“The Audacity of Rationalizing”

Obama’s Mistakes

In a speech given today in Philadelphia, Barack Obama finally proved he is fallible. While many other pundits and sites will be talking about some other more obvious problems with Obama’s forlorn attempt at being as powerful with a speech as Lincoln, or MLK, I am going to target some of the more difficult to spot concerns.

1. Conditional Hypocritical Patriotism

Who is this man?

Is this possibly the man who does not like to put his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance? Is this the man who will not wear a lapel Flag Pin? Is this the man who feels it is to jingoistic and disingenuous to act patriotic in a celebratory manner?

Well then, what the hell is he doing surrounded by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8… yes EIGHT… US flags during his speech on which his political career will pivot?

2. Rationalization of Behavior

This excerpt from the speech really set me off:

“Did I know him to be an occasionally fierce critic of American domestic and foreign policy? Of course. Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely - just as I’m sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors,

Geraldine Ferraro has really, unwittingly, put her foot in it.

In speaking of Obama recently, Ferraro stated that if Obama “was a white man he wouldn’t be in this position.” (See my article “Because he is Black” to see where I hit on this in a different, more direct way, long before Ferraro got into it.)

Now, while the rest of the world argues about what she meant, I will tell you the truth, and also perhaps make you think by asking you a question that nobody else is asking. But more on that later.

First off, I don’t particularly like Ferraro, but she is an honest intelligent woman, and a fierce political fighter. And anytime I can get honest from the left, I take it.

Secondly, Ferraro is anything but racist. I am certain that she meant something else altogether, and was trying to make a point that Obama’s rise in popularity has more to do with the hype of a black man running successfully for the nomination of a political party than it does with substance and experience. And being a woman who has run for one of the highest offices any woman has run for, she has some experience in understanding politics when it comes to bias and bigotry.

I then watched Obama on TV make an attempt at humor by stating that he was now going to “have some grits.” Most people might laugh, but my inner intellect was calculating and churning with a problem.

1. WHY is so much being made of Barack Obama being the first black man to have so much success in politics, and…
2. Why are people flocking to him under the hype of hope which is lofted by him being black and running freely and safely in a country that less than a hundred years ago lynched and burned blacks, and..
3. WHY is he making jokes which allow him to get mileage from “being black”, especially when, he is… are you ready for this?

HALF WHITE?

I know that many people know this, but Obama’s mother is a white woman from Kansas.

What I think is puzzling is why a man who is very particular about how he communicates what, and clearly he is a man who holds strong opinions based on some kind of inner principle about being honest with his convictions- for example, not holding his hand over his heart during the pledge, or not wearing an American Flag lapel pin— why such a man would run as a “black”, and never make reference to the fact he is half white?

Wouldn’t this make sense for a man trying to “unite” people?

Something is not passing the smell test here. Is this not almost hypocritical to have a candidate that is partly propped up by being “black”, supported widely by blacks for BEING black, and then acting offended when someone makes some kind of comment about his blackness being part of the reason for being where is currently, while all the while he is half white?

Can you say “opportunist”?

This reminds me of women who will get mad at men who treat them like sex objects, all the while wearing short skirts and low cut blouses in the work place so they can use their sexuality like a tool, or even a weapon.

Is there not something creepily deceptive and disingenuous about running as a black man when you are just as much a “white man”? And, for those blacks who are voting for him because he is black, is there not something almost laughable about them uniting behind him so strongly?

What kind of Trojan Horse is this man?

Focus here, people. This situation says something about our country; it says something about the blacks who flock around a man who is half white and and running as a black; and it speaks about the character of the man himself.

This is unsettling to me. If it is not for you, I would suggest your threshold for irony is higher than mine.