Shelby Steele: The Obama Bargain

The Wall Street Journal

The Obama Bargain
By SHELBY STEELE
March 18, 2008; Page A23

(snip)

The answer is that one "bargains." Bargaining is a mask that blacks can wear in the American mainstream, one that enables them to put whites at their ease. This mask diffuses the anxiety that goes along with being white in a multiracial society. Bargainers make the subliminal promise to whites not to shame them with America's history of racism, on the condition that they will not hold the bargainer's race against him. And whites love this bargain -- and feel affection for the bargainer -- because it gives them racial innocence in a society where whites live under constant threat of being stigmatized as racist. So the bargainer presents himself as an opportunity for whites to experience racial innocence. This is how Mr. Obama has turned his blackness into his great political advantage, and also into a kind of personal charisma. Bargainers are conduits of white innocence, and they are as popular as the need for white innocence is strong. Mr. Obama's extraordinary dash to the forefront of American politics is less a measure of the man than of the hunger in white America for racial innocence.

His actual policy positions are little more than Democratic Party boilerplate and hardly a tick different from Hillary's positions. He espouses no galvanizing political idea. He is unable to say what he means by "change" or "hope" or "the future." And he has failed to say how he would actually be a "unifier." By the evidence of his slight political record (130 "present" votes in the Illinois state legislature, little achievement in the U.S. Senate) Barack Obama stacks up as something of a mediocrity. None of this matters much. Race helps Mr. Obama in another way -- it lifts his political campaign to the level of allegory, making it the stuff of a far higher drama than budget deficits and education reform. His dark skin, with its powerful evocations of America's tortured racial past, frames the political contest as a morality play. Will his victory mean America's redemption from its racist past? Will his defeat show an America morally unevolved? Is his campaign a story of black overcoming, an echo of the civil rights movement? Or is it a passing-of-the-torch story, of one generation displacing another?

Because he is black, there is a sense that profound questions stand to be resolved in the unfolding of his political destiny. And, as the Clintons have discovered, it is hard in the real world to run against a candidate of destiny. For many Americans -- black and white -- Barack Obama is simply too good (and too rare) an opportunity to pass up. For whites, here is the opportunity to document their deliverance from the shames of their forbearers. And for blacks, here is the chance to document the end of inferiority. So the Clintons have found themselves running more against America's very highest possibilities than against a man. And the press, normally happy to dispel every political pretension, has all but quivered before Mr. Obama. They, too, have feared being on the wrong side of destiny.

(snip)

But bargainers have an Achilles heel. They succeed as conduits of white innocence only as long as they are largely invisible as complex human beings. They hope to become icons that can be identified with rather than seen, and their individual complexity gets in the way of this. So bargainers are always laboring to stay invisible. (We don't know the real politics or convictions of Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan or Oprah Winfrey, bargainers all.) Mr. Obama has said of himself, "I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views . . ." And so, human visibility is Mr. Obama's Achilles heel. If we see the real man, his contradictions and bents of character, he will be ruined as an icon, as a "blank screen." Thus, nothing could be more dangerous to Mr. Obama's political aspirations than the revelation that he, the son of a white woman, sat Sunday after Sunday -- for 20 years -- in an Afrocentric, black nationalist church in which his own mother, not to mention other whites, could never feel comfortable... And what portent of presidential judgment is it to have exposed his two daughters for their entire lives to what is, at the very least, a subtext of anti-white vitriol?

(snip)



URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120579535818243439.html

Has Alan Keyes weighed in on this yet? :shrug:

I am not black, have never been to a black church, but could understand from where Rev. Wright is coming. The heated discussion and the revelation just highlighted the sad reality that race relations in this country have a long way to go and that pretending to be a candidate who transcend race is just not going to work.

Several months ago Jesse Jackson was all excited about Edwards plan to fight poverty. But would he endorse him? No, he was waiting for the Obama people to convince him that Obama, too, had a good plan. Why wouldn't Jackson go with Edwards? We all know the answer.

You obviously did not bother to read the post since you responded immediately, but I found it interesting that Obama's own mother would not be welcomed in his church, that his daughters have now been exposed to such hatred and not mature enough to be able to digest the sermons.

And, I think that this explains why Michelle, but not Barack, has been the bitter one since, it appears, she spent her whole life in such an environment while he joined that church only 20 years ago, already adult capable of his own thinking.

I know several white Democrats who attend large, majority black churches in my area. They are most definitely the minority, but they tell me they are welcome. (Me, I don't go to church.)

but do you really think she would feel comfortable hearing all the hatred for America and for white Hillary?

(I have not pursued all his sermons, only what has been reported in the media and was not denied).

Whites do go to his church and report being very comfortable. I didn't hear hate from those snippets.

:hi:

I only heard the one snippet that dealt with Hillary which I didn't find anything wrong with. Thank you for pointing out the membership of his church.

What I find highly interesting is the "horror" of so many White people at his preachings yet there is silence at oh say the preachings of many a White Southern Baptist from the 40s to the 90s.

