Not a Horse of a Different Color

You've got to find a way
Say what you want to say
Breakout
--Breakout, Swing Out Sister

The Ku Klux Klan, who saw Zelig as a Jew,
that could turn himself into a Negro and an Indian,
saw him as a triple threat
--Zelig (1983)

---

Woody Allen executed few brilliant ideas, but the character of Leonard Zelig was one of them. He was the human chameleon who could morph into any identity in order to be liked. Barack Obama is our Zelig. He is actually the perfect candidate -- he can be black, white, Christian or Muslim.

"Sen. Barack Obama, bidding to become the nation's first black president, captured the Iowa caucuses Thursday night. . ." Ranger tires of this focus; actually Obama is one-half black. If Obama is so black, why did Clinton, and not he, get the endorsement of the NAACP?

Using the one-half rule, why doesn't the press refer to Obama as the first Muslim candidate? If being one-half black makes him black, then being one-half Muslim should make him Muslim. One wonders why the press doesn't consistently report that Guiliani would be the first Italian elected president.

Why is it important to play the race card with Obama, but not Guiliani? Are we now looking to old designations like octoroon or quadroon as designations of a capacity for inclusivity, or progressivity or ability? No doubt Obama is a smart man, but looking to his skin color as some sort of qualifier indicative of breaking the prevailing political mindset is foolhardy.

Jonah Goldberg (Oh no! They're reading that idiot?) said Democrats want a president who "will magically change the world. Unfortunately for [Hillary Clinton], neither 'Democrat' nor 'Clinton' nor 'Hillary' is an abracadabra word anymore. But 'Obama' is." And he is right. We live in an age of magical thinking.

The Democratic Senate may be disappointing, but is Democratic by the slimmest of margins. Nothing substantive will be achieved until the majority grows larger. That is politics as usual.

This is Ken Mehlman's age of hyperpartisanship. In his book, The Second Civil War, political writer Ronald Brownstein discusses the divisive rubble left in the wake of Karl Rove's partisan politics. “This is not designed to be a 55 percent presidency,” one of Bush's senior advisers said. “This is designed to be a presidency that moves as much as possible of what we believe into law while holding 50 plus one of the country and the Congress.”

Naturally, half the country is mad as hell, and Obama's "Politics of Hope" rings so purely. But Obama's platform is not revolutionary. Not on the war, not on health care. He may want the best for the U.S. -- all of us who care, do -- but the proof is in the pudding, not the rhetoric, not the skin color.

Brownstein argues for more inclusivity in the democratic process, things like allowing independents to vote in primaries, and the participation of viable third party candidates. Europe has managed this, but somehow, we have lost the idea of diversity. You can't look at one-shot latte skin and say you have diversity. That is the callowest form of bigotry.

While a student, I (Lisa), also wanting something different, campaigned for Ross Perot. Perot did something amazing, which was to garner as a third party candidate nearly 20% of the vote. But something else stood out while canvassing neighborhoods on his behalf.

The overwhelming majority of folks, spanning all age groups, genders and races, expressed a variant of, "I am unhappy with things. I'd like to vote for him , but I can't take a chance. We have to get Bush pere out." Or, the alternative. I don't know what kind of president he would have made, but if all those people who wanted to vote for him had, he might have won the election.

People are upset again because every time they go to the store, their tab is higher. Maybe it is no longer a fun game to share news of which gas station at the edge of town is selling for a few pennies less on the gallon.

A change is necessary, and it will occur. The question is, who can mitigate the current fiasco in the most expeditious manner. Skin color doesn't mean that much to us.

--Jim and Lisa