Barack Obama Continues To Reveal Himself

At first we didn't know much about the junior senator from Illinois. Like Mary-Kate and Ashley, he's been a cute and charismatic enigma. We were a bit concerned about his extraordinarily liberal senate record, but he talks like a centrist so we could ignore it. We worried a bit that he married a woman who crooned during his campaign success that "for the first time" in her adult lifetime she was really proud of her country, but she's easy on the eyes so we could forgive. We shuddered a bit that he spent 20 years under a spiritual advisor and quasi-uncle who apparently loathes white America, but Obama gave one humdinger of a race speech so he must not have agreed. We flinched a bit when we discovered his friendly relationship with William Ayers, a notorious terrorist from the Weather Underground, but the media hasn't made much of it so why should we? We rubbed our temples a bit when he referred to his Caucasian grandmother as a "typical white person" but, hey, that's family so we'll let it slide. After all, this guy is funny, smart and attractive so he must have a heart of gold, right?

Well, today we learned that Senator Obama swung a few more pearls that may shed additional light on the true color of his heart. At a San Francisco fundraiser Obama decided to provide some insight for his listeners concerning small town Pennsylvanians.

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

The reaction from the McCain campaign has been swift. Steve Schmidt, an advisor for the Republican nominee, said that Obama's words were a "remarkable statement and extremely revealing...It shows an elitism and condescension towards hardworking Americans that is nothing short of breathtaking. It is hard to imagine someone running for president who is more out of touch with average Americans."

Schmidt's observations are true, but incomplete when taken in the growing context of Obama's known life and associates. His wife seems obsessed with race. His pastor seems obsessed with race. And it seems that Barack Obama may be as well. What does his statement above have to do with race? Stay with me for a moment longer. Close your eyes. No, really, close them. Wait don't close them, you won't be able to read. Just close your mind's eye. Now, try to picture a person. This person lives in a small Midwestern town. He (or she) is very religious and owns a few guns. This person doesn't like immigrants and thinks foreigners are stealing our jobs. He (or she) is bitter, angry and can't stand people who aren't like him (or her) Now, what does this person look like? (See, isn't this fun?) Is this person a cracker? Perhaps . . . oh, I don't know . . . a redneck? Another typical white person?

His followers claim that he transcends race. As Barack Obama continues to reveal himself, his life and words seem to tell a different story.