Boris believes election of Obama would represent massive breakthrough for race relations

Boris Johnson had already endorsed Barack Obama but he goes further today. In his Telegraph column the Mayor of London pays tribute to John McCain but repeats his belief that the Democrat nominee "offers the hope of rejuvenating the greatest country on earth in the eyes of the rest of us".  He describes Senator Obama as "talented" and "compassionate".

Mr Johnson ends his piece by focusing on what an Obama victory will mean for racial equality:

"Huge numbers of voters, whether they admit it to themselves or not, will hesitate to choose Barack Obama for President because he is black. And then there are millions of white Americans who will undoubtedly vote Obama precisely because he is black, and because he stands for the change and the progress they want to see in their society.

After centuries of friction, prejudice, tension, hatred - you name it, they've had it - America is teetering on the brink of a triumph. If Obama wins, then the United States will have at last come a huge and maybe decisive step closer to achieving the dream of Martin Luther King, of a land where people are judged not on the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.

If Obama wins, then black people the world over will be able to see how a gifted man has been able to smash through the ultimate glass ceiling.

If Obama wins, then it will be simply fatuous to claim that there are no black role models in politics or government, because there is no higher role model than the President of the United States.

If Barack Hussein Obama is successful next month, then we could even see the beginning of the end of race-based politics, with all the grievance-culture and special interest groups and political correctness that come with it.

If Obama wins, he will have established that being black is as relevant to your ability to do a hard job as being left-handed or ginger-haired, and he will have re-established America's claim to be the last, best hope of Earth."

PS Within his piece Boris writes that he carefully studied Melanie Phillips' blog entries about Barack Obama's links with Bill Ayers but gave up "goggle-eyed and exhausted".  We quite like the idea that the Mayor of London studies blogs!  Here is a typical Melanie Phillips entry on Obama: "You have to pinch yourself – a Marxisant radical who all his life has been mentored by, sat at the feet of, worshipped with, befriended, endorsed the philosophy of, funded and been in turn funded, politically promoted and supported by a nexus comprising black power anti-white racists, Jew-haters, revolutionary Marxists, unrepentant former terrorists and Chicago mobsters, is on the verge of becoming President of the United States. And apparently it’s considered impolite to say so."

Comments

[Malcolm Dunn]

I do not think Boris should be endorsing either candidate.It is still not a foregone conclusion that Obama will win. If he does and he proves to be a protectionist President he will be no friend of Britain.

[Tony Makara]

The fact that so many people want to see Mr Obama win simply because he is black, of itself sets race relations back. After the endorsement of Colin Powell, the black vote will almost certainly become a block vote, and that is a real shame. I'd like to think that the candidates were judged on their policies rather than skin colour or any other benchmark. Hopefully fifty years from now these issues won't be an issue, but today it seems Barak Obama will always be seen as a black man rather than a human being.

[Tony Sharp]

I am sorry but I feel this is the most patronising guff. Should leaders be elected to tick a box and prove a point? Or should leaders be elected because they are the best person for the job? If Boris thinks Obama is the best person for the job then he should focus on that instead of making this a race issue.

Are we to presume Boris will support the next female candidate for US President so another glass ceiling can be smashed? Then perhaps a gay candidate at a later date to tick another box?

When will we ever look past race, colour, ethnicity, gender, age, physical ability, sexual preference or any of those other ways of segmenting humans into divisive groups and categories, and treat all people equally and fairly? When will we ever mature sufficiently to simply choose someone on the basis of them being the best person for the job?

[RichardJ]

Alternatively, playing Devil's advocate, when life fails to get significantly better for blacks in America he will turn out to be a huge dissapointment to them.

[resident leftie]

"Boris believes election of Obama would represent massive breakthrough for race relations" - unlike the election of Boris for mayor. It's too late, Boris. You can't take back your "watermelon smiles" by being extraordinarily patronising.

[David Roberts]

Sadly, the US is in a state of near hysteria over Obama very similar to Britain in 1997 over Bliar. Their characters are very similar. It will be as equally a bad day for the States - and the world - if he comes to power as it has been for Britain with Blair. Yet I fear that mass hysteria will win him the day.

He appears without experience or policies save the mysterious and inexplicable desire for "change".

