blogger interrupted

If you haven’t watched this video yet, do it now.  Then read this post.  

I’ve talked to a lot of lefties since the debate who are a little upset that Barack didn’t punch McCain when McCain repeatedly led with his chin. Specifically, lefties are worried that Barack didn’t actually point out that McCain couldn’t bring himself to look at Barack.  The line people wanted to hear was, “John, how can you reach across the aisle when you can’t even reach across a stage?”

Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post has said early and often that to win, Barack Obama needs to look like the least aggrieved black man in the universe.  For the independent white swing voters watching last night, who have heard more nonsense about Barack than anyone has ever heard about a presidential candidate, this notion was even more important.

Maybe Barack could have made more of the fact that McCain couldn’t look at him.  Maybe Barack could have noted the plainly obvious contempt McCain had for him.  Maybe Barack could have looked more, hinted to be more…

…aggrieved.

Guess where that would have gone.  Take one fucking guess.  

It wasn’t long ago that in America, a black man telling a white man, “look at me when I’m talking to you”  would have been strung from a tree.  Independent white voters, in southern Ohio, or central PA, or Indiana, or Michigan, or Colorado, or, SAY, NORTH CAROLINA OR VIRGINIA, will deny that any such residue exists within their mind.  But those voters have been told for months, by their inboxes, their neighbors, friends, even family, that Barack is a baby-killing Muslim Arab terrorist black nationalist crazy man, in order to stoke those embers for John McCain’s political gain.

Last night, they needed to see that nonsense as demonstrably false.

Actions speak louder than words, and Barack’s actions last night showed respect and dignity and confidence.  McCain’s showed contempt.  Barack didn’t need to underline it with words, and doing so risked such a visceral, irrational reaction in his target audience that it made no sense to do so.  

People may disagree whether or not America has come far enough that on national TV, a black man can today tell a white man to look at him when he’s talking to him, but frankly, I wouldn’t bet the presidency on it.  The fact that this moment occurred on the campus of Ole Miss will not be lost on historians.  

It sure as hell isn’t lost on me.