“Could Obama, with that first-class intellect to go with a first-class temperament, with that pitch-perfect sense of humor, have been a better schmoozer and deal maker? Certainly. He was never very good at hiding his condescension for Republican leaders. But that party was united in a single goal — to defeat him at every turn.” Timothy Egan, The New York Times
If you reason in the way that Timothy Egan does, you would never be free. The terms of Egan’s logic require a person to press against never on towards the hope of maybe. Why? Were Barack Obama to accept Egan’s advice, he would be writing his own bill of sale: To think that any (wo)man should “better schmooze” with those committed to their defeat is too broken to lead.
Whether President Obama or any other black man or black woman, no free person should sacrifice their dignity and decency for the sake of a “deal.” When confidence and competence disturbs a self-designated opponent, their frustrations are misplaced. Racial logic is the only form that equates capability with “condescension.” President Obama was being very gracious when he accepted responsibility for the rabid rancor that characterizes our national mood. Despite his grace, the national mood isn’t the President’s fault, that burden belongs to Congress.
In Reverie Blog 