SocraticGadfly: Isn’t Obama engaging in his own stereotyping?

July 02, 2006

Isn’t Obama engaging in his own stereotyping?

I’m not going to post a link to Barak Obama’s recent speech about how progressives are allegedly anti-religious. You’ve surely heard about the speech yourself, and maybe even read it, or more extended commentary about snippets of it.

I do want to comment on one specific thing, though.

Obama said that white politicians running for president or other major offices who just drop in on black churches to rally the vote and maybe collect some campaign donations are, in essence, giving them the back of the hand.

BUT, but, but … it sounds like he’s assuming that all these white politicians never go to church except when they drop into black churches for political reasons.

Wow. Isn’t that a Grade A stereotype?

In fact, polls consistently show that Democrats cite religious purpose as guiding political decisions almost as much and as often as Republicans. And, comparing Republicans and Democrats who say religion is a major factor in their lives, the two groups have fairly similar rates of church attendance. Oh, sure, the Republicans are ahead, but the Democrats are more than Christmas-and-Easter Christians or Passover-and-Yom Kippur Jews.

C’mon, Barak. Stop calling plays from the Marshall Wittman playbook.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If Obama were white, smart, progressive Demcrats and activists would have ignored his DLC politics long ago and put him on the second team. But, because he’s black…

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