The Great White Dopes

The liquidation of Bin Laden has at least allowed President Obama to establish his credibility on national defense. While it is premature to say that 2012 is in the bag, at least the Obama administration has shown the willingness to defend America's interests. It will be hard for the Repubs to claim that they "own" the national defense issue.

Meanwhile, the potential Repub candidates for next year held their first debate. Doing better than expected was Herman Cain. On the one hand Cain seems to have made an impression on those present, though it might have been because the other candidates are so boring. But still, the punditry insists there's no way Cain will be the nominee. The subtext seems to be "We appreciate your interest in running, but we're really looking for The Great White Hope."

Exactly one hundred years ago, the heavyweight boxing champion of the world was Jack Johnson, the first African American to do so. But in the racism that was prevalent at the time, many white people were offended that a black man should hold the title.
This set off a search for a "Great White Hope" who would defeat Johnson and presumably reaffirm white supremacy. The "Great White" never materialized and the authorities had to destroy Johnson with bogus "immorality" charges.

Things have changed over the last hundred years, but they haven't changed enough. Racism today is more of a way of deflecting blame. Instead of blaming the culprits who created the current mess--the politicians, the Wall Street speculators and the media overlords-- the idiots who flock to the Tea Party banner instead blame the Blacks, the Mexicans, the Moslems, and anybody who doesn't fit into their narrow little world.

None so blind as those who will not see.