Paterson slaps down the race card.

Governor Paterson of New York said this to the NAACP convention this week:

"Can America reject the crucible of race that has dictated and pervaded all of our history to embrace an African-American man who has the right polices for the next decade in this country? Can America go past the crippling way that we've shot ourselves in the foot over and over, denying opportunity to people who are bright, to people who are qualified, to people who are able because they didn't look like us, or they didn't come from where we came from, or they are from a different gender, or they are from the African continent? Can America push that away and find new leadership? We'll find out in the next few months what America can do."

What is disturbing about this statement is that it implies that opposing Obama is equivalent to supporting America's history of racism. If you vote for McCain you stand with the darkest part of our past. So there. End if discussion.

This is patent bullshit.

There are many, MANY reasons to oppose Obama. None of the reasons I currently oppose Obama have to do with his bi-racial heritage - and I resent, DEEPLY, any implication that my opposition is based on race.

Obama IS NOT qualified by any reasonable standard. There is nothing he's championed and nothing he's succeeded in accomplishing that justifies elevation to the White House. Indeed there is no major issue he has not doubled back on. The community organizing meme is laughable and pathetic - besides his 3 short years as a community organizer were a failure. His record in the Illinois state senate is largely a hallucination. His record in the U.S. Senate is tiny. He has never held a position that comes close to being preparation for the Presidency. That ought to be enough to vote for someone else.

His odd, defensive, narcissistic personality is utterly unsuited for the job, as well.

Based on his past associaitons his judgement is bad. Not "not good" - just, plain, BAD.

Finally, he promotes in his most ardent fan base a form of group psychosis. Rational thought and Obama supporter would seem to be mutually exclusive.

As I've said before: I am sick and tired of the weaponization of RACE by the Arugula/Prius Left, and the victim wing of the perpetual resentment cabal of black "leaders". Thoughtful people deciding to vote for someone other than BHO is perfectly sane and reasonable. It is not racist.

I may well vote for Green party nominee McKinney. What does this make me? What hoops do the pods have to jump through to tag me a racist if I vote FOR a black woman?

Patterson appears to be a sublimely reasonable man. But again Obama is poisonous. The introduction of this man into the equation poisons the sanity of reasonable people. Everyone projects their hopes, dreams, and resentments onto this blank screen called Obama.

In the final analysis the disconnect between the pro and anti obama conversation is one of reality. PUMA's and others oppose him based on the reality of the actual person. Pods and fellow travelers defend him based on their imagined projection of who he is. A redeemer, a saint, an atonement, whatever... these sorts of projections never end well. Never. This mass projection is dangerous. It invests one person with power that is antithetical to the most basic precepts of American government.

I do not count the 2 Clinton supporters I know who have decided to vote for Obama now as fantisizers. (2 out of about 20 since I began asking.) They believe he is better than McCain for reasons that are connected to facts on the ground. I respect and support their choice.

I stand in judgement of , and opposition to, Obama based on the content of his character. Period. This opposition is fueled by the scary and relentless deification of Obama by the media. It is a symptom of a sick society.



Stop calling us racists - or I'll sick my black, GOP, sister-in-law on you. Yes, it's true, in my large, lateral family tree one of the two Republicans is black.

Thanks to Damon for sending me this piece on Patterson.

PS- Patterson's rant about the word "accidental" is just wrong. Ford was called the "accidental" President approximately 6, 342,554,128 times between 1974-1976.
Footnote needed... haha...nevertheless his complaint is foolish.