Color Coded

Remember back when Obama gave his now famous "One America" speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention? The one where he caught the attention of many of us. "There is not a black America and a white America..." Remember how we thought here perhaps was a young man who could raise America's racial issues to a higher plain? It hasn't worked out quite the way I had hoped but I find the man who uttered those words an interesting case regarding race and how he uses it.

This is not criticism but curiosity. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal Obama checked "black" on his census form. He had the option to write anything he wanted. Tiger Woods certainly did, claiming to be "Cablinsian"! Caucasian, black, Indian, Asian. What a mouth full!

Why did Obama not claim his true heritage which is Caucasian and black? It only increases my curiosity about just who and what this man really is. His father, the black, abandoned him. He was raised by his white mother and white grandparents. I wonder if Barack Obama would be our President today had he borne the physical characteristics of his mother or would he just be Berry Obama, the kid with the funny last name?

Was he really an exceptional student during his University years or was he a mediocre candidate elevated by affirmative action? If he was truly the exceptional student why has he had all his academic records sealed? He certainly did nothing beyond his graduation to distinguish himself to the extent of being Presidential material except deliver one very good speech!

Then again, he did nothing, before being awarded it, to merit the Nobel Peace Prize! Maybe this is his destiny; playing catch up to high expectations!

Whatever his reasoning, a man who would literally throw half his heritage under the bus is an enigma to me. The half that raised him, housed him, fed and educated him. Or is he strictly being politically expedient? After all, we've found that America is not yet color blind. We're reminded of that in the strangest of ways!