Voting for a Candidate Because of Race to Get Beyond Race

Republican supporter Brian Hagmeier listens as Democratic Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks during a campaign stop in Burlington, December 29, 2007.
REUTERS/Keith Bedford

When will it cease to matter? Do we really need Barack Obama as the proof that America is moving beyond race? He is everything I disagree with on policy issues. Not too keen on his character, either.

I got the following in an email, from a friend of mine (who is not an Obama supporter)

On Wed, Oct 1, 2008 at 1:07 AM, donna wrote:

So tonight at the college while Nika was training , I spoke with a black
guy coach doing his privates.
He had Obama written on his chest.
I asked him in one sentence why Obama, he said
" he's black, end of story"

I let him go on and basically he represents a future for his son, that if he
can make it to the white house than his son can.
I told him, but what if, what if>>>> he's not the right guy, the smartest choice?
He said, blood is thicker than water, and his pigmentation says he's the right guy.

This coach is no idiot either....but his passion ran so deep, he was jumping off
the walls talking about it.
Interesting huh?

So, essentially what he's teaching his son is that skin color- not character content- matters? That "racial identity" is more important than "values identity"? What a great father. This is how racism persists, and how it is perpetuated into the next generation.

I told my friend to send that coach this video:




I ask cajole plead implore beg grovel for everyone to take the time to watch it. This man simply rocks!

Hat tip for the video: Pierre Legrand

Cross-posted at Flopping Aces

Of related interest:
Black Caller Explains Why Obama Candidacy Is So Important To Him (Dennis Prager Show)
Obama's sister helps reach out to Asian-Americans
Barack Obama and Slavery (American Thinker)
My personal story on identity