Is this racist or not? Is Condi treated fairly?

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I will post this is about 3 or 4 segments. Do you think the author is being racist?
**How do you do, Mrs. Cleaver: Obama goes Eddie Haskell **

January 19, 2005

**BY NEIL STEINBERG SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST **

%between%%between%

Opening shot

I admit that I would not normally have stayed glued to C-SPAN for as much of Tuesday as I did, watching Democratic senators on the Foreign Relations Committee drive Condoleezza Rice through their gantlet of sticks – not to prove she is unworthy, it seems, so much as to inflict punishment while she was in their clutches. But I knew our freshly minted junior senator, Barack Obama, was in a runner’s crouch somewhere out of camera range at the end of the red table, and that he’d leap in at some point and glitter once again like a fabulous gem in the national spotlight. Couldn’t miss that.

Not a thug, perhaps

Rice is black, isn’t she? It’s hard to tell, since, as far as I can tell, she registers exactly nowhere on the scale of American black pride and self-identity. Sure, she’s conservative and working for the Great Satan, George Bush, and sure she has that Lucy van Pelt hairdo thing going.

But she still is one of the most powerful people in the world, and believe me, if she were Jewish, she’d be on stamps in Israel by now.

The whole world is watching

I don’t want this column to cut into the business of the Northbrook Star. So I will be brief. The “STOP THE WAR” banner is back at Shermer and Walters, on an assemblage of wood this time. An open challenge to those who believe that free speech only extends to those they agree with. I give it a week.

No Obama yet

This won’t be Obama’s first public utterance as a senator – he actually made some remarks Jan. 6. I called his office to confirm my facts, and they seemed a little skittish, perhaps because Obama got up and told his classic campaign stump vignette about his 105-year-old fan. Nothing to be ashamed of; it’s a great story, and why shouldn’t he dip his toe in the water with something well-rehearsed? His headline-grabbing, Mr.-Smith-Goes-to-Washington honest-to-goodness debut will be sometime next month, and if history is any judge, we will all be dutifully impressed.
 
Vive la difference? Il n’y a pas de difference

The current popular wisdom about men and women is that they are exactly the same, except for a few minor discrepancies in plumbing and stature. The sole explanation of the tremendous gap between the sexes in a range of areas from mathematics to chess to engineering is given as the repressive boot of society still standing on the collective feminine throat.

I wrote that in flippancy, but when I read it, I realized it had a ring of truth. We are hot to dismiss the effect of centuries of social ills the moment they are past, or nearly past, or we would like to think they are past.

For instance, because we have the thinnest veneer of racial equality today, we ignore the damage of centuries of slavery and repression, when such wrongs are the only possible explanation for the deep pockets of social misery found in every city in America.

There, nobody would dare suggest biology. But the president of Harvard, Lawrence Summers, thought he was being merely provocative when he suggested the lack of top-tenured females could be explained by limitations of their brains or the nesting instinct or some such thing.

I would argue that we set those theories aside and give ourselves about 200 more years of continuing social equity before we explore further. One of the most difficult things in life is to realize our own cultural biases, and I keep thinking about that anthropologist who “proved” that African Americans have smaller braincases because white skulls held more of the mustard seeds he used to measure volume. Later, it was shown that the scientist, determined to prove his point, unconsciously packed the seeds tighter into the white skulls.

And his wife works for NPR

So I was enduring another lecture from Prof. Zorn, not in his newspaper, of course, but in the hobby blog he uses to gusher on at a stridency and a length too tedious even for his Trib column (I tell you, I get bored and skim sometimes, and it’s about me.)

I typically refrain from comment. But this week’s tirade was so nagging and unfair that I began to break my rule and leap to my defense. But after a few paragraphs I deleted it all, realizing just in time I was falling into his trap, becoming as petty and prolix as he. And why put you through that?

He’s on! He’s on!

And there’s Barack now! Mid-afternoon, thank God. I picture a cheer going up in apartments all across Chicago, as people rush back from the fridge with snacks.

Obama came out of the box pure Eddie Haskell:
 
by then," I said to myself.

His second issue was even better.

"As I travel through Illinois,’’ he began, speaking of "the enormous strain being felt by our National Guardsmen and reservists in Iraq,’’ adding, “if Illinois was a country we’d be fourth or fifth in size as a coalition partner.”

Rice responded with some piffle about having our troops act “as mentors” to the Iraqis, as if we’d be playing basketball and eating pizza together.

By the time Obama was done with her, Rice was muttering about “there is some hope that Iraqis might themselves fight this fight.” Not exactly Churchill, is it? Geez, no wonder black people don’t want her.
 
Talk radio in Chicago today is talking about this column. What do you think, is it racist? I think on several levels it is. Would they treat Condi like this in the press if she were liberal? I don’t think Jesse Jackson would stand for it. I remember when one of our TV anchors that is a black female was let go Jesse went to the city council to complain. It was Weird because the anchor was actually going to get a job at another station and she was earning in the millions.

I haven’t heard the black community complain about the treatment of Condi in the press. What is your (name removed by moderator)ut? Is is racist?
 
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Fitz:
Rice is black, isn’t she? It’s hard to tell, since, as far as I can tell, she registers exactly nowhere on the scale of American black pride and self-identity.
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I guess I should point out the parts that make me most angry at the author. How is he able to print this? I really think this is a horrible statement. I think that many black Americans are proud that Condi is achieving and performing as she is. To disagree with Condi Rice politically is one thing, but how can this author assume that African Americans don’t even notice her achievements since many minorities are tradionally Democrat.
 