I have no problem with Whites being offended at Wright's sermons. But let's keep the conversation balanced and talk about some of the prejudice of White preachers. Gays are still open season. AAnd I'm not sure that the prejudices held by some White pastors and congrgations for Blacks and Hispanics is as enlightened ans many Whites want all of our churches to be.

I find the reaction interesting also. There are some white ministers out there right now that have said worse things. There definately is a lack of enlightenment.

Frank Shaeffer(sp) has written about how he preached hell and damnation on this country along with an intolerance of everyone that was not like him. He used to be a frequent guest and advisor to the White House under Reagan, Ford an Bush.

The media is playing us and some have fallen for it. I do wish he had used different words bu I understand what he was saying.

and the Moral Majority made their bones preaching racial hatred.

"But for Falwell, the "questions of the day" did not always relate to abortion and homosexuality--nor did they begin there. Decades before the forces that now make up the Christian right declared their culture war, Falwell was a rabid segregationist who railed against the civil rights movement from the pulpit of the abandoned backwater bottling plant he converted into Thomas Road Baptist Church. This opening episode of Falwell's life, studiously overlooked by his friends, naïvely unacknowledged by many of his chroniclers, and puzzlingly and glaringly omitted in the obituaries of the Washington Post and New York Times, is essential to understanding his historical significance in galvanizing the Christian right. Indeed, it was race--not abortion or the attendant suite of so-called "values" issues--that propelled Falwell and his evangelical allies into political activism."<\b>

Of course, we'll never hear anything about the ears of the ACTUAL Presidents that Falwell and his ilk had.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070528/blumenthal

I had heard about his racist ways but had never read the details.

I always remember MLK's book, Letters From a Birmingham Jail. He wrote to answer many of the White ministers who wanted him to stop his marches because he was viewed as a troublemaker.

As you know, I've been pretty hard on the Black Church. But this is nonsense.

White churches have had a much more negative impact on the fabric of American society than the Black church could even hope to have even if they wanted to. But all of these "horrified" commentators won't dare to go there.

And all of you people labeling Steele as insightful, get a grip. Do me a favor and read some Black media for a change!

Just because you hold a view contrary to the majority of your race doesn't make you insightful. It's how you do it that counts.

Sometimes a tool really is a tool

You did have some good points.

I also agree that Steele is a tool.

I would be good if many people read about the Kearner report. Just like we're talking about racism after all these years, there is definately evidence that there is still a separation between blacks and whites. Many whites don't know a lot about many aspects of black lives but blacks have been forced to assimilate.

coming from any of these churches.

Comparing what Wright has been saying about Hillary and about America to what Southerns have been saying for years is not relevant here.

We are not considering any member of those churches as our nominee.

And, yes, he scares me.

Take a look at this if you haven't already watched it: white lady pastor talks about Obama's church

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

Because of her comments that the past decades were hard on most Americans including, yes, the 90s under Bill Clinton. Her comment that she is finally proud of our country, her "wish" to rip Bill Clinton's eyes off.

who hates the black race and finds anything and everything to critcize,just as Larry Elder is. I know that Shelby is biracial..They will be coming out all over rightwing radio and television to be the spokespeople for blacks...In my opinion they are full of shit...

we have to deal with that... continue to change it, but realize and deal with it.

If he does, the majority of them are not Black, I'd bet my house on that.

I've said it before and I'll say it again; I'd bet that if you gather all the public speaking engagements of Black "Conservatives", that the majority of their appearances would be before White, conservative groups. The opinion of most Black folk is that these people are sellouts, playing a role to supposedly show the "balance" of Black opinion where there is no balance. Most Blacks, by a wide margin, totally reject the tenets of mainstreanm conservative thought.

Probably because, all too often, we often bear the brunt of their unpleasantness.

just can't quit hating. :evilfrown:

You have no valid progressive argument?

Because he does raise points that are worth discussing - that is, if you bothered to read the post?

He is probably the most famous black conservative ideologue.

Posting his opinion does not mean that I advocate his positions. I think that he raised valid observations that deserve debating. Just because you and others dismiss him does not mean that many voters will, too. Especially Independent and Republicans who, according to exit polls, gave Obama his victories.

"A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited About Obama--And Why HE CAN'T WIN"

In a presentation about his book on CSPAN's BookTV, Steele expressed regret about the subtitle a few weeks ago. The Wright smearjob, if successful, well might increase Steele's book sales by making him look prophetic.

See the video of the BookTV presentation at
http://www.booktv.org/program.aspx?ProgramId=9050&SectionName=Politics&PlayMedia=No

and that is well documented via his fucked up work with the Hoover institute.

He is like Clarence Thomas as far as I am concerned.

I noticed that the pundits as well as Hillary supporters use the words of Black Right Wing assholes to try and bring Obama down. Now, why is that?

As a Black women living in America, I say, Fuck you Steele....as you are the one who kisses NeoCon ass in order to sell books.

