Prometheus 6

"Ironically, if Obama weren't the eloquent and ultra educated black man that he is, he wouldn't be where he is. Yet, that education and presence seems to be his biggest obstacle with these people - racial undertones or not."

Obama's education and presence is not what troubles these folks about him. It is the color of his skin. The folks Qusan writes about would not vote for Obama if he was less educated and charismatic. In fact, they would cloak their racial animosity behind his lack of education and charisma. 

The late Richard J. Daley was a staunch Democrat because being a Democrat was the only game in town. If being a Republican in Chicago paid the same dividends as being a Democrat, then Daley would have been a Republican. The white ethnic coalition that supported Daley, for example, chose in 1983 to support Bernie Upton, a Republican, over the Democrat Harold Washington in the race for mayor. The resistance to Washington was so deep among Chicago whites that the chair of the Cook County Democratic Committee supported Upton, too. 

So let's not use Daley's well publicized animosity toward Martin Luther King, Jr. as an example of his racism. Let's use his less well publicized animosity toward his fellow black residents of Chicago that was reflected over and over again in his 21 year reign as the mayor of the Windy City. Obama is not going to win the "cracker vote" unless he turns all white before election day and ditches that black wife and their beige children. Crackers and racist white ethnics are more likely to forgive him for abandoning his wife and children than for the crime of being black. 

Especially after reading and seeing some of those interviews. Never have I heard 'Colored' and 'Negro' dropped so easily. 'Black' was rare and ' African-American'? Get outta here. There is nothing Obama could do to win those folks over. Doesn't mean he shouldn't try for appearances sake, but go there for the same reason McCain went to New Orleans - to convince suburban Whites to give you their vote.

Let's use his less well publicized animosity toward his fellow black residents of Chicago that was reflected over and over again in his 21 year reign as the mayor of the Windy City.

The MLK reference was just for folks who have no clue how he ran that city from a racial standpoint. I despised that man. I have a memory from grade school of going on a field trip to City Hall. I went to a black catholic school on the south side and we were all in our uniforms. One of the kids saw him above on the next floor and screamed "Hi Mayor Daley" so other children, excited because they saw him, chimed in. I was a quiet one so I just happened to glance up at him as he looked to see who was calling his name. I was only about 9 but I will never, EVER, forget the look he cast down upon us from that balcony (or whatever it was). I'm not even sure I knew I understood why but I knew he wasn't glad to see us and looked mad that we were even there.

When Harold Washington ran for mayor, he visited a Catholic church in one of those neighborhoods and, no surprise, was met with by "lynch mob" of whites when he came out. It made the national news and it was appalling. One of my "reformed cracker" college roommates even called me from Wisconsin when she saw it. I'm not sure she ever believed some of my tales about how racist Chicago was until then.

I worked part-time at a mall in the northern suburbs at the time and would see lots of whites Harold Washington buttons on. He still won and a number of whites did vote for him and not just the "lake front liberals." On the other hand, I was trying to apply for a permanent job at my full-time gig and a "happy about it" Jewish guy was singing my praises to the HR guy (who I had already turned in my resume to) ... Well, I had just seen him go on a tirade with someone else over Harold's win so when I was introduced to him and my resume was mentioned, he dang near bit the other guy's head off, gave me a dirty look and said "I have it already!" I had been there as a temp for months in different departments. Guess who never got a permanent job there? My resume probably went in the trash that day!

You're right, he probably won't get an ounce of that vote ... but there probably are some on the fringe that can be picked up who won't tell anyone. Many democrats are democrats simply because that is the way it has always been in their family and neighborhood (esp places like Chicago where everyone in Daley's neighborhood got a "patronage" job) but someone needs to try to plug into that vote or we will end up with McCain in the white house. So how about just going for the "crackers" and not the "cracker ass crackers?" In that case, what was the point of this all?

Qusan,

I am glad that you wrote about your personal experience of encountering Daley's fleshy jawed scowl and knowing even at a young age that what raised his hackles was the color of the skin of you and your classmates. Daley's disdain for Martin Luther King, Jr. and his followers long preceded King's decision to bring the Civil Rights Movement to the Northern states.