"Obamamania?"

Here's something to chew on, from The Washington Post. Why has Sen. Barack Obama captivated so many Americans? David Greenburg's theory is that uppity white liberals are eager to cast their lot for Obama as a means of absolution for America's racist past. Another trait of the Left: sanctimonious, faux-guilt, which is really projected outward toward everyone else, not themselves. Whenever a liberal uses the pronoun "we" he really means everyone but me and those who think like me.

Frankly, whether or not Obama is black or white is irrelevant (actually he's both), instead, why don't we focus on the issues: namely, his across-the-board liberal voting record. This is a political race not a sociology seminar.

The Obama phenomenon, then, stems not from what he has done but who he is. As the social critic John McWhorter has written, "What gives people a jolt in their gut about the idea of President Obama is the idea that it would be a ringing symbol that racism no longer rules our land." He is the great white hope.

Similarly, Obama -- whose strongest appeal has thus far been to upscale white liberals -- allows those whites to feel good about themselves and their country. He lets them imagine that a nation founded for freedom yet built on slavery can be redeemed by pulling a lever. - David Greenburg

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011101414.html