a reporter with the Associated Press on Tuesday.

"Every Democrat running on that ticket next year would lose because he's black and he's top of the ticket. We'd lose the House and the Senate and the governors and everything," he said. "I'm a gambling man. I love Obama," Ford said. "But I'm not going to kill myself."

But I'm not sure I agree with Mitchell's premise, either, which seems to be that Ford and a colleague, Darrell Jackson, should support Barack Obama simply because of their shared race.

If Jackson calls himself Obama's friend, I'd hate to see what he does to his foes. Why is it these black men, who obviously benefitted from the support of black people in their own political campaigns, like Clinton's chances better than Obama's?

Like any other Democratic presidential candidate, Clinton is dependent upon the black vote to put her over the top, and Jackson and Ford have the resources to churn out that vote.

So why don't they have as much faith in a black man as they do in a white woman?

Well, I'm no Hillary fan, but I don't begrudge people their right to support whomever they want. I just don't believe that African-Americans should support Sen. Obama just because of his race. Should I support Sen. Clinton -- or not support Sen. Obama -- just because of my race? One supposes that Ms. Mitchell would object if I did.

Ms. Mitchell continues:

Forget that Obama's bid for the presidency will force some whites to deal with any preconceived notions they have about black men. It is forcing blacks to check themselves, as well.

The discomfort some blacks have with Obama has nothing to do with his resume nor his ethnicity, but with the simple fact that he is a light-skinned black man who was able to cross over into mainstream America. The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. couldn't do that. And the Rev. Al Sharpton certainly couldn't do it.

Whoa. Hold on. You're saying that Sen. Obama can "cross over" because he's light-skinned, and the Revs. Jackson and Sharpton couldn't because of their darker skin? Couldn't it be because the Revs. are far more controversial, far more activist, and -- dare I say it? -- far more shrill than Sen. Obama? I think the skin color excuse is applied far too easily here.

Maybe as a white man, I'm being foolish for sticking my nose into this issue. But I really think we should be choosing our candidates based on their fitness for the job and their positions on the issues that matter, rather than on the color of their skin. Racism truly does cut both ways.