Thank you for a fine post.

Thank you LaKeisha. I started supporting Obama when Biden dropped out, not because I'm black (in fact I was told I "had" to vote for Clinton because of my gender and age) but because he was the best candidate. That's it. The best candidate.

Thank you.

The question of "blackness" is, by and large, a pretty stupid one - but it continues to be asked. Judging by the rather noticeable racism in this campaign, it's pretty clear that Barack is Black, and that he is treated as such by a society that hopes to wish away its race problem with minor gestures and symbolic achievements.

I applaud Barack Obama, the candidate I've supported since his entry into the presidential race. But if we are fortunate enough to bring about his election in the fall, he will still lead a nation weighed down with ignorance. One man's elevation to the nation's highest office provides inspiration, but not solutions. Those are left to us all.

America is an African and a European nation in addition to being Native American. Hence all Americans are black, and all Americans are white. We all navigate both sides of this intricate binary system of culture. Even the squarest European-American casually uses yesteryear's African-American parlance without even realizing it. Yet even someone with a lily white complexion would have trouble getting hired if they spoke Ebonics in a job interview. Since race does not exist genetically, the best thing we can do to fight racism is to celebrate the African-American culture that is in all of us.

Thanks for the post!

I'd definitely second it, although I'm white I saw many of the same things you discussed with people I go to college with who are black. At first I heard a lot of the "he's not black, he's just using blacks to get into the white house" and "I don't know much about Hillary, but she's got Bill!" I found it all very strange and somewhat offensive in the case of the first comment based on identity politics and then as a feminist in the case of the second.

But it was exactly like you said. There was suddenly a tidal wave of change and almost a feeling of shame that appeared most definitely after South Carolina. I remember when I had checked up with a girl named Gena and asked her if she still liked Hillary and she stated, "Well, I don't know, she's been pissing me off lately with some of the things she said".

I should say that the people I talked to didn't follow politics very well, but these were their opinions. All I can say is that I'm glad the switch happened, but it certainly she some light on a solid voting block.

this is just for you lakeisha. since you feel democrats who do not agree with you completely are not real democrats and don't need us you won't mind our new grassroots campaign being formed.

we are also creating a counter weight to MOVEon.org i have heard. YEAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Hillary Grassroots Campaign is proud to announce that we have joined the coalition to just "Just Say NO Deal."

http://www.justsaynodeal.com Millions of disaffected voters or "pumas" (party unity my ass) have banded together to form this coalition of the unwilling... - Just Say No Deal!

please visit

http://hillaryclintonnews.blogspot.com

Beautiful post.

I'm in the supposed Hillary Demo (boomer, white, female). As a matter of fact, my mom is also in the Hillary Demo (even older, white, female). Guess what! We've both been Obama supporters for months. Why? Because his ideology matches ours, he's calm under fire, and his ability to motivate We the People is off-the-charts.

And yep, you're right. It turns out Barack Obama is one of "us" too. Nice post.

This is the second post that has been recommended, and I thank you very much, ya'll!! I''ll sum my point up in a little bit...

LaKeisha

"I was raised a white Protestant and as far back as I knew in my mother's family, which is the only line that they can test in women because we only get the Y from our mothers; men get both."

Just some questions for HusseinTenaX -- in principle, being female, you're not getting any Y chromosome info but in your other chromosomes you're getting parental DNA from both your father and mother, and your mitochondrial DNA is a whole different ball of wax. Are you sure you're not getting a mix of dad and mom dna -- and where did you get the sequencing done? But I agree with the gist of what you're saying -- if we all took a look at our DNA, I'm sure we'd find evidence of all kinds of ethnicities, countries of origin, races, etc.

Alex

This is a terrific post. Thanks.

It was particularly rivetting for me because I've just been over at Daily Kos where there's a thread sounding off at CNN because they're working on a special `Black in America.` The thread & comments basically object to the special because they see it as race baiting.

Both my mother and I were incensed before this thread because we'd read an article profiling the impact of race in Ohio where a 62 year old white man had told the journalist that the Constitution should be amended so that blacks could never be President.

My mother directed me to the thread, where she'd lost her temper. She wrote:

"I'm so TIRED of everyone portraying Barack as a black man. He is a BIRACIAL man.
America should be ashamed - there's so much coverage of this overseas - that the American media keeps calling him a black candidate - he's a biracial candidate.
He was brought up by WHITE people, which makes him just as much, if not more, white as it does black.
I'm so sick of the racism in this campaign. I've just read an article where a 62 year old man in Ohio said that the Constitution should be amended to stipulate that the President can't be black!
The whole thing's repulsive."

And then I come back here and read your wonderful post and feel all over the place! sigh So many different realities going on in different universes.

I just have to go back to Obama's own attempt to conduct a non-racial campaign - but the moment I resolved to do that I remember how annoyed I get whenever I see him actually mention race: he'll be emphasising inclusiveness and talk about white, African-American, Hispanic and Asian America, but NEVER does he include in that context native Americans. Not once have I heard him do that. (I expect he did when he was visiting reservations.)

But every time he omits to mention them I get furious: it reminds me how small their voting percentage is and that that's no doubt why: it means they're so rarely on the politicians' campaign radar.

Oh yes Michelle! People get ready there's a train a comin', don't need no baggage just get on board.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0FnjkSFwss

Ooops--I think my last post was meant for Lakeisha. Getting a little paranoid about the trolls--some known as Michelle.

I am the reflection of the child who drops his ball in the street and almost gets run over because he was distracted and wasn't thinking.

I am the reflection of the teenager who smokes pot and tries something else just to either seem cool or try something for the hell of it just to get a reaction.

I am the relection of the woman who goes to work with a swollen eyelid and says she was just "wrassling" with her boyfriend in fun, and something crazy happened, and wants to stay home but can't.

I am the boy my white female self went to school with in third grade who had a tank full of little green lizards in his bedroom and I sat for hours playing with them, only to have my mother worry and wonder where I am, while still being the boy who wondered why that white lady came over here demanding her daughter back.

I am me. And I'm listening. And I love the voice that is talking to me, straight.

Thank you.

You Go Girl!!!!!!!!!