Update Note: I decided to repost this because the original post, as Finck II pointed out, contained a misconception: that the stated goal of the Virginia Gabriel Vote was to kill civilians, when in fact the goal was to take the Virginia Governor hostage, and force him to declare and end to slavery. In the current post, it is only Ben Ambinder, of Politicon.com, who seems to think the rebels intended to kill "hundreds" of civilians.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s praise of Barack Obama has set off a political firestorm and cast into doubt the Illinois Senator’s candidacy. "Barack Obama's speeches are more powerful than a nuclear bomb," remarked Ahmadinejad in a special press briefing,"He is like the second black thunder."
Ahmadinejad’s "black thunder" comment was apparently a reference to the Harlem Renaissance classic of the same name, written by Arna Bontemps in 1936. (http://www.amazon.com/Black-Thunder-Gabriels-Revolt-Virginia/dp/0807063371) It recounts the deeds of a group of radical black terrorists led by Gabriel Prossier in Virginia in the year 1800. The terrorists nearly succeeded in their attempt to take Governor Monroe hostage, but were foiled by a violent storm.
Now, questions are arising about whether Obama has done enough to distance himself from Prossier, and many see Obama’s relationship with Prossier as a liability in the general election, should he ultimately prevail against Senator Clinton.
On the stump in North Carolina, Senator Clinton has been hammering the issue. "Senator Obama needs to address this, because last time I checked, all African Americans have ties to Africa, and neither Prossier, nor Obama can run away from that fact. This raises real questions about judgement with voters, and I promise you Republicans will use this in November."
The Obama camp has been adamant that the actions of somebody not related to him and who has been dead for 208 years are not relevant. "This is what I mean by the really old politics," complained Obama at a recent campaign stop in Indiana. On Good Morning America, Obama’s campaign manager David Axelrod called Ahmadinejad a "kook," and asked,"Where’s the evidence they’re even related? Prossier’s been dead for two centuries."
Experts disagree about how much the comments might hurt Obama. Most Americans would probably agree that Obama has a right to be angry: having a family member executed is a traumatic experience that can take a lifetime to recover from. But the question Americans, and undecided superdelegates, may be asking is whether a person grappling with that level of rage should be leading the country, or answering the phone at 3 am.
Campaigning for his wife in Oregon, the former President Bill Clinton put in his two cents. "Well it’s a fair question. Let them duke it out. And by the way, even Jesse Jackson won Michigan in a landslide. And he didn’t do it by playing the race card against me, either." (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4233949)
Obama has sought to quell the firestorm, in part by pointing to his mixed-race heritage, and calling the situation a "phoney controversy." But his efforts may have backfired, as Americans notice that even though he may be "part white," he actually looks pretty black.
According Ben Ambinder, senior blogger at Politicon.com. "Just saying you’re part white isn’t going to cut it. If it weren’t for the storm foiling the terrorists’ plan, hundreds of innocent people would be dead, and most Americans don’t feel comfortable with that. It's creating doubts with the superdelegates. So it’s very damaging for Obama. I would say it looked like he had this thing wrapped up at the beginning, middle, and end of February, March, and April, but this is probably the final blow."
It’s not just political experts who are doubting Obama’s ability to weather this controversy. At a recent town hall meeting in North Carolina, an undecided voter, Lanny Davis, asked Obama pointedly, "Do you think Gabriel Prossier loved his country as much as you?" There was nervous laughter in the audience as the senator shook his head and tried to move on to a new question. When Davis yelled again, "What do you think?"
"I think," Obama responded, looking tired, "I would like a cup of orange juice."