It’s barely news that Jesse Jackson shares political convictions with Mahmoud Ahamdinejad. It was almost 25 years ago that Jackson called New York City “hymietown,” and said he’s “sick and tired of hearing about the Holocaust,” that “Zionism is a kind of poisonous weed that is choking Judaism,” and there are “very few Jewish reporters that have the capacity to be objective about Arab affairs.” Nor is it shocking that Barack Obama, or any Democrat, continues to flatter him as a legitimate voice on race, international relations, or social policy. After all, in 2000, Al Gore and Joe Lieberman invited him to speak at the Democratic convention. I just wonder how prominent convictions such as Jackson’s are among Obama supporters.
Many will rush to say, “not very.” Obama’s more savvy fans will be sure to claim Jackson is purposely sabotaging Obama out of the same animosity that caused him to fantasize about neutering the candidate on an open television microphone. But if Jackson is upset that Obama is “talking down to black folks,” he can’t possibly think John McCain’s greater intolerance for what John McWhorter has termed “therapeutic alienation” in parts of the black community is a more welcome alternative. No, Jesse Jackson is simply saying what he expects of, and hopes to see from, Obama in the White House. And he does not think airing these expectations will hurt Obama’s candidacy. So: on this last point is he right?
We know such sentiments are commonplace among the nutroots, because they never tire of telling us. We know anti-Semitism is enough of a mobilizing factor among potential Democratic voters to cause some at the DNC to whet bigoted appetites on their official website. When Rep. Eric Cantor was being talked about as a possible McCain running mate, the DNC launched an attack mentioning Cantor was Jewish five times in six paragraphs. And while there is absolutely no evidence that Barack Obama is remotely anti-Semitic, we know that he was unable, either because of personal conviction or strategic campaign considerations, to answer in the affirmative when asked twice by JeffreyGoldberg if present-day Zionism has justice on its side.
The point is, Obama-supporters are demanding McCain run a primetime commercial to formally distance himself from each freaky stranger that shows up to hear him speak, yet the Democrats have welcomed bigoted haters into the very heart of their movement for years. Moreover, they’ve put a legitimate face on prejudice, by wrapping it in populist arguments about who’s in control of our government and “justice” for selected ethnicities. However, I’m willing to bet that somehow-and I can’t quite envision the means-Jackson’s sentiments will bounce through the media funhouse until it’s turned into a story about John McCain stoking fear among GOP voters.