[Ken Stevens]

... Alternatively, election of McCain would represent a triumph over ageism.

Choose whatever -ism you like but what really matters is the competence of the President & team across a wide range of policies.

That election of Obama would be helpful to race relations is a factor but certainly not an overriding one.

[rugfish]

Personally I couldn't care less who Americans elect as their president, nor do I care for Boris's opinion on the matter.
However he's given a new meaning to the "race for president" and made a mistake in beating a drum for one candidate of another country who has absolutely nothing to do with running London.

[WG Graceless]

I feel the commentors so far to this post have missed Boris's point...summed up in this stanza:

"If Barack Hussein Obama is successful next month, then we could even see the beginning of the end of race-based politics, with all the grievance-culture and special interest groups and political correctness that come with it."

What Boris is advocating is an end to grievance-culture and special interest groups - the very things which Ken Livingstone preyed upon during the Mayoral Campaign, and which could have scuppered Boris's bid for the Mayoralty.

What Boris is saying is that having a black President could - once and for all - end the 'Balkanisation' of race politics in the West (where the left are seen, very wrongly, as the default choice of minorities), because we could stand and point and say:

"Look, the most powerful man in the World is a minority. You are no longer a minority. Now vote with the your head instead of your historical hat on!"

[Duncan]

It is a bit ironic that Boris quotes Martin Luther King's brilliant quote about people being judged not by their race but on the content of their character and then comments that the election of Obama will be a massive breakthrough for the black population. Surely if one interprets King's quote in its logical meaning, Obama's race is irrelevant and all that is relevant are his character and policies.

Afterall it would have been a great breakthrough for the black population in the USA if Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton had become President but it would have been a disaster for the World in terms of their character and policies. Obama is far more likeable and moderate than those two however he is still a high-taxing social democrat.

[London Tory]

One thing is for certain, Bush has been the most disastrous President in US history [Nixon included]. The BBC news item on the plight of Kansas City last night confirmed that for me, with repossessed homes being looted, and average citizens scavenging for cheap food in the market. It was more like Bulawayo. Bush and Cheney should hang their heads in shame.

Sadly for Conservatives, McCain has turned out to be a singularly poor candidate. The GOP should have heeded the lessons with Bob Dole, another ageing Victor Meldrew who was annihalated at the ballot box. His decision to appoint Sarah Palin was the final nail in his political coffin.

As another American once opined-

'you CANNOT be serious'.

[Tony Sharp]

Duncan, your first paragraph sums up the situation superbly. That is exactly the issue.

[Man in a Shed]

Sorry folks this is just triangulation and tokenism, both of which corrupt our political discourse and the system in which it takes place.

[Man in a Shed]

David Roberts - agree with you on the Blair 97 analogy. In fact I blogged on just that yesterday.

I suspect, however, that Obama will serve only one term - so its Palin 2012 ( which gives them 4 years to bring her up to speed of economics and foreign policy ).

[Donal Blaney]

Thank goodness that the only Tory MP who actually has a vote in the election - Greg Hands - has voted for John McCain.

[bloggingharry]

Resident leftie - Grow up! The 'watermelon smiles' comment was ironic and the fact the left can't get their heads around that is an indictment of your own lack of understanding of how to make a point.

I think that Boris' point regarding the race relations industry is actually a very interesting one. I think that if people did begin to vote with their heads and not as a 'racial' group or 'religious' group it would be a massive step-forward for democracy. The politics of identity, cured by the politics of identity does have a certain irony about it and if Obama can demonstrate that he will govern for ALL of the US and not just, as the racist and radical right believe, the African Americans and the 'marxists' in Melanie Philips head, then democratic (small D not Democratic like the party!) politics will have come a long way.

[michael mcgough]

Does Boris judge a book by cover or content?

[Dorian about to be called a racist]

Rules of Engagement

This election is not about colour vote for the man not the colour.

Except when it is a victory for people of colour when it is about colour.

Or when it is a defeat because of colour because it was about colour prejudice.