Steele's argument is founded on the belief that 2-3 minutes of extreme clips Sean Hannity was able to dig up from dozens and dozens of Wright's sermons are REPRESENTATIVE of what Obama heard over "20 years". This CANNOT be true. See the GDP thread at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5139226 .

"And what portent of presidential judgment is it to have exposed his two daughters for their entire lives to what is, at the very least, a subtext of anti-white vitriol?"

Indeed.

since you and the rest of your merry band perpetuate the fraud concept that, interestingly enough, conservative Shelby Steele advocates:

"Thus, nothing could be more dangerous to Mr. Obama's political aspirations than the revelation that he, the son of a white woman, sat Sunday after Sunday -- for 20 years -- in an Afrocentric, black nationalist church in which his own mother, not to mention other whites, could never feel comfortable... And what portent of presidential judgment is it to have exposed his two daughters for their entire lives to what is, at the very least, a subtext of anti-white vitriol?"

You, and every one else of the Wright haters have NO IDEA what has gone on in that church over the past 20 years. None. The Church has white members! They can be seen in the video! Wright preaches against racism, sexism, and homophobia. That is well-documented, but you and the other do no research, and would ignore it if it is shown to you.

Link?

That is pretty clear. You completely ignored my point, which you clearly can't rebutt, because you know so little about Wright and Trinity UCC.

It does seem to be pattern with you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_Wright
In other sermons, he said "The government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color"

Were the Obama's little girls in the audience that day, kwassa?

Keep avoiding and ducking if you want, but everyone else sees you doing it, too.

Who do you really think you are fooling?

assumes that Sean Hannity's 2-3 minutes of extreme statements--gleaned during over o YEAR of scrutiny from dozens and dozens of hours of sermons freely available at the TUCC website--are representative. They CANNOT be representative. See the GDP thread at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x5139226

to address the nation and to agree with the criticism?

Welcome to DU - hope you have your flame-retardant suit on.

As a black man, I think Shelby Steele has some serious identity issues. I have not read the book. But I've heard this idea that you're either a bargainer or a challenger. Does he ever say which of the two tags he claims for himself? Both seem to be negative and not something anyone would want to be. Are those the only two choices that he feels blacks have? To pretend racism doesn't exists in nothing or to pretend racism exists in everything?

I've got to read this book.


Does he think that he has shown himself to be a "complex human being"?

I suspect that I don't know the complexity of many celebrities. What are Alex Rodriguez's politics? How many secret Scientologists and atheists are there in Hollywood? Why is this some special kind of black problem?

And how does he know that Obama's mother couldn't feel comfortable in an Afrocentric black church? Just because he can't--just because maybe his momma can't--how does he know that Obama's mother couldn't? His mother who had a relationship with a black man and gave birth to a black man? Seems to be projecting to me. Further, that whites CAN'T feel comfortable in Trinity is patently false--I've been to that church several times, and I've seen whites there EVERY time. And yes, this was before Obama was presidential candidate Obabma. And there are undoubtedly white members of Trinity. But I'm sure Steele would dismiss *those* kinds of white people. I don't think he would count them.

In fact, all of this "anti-white vitriol" stuff is bullshit. It is an attempt by anti-Obama--and in some cases, anti-blackpresidentialcandidate forces--to turn Obama into the angry black man. They can't hang it on him, so they hang it on Wright and tar him by extension. But the church has white people. And the campaign is lousy with white people. In fact, don't know if you noticed, but there aren't a lot of black people with high profiles *in* Obama's campaign.

Sellout is *so* overused, but what do you say about a black man that says the only way for any black man to be accepted by whites is to give up pieces of himself? I mean, isn't that the most black radical thing you've ever heard? Isn't that something Farrakhan could have said?

*Please forgive the rambling, my blood sugar's low! I'm off to lunch.

the "bargainer or challenger" dichotomy is a negative meme, because both put the person in the position of respondant - neither allows for a pro-active person being at cause, rather than being at effect.

(Caveat: I haven't read the book either - I don't tend to read RW authors.)

and apparently can't reconcile how one biracial man handles himself in society vs how he does. Obama can't be fit into the usual stereotype so there is alot of flailing around to create a new one for him. It's a bizarre issue to say the least. There is an obvious generation gap (Steele is an early boomer and Obama a late one) and thus the generational thing is coming into play here as well.

I suppose the irony is that Obama appears to have come out of nowhere on the national scene where Steele has been at the fringes of it for decades due to his being promoted by the far right, becoming one their most loyal old-school "tokens" (along with Alan Keyes, Thomas Sowell, Ward Connerly, etc.). But as an opportunist, he doesn't care how he is labeled as long as the $$ comes in.

wrench thrown in that Obama didn't grow up in a conventional way. Obama grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia.....and so the various cultures that Obama was around are not taken into consideration by Steele...which is why Steele is actually talking about himself, and trying to pawn his insecurities off on someone else.

Rev. Wright didn't say that white people or anything like that.