Posted by rickm at 5/13/08 5:45 a.m.

Good article by David Horsey; he captured what I am sure many of us are thinking...the safety of Obama or for that matter of any of the candidates is paramount to our election process.

Posted by smdmd at 5/13/08 7:58 a.m.

This is a good article. I am a Republican and will not vote for Obama because I disagree with his policies. But as the Democratic nominee and possibly our President, his safety is paramount. His safety has been a topic of conversation among my Democrat friends and myself and its scary to think.

"When will someone try to assassinate him?" That comment send shivers down my spine. That would give our nation a black eye around the world that we never recover from-worse than any war could.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/13/08 10:00 a.m.

Obama is not an African-American unless, like Horsey you subscribe to the idea that anyone with one drop of blood makes you black.

He is just a mutt, like most of America.

Obama is just another corrupt Chicago Politician.

If you look at his record, he has not accomplished anything other than being the most liberal Senator and doing corrupt politics as usual in Chicago.

And did Horsey file a campaign contribution statement for his article?

Posted by Onyotaka Lukwe at 5/13/08 11:36 a.m.

Obama doesn't need to worry about racists nearly as much as the targeted backlash of the private covert bunch whose sacred cash cow is the security industry both in the Middle East and our domestic sphere. That's a fact.

Posted by rickm at 5/13/08 2:02 p.m.

Regardless of other considerations...Hopefully Obama's survival instincts will preclude him from offering Hillary the VP spot on the ticket...

Posted by unregistered user at 5/13/08 2:04 p.m.

"the bigger problem may be with people who harbor an unstated but significant measure of discomfort with black people."

Maybe the BIGGEST PROBLEM, and the reason why a lot of people (not just whites) have a "significant measure of discomfort with black people" has to do with the fact that while blacks make up only about 13% of the USA, they (meaning black males, less than 6% of the USA) commit over 52% of all murders and over 34% of all rapes. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that according to the US Department of Justice, in the year 2005 ALONE, black men raped over 30,000 (that's right, over THIRTY THOUSAND) white women, while in that same year of 2005, white men raped less than 10 (LESS THAN TEN) black women. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that according to the USDOJ, at least 93% of the roughly 8,000 blacks murdered in 2005 were murdered by other blacks, but you almost never hear about that, and instead hear constant whining from blacks and liberals about the so-called dangers of "white racism".

Posted by unregistered user at 5/13/08 4:23 p.m.

"but it seems pretty clear from results in the last few primaries that the color of Obama's skin makes some working class whites and older voters feel uneasy"

...but if you follow that line of thinking, then you would have to say that color of Clinton's skin makes nearly all (92%) of African Americans uneasy. If there are racial biases in this race, it seems much more pronounced from that side.

Posted by inthemiddle at 5/13/08 5:09 p.m.

****

unregistered user at 5/13/08 2:04 p.m.
"the bigger problem may be with people who harbor an unstated but significant measure of discomfort with black people."

-----------------------------

I noticed there is no soundoff link to Jamieson's column "Instant profiling reveals the biases in us all". If there were, I'd have listed similar statistics as above. Anyone else read it and see the flawed logic he uses? Another BS column by him. The bias Mr. Jamieson, is not a dimly perceived bias, but one built on reality. Like the statistics some unregistered user above quotes. The black community as a whole is more violent, both towards themselves and to the rest of the community as a whole. The stats do not lie, and only fools would call someone racist for simply quoting these disturbing statistics.


As for Obama, it doesn't matter what the color is, I won't be voting for him with the politics he practices. With one of the most liberal voting records, the loon left of the democrat party has once again brought forth another McCarthy like candidate. The change he crows about? It's not what most of you think it is, or were waiting for. Some of you know, most of you have little clue what his "change" will bring to this country.

Those of you who see me as a racist, forget whatever it is you might have wanted to say on that topic. Calling me names like racist is not going to get me to change my principles and vote for Obama, principles rooted in conservatism, or make me a racist. I'm not, but you don't know me.