Or when a candidate not of colour loses because it was about colour:

‘In Boris they had that, I mean all the stuff about “picaninees” and “watermelon smiles”, two men marrying a dog; all that stuff played very well with the latent bigot. And the six percent difference between me and Boris is more than explained by the fact that between the BNP, UKIP and the English Democrats, they got almost ten percent of the vote. So they had somewhere to go’

Ken Livingstone

Rules of Engagement (Supplemental)

If you oppose the Imperial European state you are a racist.

If you believe in equality of representation for the people of England you are a racist.

[David]

Boris should be getting on with running London.

[Norm Brainer]

Boris is right in that it is a step towards the dream of Martin Luther King, but not that itself.
The first non-white to be elected president will inevitably be judged by the colour of their skin but the the novelty would wear off and the next black candidate won't so much and then like WG Graceless says stop the livingstone-esque racism in party politics.

Resident leftie, you can do better than dragging up the traditional mis-quotes, can't you?

[Ryan from Minnesota]

It is certainly heartening to see so many comments seeing through to the shallowness of Boris's endorsement! Although I must say my favorite is the one about believing things are so bad in the US because a BBC documentary said so. That's hilarious! And it most likely will not be Palin in 2012, but Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal at the top of the GOP ticket.

[R.Baker.]

As someone who is in daily contact with quite a lot of Americans,the general beliefs are that if Mc Cain wins,he will die in his first term,and,if Obama wins,the good old boys will do for him before his first term ends.
I believe neither of these things,but I do think McCain may yet win it and pass it on to Palin in a couple of years or so,under declining health claims.
Whoever wins it,I hope they can bring peace to this world of ours.

[christina Speight]

Boris is Bonkers!

Obama may get elected and we must wish him well for all our sakes. But his track record - such as it is - is abysmal, thin and inconsistent.

If he is to be a role model for blacks he'd better not be a disaster because that would set race relations back decades!!

Shallow and silly comments from the Mayor!

[resident leftie]

Posted by: David Roberts | October 21, 2008 at 09:36

He appears without experience or policies save the mysterious and inexplicable desire for "change".

I wouldn't apply that to Obama, but there are a couple of others closer to home who fit this profile.

Reply to: bloggingharry | October 21, 2008 at 10:31

The problem isn't the "race relations industry", the problem is racism. I'm more than capable of reading Boris Johnson's ill-judged remarks in the context of his sneering Spectator articles, and they just reinforce the prejudices of bigotted readers, regardless of any ironic intentions. Equally, I deplore Jimmy Carr's anti-gypsy jokes.

As an aside, it's quite pathetic to see privileged white middle class people bleating about the evils of so-called politcal correctness, while ignoring the inherent power imbalnce and institutional racism in many of our organisations. When we get to the stage where the "race relations industry" is as big a problem as race relations, the struggle will be over.

If Obama gets elected it'll be a great thing for minorities, but it is telling that Boris is more concerned about the end of minority organisations and "political correctness" rather than the end of inherent culturally based prejudice. It's difficult for people to face their own fears, and I can see why Boris would prioritise that over "the beginning of the end" of racism.

[Nicholas J. Rogers]

As much as it pains me, normally a staunch Republican, I agree with Boris on this one. That doesn't mean I especially like Obama; I also agree with those who say he will be a disappointment - he will be a massive disappointment. No one can possibly live up to the standards he and other have set for him.

I always thought Giuliani would have been a much better pick for the Republicans. If only he'd had better strategists...

To those who say 'Boris should just get on with running London' and similar - for god's sake be quiet and stop being so petty and spiteful.

Boris has said time and again that he writes his columns at home on Sunday nights - or would you rather he never left City Hall? He is an intelligent man who has opinions and the right, like anyone else, to air those opinions.

And anyway, the world would be much the poorer without BoJo's columns. We need politicians like him who aren't afraid to speak his mind, even if that means going against the majority views in his own party.

[Brian Barker]

I see that Barack Obama's education policy is that everyone should learn a foreign language, but which one should it be?

The British learn French, the Australians study Japanese, and the Americans prefer Spanish.Yet this leaves Mandarin Chinese out of the equation.

Then why not Esperanto?

An interesting video can be seen at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8837438938991452670

A glimpse fo the language can be seen http://www.lernu.net

[Raj]

WG Graceless makes a good point.

