(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
[usa] The American election campaign is in full swing. But even if we look forward to getting rid of George W. Bush and dreaming of Barack Obama, it's probably time to move the "I have a dream" fantasies a little closer into the seams.
At the end of July, the British writer Nick Cohen had a thought-provoking comment in The Observer about Barack Obama entitled "Why Bush has been a liberal's best friend" (27.07.08) where he writes about how the left is terrified to laugh at Barack Obama because he is black, and because they are terrified that someone will think they are racists. Cohen points to popular Jon Stewart Show where Stewart on several occasions has slammed comments about Obama and the audience has barely chuckled – in stark contrast to the wild laughter when John McCain is ridiculed.
Cohen also points out that the left is not exactly afraid to use racist perspectives when it comes to African Americans belonging to Republican camps: Famous cartoonist Garry Trudeau, who is behind the "Doonesbury" strip, lets Bush refer to Condolezza Rice as "brown sugar." Another acclaimed cartoonist, Ted Rall, describes her as "house nigga" and sends her to "racial re-education camp" to get rid of her conservative view, while Jeff Danziger, also a well-known satirist, portrayed Rice as slave Prissy from movie Tatt av vinden. According to Cohen, these satirists use "the dirtiest racist insults they could find on confronting a black woman who does not support their political views".
It's also not exactly lucky when the otherwise so correct John Pilger describes Obama as a "slick uncle Tom" in the magazine New Statesman. It is possible that Obama is well-liked, but he is not owned by any white man, nor is he willing to do as "the whites say". But both Pilger and Nick Cohen have important observations: Obama is not going to revolutionize American politics. He is not a saving angel who wants to change the world as it is today. Cohen argues that Bush has been portrayed as the great Satan, leading bloody crusades and invading countries to take their oil reserves. In addition, Bush has given the left the opportunity to argue that radical Islamism is a response to the double standards of American politics. But as Cohen points out: Radical Islamists will continue their struggle even if Obama comes to power. His policy toward Iran is quite similar to that of the Republicans. He wants more soldiers in Afghanistan. And Pilgrim reminds us that Obama is in fact a hawk following in the warlike footsteps of other Democratic presidents like Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter and Clinton. His statements in connection with Jerusalem (he supports an undivided Jerusalem as the capital of Israel – something not even Bush supports) and Cuba (the boycott will continue) testify to a man who actually goes further than Bush, Pilger believes. Then we have become completely uncritical because Obama is one black presidential candidate? If so, we are on dangerous roads.
But overall, the Cohen and Pilger criticism reminds me of the funniest feature of the Jon Stewart Show on July 25, where African-American comedian Larry Wilmore drew on several issues that would arise if Obama came to power under the question: "Can Barack Obama's fight? to become president harm black children? ”. Wilmore points out that many Blacks have become so wild about the chances of getting "a brother" as president that they have not thought through what it will really mean. As Wilmore says: “We Blacks are good at railing against the man. But will we really be the man? And what if there is a new Katrina? What should rapper Kanye West say then? That Obama's white grandmother doesn't care about blacks? "
There is little doubt that the impending presidential election is forcing us to examine our positions. For that is just to admit it: Obama is no Messiah or Che Guevara, and everyone on the left who dances around him in ecstasy is going to have a bit of a slump when he comes to power. American politics is first and foremost about America's interests. Although the man changes skin color.
