Color Blend

confessed that before.  Even so, I now intend, in my Wonder Bread way, to say that a lot of blacks have it wrong about Barack Obama.

It’s certainly understandable that so many African-Americans believe this nation will prove to be too bigoted to elect Sen. Obama (D-Ill.).  After centuries of oppression it’s easy to conclude that this country is not ready to overcome its lingering racism and elect Obama as its leader.

But they have it wrong.  The huge crowds that showed up for Oprah make my point.  Oprah Winfrey is an amazingly powerful woman with a mind-boggling appeal to damn near everyone.  People from all walks of life hang on her every word, read her every book.  Oh yeah, she’s black.  She’s a smart, clever, charismatic, successful human being who attracts millions.  Oh, yeah.  She’s  black.  But to millions of all colors, she’s one of them.

So are so many others in this modern world, even in the United States.  We have a long way to go before we can finally bury Jim Crow, but we have also come a long way from when the night-riders who wore hoods would influence the way we approach someone.

There are many questions about Barack Obama’s qualifications that people are asking:  Is he qualified enough?  Is he too sanctimonious? Is he for real or just another 8-by-10 glossy contrivance.  But I believe that his candidacy is proving that when white  voters decide whether Barack Obama should be president his race will matter very little.

The dirty-trick artists have had  to find some other bigotry to exploit, like his Muslim-sounding name.  But they can’t focus on his race.  They’ve had to make up something else.  An appeal to racial prejudice would be considered offensive.  That’s what we call “progress.”