Turnabout is NOT Fair Play

Yesterday Barack Obama referred to his grandmother as a "typical white person."  He was describing how his grandmother might be worried when she notices someone walking behind her, someone she "doesn't know."

We all know what would happen if a white person had made a comment about the "typical black person" being racist, or somehow denigrating this group.  Trent Lott made a joking comment about a fellow congressman who had racist tendencies over 50 years ago and he was run out on a rail.

So what sort of repercussions should Obama's sloppy statement have?

NONE.  Once conservatives begin using the same "gotcha" tactics as the liberal left and the mainstream media, we have lost the high ground.  This is not a statement that should deeply offend anyone- if that person has a job, a family, hobbies, a life, or even time to think about American Idol.  Conservatives need to remember the treatment they receive for these slips of the tongue and follow the golden rule, even if the liberal left will never do so.

Not that this was a slip of the tongue- I think Obama meant what he said.  We all have to generalize sometimes- there are simply too many factions within our culture to avoid generalizations.  One simply cannot make separate statements to apply to every type of white person, or every type of black person, etc.  This doesn't mean that one cannot remain in mind and heart to all subsets of people.

I would argue that ALL people become nervous when an unknown element is walking behind and the circumstances are right (dark street, no one around...) This was not a racially explosive generalization.

There are plenty of other points to hold against Obama:

1. He listened to racist rhetoric for 20 years and never denounced that rhetoric until his political life depended on it.
2. He has less experience than any nominee from any party in modern history- at least in the last 100 years.
3. His is a completely undistinguished political career.  He has not been in leadership, authored any important bills, or made any other significant contributions to society in general.
4. His wife has very evident disdain for this country.
5. He's one step away from big trouble in the Tony Reszko affair.
6. He lied to all of us when denying that he had heard any of Jeremiah Wright's racist rants, and he did so to buy time to figure out how to save his political bacon.

So let's not turn the liberal left's bigoted, thin-skinned, faux-offended, double-standards back on them- let's remember how petty that approach is, and rise above it.  Obama probably thinks that his beloved grandmother is anything but typical, and deep down, we all know that.