He's not black black... http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/09/reid-apology-for-negro-dialect-comment/
Regrettable and probably worth the scrutiny, but also pretty true. There's a reason Jackson, Sharpton and even Shirley Chisolm were never realistic Presidential bids.
LOL, you think Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton would have a chance of being elected if they were "light skinned" and spoke without a "negro dialect"? There's much more than that keeping them from being accepted amongst the masses.
Maybe in part. . . I would have to agree with The Pouhe on this one. Add to that the fact that Obama lacks a direct lineage to slavery . . .at least not on the 'wrong' side of it. In the backs of some folx's minds. . that means he is not one of 'those' who would want a lil PAY BACK *grin* [though various cartoonist would disagree] More Substantive - Articles have been written on how Black men have to smile more . . . make extra effort to not seem threatening Maybe this is yet another . . more 'presidential' level of the same concept. Rocket River . . . at this point it is all moot. . . . He won!
It's disappointing that a leader of the supposed progressive party in America would prefer that empowered blacks act, sound, and even look white. Same as the old boss.
Clinton = a white black man Obama= a black white man Baby steps. When considering a national candidacy it would be stupid not to calculate the general national self-identity and the acceptance of cultural differences.If there hadn't been a massive transformation from a rural/small town culture to a more urban culture we couldn't even conceive of an Obama-ish type candidate; though I still believe Colin Powell could have been the Republican candidate in 2000 if he had chosen that life. But multiculturalism is creeping ever so slowly, I think Anise Parker is a small sign of that. When we ever elect an agnostic to a national office I'll consider that a step into the future.
where reid messes up is comparing slang to "negro dialect", and then there's still using the term "negro". i think we've moved past the point of being less scared of "dark skinned" blacks. I mean Bill Cosby did that 25 years ago. of course a guy can't get in front of a mike yelling "what it do american people" edit: should be more scared
Bingo. An old white guy with a "(D)" behind his name says this and all is forgiven. An old white guy with an "(R)" behind his name says this and it is a scandal. There is something very wrong with this. It should be ok for both or for neither.
I would say that Reid's comments have without a doubt elicited a scandal. Whether or not this scandal should result in consequences for Reid is another question. Personally, I'm not sure, but my desire to have him out of a leadership position in the first place does bias me towards a desire for consequences.