So Far, Obama Can’t Take Black Vote for Granted

new york times ^ | 2/2/07 | RACHEL L. SWARNS

[mathprof]

He is hailed by his supporters as the hope of an increasingly multicultural nation, a political phenomenon who can wow white voters while carrying the aspirations of African-Americans all the way to the White House.

So why are some black voters so uneasy about Senator Barack Obama?

The black author and essayist Debra J. Dickerson recently declared that “Obama isn’t black” in an American racial context. Some polls suggest that Mr. Obama trails one of his rivals for the Democratic nomination, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, in the battle for African-American support.

And at the Shepherd Park Barber Shop here, where the hair clippers hummed and the television blared, Calvin Lanier summed up the simmering ambivalence. Mr. Lanier pointed to Mr. Obama’s heritage — he is the American-born son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas — and the fact that he did not embody the experiences of most African-Americans whose ancestors endured slavery, segregation and the bitter struggle for civil rights.

“When you think of a president, you think of an American,” said Mr. Lanier, a 58-year-old barber who is still considering whether to support Mr. Obama. “We’ve been taught that a president should come from right here, born, raised, bred, fed in America. To go outside and bring somebody in from another nationality, now that doesn’t feel right to some people.”

On Wednesday, the question of race took center stage in the presidential campaign because of remarks that Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware, made about Mr. Obama. Mr. Biden characterized Mr. Obama as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy” and then spent the day — his first as an official presidential candidate, explaining and apologizing for his remarks.

[mathprof]

Interesting read. The nyt trying to coach Obama about how to shore up the black vote.

[bondjamesbond]

...the fact that he did not embody the experiences of most African-Americans whose ancestors endured slavery, segregation and the bitter struggle for civil rights.

Kenyans endured slavery, segregation and a bitter struggle for civil rights. And a heck of a lot more recently than American Blacks have!

[randog]

[100-Fold_Return]

Why not!!? T. D. Jakes and Creflo Dollar await Osama...

[bondjamesbond]

In 1986, I belonged to the only integrated golf club in Nairobi, Kenya. I don't remember anything like that in the United States as recently as 1986.

[JoanneSD]

Barack should campaign on being a domino.... black and white. actually if he was qualified it would not matter what color he was... or if he was clean.

[EagleUSA]

Barack should campaign on being a domino.... black and white.
-----
Yes, Osama Obama is half black which means he should get half of the black vote, right??? Isn't that what Conyers said???

[Migraine]

Interesting read. The nyt trying to coach Obama about how to shore up the black vote.

Well, I'm sure he will be all ears. Talk about a 'listening tour'!

[SwinneySwitch]

Bill Clinton was the "first black president"! Go figure.

[zeaal]

I don't think Obama can count on the black vote because he is African American and does not share a common history with most black Americans today. He has no black ancestors that came to America on slave ships. His father came to America on a jet liner on his own free will.

[SomeoneNeedsToSayIt]

Sometimes you just want to say…

Little lefty, be yourself, you are part of many groups but above all you are an individual.

The left’s insatiable appetite to be part of a group just astounds me.

Maybe that’s the difference between them and me…

[BARLF]

I wouldn't vote for him because he is a democrat_ick.

[pabianice]

He's not black. He's half white and half black. He's either whack or blite. Which is it?

[w1andsodidwe]

Can Hillary take the white vote for granted? How about Biden? I thought that race was not to be a consideration in how one votes, but I guess now it is Ok to vote based purely on the skin color of those running.

[Anti-Bubba182]

[samtheman]

“He’s a black politician for whom whites don’t have to feel guilty.”

I don't feel guilty about any black politician.

[Taichi]

It is just blackmail(there's a pun there if you want it)the so called black leadership is just wanting to make sure he knows to toe the mark for them.

[Young Werther]

Mitochondrial Eve (mt-mrca) is the name given by researchers to the woman who is the matrilineal most recent common ancestor for all living humans; the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in all living humans is derived from hers. Mitochondrial Eve is the female counterpart of the Y-chromosomal Adam, the patrilineal most recent common ancestor.

The holder of this title is believed by some to have lived about 150,000 years ago in what is now Ethiopia, Kenya or Tanzania. The time she lived is calculated based on the molecular clock technique of correlating elapsed time with observed genetic drift.

This study of the female DNA was conducted using DNA derived form orientals, eskimos, native americans, europeans and african. The non capitalized nouns is because when looking at the mitochondrial links to "EVE" then we are ALL AFRICAN-whatevers!

I'm as African descended as OBAMA, HILLARY, JESSE JACKSON, NANOOK OF THE NORTH, and EVERYONE ELSE.

Enough already!

[samadams2000]

I demand he be classified as a mullato/muslim/liberal/Tax and spender!!!!

[Godwin1]

Well, he's only half black. But that's still a lot blacker than pasty faced whiter than white folks like Hillary, Dodd, Edwards, and Biden. American blacks are obsessed with race and will vote for Obama over any white democratic primary rival. And Osama's recent trip to New Orleans suggest that he's just as ready as a Jesse or a Sharpton to cynically play the race card.