If Obama is all he's cracked up to be, it will be good for everyone. But the more realistic scenario is that he disappoints most foreigners on foreign policy, as I doubt he'll surrender US interests even if he avoids kicking off a new war.

Then, hopefully, non-Americans will realise that being educated, "good-looking" and a minority does not automatically make a good president. They need to realise that US policy is based on it being good for the US, not down to "evil white men" or some such trying to be nasty to everyone.

As for America, it's hard to predict what his domestic policies will be like. But again hopefully people will start to see race and gender as less of an issue. To be honest I don't think that most of his support will be based on his race, but because:

a) McCain can't completely shrug off hostility to Bush;
b) most Americans feel the country is going the wrong way;
c) Obama is eloquent and has stayed cool during the debates;
d) Obama has put more focus on the economy from the start, whereas McCain at least appeared to less interested in that;
e) the financial crisis has focused matters from foreign policy (McCain's strength) to the economy (McCain's weakness).

---

Admin, can you delete Brian's advertisement, please? He can pay like anyone else.

[Liam Murray]

We're 'turning a ship' here so all this 'if we're past race then he shouldn't attract votes because of his colour' is monumentally missing the point.

MLK's vision about judgement on character rather than colour can't be brought about by an act if will. It's only realisable when more base prejudices are conquered and people have genuine role models that challenge their assumptions and prejudices - it's the 'steering a ship' analogy. It WOULD'VE been outright tokenism to elevate Obama to the presidency SOLELY on the basis of his skin colour - it's definitively NOT tokenism to let that be a factor in the decision and that's Boris' point.

Those on the right might disagree on policy with Obama but it's nonsense to suggest he doesn't have the character or judgement for it - the last 9 months have put that question to rest in the minds of all but the most partisan commentators (see Melanie) and even McCain acknowledges he'd make an excellent President.

In this context it's entirely valid for his race and the important messages his victory would send to be a factor in deciding how to vote.

[Brian Richard Allen]

So Bumbling, boozed-up Boris, who until today, I've admired for his having been the only British politician since Enoch Powell (who was the only other one since the essentially American, Winston Leonard Spencer Jennie Jerome (Churchill) to have ever demonstrated having inherited any of the positive characteristics that once, long, long, long, long ago (or so Euro-peon mythology has it) put the "great," into once long, long, long, long ago, "great," Britain -- turns out to be just another morbidly-ingrate, racist, psychopathologically-hesperophobic British bigot.

Who would not only wish upon the world -- and upon what's left of the very Judeo-Christian/Western/Human Civilization America has long vanguarded and has, it sometimes seems, forever (and at great cost in blood and treasure) guarded -- but see any good in the event that, on only the basis of the color of his "race," the mobbed-up Marxist murtadd Muslim Arab-African, B Milhous bin B Hussayn bin Hussayn Muhummad Ubama, is able to corruptly finagle his way** into the office of United States President and Armed-Forces Commander-In-Chief.

(**Advisedly - for given the extent of the massive electoral fraud his Euro-fasciSSocialist Saul Alinskyist Brown-Shirt bully boys, minders, his Soros/Socialist-Internationale-supporters and uniformly Goebbelsesque drive-by "media" polemicists and propagandists already have in play, there is no way the United States of America's 2008 electoral process will escape the onslaught of the Obama's gang's massive Stalinist election fraud. Whose criminal alien and other fraudulent "voters" will wipe out the votes of millions of McCain/Palin supporters.)

Way to go, Boris. (And soon, I pray and trust, along with the rest of soon-to-be Sharia-shackled Londonistan and of Eurabia)

Brian Richard Allen
Los Angeles - CailfOBAMAcated -- & the Far Abroad

[londoner]

Advice for Mr. Johnson:

Focus on your day job rather than 250k p.a. distraction.

Endorsing Obama now doesn't make up for all of your ignorant comments ("picanninies," "watermelon smiles," and all the rest of them) earlier.

[Malcolm Dunn]

Are you sure it's Boris you're referring to as 'boozed up' Brian Richard Allen? It must the middle of the night in LA.

[Helen]

Ahem, has Boris not noticed that the present Secretary of State and the previous one are both black? That is quite important as is the fact that there is a mixed race candidate for the presidency. But that's as far as it goes. It's the colour of the man's politics that matters not the colour of his skin. And Obama's politics as well as his political associates are not really those one would expect Conservatives to rejoice in. Still, anything is possible about this lot.

