I have watched only the first segment of Peter Robinson’s interview with Shelby Steele, because that’s all that was up at this writing, but I must say I am quite puzzled at Steele’s analysis of Obama’s appeal. He says that Obama is a “bargainer,” saying to white America, I won’t keep pushing race and slavery and black history at you, and you reward me by liking me. This is working, as Obama does inspire a lot of affection. Steele says that Oprah is also a bargainer, Louis Armstrong too.

So black Americans who act admirably and appeal to whites are just “bargainers?” They can’t be authentically able to transcend race, at least some of the time? It has to be that they are repressing their true racial identity in order to appeal to whites, who evidently require this kind of repression? To me that sounds insulting to both blacks and whites. And who are the non-bargainers? Al Sharpton? Jesse Jackson? Is it incumbent upon black leaders to keep pressing America’s sins against blacks at every turn, everywhere? Is that the only path to authenticity? Is there no way out of this Sartre-like existential hell? I have admired a lot of Steele’s writing, but this aspect I just don’t get.