Good for you.

Robert,
I believe it's playing a major role in why this election is tied right now. It was also a major topic of discussion at the recent Blogging While Brown conference as well.

If Barack Obama were a white male named Barry Owens with the same qualifications and his wife Michelle had blond hair and blue eyes along with his two daughters, not only would the US media be going gaga over 'The New Kennedys', he'd have a double digit lead in the polls right now.

Markos and the gang at Daily Kos wouldn't be spouting that 'withhold our donations' crap and some of the bitter Hillary supporters wouldn't be openly takling about supporting John McLame.

But since it's the brother doing this, drawing huge crowds at rallies, speaking intelligently and thoughtfully on many issues and getting rave reviews overseas with foreign leaders, while the white male candidate inarticulately bumbles and stumbles through speeches and is reduced to ad hominem attacks on his opponent instead of touting what he supports, some peeps are drinking hateraid for obama in 55 gallon drums.

And that's in our own party.

And it makes me and other Obama supporters other extremely nervous that the best qualified man for the presidency in a generation may not get it.

There's no way around it: race is THE factor in many voters' decision-making process about this election.

Sad commentary on where we are as a nation now.

My big hope if Obama is elected is that he will help to foster a national dialogue on race and other issues, in which we can talk honestly and respectfully across the lines that divide us, without resorting to the tactics of demonization and marginalization that have placed us in the situation in which we now find ourselves.

And, sad to say, those tactics have played a key role not just on the right, but also among those of us who call ourselves progressive, for far too long. We, too, are responsible for fragmenting the discussion and gnawing away at each other other when we have micro-ideological differences about how our own brothers and sisters see the issues.

I find it interesting that you, Robert

Perhaps I should not call it "Black racism" but instead "Black chauvanism" --- the idea that Obama should be elected simply so that America will have had at least one Black president. But having a Black president could be bad if that Black person makes a bad president. (It could happen: After all, so many white guys have turned out to be bad presidents, haven't they?)

I support Barack Obama because I think he will be an exceptional president, a sea change for the country, similar to the way that JFK was. In other words, I would vote for Obama even if he happened to have an appearance such that he could claim to be white (and, genetically, he is as much one as the other). Voting for this candidate because he is Black or that candidate because he is white is just two sides on the same coin of racism.

Wow, something screwed up when I posted the above comment.

The first paragraph should have read:

I find it interesting, Robert, that you chose the term "white racism" and not just "racism" in the title of your post. Is "Black racism" an issue that we are even allowed to mention?

I should say that this is just one of many emails I have received. I used the particular phrase "White Racism" because it is they who have been most obvious in this arena.

"Obama loves America like OJ loved Nicole" speaks volumes.

Certainly Black racism exists. I knew that it would exist when I was in the second grade and 20% of my classmates were Black. Yet somehow two thirds of the time anyone was "paddled" it was them. How long do you oppress people and expect them not to prefer people who do not oppress them back? Hence, Black racism.

Racism is where the ignorant among us flee as a knee jerk reaction to losing on issues. And I would call Barack Obama fully qualified to be president and the candidate of my party. I hope that he will become a peacemaker throughout the world as well as within the United States.

Republicans have just been handed an attack angle on a silver platter to appeal to their racist base. They're going to do whatever they can to highlight it (liberals have blogs, conservatives have chain emails... kinda tells you where we all are on the technology spectrum).

Doesn't mean he won't win or that he shouldn't have been nominated. Just means that we should know what we're working against.

How long do you oppress people and expect them not to prefer people who do not oppress them back? Hence, Black racism.

Although this statement does make sense, I think we must be careful when explaining the roots of Black racism not to justify it. Understanding it and tolerating it are two different things.

Whites are expected to do whatever internal housekeeping they need to do to embrace racial equality. I think Blacks, despite their unfortunate history in the nation, should be held up to the same standard.

I often hear statements from Blacks, even from Black leaders, that imply or assume that the majority of whites are still racist. I disagree --- I feel confident that 50 years after the 1960's, this country has progressed to the point that the majority of whites are not functionally racist --- meaning at a minimum, that they know how to work with Blacks in the workplace and treat them equally (including pay and promotion) and even to work with them comfortably (most of the time) and enjoyably. I think whites should be given credit for this progress --- even after it is rightfully pointed out that these should have been the attitudes we should have had from the start.

This is not to say that the legacies of racism do not continue to operate in the Black population. Clearly, they do. But these problems cannot be addressed with optimum effectiveness if we are not willing to evaluate the prevalent attitudes of one race and the other without some accuracy. Blacks do not want to be characterized by the worst among them, and neither do whites.

Maybe this guy's hysterical email rant didn't get any replies was that too many of the recipients have heard this kind of wingnut paranoia before and have no more use for it.

If the GOP wants to derail Obama's campaign once and for all, they'll find a way to push this idea that all white voters not voting for Obama are motivated by nothing but racism every chance they get. While many of Obama's more fanatical followers will buy into this bilge -- after all, it makes them feel so much more righteous by comparison and involves taking no risks or even thinking too much -- the "opposition equals racism" schtick will mostly be a stirring sermon preached to an undiscerning choir. The rest of us had more than enough of self-righteous attempts to bully us into marching in lockstep a long time ago.