Obama Photo Exposes Race Matters
Posted:
02/25/08
A photo of Barack Obama dressed as a "Somali elder" has unleashed a flurry of charges and counter charges. Without offering any proof, the Drudge Report claims "Clinton staffers" are circulating the photo.
I'm writing this post in my home office surrounded by dolls dressed in traditional African garb that I collected when I lived in Senegal. Like Somalis, Senegalese are overwhelmingly Muslim. So I'm thinking, what's the problem?
Obama's post-racial rhetoric notwithstanding, such a photo is a problem for a candidate who doesn't want to bring attention to his race. Obama also has had to repeatedly knock down rumors that he is a Muslim.
Obama campaign manager David Plouffe accuses the Clinton campaign of "shameful, offensive fear-mongering."
Maggie Williams, Clinton's campaign manager, shot back: "Enough. If Barack Obama's campaign wants to suggest that a photo of him wearing traditional Somali clothing is divisive, they should be ashamed."
Ashamed indeed. No one would blink an eye at a photo of Obama wearing a yarmulke at the Wailing Wall or a sombrero in San Antonio, Tex. Yet a photo that brings attention to his African roots is "shameful, offensive fear-mongering."
Post-racial? Yeah, right.
I'm writing this post in my home office surrounded by dolls dressed in traditional African garb that I collected when I lived in Senegal. Like Somalis, Senegalese are overwhelmingly Muslim. So I'm thinking, what's the problem?
Obama's post-racial rhetoric notwithstanding, such a photo is a problem for a candidate who doesn't want to bring attention to his race. Obama also has had to repeatedly knock down rumors that he is a Muslim.
Obama campaign manager David Plouffe accuses the Clinton campaign of "shameful, offensive fear-mongering."
Maggie Williams, Clinton's campaign manager, shot back: "Enough. If Barack Obama's campaign wants to suggest that a photo of him wearing traditional Somali clothing is divisive, they should be ashamed."
Ashamed indeed. No one would blink an eye at a photo of Obama wearing a yarmulke at the Wailing Wall or a sombrero in San Antonio, Tex. Yet a photo that brings attention to his African roots is "shameful, offensive fear-mongering."
Post-racial? Yeah, right.