Racism and President Obama
Do some people oppose Obama because he's black?
"Jimmy Carter was right in essence," said Eugene Robinson in The Washington Post, although the former president went a bit too far by saying that an "overwhelming portion" of the most intense animosity toward President Obama is because he's black. (watch NBC's report on Carter's racism comments) "Of course it's possible to reject Obama's policies and philosophy without being racist," but the nastiest vitriol comes from people who deny Obama's very legitimacy as president, and there's no explanation for that other than race.
There's no shock in saying that there are racists who oppose Obama, said Jonah Goldberg in National Review. But "no significant conservative politician, pundit, or intellectual has said that they object to Obama’s agenda because he’s black"—they oppose his policies for "precisely the same reasons they oppose Nancy Pelosi’s and Harry Reid’s and Barney Frank’s agendas." It's Democrats who seem hung up on race.
Conservatives who deny the racial element of Obamaphobia, said the Los Angeles Times in an editorial, "are just as obtuse as liberals who dismiss all of Obama's detractors as racists." It's not "just 'socialized medicine' and bank bailouts that enrage some Obamaphobes. They're also upset by the seismic social change symbolized by an African-American president who, for good measure, bears the middle name Hussein."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Race isn't behind the popular backlash to President Obama, said David Brooks in The New York Times. "It’s another type of conflict, equally deep and old." Obama leads an administration "of the highly educated," and one that has fused Washington's power with that of Wall Street, the auto industry, and other sources of American power. "Given all of this, it was guaranteed that he would spark a populist backlash, regardless of his skin color."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Illicit mercury is poisoning the Amazon
Under the Radar 'Essential' to illegal gold mining, toxic mercury is being trafficked across Latin America, 'fuelling violence' and 'environmental devastation'
-
Israel faces international anger as Gazans starve
Feature World leaders pressure Israel to let in aid as famine spreads across Gaza
-
Redistricting: How the GOP could win in 2026
Feature Trump pushes early redistricting in Texas to help Republicans keep control of the House in next year's elections
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardon
Talking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?
Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?
Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: which party are the billionaires backing?
The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event