I use to respect George Will even as I have long disagreed with him. After-all, he is an ultra-conservative and I am extremely liberal. My belief that is backed by both facts and history is that all progress for women, minorities, the handicapped, and the middle class came specifically and solely from progressive values (liberal values). But that is for another article.
In George Will’s piece “Can Romney turn this contest around?” in The Washington Post, George used the following baseball analogy
A significant date in the nation’s civil rights progress involved an African American baseball player named Robinson, but not Jackie. The date was Oct. 3, 1974, when Frank Robinson, one the greatest players in history, was hired by the Cleveland Indians as the major leagues’ first black manager. But an even more important milestone of progress occurred June 19, 1977, when the Indians fired him. That was colorblind equality.
Managers get fired all the time. The fact that the Indians felt free to fire Robinson — who went on to have a distinguished career managing four other teams — showed that another racial barrier had fallen: Henceforth, African Americans, too, could enjoy the God-given right to be scapegoats for impatient team owners or incompetent team executives.
George used this analogy to imply that America is likely to re-elect a president with a bad economy and troubled foreign conflicts because as he states below,
Perhaps a pleasant paradox defines this political season: That Obama is African American may be important, but in a way quite unlike that darkly suggested by, for example, MSNBC’s excitable boys and girls who, with their (at most) one-track minds and exquisitely sensitive olfactory receptors, sniff racism in any criticism of their pin-up. Instead, the nation, which is generally reluctant to declare a president a failure — thereby admitting that it made a mistake in choosing him — seems especially reluctant to give up on the first African American president. If so, the 2012 election speaks well of the nation’s heart, if not its head.
I know his statement is condescending. More concerning is that it is wrong and those reading his entire article without historical knowledge are likely to have a diminished view of the President and his achievements. This is dangerous specifically because he is the first non-white president and many Americans absent real proof continue to view blacks and other minorities as inherently less capable or less intelligent.
When I just got out of college, I was anti-Affirmative Action specifically because I always knew as I went to lunch with my co-workers (we were all senior engineers) they assumed I was there because of affirmative action and not my qualifications. When President Obama got elected, many that were upset started making silly statements about America no longer needing Affirmative Action. I remember getting so perturbed that I made the following CNN iReport video that actually got played on CNN.
George Will is allowing a recessive racism and ideology to cloud his thinking. It is fact that because of the nature of supply side economics and how resources are allocated that the return to full employment for each successive downturn has increased dramatically. After-all one must remember that George Bush’s net job creation in his entire 8 years was 2.5 million (worse than Carter’s 10.5 million in 4 years or his dad’s 3 million in 4 years). I give a breakdown of job creation, healthcare, and Republican v Democratic policies in my book “As I See It: Class Warfare The Only Resort To Right Wing Doom” (would make a good read before the election).
The decimation of our economy as well as the substantial transfer of wealth from the middle class to the very few at the top mean that disposable income is reduced each cycle given that the rate at which the rich get richer is greater that the growth rate of the wealth and disposable income of the middle class. This is a systemic problem that President Obama inherited. It has been in existence for 30+ years and will likely take that long to unwind by substantially increasing taxation on the wealthy’ s passive income since they were recipients of a gift from our country based mostly on bad policy as opposed to their worth, value, or production for society.
George Will instead of acknowledging that Mitt Romney is an inept politician, a Plutocrat unable to connect to middle class Americans, and a citizenry that is becoming more politically savvy and read decided to simply use the race card. Americans won’t likely re-elect President Obama because he is our first black president. They will likely re-elect him because Mitt Romney is unfit for the presidency. As a black man, it saddens me that someone with George Will’s platform and intellect will stoop to this level to divide our country because the outcome he would prefer is likely unattainable.
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Well said. As another black man, I could not agree more.
He should return to his Frank Robinson where he clearly states Robinson was a scapegoat for others’ failings and consider this: maybe we as a country don’t want to pass the blame onto a scapegoat this election. When other teams gave Frank Robinson another chance, he performed well. Hopefully we will not prove to be as impatient as the 1977 Cleveland Indians.
