Oh, That Liberal Media!

Via Sadly No comes a link to Anne Applebaum's opinion column in the Washington Post. Applebaum is on the editorial board of the WP. Oh, that liberal media!

Applebaum said:

“Will Americans vote for a black man?” I’ve been asked this question by foreigners of various origins a dozen — or maybe three dozen — times since the U.S. presidential campaign began for real in January. … Which means that it is time to turn this rather offensive question around: Will foreigners accept a black American president? I realize that this, too, may seem like a rather offensive question.

Anne, is it the "foreigners" who have a problem with accepting a black man as president? How do you make the leap in logic from the "foreigners" asking the question about how Americans will vote to the conclusion that it was time to turn the question around in the manner that you did? Anne goes on to say, "I hate to put it so crudely, but -- European newspaper reporting to the contrary -- racism is not unique to the United States." What a surprise! If you hate to put it so crudely, then why do it?

A President Obama wouldn't have to worry too much about angry stares from people at bus stops, of course, and it is fair to assume that prejudices harbored by the odd foreign leader would vanish in the presence of the American president.

Indeed! I don't think he will be riding the bus, and he won't have to worry about taxis not stopping to pick him up, either.

But in the meantime, do not be surprised if there is some backlash as well. A hint of what might be hiding behind those enthusiastic headlines emerged last week in Obamamanic Germany, where a Berlin newspaper, Die Tageszeitung, put a photograph of the White House and the headline " Uncle Barack's Cabin" on its front page. The editors argued that their intention was satirical, but since the same newspaper has also referred to the current U.S. secretary of state as "Uncle Tom's Rice," it is clear that they understood the nastiness of the "Uncle Tom" connotation perfectly well.

So. We should keep the views of the racists around the world in mind when we cast our vote for president.

Listen carefully, too, when foreigners start worrying about Obama's lack of foreign policy experience. Though this is a legitimate concern, I occasionally catch a racist undertone in this kind of conversation. "How could a black man possibly understand European/Middle Eastern/South Asian politics?" is what my interlocutors sometimes in fact seem to be saying.

That seems another great leap in illogical reasoning, but, of course, I could be wrong. Perhaps I should conclude that you, and only you, Anne, know what's in their heads, what they really, really mean.

Sadly No's commentary on the column is wise and funny.