UnFair & Unbalanced

You probably have read/heard about the latest flap about Obama's birthplace.

I know I have promised not to get political, but I think the national debate has actually gone beyond politics into a worthy discussion of ethics, rhetoric, psychology  and fact.  

It is interesting that many anti Obama pundits will quickly deny that they believe the story, but are just as quick to pass it on, slathered with heavy gobs of innuendo.  Of course, this is like tossing red-meat to keep the mindless rabble aroused, and out for blood.  If you read the comments you will see that there are a lot of folks out there who do not like Obama and eager to join the attack.

Despite the fact that the author of the biographical blurb has admitted that it was her error, the fact that it was repeated over several years and venues, would suggest that Obama was doing nothing to correct the error.  In other words, it appears like he was cashing-in on the claim that he was born in Africa, until he realized that this would be a problem for a guy with presidential ambitions. Critics, like loudmouth radio host Michael Graham are referring to this as his "Elizabeth Warren moment".   Graham also had an amusing week of calls when it was  revealed (apparently someone actually read the Obama autobiography) that as a youth, the future president had eaten roasted dog meat. (Not to be confused with dog food - which used to be horse meat).

On the other side, Romney critics keep trying to dredge-up mud about his past.  The decades-old story of the dog in a cage on the roof of the car has been flogged mercilessly in liberal blogs and op-ed pieces.  More recently the story is about a bullying incident from prep school where the victim (suspected of being gay) was held down while Romney shaved his head.

The most interesting thing about these issues is that they really have little  to do with a candidate's qualifications as a leader or representative at this moment.   Most voters have already made up their minds anyhow, and reports of past sins by their candidate are dismissed as  faux pas (like Professor Warren's hoary claim to minority status) will not change anyone's mind - or vote. (That is, unless someone comes up with an official Kenyan birth certificate.)   It seems that the issue of "character" is an elusive concept, which seems important when your opponent seems to lack it.

 Does the word "minority" mean anything anymore? On May 17th the Globe and WSJ reported that the 50.4% of babies under 1 year are nonwhite.  And the median age for white Americans is over 50, (beyond childbearing), whereas other groups (Asian, Blacks,Hispanics) is young 30's.  Thus the tipping point has been reached where it is only a matter of time before white Americans are the minority.

They even report that 4 states (Hawaii, New Mexico, California and Texas) plus Wash DC are already  "majority minority" states.  Which to me sounds like an oxymoron.

As a fat,old, white guy I have already felt the sting of discrimination. Pretty young girls don't even look at me anymore, no one wants to hire me, Howie Carr wants to take my driver's license away...  My Doctor keeps checking my prostate,  friends and relatives send me articles about losing weight,  the mailbox is full of flyers for "senior" housing.  Where do I sign-up for reparations?