I’ve written a lot about the double standard that the media applies to Democrats, who are routinely savaged for things for which Republicans get free passes. But there appears to be an even more pernicious set of standards applied to black Democrats.
Barack Obama has been forced to disassociate himself from Louis Farakhan, with whom he was never actually associated. We are now being told that it is not sufficient that he merely disassociate himself from remarks made by his now retired pastor, apparently more must be done. Media Matters reports the following colloquoy from Good Morning America in which co-anchor Chris Cuomo interviewed Obama campaign adviser and Christian ethics scholar Shaun Casey:
CUOMO: But is there a responsibility as a candidate for president to associate yourself, certainly as a spiritual adviser, with ideas that are consistent with your campaign? Senator Obama saying his campaign’s about moving away from divisive politics, from sniping and attacks, and then to say your spiritual adviser is a man who says America should be damned, that it is to blame for 9-11, that Farrakhan deserves an award for epitomizing greatness? Does that go together?
CASEY: I think he’s repudiated that very clearly. If you had any evidence that, in fact, that Senator Obama had embraced those views, we would have seen that in the piece. But the fact that you didn’t have any video of Senator Obama embracing those views; in fact, he’s repudiated those views, I think it’s very clear. I mean, it’s interesting to me, you haven’t vetted Hillary Clinton’s pastor’s sermons; you haven’t vetted President Bush’s pastor’s sermons; you haven’t vetted John McCain’s pastor’s sermons. So you’re not holding them to that standard, which I think is very interesting.
Casey’s point is so well taken. When John McCain kissed the ass of John Hagee to get the endorsement of that multi-bigoted person, the press found it sufficient that McCain merely disassociated himself from any comment Hagee may have made that it was inconvenient for McCain to be associated with, while all the while trumpeting how proud he was of the endorsement itself. McCain sought out the blessing of Jerry Falwell, who also said that America was to blame for 9-11, but McCain has not been required to do more than disassociate himself from those views (if that). The point has not been made that when one actively seeks the endorsement of an individual, one is in effect endorsing that person.
The subtext of all this is that all black politicians are responsible for each and every statement that any black supporter (and often any black person, period) makes, even if they don’t seek or embrace that person’s support. Not only that, it is insufficient that they condemn specific opinions of that person, they must condemn the person. This is a condition never imposed on Republicans, only rarely imposed on white Democrats, but always imposed on black Democrats.
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