Give me a good conservative and I don't care what color he/she is, I'll support them. If you don't understand principles, I suppose you will see my lack of support for Obama as racist.

Posted by 51052 at 5/13/08 6:27 p.m.

Horsey and company want to condemn white America for not voting for a "black" man for president. The obvious question to me is: Will Horsey and company vote for a black conservative for president? If not, shut the f**k up you freaks. This is almost too easy.

Posted by canamian at 5/14/08 12:54 p.m.

"My West Coast upbringing has shielded me from direct observation of the racial antagonism that is clearly still alive in the heartland."

Do you still feel this way after reading the previous comments, David? I would say racial antagonism is alive and well here. One fine example: so many people who have commented above somehow missed the scores of studies over the years showing that African American males are arrested and incarcerated at higher rates for the same crimes committed by whites. Instead of seeing that the 'justice' system in this country is filled with institutional racism, they make an unquestioned connection between the numbers provided by that justice system, and the nature of an entire group of people, based ONLY on their skin color. If that's not racism, I don't know what is.

I want to add that it's easier to not see racism if it's not something that negatively affects you personally. (and by the way, I am white)

Posted by TerryP at 5/14/08 11:10 p.m.

The big test for America is whether or not we can, as a nation, can beyond evaluating Senator Obama because of the color of his skin, and focus more on what policies he espouses. Admittedly, most of us - as already well demonstrated - won't get beyond that, just as many people will not get beyond Senator McCains' white hair (which has been a part of him, since the early seventies, when his hair lost color, resultant of his time as a prisoner-of-war during the Vietnam war).

This election is a crucial one for the country, probably as important as was that of 1932. There's a country being occupied by American troops and the economy recently replicated the banking crisis of 1930-'31. People need to understand that Senator's Obama's mixed ethnicity is really irrelevant to the largest issues framing this election. Let's hope for good debates this fall - assuming it is Senator Obama versus Senator McCain - wherein which the two major party candidates discuss where they might take the country next.

Posted by TerryP at 5/14/08 11:10 p.m.

The big test for America is whether or not we can, as a nation, can go beyond evaluating Senator Obama because of the color of his skin, and focus more on what policies he espouses. Admittedly, most of us - as already well demonstrated - won't get beyond that, just as many people will not get beyond Senator McCains' white hair (which has been a part of him, since the early seventies, when his hair lost color, resultant of his time as a prisoner-of-war during the Vietnam war).

This election is a crucial one for the country, probably as important as was that of 1932. There's a country being occupied by American troops and the economy recently replicated the banking crisis of 1930-'31. People need to understand that Senator's Obama's mixed ethnicity is really irrelevant to the largest issues framing this election. Let's hope for good debates this fall - assuming it is Senator Obama versus Senator McCain - wherein which the two major party candidates discuss where they might take the country next.

Posted by Contrarian at 5/17/08 10:02 a.m.

Would David Horsey vote for a black conservative? Why not? Many liberals like myself like Colin Powell and would have voted for him.

And I've been saying for some time that the smartest thing Obama could do to preserve his own life in office would be to have Hillary as his vice president. That way, no warped, twisted, self-righteous neo-con would dare assassinate Obama, because the assassin would then be responsible for making HIllary (who many neo-cons and some televangelists call the 'antichrist') president.

Posted by unregistered user at 5/18/08 6:56 p.m.

I'm black and Republican. I have contributed and am going to vote for BHO in Nov. However, I held hopes that maybe Huckabee, a "Christian" might be on McCain's ticket--or maybe the American Indian governor. But once Huckabee told that BAD joke, I lost all hope that I will do anything to boost the GOP this fall. I'm jaded. Too many "feet of clay" in the GOP. I believe the Bush/Chaney Administration is guilty of treason and mass murder on 9/11 and that evidence is being gathered on Scholarsfor911truth.com and other similar websites and blogs. "Loose Change" the Final Cut makes a good case on the wickedness and sinister perversity of this present administration. I WANT to believe there is hope.