Is racial identity irrelevant for Sen. Obama?

By Mark Rhoads

One of the most positive interpretations of the Iowa caucus victory of Sen. Obama in an overwhelmingly white state is that his appeal was broad enough that his race did not matter.  There are many ways to look at this development and most of them are good but a bit of caution is needed too. 

Is Sen. Obama the political equivalent to an early cross-over artist in music?  Is his personal appeal such that people look beyond his race and regard it as an irrelevant factor?  If so, that would be a huge advance in American politics and it would be something that Illinois "Lincoln Heritage" Republicans could also feel good about. 

Those who treasure the legacy of Lincoln could value this major advance at least in principle even though they simlutaneosly regard the political views of Sen. Obama as well left of the Democratic center. One example of an African-American who might be called a Lincoln Legacy Republican and who transcended race on the state level was the first African American (a Republican) who was elected to the US Senate after reconstruction and by popular vote, Ed Brooke of Massachusetts in 1966.  He had served as Attorney General of Massachusetts and he is still living.

There is another alternate explanation for the welcome absence of racial politics in Iowa and that is that race was relevant but it was relevant on the positive side of the ledger for Sen. Obama rather than as a negative factor.

Almost a year ago, Sen. Joe Biden stumbled badly at the start of his campaign when he made the following remarks about Sen. Obama to the New York Observer. Biden described Obama as "the first mainstream African American [presidential candidate] who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."  Biden got in some trouble for using the word "clean" and apologized to Obama and Obama accepted the apology.  What Biden might have been trying to infer is that Obama, unlike Rev. Jesse Jackson or Rev. Al Sharpton who had run for president, was not primarily identified in the minds of many white voters as a spokesperson for civil rights struggles of the past.  It might be that with respect to the nomination of the Democratic Party which already has the support of more than 90 percent of black voters, Obama could be in the right place at the right time in American history.  Whereas Rev. Jesse Jackson for example was not nable to push his appeal beyond a certain base at the time he ran 24 years ago.

Please think very carefully about this topic and avoid a quick glib or careless response.  If you have a serious and thoughtful comment on this question, regardless of your opinion about the political views of Sen. Obama, then leave one.  Do you think his race will be a factor for the balance of this campaign or will it play little or no role--or even a positive role--as it might have in Iowa?  Has Iowa helped to prove America is moving beyond racial politics to some degree?