Clintons on Receiving End of Race Baiting

One of these days I will have to explore the ramifications of schadenfreude with regards to the Christian walk. Until then I am just going to revel in it. The misfortune that is the source of my joy is the problems the Clintons are having in the Black community. Ever since Bill's "fairy tale" moment and Hillary's comment about Dr. Martin Luther King, then the subsequent "Shuck and Jive" incident, they have been working damage control to conserve their black votes. It is fun to watch them squirm especially since the very people who are attacking them usually attack Republicans and conservatives on their behalf.

Now personally I don't think they said anything of a racially prejudicial nature. But like so many things in this world it is the perception that is often more important than the truth. And isn't it so much easier to perceive things the way you want to than to actually analyze what is really going on?

Looking at the clip of Bill, I think it is pretty obvious that when he said "fairy tale" he was not referring to Obama's campaign, but his assertion that his (Obama's)judgment on the war was superior to Hillary's. To me this is a non issue. Let the black leaders rant and rave at Obama's alleged slighting, but who cares? To me the bigger issue is that there are Democrats who all voted for the war and are now saying that what was sold to them was a lie and that they thought they were voting on giving Bush authority to go to war only after more inspectors were sent and Saddam Hussein was given more time to comply. What? Didn't they read the resolution? And why were they silent about it until it became a campaign point? Hmmm.

Hillary's comment on Dr. Martin Luther King's dream beginning to be realized by President Johnson was basically correct. After all, rights (real and imagined) in this country come from our Constitution, which states how congress passes laws which affect us as citizens. So technically it was congress which passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which according to Hillary, was the beginning of the realization of Dr. King's Dream. So where is the racism there? Speaking as a current black American and former liberal I can feel and understand the fear that some black leaders are expressing. The fear that "The Man" (in this case Hillary) is trying to diminish the contribution of blacks, specifically Dr. King, in the betterment of their own situation. It looked like Hillary was saying that white men were responsible for making the dream real. What she was really trying to say, contrary to Obama's assertion that the current leadership is giving false hopes and saying that dreams will die, is that Presidential power, the kinds she hopes to wield, can go along way in realizing peoples dreams. No slight there. Let's face it. (I am going to catch Hell for saying this) the work the abolitionists did, the slaves, carried to freedom on the underground railroad, and the lives lost in the Civil War, only pointed out the need for freedom of the black people in the country. But without a 14th Amendment, we would still have slavery. Likewise Dr. King and his work and the work of others like him showed the world the need for civil rights in America. But Dr. King didn't sign the Civil Rights Act into law.

And finally the hoopla over the shuck and jive comment is just laughable. I think people really don't have enough real issues to concern themselves with. Still it is fun to watch the Democrats attack each other over such silliness!

What do you think?