I don’t know about racist, but I read the transcript ( nytimes.com/2005/01/18/politics/18TEXT-RICE.html?oref=login&oref=login&pagewanted=all&position= ). Sen. Obama certainly asked better, more substantive questions than the two Senators who voted against her confirmation (Kerry and Boxer), but they were well answered by Dr. Rice.

The first question was what is she going to continue to do about Russian sale of nukes? That’s sort of a softball for a Russian-speaking Soviet/Russion expert like Dr. Rice, and she answered it well.

The second question was a repeat of Sen. Biden’s challenge on the number of 120,000 trained Iraqi troops and whether they were *really *trained. She repeated her earlier assessment that you can never be 100% sure until they are situation tested. An honest answer. She also confirmed that in some cases the Iraqi soldiers outperform our soldiers because it’s their culture and their fight for freedom.

The author is a little over-excited about Obama. I think he will be a good Senator and the Democrats are definitely grooming him for great things, but the author sounds like he is gushing. The guy’s a junior Senator who is just starting. Please wait to see some greatness!

Similarly, the “no wonder black people don’t want her” comment about Dr. Rice is over-the-top offensive. Also, his description of her response to Obama makes it sound as if she was a stammering idiot. Give me a break.

God Bless,

Robert.
 
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rlg94086:
The author is a little over-excited about Obama. I think he will be a good Senator and the Democrats are definitely grooming him for great things, but the author sounds like he is gushing. The guy’s a junior Senator who is just starting. Please wait to see some greatness! …

God Bless,

Robert.
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All of Illinois seems to be gushing. He went on Oprah and one of her first questions was, are you thinking about the White House? Perhaps you are right, this article is more about adoration of Obama than disdain for Condi. I find the whole article ridiculous.

There are some that think the over the top reaction to Obama is actually a form of racism. It isn’t so surprising to have an articualte African American representing us! There are many to choose from.
 

Rice is black, isn’t she? It’s hard to tell, since, as far as I can tell, she registers exactly nowhere on the scale of American black pride and self-identity.​

I guess this guy would be happier if she were selling crack somewhere.
 
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Lilyofthevalley:
I guess this guy would be happier if she were selling crack somewhere.
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I don’t get that from him, but he feels very comfortable in a Democratic town putting her down even though we have a very large African American population. Not all are Democrats either, but the people in power are.
 
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Lilyofthevalley:

Rice is black, isn’t she? It’s hard to tell, since, as far as I can tell, she registers exactly nowhere on the scale of American black pride and self-identity.​

I guess this guy would be happier if she were selling crack somewhere.
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As far as this kind of thing:

Senate Democrats intend to delay Condoleezza Rice’s confirmation as secretary of state at least until next week rather than grant her Inauguration Day approval, a spokesman said Wednesday.

“There are a number of Democrats not on the committee that want to have a chance to debate her nomination a couple of hours,” said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

He said Democrats would not seek to prevent Rice’s confirmation as the nation’s top diplomat, and he predicted her approval within a matter of days. Rice cleared the Foreign Relations Committee earlier in the day, 16-2, a lopsided vote that belied hours of skeptical questioning by Democrats critical of President Bush’s foreign policy and his conduct of the war in Iraq.

apnews.myway.com/article/20050119/D87ND8680.html

I’d say its mean, it’s petty, and a bunch of sore losers still trying to vent their spite - it’s not Condi this bunch is after, it’s George - they will do anything they can to spoil the inauguration festivities and to cast tthe country in their gloom and doom scene. Misery doth love company apparently.
 
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HagiaSophia:

I’d say its mean, it’s petty, and a bunch of sore losers still trying to vent their spite - it’s not Condi this bunch is after, it’s George - they will do anything they can to spoil the inauguration festivities and to cast tthe country in their gloom and doom scene. Misery doth love company apparently.
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So it is not a hate crime if the intended is really not the person we are doing this to? Tell that to the judge! I think that they know that they are offending Condi and that it is racist, whatever their intent.
 
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Fitz:
So it is not a hate crime if the intended is really not the person we are doing this to? Tell that to the judge! I think that they know that they are offending Condi and that it is racist, whatever their intent.
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Apparently Byrd and Pelosi haven’t twisted the stiletto long enough as I understand they intend to drag out the hearings for a few more days - this is really becoming reminiscent of when Justice Thomas was put on the “grill”. Such base behavior.
 
Condi doesn’t fit the author’s simpleminded stereotype, which tells you all you need to know about him.
 
And let’s not forget that the one of the leaders of the opposition is a former Klansmen as well as senior Democratic senator. See here.

– Mark L. Chance.
 
So, was this Senate hearing racist or not? I know it was political, but was it racisit?
 
So, was this Senate hearing racist or not? I know it was political, but was it racisit? They basically call her a liar and say, she should be able to take it or get out of this business.
 
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Fitz:
So, was this Senate hearing racist or not? I know it was political, but was it racisit? They basically call her a liar and say, she should be able to take it or get out of this business.
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Let’s just say that if the tables were turned, and it were a Democratic nominee and Republicans waisting the time with frivolous dialectics, that the MSM would have called it racist last week.
 
OK, so Rush today has a bit about the NOW women’s organization and the NAACP where he pretends to have a microphone at the celebratory party for the first African American female to reach the heights that Condi Rice has. He cuts to silence, and then plays up the bit that no one is celebrating. It was clever. You have to give him that, he is calling it with those organizations. They only celebrate **liberal **minorities.

It sort of reminds me of how I thought when Monica Lewinsky was in the news. If Clinton had been Republican, then NOW would have been screaming words like workplace sexual harrassment. Consenting or not, they would have screamed it.
 
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