Ameritocracy

Is race a late entry into the race?

For a presidential race that saw the first ever black candidate recieve a major party’s nomination, the subject of race has been kept surprisingly under the radar. Which is not to say it hasn’t been there: invocations of the Civil Rights movement here, a little paranoia about Obama being a secret Muslim terrorist there…

Is this an indication of America’s relative and emerging maturity on matters of race? Probably

So is it surprising that race has entered into the, um, race in a much more overt way in the last couple weeks as we all brace for the grand finale?

Seemingly, much of this began with General Colin Powell, a widely respected long time Republican of the “old guard” Reagan era, endorsing Obama:

I think he is a transformational figure, he is a new generation coming onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I’ll be voting for Sen. Barack Obama

Apparently outraged by his defection, right wing pundit Rush Limbaugh said Powell’s real motivation was race:

As many in the media have pointed out, however, if Powell’s endorsement were really all about race, wouldn’t he have endorsed Obama a long time ago?

Last week, a report came out of a McCain campaign worker in Pittsburgh having gone to the police claiming a black man assaulted her at an ATM, noticed her “McCain/Palin” bumpersticker, and pinned her down and carved a “B” into her face, alledgely telling her she would support Obama or else.

It was a hoax. The woman in question, Ashley Todd, had a history of mental instability, and police became suspcious at first for the obvious fact that the “B” carved into her face was backwards, suggesting it had been self-inflicted while Ms. Todd looked into a mirror.

Before all this was revealed, Fox News executive VP John Moody said this of the incident:

If the incident (the McCain campaign worker claiming assault by a large black man) turns out to be a hoax, Senator McCain’s quest for the presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting.

Is that true? Does this hurt McCain’s campaign, or is this simply an unfortunate reminder that racism is still alive and well?

And now, with less than a week to go til election day, the conversation of race seems to be picking up. Philadelphia 76ers legend Charles Barkley, a former Republican, in an interview noted his intention to run for governor in his home state of Alabama as a Democrat. During this interview, he had this to say about the Republican presidential campagin:

The only way they can win this election is make it about race. That’s the only way they can win…the only way the Republican party can make this thing work is they get their tribe to get together and of course they use racial innuendo

Is Barkley outwardly accusing the McCain camp of being racist? Or is his subtle insinuation of racism similar to the “dogwhistle racism” tactics that many have accused major GOP figures of employing. Take a look at that quote and decide for yourself.

Finally, see what you make of this one, from author and professor of sociology at Georgetown, Michael Eric Dyson

Black people don’t vote for candidates just because they are black. If Clarence Thomas ran for president, he would get five black votes.

This quote is circling the media presently. Why? Is it really true? Or does it have more to do with the fact that it’s such a bluntly overt characterization of the mindset of black voters; a statement unlike any we’ve seen so far in this race.

What do you think?