An article by Jonathan Kaufman appeared recently in the Wall Street Journal discussing the ways race will hurt, or help, Obama in the coming election.
Kaufman refers to the usual evidence suggesting that some whites will vote against Obama because of his race, virtually ignores the mounds of evidence suggesting that some whites and large numbers of blacks will vote for him because of his race, and mentions the somewhat less familiar argument that Obama’s race may insulate him from some criticism.
“Race will play to Obama’s advantage as well as to his disadvantage,” says Richard Thompson Ford, a Stanford Law School professor who writes about race and went to Harvard Law School with Sen. Obama. “Anyone in this campaign will need to tread carefully to avoid an implication that an attack on Obama is racially tinged.”
This may be especially troublesome for Sen. McCain if he tries to bring up issues with historical racial overtones, such as crime or affirmative action.
This is a good point. Republicans have a long and dishonorable history of refusing to take a stand against racial preferences because of a cringing fear that Democrats and mainstream media editorial/news writers will call them racist. If McCain follows this well-trodden path he will significantly diminish his chances of winning Michigan, Colorado, and probably even Virginia.
Taking a principled stand in favor of colorblind equal treatment and against racial preference presents McCain with a wonderful opportunity to do what is both right and politically expedient. It would appeal to his doubtful and uneasy base (a base much in need of shoring up) as well as to independents and large numbers of Democratic voters (as opposed to their leaders).
I wish McCain would issue some statement similar to the following:
I believe — and I’m sure that Sen. Obama agrees with me — that race should play no role in this election. Let me be perfectly clear about this: I will not seek, and indeed I do not want, the vote of any person who opposes Sen. Obama because of his race.
I believe with all my heart that every American has a right to be treated without regard to race, creed, color, or national origin — every American, not just presidential candidates. Thus I urge Sen. Obama to join me in affirming our devotion to that fundamental “without regard” principle and in recognizing that all Americans should enjoy the same protection under it that he and I claim for ourselves.
Over the past generation, in a curious reversal of both history and logic, many have rejected the “without regard” principle of colorblind equality in favor of a new theory of color-conscious racial preference. Indeed, in many quarters today “civil rights” has lost its original meaning of the right to be free from racial discrimination and come to be defined as its opposite, a regime of classification and reward based on race.
That, my friends, is not the sort of civil rights Martin Luther King had in mind when he voiced his hope for the day when his children could be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.
It is not the sort of civil rights the NAACP had in mind when it argued over and over, through its great lawyer, future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, that
- “Classifications and distinctions based on race or color have no moral or legal validity in our society.” (Sipuel v. Oklahoma State Board of Regents, 332 U.S. 631 (1948))
Nor is it the sort of civil rights either President Kennedy or President Johnson had in mind when they signed presidential executive orders requiring the federal government to practice “affirmative action.” Both of those executive orders required government contractors to take “affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and that employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin….
The preamble to President Kennedy’s executive order implementing affirmative action stated clearly that “it is the plain and positive obligation of the United States Government to promote and ensure equal opportunity for all qualified persons, without regard to race, creed, color, or national origin… ,” an obligation that I believe is shared by the states as well.
I believe in the without regard principle. I believe the vast majority of the American people believe in that principle. I don’t know whether Sen. Obama believes in or not — there are many pieces of his record that suggest he does not — but I’m confident we’ll find out during the course of the coming campaign.
If Sen. McCain would make a statement along the lines of the above, I’d feel as good about it as if I’d written it myself.
Brilliant write-up of what McCain should say about AA versus equal treatment under the law. And zero chance he, or any other prominent Republican (except maybe Bobby Jindal) will say it.
The corporatist/big money McCain/Lindsey Graham wing of the Republican party is in control, and corporations want AA to be continue and to be strengthened. The McCain/Graham wing is also pandering to Hispanics, who have become the biggest beneficiaries of AA.
Affirmative action will not be an issue during the campaign. Obama won’t talk about it for fear of alienating the White voters and McCain won’t talk about it for fear of being called a racist.
Great speech, John. Sadly though it will remain unheard in the campaign to come.
But perhaps you can get obama to hold that speech… if you can find a way to manipulate his teleprompter, he seems to heavily rely on it ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxBX8sz3tO8
John McCain supports Affirmative Action.
Were he to change his position now, it would be viewed as yet another flip-flop to pander to the conservative base.
–Cobra
Both Cobra and Richard Nieporent may be right.
For Cobra, this may be a famous first, though as everyone knows even stopped clocks are right once a day and, so far, this is only once.
For Richard, the only hope I have that you may be wrong is that, in my view, McCain is guilty of many things, but fear of any kind is not one of them. We’ll see.
I am not sure that I should say this for fear of McCain losing Cobra’s vote, but his record appears to much more of a mixed bag on the topic of affirmative action.
With respect to his voting record I found the following information on the website ontheissues.org.
Affirmative action OK for specific programs, but no quotas (July 1998)
YES on banning affirmative action hiring with federal funds (July 1995)
Rated 7% by the NAACP, indicating an anti-affirmative-action stance. (Dec 2006)
http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/john_mccain.htm
Also, if you listen to this youtube broadcast you will see that with respect to affirmative action what he supports are programs that will allow minorities to get the necessary education and job training. He does not indicate that he favors giving minorities an advantage in hiring.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd6bV251uXU
Beautiful statement, John. I’m sure you wouldn’t object if Obama grabbed and issued it first.
I saw a picture in the new york post of obama with some orthodox jews (the sort that have the long curls hanging down on the side). my family was laughing about it, because we never saw a picture of those jewish people looking happier. They were just so happy to be with obama. that made me feel that republicans really are doomed this fall. a good thing though that in meeting and greeting all kinds of diverse peoples, obama will become less narrowminded and parochial and more truly broadminded and rational. it is funny that the man who would not wear the american flag is now going about with the israeli flag pinnd to his lapel.
years ago, an african friend of ours was moving and she said how nice the moving people were, how nice americans were in general, in her country people are just not nice to strangers, especially those who don’t belong to their group or tribe. a good friend of ours who is a liberal white guy had such a look on his face when he heard this as makes me laugh to this day. He did not like her saying americans were nice but since she was african he could not contradict her. he is a nice man, but he cannot bear to hear tell of anything good about the country, just like beatrice who could not bear to hear tell of a husband. my friend came here as a refugee. she got a job, a house, education, citizenship, everything. unlike most, she appreciates the country.
Well, let’s just see what John McCain has to say in THIS forum:
>>>”Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama have accepted invitations to speak at the NAACP’s convention next month in Cincinnati. McCain will speak on July 16, keynoting a plenary session.”
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/06/us_sen_john_mccain_the.php
–Cobra