Another layer is the shallowness of what the corporate media claim is at the root of black unease with Obama. To hear them tell it, it’s all about ancestry, a “black tax”, and authenticity. Nowhere in these discussions in corporate media do I hear any discussion of real issues, and issues there are aplenty. Obama had to be constantly prodded even during his Dem primary campaign in Illinois to be noticeably against the war. Obama’s first act as a senator was to NOT stand with Boxer and the entire black caucus in questioning Ohio’s nullification and suppression of tens of thousands of black votes. Obama campaigned vigorously against the Patriot Act, then voted for its renewal and its successor. He voted to protect corporations against lawsuits from people they harm and kill, and opposed an amendment to the bankruptcy bill that would have capped credit card interest rates at 30%. He threw softballs at Condi Rice when he should have been advising and withholding consent, and on and on. And he has never stepped back from his statements that Iran should be bombed.

Sadly, some in the blogosphere are following the lead of corporate media on this, rather than stepping back and looking at issues with an independent spirit. There are issues aplenty that black Americans who actually follow the issues can and are picking with Obama. NOne of them are about “authenticity” or ancestry or a black-enough tax.

We do the black body politic a grave disservice when we do not talk about those issues, and when we instead accept uncritically the framework of discussion around Obama’s candidacy handed to us by the corporate media. And when we do it, we also give Obama a pass from having to address these very real issues, we empty black politics of all its issue content.

That framework reduces us to talking about support or non-support based on this useless criteria like this authenticity and “black tax” stuff. We should not go for the okie-doke. We should talk issues, even when the corporate media don’t make it easy, even when Barack Obama will not. And regrettably, when black people judge Obama in the issues, he comes up significantly short.

I have no Black Tax for Senator Obama.

He’s running for President of the United States of America.

Not

President of Black America

I know the difference. My fellow Black citizens will have to decide for themselves if they know and accept the difference.

I am no dewey-eyed, waiting-for-a-Messiah person.

Don’t need a Black Messiah – I already got one – Jesus.

I think Obama’s run is a Rorshach test on race for everyone….

And the ugliness has just begun.