Some encouraging signs from Barack Obama recently:

First, is Barack Obama black enough? Or is he too black? Or perhaps the wrong kind of black, the wrong shade. If his mother was black and his father white, would that be ok?

Senator Obama responded to these idiotic questions exactly the right way on 60 Minutes. He said that his barber and his cab drivers don't question whether he's black. Pam brings up some more good points on this, saying that if Obama were to be pulled over for DWB (driving while black), producing a picture of his white mom won't help him much.

The second item is Obama's response to John Howard, the Prime Minister of Australia, who suggested that an Obama win in 2008 is exactly what Al-Qaeda wants. Obama responded by saying,

I think it's flattering that one of George Bush's allies on the other side of the world started attacking me the day after I announced....I would also note that we have close to 140,000 troops in Iraq, and my understanding is Mr. Howard has deployed 1400, so if he is...to fight the good fight in Iraq, I would suggest that he calls up another 20,000 Australians and sends them to Iraq....Otherwise it's just a bunch of empty rhetoric.

Very direct and to the point. I share Ezra's concerns about Obama; however, these are uncharacteristically blunt statements from a Democratic candidate for anything, let alone president. Let's hope he keeps it up.

| | Permalink