Barack Obama, the Democrats’ candidate for president, yesterday in Florida:
“We know what kind of campaign they’re going to run. They’re going to try to make you afraid. They’re going to try to make you afraid of me. He’s young and inexperienced and he’s got a funny name. And did I mention he’s black? He’s got a feisty wife,” he said to cheers. “Ultimately, I think the American people recognize that old stuff hasn’t moved us forward. That old stuff just divides us.”
The ironic thing is a lot of the people on the Right who say they’re attracted to him are attracted to him because he is black — they think it will be a good moment for America for a black man named Barack Obama to be elected president.
My problem is I’d prefer not to have a conventional liberal in the White House who underestimates the threats we face. The prospect of electing such a president does scare me. And it disappoints me Obama doesn’t want to have debate about the future of our country in a way that doesn’t demonize those who oppose him.