I know this was also diaried by fedupcitizen and kgray96057, but I do have some followup and they did both drop off the recent list so I hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes.
On Sunday's McLaughlin Group, McLaughlin asked:
Does Obama fit the stereotype of what black people call an "Oreo"?
I might equally ask:
Does John McLaughlin fit the stereotype of what white people call a race-baiter?
Now, I have pretty low expectations of the McLaughlin group. What shocked me, though, was today's appearance by Roland Martin on CNN's American Morning.
I can't find a video clip of him yet, and the transcript isn't up either.
But Martin's appearance was very reminiscent of a Daily Show sketch featuring Larry Wilmore as their "Senior Black Correspondent". He basically said that the only problem was that a white guy was asking the question, but that the question itself was only a question and OK to ask.
To which I say: Bullshit.
Was it OK to ask South Carolinians in 2000 whether it would affect their voting preference if they were told that McCain had an illegitimate black baby? Of course not. It was a leading question that implanted an idea in people's heads. Same here.
Worse still, what's the premise of the question - that by suggesting fathers should care for their children, Obama is "acting White"? In other words, that parental responsibility is something that black people reject as undesirable? That's a somewhat racist point of view, isn't it? But Martin failed to address that at all.
I'm pretty sure that Roland Martin would rightfully be outraged if someone posed the question: "Doesn't Roland Martin's justification of McLaughlin's 'Oreo' smear fit the stereotype of what black people call an 'Uncle Tom'?"