People don't believe me when I tell them, but I once sang "We Shall Overcome" with Pete Seeger. He sang and played guitar. I sang along, with a girl named Heidi.
It was about 9 years ago, down in Georgia...
Nevermind, you don't believe me either.
But that doesn't mean it isn't true.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Something nice about Bush
I rarely feel anything but venom for our 43st President, so when I feel otherwise, I should probably point it out.
The speech he gave the day after Obama won the election was heartfelt, generous, and reflective of his true feelings about race in our society.
Many people have commented that Obama wouldn't be possible without Bush's epic fail. And that's true. But he also wouldn't have been possible without Bush's consistent anti-racism. It's not merely the fact that Bush appointed two African-Americans to head his State department. It's also the fact that Bush was the first Republican since Nixon to win without appealing to racism.
(The ghost of my Father says: what about dis-enfranchising black voters? I say, of course they do that, Dad, but they did that by targeting people they knew wouldn't vote for them, not by legitimizing racism in the public sphere.)
American politics is fundamentally tribal. People don't vote based on issues. They vote based on party*. How many people over the age of 30 ever change parties? Bush used his platform as the leader of the Republican party to legitimize black leadership in the eyes of the half of the country that looked to him for cues.
When the history books are written, 50 to 100 years from now, Colin and Condi are going to be viewed like we view the protoceratops in light of the triceratops**. Bush's heart, in this one little thing, was in the right place.
P.S. Of course, the Republican party is now the "Barack the Magic Negro" party. But that wasn't Bush's party.
*What about independents? Easy: They're liars. 90% of American voters vote for the same party that they voted for in the last election. Partisan ID is decided in the first three general elections that a person votes in. But that's another story.
**I, of course, prefer Styracosaurus.
The speech he gave the day after Obama won the election was heartfelt, generous, and reflective of his true feelings about race in our society.
Many people have commented that Obama wouldn't be possible without Bush's epic fail. And that's true. But he also wouldn't have been possible without Bush's consistent anti-racism. It's not merely the fact that Bush appointed two African-Americans to head his State department. It's also the fact that Bush was the first Republican since Nixon to win without appealing to racism.
(The ghost of my Father says: what about dis-enfranchising black voters? I say, of course they do that, Dad, but they did that by targeting people they knew wouldn't vote for them, not by legitimizing racism in the public sphere.)
American politics is fundamentally tribal. People don't vote based on issues. They vote based on party*. How many people over the age of 30 ever change parties? Bush used his platform as the leader of the Republican party to legitimize black leadership in the eyes of the half of the country that looked to him for cues.
When the history books are written, 50 to 100 years from now, Colin and Condi are going to be viewed like we view the protoceratops in light of the triceratops**. Bush's heart, in this one little thing, was in the right place.
P.S. Of course, the Republican party is now the "Barack the Magic Negro" party. But that wasn't Bush's party.
*What about independents? Easy: They're liars. 90% of American voters vote for the same party that they voted for in the last election. Partisan ID is decided in the first three general elections that a person votes in. But that's another story.
**I, of course, prefer Styracosaurus.
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