Legal Commentary

Newsweek: Obama Can?t Dodge State Civil Rights Initiatives

Newsweek has an article, ?Obama?s Postracial Test,? discussing the impact the campaign to pass initiatives in five state barring racial preferences will have on Obama?s claim to be a post-racial candidate.

The article is afflicted by all the usual liberal biases. The subtitle, for example, asks ?How will the Democratic candidate deal with potentially divisive ballot initiatives calling for an end to affirmative action?? Why, some of us are left to wonder, are efforts to end favoritism based on race deemed ?divisive? while the racial favoritism itself isn?t? Another example: it mentions ? not once but twice ? that Ward Connerly has, or seems to have, ?a wealthy donor base? without ever mentioning that he has been outspent in every one if his initiative campaigns, in Michigan by about 4 to 1.

Still, without ever asking clearly and directly how Obama can claim to help us transcend race and lead us into a jolly postracial future while continuing to support policies that treat some people better than others because of their race, it does manage to get that question across.

Full post as published by Discriminations on March 28, 2008 (boomark / email).