RUBBISH

Posted at 7:35 a.m. ET

I have no problem at all with thoughtful discussions of race in America.  I said thoughtful discussions.  But a panel just held at the Democratic convention in Denver was so off the wall that I had to report it to you.  Naturally, one of the participants was Jesse Jackson, Jr., who apparently learned well from his father.  The Politico reports:

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) told convention-goers Monday that Barack Obama is like baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson — enduring jeers without the ability to hit back.

“Barack Obama has the capacity to hit,” Jackson said a breakfast panel just before the opening of the Democratic National Convention. “But he is in the situation where he can’t hit back, which Jackie Robinson could not do. … He had to be able to run the bases, even though the crowd was jeering the first African-American on the field.”

Jackson, son of the civil rights leader, said Obama is in the same situation: “He has to keep smiling, because no one wants an angry African-American man in the White House.”

That is absolutely disgraceful.  I'm an old Brooklyn Dodger fanatic.  Jackie Robinson was a hero of mine.  I once interviewed Roger Kahn, author of the classic history of the Dodgers, "The Boys of Summer," and we spent most of our time talking about Jackie and the great old teams.

Jackie Robinson came to the majors in 1947 - some 61 years ago.  He was advised by Dodger executive Branch Rickey not to respond to racist taunts because it would only encourage the jerks.  It was a strategy, and a successful one.

To suggest that Barack Obama, candidate for president of the United States, is in the same position, is absurd.  Obama can't hit back?  Is that a serious statement?  He hits back every day, and he often doesn't care if he gets his facts right.

He has to keep smiling?  Really?  I've seen him angry and stern.  What year is Jackson Jr. living in?

Despite Jackson’s prediction that the Clintons would help Obama this week, though, former Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder, who endorsed Obama during the primaries, expressed frustration with some foot-dragging by the Clintons and their supporters.

“What does Barack Obama have to do to convince Clinton supporters that he’s capable of being president of the United States?” Wilder asked.

Now mayor of Richmond, Wilder drew laughter by adding: “You want to speak? Fine. You want to speak, Bill? Fine. You want to be vice president? No. Beyond that, what else can I do? What do you want me to do?”

Wilder also raised the possibility that some voters were turned off by Obama’s race.

“I think you’re going to have a number of people who give you an excuse for not voting for a person,” Wilder said. “I’m not at all suggesting race. But I’m not eliminating race.”

No, we can't eliminate race.  I've written here many times that some people won't vote for Obama because of prejudice.  Others, however, will vote for him to advance a person of color.

But how about talking about Obama as a candidate for president, not a minority candidate for president?  If the members of this panel were serious, they'd recognize that Obama is in trouble not because of his color, but because of his deficiencies, and he's done little to ease the concerns of many voters.

He is not Jackie Robinson.  Robbie was in the game.  He proved he could play with the best of them every day.  So far, Obama has proved only that he can talk about playing.  The empty suit has got to be filled.  Panels like the one described here are not helpful.

August 26, 2008.