Conservatives are up in arms over Gwen Ifill, the moderator of the vice-presidential debate tonight, ostensibly because she wrote a "pro-Obama book." None of them have read the book, but they all just assume it is "pro-Obama." The publisher's description of the book is as follows:
In THE BREAKTHROUGH, veteran journalist Gwen Ifill surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama’s stunning presidential campaign and introducing the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new path to political power.Ifill argues that the Black political structure formed during the Civil Rights movement is giving way to a generation of men and women who are the direct beneficiaries of the struggles of the 1960s. She offers incisive, detailed profiles of such prominent leaders as Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and U.S. Congressman Artur Davis of Alabama, and also covers up-and-coming figures from across the nation. Drawing on interviews with power brokers like Senator Obama, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Vernon Jordan, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, and many others, as well as her own razor-sharp observations and analysis of such issues as generational conflict and the "black enough" conundrum, Ifill shows why this is a pivotal moment in American history.
As Steve M. points out, this is not "praise." This is analysis. By any objective measure, black politics is fundamentally different in this generation than it has been in the past, and Obama is the most high-profile example of this. Since the book hasn't been released to the public, there is simply no way for conservatives to claim with any credibility that the book is "pro-Obama." CNN quotes Jim Geraghty at National Review saying:
"...as if we needed any further evidence of a jaw-dropping double standard, we have to contemplate the sheer impossibility that someone who wrote a positive biography of [John] McCain being chosen to moderate a debate."Well, for one thing, the book isn't a biography. It's an analysis of black politics, and there's no indication that the book is any more "positive" about Obama's accomplishments beyond noting that they are symbolic of a sea change in how black politicians operate in America today. But that's just an assuption, because like Geraghty and all the other conservatives complaining, I haven't read the book.
It's disconcerting how quickly the mainstream media have embraced the claim, and how few liberals responding to the charges have failed to dispute the premise that the book itself is "pro-Obama." The assumption seems to be that because Ifill is a reporter, she is a liberal, and because she is black, she is pro-Obama.
There's a word for making assumptions about people based on the color of their skin. It's called racism.
--A. Serwer
