Mitt Romney: The "Great White Hope"‏

• Dear friends,

  
  
  The brilliant piece below is a private email that I received from a longtime friend who prefers to remain anonymous. Enjoy!
  
  
  G. Djata Bumpus
  ********************************************
  
  

  The Great White Hope
  
  I watched the Republican convention last night and was appalled by the Clint Eastwood monologue in which he pretended to mock and berate an imaginary Barack Obama.
  
  First of all, it was cowardly.  The audience applauded Eastwood as he stridently confronted an empty chair.  The skit also implied that the imaginary Obama was tied to the chair like a prisoner against his will.  How else would he be compelled to sit onstage at the RNC and be ridiculed on national television?
  
  This shallow comedy routine was nonetheless deemed so important to Romney that he used it in the prime time slot that should have been reserved for his biographical film, the traditional opener to a presidential nominee's convention speech. 
  
  Why was this skit used to introduce Mitt Romney to a nationwide audience?
  
  Hollywood actor Clint Eastwood, the iconic American "tough guy" was clearly enlisted to redeem the manhood of conservative white male voters who feel emasculated by the presidency of the self-described "skinny kid with a funny name."
  
  And it just so happens that the "funny name" is Barack Hussein Obama.
  
  This foolish impulse to belittle President Obama will ultimately prove to be the downfall of Mitt Romney's second White House bid.
  
  First of all, it smacks of racism, implying that the president of the United States would speak in stereotypically profane language in response to Eastwood, instead of doing what has always done superbly: respond with eloquent rhetoric and brilliant reasoning.
  
  Second, the extensive focus on personally attacking President Obama means that the Republicans are not truly concerned with the current challenges facing the American people; they are only seeking a rematch against the reigning black heavyweight champion of American politics.  Mitt Romney is thus their newly-anointed "Great White Hope."
  
  The historic irony here is that Barack Obama was elected the first black president in 2008, exactly 100 years after Jack Johnson became the first black heavyweight boxing champion in 1908.  Two years later in 1910, white heavyweight contender James Jeffries was defeated by Johnson in what was billed "The Fight of the Century".  Jeffries was nicknamed "The Great White Hope" prior to the title bout and his defeat by Johnson triggered riots across the country. 
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Johnson_%28boxer%29
  
  The Republicans are simply devoid of a real vision or plan for the country.  They have thus decided to take the racial low road and unite their base against the black man living in the White House whom they won't respect as the nation's chief executive and whom they don't even consider to be a true American.  Mitt Romney's line about Neil Armstrong planting the American flag on the moon led right into his charge that it was time for an "American" to lead the nation once again:
  
  Tonight that American flag is still there on the moon, and I don't doubt for a second that Neil Armstrong's spirit is still with us, that unique blend of optimism, humility and the utter confidence that when the world needs someone to do the really big stuff, you need an American.  
  
  And last week, Romney made remarks alluding to the ongoing right-wing "birther" challenges to Obama's citizenship:
  
  "No one's ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place that we were born and raised."
  
  In other words "I'm white! Of course I'm an American!"
  
  The hypocrisy therein lies in the fact that Mitt Romney, like Barack Obama is also the son of an immigrant father.  Mitt's father George Romney was born in Mexico and made his own bid for the White House in 1968 amid questions about his citizenship.  And true to his own words, Mitt Romney has not ever been asked to show his birth certificate to anyone.
  
  Such are the benefits of white privilege.
  
  I had always hoped that the Republicans would not play on white racial resentment in this election. In spite of all of his flaws as a leader, it must be noted that the last Republican president never used race to get elected, except for enlisting the support of high-profile black Republicans like Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice.  This time I was glad that Powell skipped the convention but I was otherwise disappointed that Condoleezza Rice instead delivered a prime-time convention address on behalf of Romney's candidacy.
  
  Obama's campaign slogan for 2012 is "Forward."  It epitomizes the vision of a truly forward-looking leader with an agenda that is focused on the future and not settling old racial scores.  It is a winning vision and I am looking forward to an historic re-election victory by the President in November.