Racism and Obama

One of the reasons that Obama was able to gain the presidency despite the color of his skin was his refusal to define his political identity along racial lines. He acknowledged his heritage, but he took the extraordinary step of not using the pronoun "we" when talking about fellow African Americans. For that matter, he often avoided using the term "we" when talking about Democrats. "We" to Obama meant all Americans, if not the whole world.

In sharpton contrast, the lack of success among many other black politicians has to do with how they use the word "we." Take, for example, the words of Al Sharpton, as he joined the protest against a "racist" cartoon that compared Obama to a chimpanzee:

"I guess they thought we were chimpanzees," Sharpton said. "They will find out we are lions."

It sounds to me like Sharpton is trying to speak for all blacks. What could be more racist? What if some blacks would prefer to be compared to a chimpanzee instead of a lion? Moreover, let us not forget that cartoonists faced no opposition to portraying George Bush as a stupid little monkey. At least a chimpanzee is a smart monkey.