Probably shouldn't have said anything, especially not the "n-word."

Yesterday, everybody was jumping on Harry Reid for referring to Pres. Obama as "light-skinned" and having a "no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”  Today, even some Republicans have come to Reid's defense.

America remains weird about skin color because of the so-called "one drop rule."  One drop of African-American blood supposedly meant a person was black.  Tiger Woods is caucasian, Asian, black, and native American, but, for most Americans, he's black.

The word "negro" was once considered a polite term, but this changed over forty years ago.  Even though "negro" was the preferred term in the first third of Reid's life, he's had the last four decades to revise his early learning and still, apparently, hasn't done so. 

That aside, what Reid said was obviously true.  Eugene Robinson speaks to the issue of skin color in today's Washington Post.  Ruth Marcus speaks to the "negro dialect."

Most accounts have dropped what Reid said further, which is that these characteristics--light-skin, no "negro dialect"--would work to Pres. Obama's electoral advantage.  They did.  The Obama campaign was very careful about "marketing" to the white majority.  They didn't want to come across as "too hot", i.e. Jesse Jackson.  (Disclosure:  I caucused for Jackson in 1988.)  It worked.

The quote appears in the new book "Game Change" by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin.  Frankly, I've seen a number of other supposed "revelations" from this book that I simply don't believe.  I'd have taken this with a grain of salt as well if Harry hadn't stepped up and admitted it.

Comments

[Hypatia]

Reid was speaking privately and he plainly meant no offense. Hard to say in those circumstances that he shouldn't have said anything or that this is in any way his fault. He got screwed by Halperin and Heilemann for the sake of book sales, that's all. Ideally no one in politics would ever talk to either one of them again, but that's not going to happen.

I think if Woods looked more Asian than he does that might make a difference. It's not so much a one-drop rule as how you look. Woods "looks" black and in fairness to the American public Woods also seems to perceive himself as African-American. Obama, who knows.

[lillianjane]

If a black politician had said it, nobody would bat an eyelash. I think it's easier to get worked up about p.c. speech than it is to actually report on issues of the day. Also, those cable news people have to fill a lot of airtime.

[lillianjane]

The Onion "American Voices":

Wade Heinrich,
Humid System Operator

"Then again, John McCain also was light-skinned and didn't speak with a Negro dialect, so maybe there's some X factor Harry Reid is missing."

[John Petty]

That book does appear quite thinly sourced, but it has exactly what the belt-way crowd considers news, i.e. gossip.

Wade, good comment!