The sport of politics. The politics of sport.

My dear friends and fellow Americans:

Barack Obama’s “big speech on race” was great, but it won’t erase the negative impressions of the black separatist mindset inspired by the words and images of Wright and even of all-black congregations generally. People are rightly asking why the candidate would want his young, impressionable children exposed to Wright’s invective. Those of us who believe Obama is a true integrationist are mystified that he and his family do not belong to a more diverse congregation that reflects his public persona.

It’s really annoying to write a book about this stuff and not even be able to get a publisher to pick it up, when it cuts to the chase in a way that gets as honest as a frustrated white integrationist can be. Can we get real, here???

Bluntly — and it’s quite clear from the Tuesday evening quarterbacks on the airwaves – white people don’t get black separatist culture, or the paranoia that seems to accompany much of its rhetoric. And, perhaps even more importantly in terms of the Dems’ overall game plan, blacks don’t get the fact that perceptions of their cultural separatism may now be THE political Achilles’ heel for Democratic candidates. That perception bomb has just blown up in the Dems’ faces. The chatter may die down, but this cold splash of reality is not going away. Sorry.

Even if black cultural self-segregation has its basis, appearing to accept it as “normal” or “healthy” is POLITICALLY UNWORKABLE for the Democratic Party, because many non-blacks, especially whites, do not appreciate or respect it. I don’t know how you spin this in a way that will allow it to make sense to non-blacks in general — but it will take a genius. Obama is genuine, but he is not a genius. If he was, he might have moved his family to a more diverse congregation before he began his run for president. That’s called strategic smarts — and understanding the perception playing field.

The BEST STRATEGY FOR BARACK OBAMA moving forward is TO TURN AWAY HIMSELF FROM THE RACE ISSUE ALTOGHER, AND:

a) Let his BLACK surrogates GET OUT THERE AND EXPRESS/DEMONSTRATE THEIR OWN INTEGRATION INTO THE LARGER CULTURE — as a PERCEPTUAL ANTIDOTE to the stubborn insistence by too many that buying into black separatism is a politically valid stance. (For example: OBAMA SHOULD GET SOME ATHLETES TO GO TO BAT FOR HIM — I mean, football teams are comprised of 53 men of all races. Why doesn’t he employ sports heroes to take the discussion beyond race?? He’s a football fan — he should USE that!); and

b) Get his WHITE surrogates to express their own experiences with race; and he must let it be known he supports their right to be honest. Some cultural backbone is called for here. I’m an integrationist, but the guilt trip doesn’t even work on ME anymore.

NOBODY should be judging others by the color of their skin (remember MLK?) — or, if they do, then EVERYONE should admit they do, including blacks, who many whites see as being racist themselves; and, even worse, who see black racism as excused by Democrats.

You can’t sell unity by acting like that’s OK. More importantly: You can’t expect to have credibilty as the torch-bearers for the civil rights legacy.

Yours Truly, A.F. Cook