Cashing the Obama Check: Will It Come Back Marked "Insufficient Funds"? by BAR managing editor Bruce Dixon
The vote for the First Black President wasn't just about race and racism. For tens of millions, it was a vote for peace abroad, for economic and social justice at home. Barack Obama sold himself to the American people as a transformative political figure. Despite those who now urge Americans to tone down their expectations, many are prepared to collect on the hopes that swept Obama into office. Those hopes and expectations are what we call the Obama Check.
The question is, can we cash it?
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The Obama '08 Phenomenon: What We have Learned? by BAR executive editor Glen Ford
There is no doubt that history has been made, "for reasons that go beyond the obvious ‘first Black' aspect of race." 2008 was the first year in modern history that Blacks made no demands on the Democratic candidate - and consequently, were promised nothing. This was the election cycle in which the Black who began as a supposed "underdog" became the most heavily-funded candidate of all time. There are many lessons to be learned - but few of them palatable to folks still drunk on ObamaL'aid.