Obama

I've mentioned how I tend to root for the underdog. As a result, even tho I think Obama is the better candidate, it's been hard for me not to root for Clinton too.

From my perspective, she's had it rough - being beat up on by all sides - while everything seems to come easy for Obama. He is the golden child, the rock star. Seeming to defy even the stigma of race, everyone seems to love Obama.

Not just liberals. I've met libertarians and even conservatives who love Obama. People who hate Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. People whom I would not have thought would support a black candidate. And when I ask them about it they say that Obama "transcends" race. He's "a different kind of black man." He's "post-racial."

And I'm shaking my head, amazed. Post-racial? What?

There are those who think that racism is largely over and that the only reason why there are still problems is because people of color keep insisting there are still problems. There are those who think that affirmative action is "reverse racism." My guess is that these are largely also the same people who think that Obama is "post-racial." Thus, he is a black man who is safe to support, who will affirm their view of the world. (They might be surprised to learn that their dream candidate supports affirmative action.)

And then there are us, mostly people of color and some white allies, who hope that Obama is strategically avoiding talking about race in order to get elected. We look to his long-time membership at Trinity, an "Unashamedly Black" church, and we hope that once he's elected, when the chips are down, he will be a candidate of real change... for everyone, yes, but especially for the poor and people of color.

All of us who support this man are pinning our hopes on him... from both sides. And the other day it occurred to me that even tho the candidate himself has very carefully avoided making promises to either "side," we've all projected so much onto him that when it comes down to it in the not so distant future, some people are going to feel angry and betrayed.

I just hope it isn't us. I don't think it will be.

I realized that things seem ridiculously easy for Obama now, but that's because of these projections. When the sh*t hits the fan, things will be very hard indeed. He is, ultimately, still an underdog.