Commentary: Want to Have a Debate About Obama’s Candidacy? Fine, but Let’s Stipulate a Few Things First

By: Deborah Mathis, BlackAmericaWeb.com

In the ongoing, often contentious, argument about whether Barack Obama deserves the support of black voters -- who have turned out for him in sometimes overwhelming numbers during this grueling primary season -- there are a few things I wish we could simply stipulate so that they don’t cloud what might otherwise be a reasonable debate.

One: He is not a Muslim. There is only one adherent of Islam in the parlors of elected federal government and, even then, so what? Muslim does not equal terrorist or jihadist, nor does having an exotic name -- Barack Hussein Obama. So, let us agree that Obama is not Muslim and that we would be wrong to stereotype him if he were.

Two: Obama is not a stalking horse for the Republican party, primped and paid to drain votes away from Hillary Clinton so that John McCain can saunter into the White House. Of all the conspiracy theories, this is perhaps the most nonsensical. It would require Obama to make a mockery of everything he did before he burst onto the national scene -- the law school achievements, the community organizing work, marrying Michelle, the state senate service in Illinois -- in order to create a history of plausibility as a serious public servant and proud black man so that, some day in the distance, he could distract allegiances, allowing someone who has lived pretty much the opposite life to win.