I am a white woman who does not vote based on guilt feelings. I will vote for President Obama because he is intelligent, represents ALL Americans (even though he is Black), represents and champions women and our rights (even though he is not a woman), believes in equal rights for all (even though he is not white, hispanic, gay, female, jewish, muslim, republican, athiest, etc.). I will vote for President Obama because he is level-headed and sane – he doesn’t go off the deep end in a crisis, but rather thinks and responds without overreacting. I will vote for President Obama because he does not display the psychopathic traits I see in Mitt Romney. I will vote for President Obama because of all that he has accomplished for the good of our country, and for all he tried to accomplish but was blocked by an obstructionist republican Congress – and for this, I will vote Democrat for all on my ticket. I am saying no to republicans who said no to the American people and America for the past two years. I am saying no to republicans who have tried to remove voting rights from a large portion of our population. I am saying no to republicans for trying to remove women’s rights. I am saying no to republicans’ exclusiveness and hatred. I will vote straight Democratic ticket because I want America to catch up to the rest of the industrialized world as a democracy, and not slip into a third-world oligarchy as republicans would undoubtedly lead us.
I am a white, male, independent voter, who hopes for a return to the pre-Regan Republican party before the lunatic fringe became dominent. I too, will vote Democrat until the old Republican party returns.
I too am a formerly Republican white male who will also vote to re-elect President Obama, why? Because he is the better candidate. I also feel like the Republican party has abandon America to fanatics and the intolerant religous right. Not the party of Ronnie, he would be ashamed of what they have become he loved his country not his politcal party.
As a white old-fart I’ll feel guilty that I cannot in good conscience vote for the black candidate (didn’t vote for him the 1st time either and felt sad about it then too, had tears at the inauguration – over the historically significant victory for civil rights – but wouldn’t have changed my vote for Nader) but I will not cast a vote in favor of presidential assassinations by fiat, drone warfare without Congressional authorization, indefinite detention, expansion of the national security state, and a host of other actions that a so-called ‘Constitutional Law Expert’ should know are blatantly unconstitutional. No, thank you, I’ll vote for Rocky Anderson and hope the next black candidate respects the Constitution s/he will swear to defend.
As an old white guy who grew up on the south side of Chicago in the 50s and 60s in black neighborhoods I can tell you I did not have tears in my eyes on election day. It was one more election in which the issues of the day were obscured by petty preferences and ignorant opinions. White liberals like to say “Look at me, I’m not racist, I voted for Obama” But if you voted for Obama because he is black you are a racist whether you are white or black or any other color. And if you think people did not vote for him purely based on the color of his skin you’re crazy or stupid. And if you vote based on party politics you are prejudiced, you let the party do your thinking for you. If you don’t do your homework on the important issues of the day you vote irresponsibly. Obama was NEVER a Professor of Law. The University of Chicago, unwilling to suffer public ridicule, awarded him the title but never put into practice. Obama was politically active and had no time to pursue title or tenure. He did however work closely with ACORN putting poor black families into home with mortgages they could not afford. Obama didn’t care that they could not afford the home, the action looked good on his resume. As late as 2008 Obama was championing the Community Reinvestment Act which was instrumental in the housing bubble that caused the current crisis. He supported the repeal of Glass-Steagall thus removing backing regulations that had stood guard against bad banking since the 1930s. He has maintained the Constitutional violations committed by the Bush administration and added to it at a frightening rate. Obama is practicing Keynesian economics in the face of it’s historical failure. Presidents Kennedy and Reagan both demonstrated financial policies that worked and Obama pursue the policies of Roosevelt which extended the Great Depressions recovery 10 years ending only with WWII. Considering President Obama’s foreign policy, he might be looking for the same solution. He has alienated Pakistan and has shown Iran he will do nothing to stop them from developing nuclear weapons. The entire Muslim world is in a rage and ready for war with nuclear weapons and Obama does nothing. He has to go before he gets us all killed. Do your homework yourself and tell me I’m wrong.