Something to Keep in Mind

Black Americans are fearful their country will not vote for a black president. This was one of the underlying reasons so many black Americans supported Hillary instead of Obama. The combination of 'America' with 'Black President' just did not compute.

Plotnik does not say this to denigrate Hillary, but to try to make Obamacons understand a potential trouble spot. If blacks don't give Obama a chance, they'll stay home. If they do, John McCain wins.

Plotnik understands how they feel. He was flabbergasted when Al Gore picked Joe Lieberman as his VP candidate in 2000 and he still thinks that selection cost Gore precious points with Americans who could not make themselves vote for a ticket with a Jew on it. Gore probably thought Lieberman would deliver Florida. Well, he did. But then again, he didn't. There has been little discussion about the Jewish angle in the debacle of the 2000 election, even among Jews.

But whereas Lieberman did nothing to bring credit to his people, nor did he spark the slightest discussion about the shape of Jews in 21st Century America, Obama will bring the discussion on race into the foreground, where it should be, where it should have been for the last two centuries. White Americans are uncomfortable talking out loud about their feelings about blacks and browns and Jews, but those feelings, both positive and negative, are real. Only by confronting them can we learn from them.

So whatever happens, this is a good thing. As for VP, if you want to win, just get down on your knees and pray Obama does not pick Carole Migden.

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(for those of you who are not in Saint Plotniko, Carole Migden, ex-State Senator, now unemployed, possesses the rare Ethnic Hat Trick: she's female, Jewish AND gay.)