PA Blog

By now everyone knows about Harry Reid’s comments describing then-candidate Barack Obama in 2008 as “light-skinned” with “no Negro dialect,  unless he wants one”. As a Conservative and better yet common sense citizen I think those calling for Reid to resign is crazy. I know everyone wants to hold Harry Reid, a Democrat, to the same standards as a Republican. That will never happen. Republicans hold themselves to a higher standard and often resign for the same things Democrats laugh off.

However, on this particular issue I am trying to get a grip on what the excitement is all about. First, isn’t Barack Obama a “light skinned” person when you consider him a black man? His mother was white and he certainly doesn’t look like a dark black man, does he? The second thing Harry Reid said was Barack Obama does not talk with a “Negro dialect, unless he wants to.” We’ve all seen enough YouTube footage of the President talking with different inflections with different audiences.

The context of these comments made by Reid had to do with Reid’s personal perspective on Barack Obama’s electability. That was his opinion and he has a right to it. While I am not offended by his comments as a casual observer of the news I can see how some would be. As a Conservative I could care less if a man has light skin or dark skin. I would happily vote for a black man or woman no matter what tone their skin took if they shared my conservative values.

I suppose the second issue is the “Negro dialect” comment. What is up wid dat? Was it the use of the word “Negro” that offended people? Maybe. It is an old fashioned word if you are under 40 years  of age. If you are over 40 it was the correct way to refer to blacks, now commonly referred to as “African American.” What a bunch of bunk! I don’t care if you refer to me as white, Caucasian or Irish American. Although, I think Irish American is dumb since I am third generation and do not speak with an Irish accent. My great grandparents, who I never knew, did speak funny according to my relatives.

Maybe Harry Reid should have said “Ghetto dialect” instead of “Negro dialect” since many white kids and young adults have taken to that type of speech. How it is properly defined is beyond me. Is it Ghetto, Trash, Ebonics, or just stupid? I don’t know. Regardless of how we call it the style of talking did come from the black community originally. Nobody with half a brain can argue with that.

One of the reasons I don’t think Harry Reid said anything wrong when it comes to the “Negro dialect” thing is Sarah Palin. She has been slammed by some for her “Folksy dialect.” Some believe this is a big inhibitor when it comes to the Presidency. We all know how funny it was to listen to George Bush. The rumor mill has it that Haley Barbour (Governor of Mississippi) is considering a run for the Presidency. If you ever heard him you know he speaks with a deep Southern dialect. The bottom line is if you get past the dialect issues and listen to the substance of what a person says you can decide who is best to lead our nation. Granted, we have been accustomed to Harvard educated articulate Presidents but maybe it is time for that to change as well. I’m not sure we are ready for someone that speaks in Ebonics as the leader of the free world. However, it would be a hoot to create a comedy movie about that. Ah,, I almost forget they already did. The title was Idiocracy

Here is a bit of comic relief from that movie

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