Or, to put it more precisely, his candidacy seems to bring out some idiotic comments about race from seemingly intelligent people, cf Geraldine Ferraro and Bill Clinton. The latest is Ralph Nader, who has accused Obama of "trying to talk white." Yeesh. Ok, granted, what he was really saying was that, by not talking enough (according to Nader's standards) about inner city poverty, etc., Obama was trying to "talk white." That's still pretty dumb. Yes, there is some truth to the idea that Obama doesn't want white voters to think of him as the "black" candidate only concerned about issues pertinent to black people. Can you blame him? Does Nader understand what campaigning for president really means? It means attracting a broad coalition that will give you the votes to get in office, and get some good things accomplished. Talking up inner city issues now would do no one any good--it would marginalize Obama and rob him of the power to actually do anything about those issues. On the other hand, once elected, Obama could use the bully pulpit to give a lot more attention to inner city issues that have been ignored by previous presidents.
What does Nader think Obama would accomplish by focusing on these issues during the general election? Does he really think it would lead to anything getting done about them? Of course it wouldn't. My point is, even if you give Nader the benefit of the doubt, his comment not only sounds stupid, his broader point doesn't even hold water.
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