Incidentally, a woman president would also have been something of a breakthrough. Reading some of the comments about Sarah Palin it is clear that people who pronounce on American politics do not precisely follow what is going on. She is very popular and has a good many more achievements to her name than either of the three other candidates, including Boris's choice. The polls are a lot closer than the British media makes out.

[bloggingharry]

Resident leftie -

We come at this from opposite perspectives. As far as I'm concerned racism is in the mind of those people who are racist and those people who feel like they are being discriminated against - sometimes rightly, sometimes wrongly. I think that what is more powerful than what is in someone's mind is the defeat of those sorts of opinions by tangible results or actions - not false discussions over someone's article tone.

Equal Rights Act has been in place for decades, positive discrimination like 'empowerment zones' and affirmative action have been policies of retributive punishment for the 'white mans sins' and they have not seen african americans improve their lot drastically in American society.

I think the election of Barack Obama will do more to further the equality debate than moaning about what Boris said in an ironic article (or a Jimmy Carr stand up!)

To prevent people from addressing issues of gravity and magnitude with a degree of humour / irony is to deny people's ability to relate and relay the issues of concern to others in an inciteful manner.

Incidentally for background on the 'watermelon smiles' article - it addressed Blair's shuttle diplomacy in the build up to the Iraq war and his somewhat imperialistic approach to African leaders then on the UN security council expecting them to fall into line with a former colonial power. how do you like them apples of racist overtones? If Labour and indeed the centre ground of British politics weren't quite so insidious in their assertion that unless you turn comments to beige then you can't be taken seriously, I personally think that issues of race could be dealt with effectively. But the vacuums caused by the 'race relations industry' merely prompt the rise of the far-right.

Just allow people to address the issue how they see fit. I agree with the sentiment that Obama becoming President will do more to improve race relations than any bleating over a little read article till Messrs Livingstone needed to use the articles for political purposes...

[m wood]

Watching some of Obama's recent rallies reminds me of Neil Kinnock at Sheffield - Oh yehhhhh!

[Rod Sellers]

Boris has lost it on this one. It also calls into question how long he can maintain a freewheeling eccentric role as a columnist AND hold down a serious political job.

[michael mcgough]

Perhaps if Boris concentrated on his day job we might notice a difference since Ken had control.

[Sean Fear]

"Boris believes election of Obama would represent massive breakthrough for race relations" - unlike the election of Boris for mayor"

Boris' election was good news for race relations in the capital. A Mayor who played the race card relentlessly in his bid to be re-elected was replaced by a Mayor who shows no sign of wishing to do so.

"As an aside, it's quite pathetic to see privileged white middle class people bleating about the evils of so-called politcal correctness, while ignoring the inherent power imbalnce and institutional racism in many of our organisations"

White middle class people don't have much to complain about. White people who live in humbler circumstances do have much better reason to complain about the sort of reverse racism that this government is so keen on.

[resident leftie]

Posted by: bloggingharry | October 21, 2008 at 13:54

I read the articles concerned, so I don't need you to explain what Boris intended to say. It's the fact that he was happy to use those terms that demonstrate his lack of judgement when it comes to race.

Equal Rights Act has been in place for decades, positive discrimination like 'empowerment zones' and affirmative action have been policies of retributive punishment for the 'white mans sins' and they have not seen african americans improve their lot drastically in American society.

This demonstrates almost pathological ignorance. If you look at the state of race relations in the US now and before the 1952 Equal Rights act, I think you'll find that your statement is an absolute load of tosh. Things have come a long, long way. They have a long way to go.

Just allow people to address the issue how they see fit.
And make judgements about them accordingly.

I agree with the sentiment that Obama becoming President will do more to improve race relations than any bleating over a little read article.

I agree.

Posted by: Sean Fear | October 21, 2008 at 14:51
White middle class people don't have much to complain about. White people who live in humbler circumstances do have much better reason to complain about the sort of reverse racism that this government is so keen on.

Working class people are better represented by a Labour goverment than any Tory one, that's for sure, and the class interests of ethnic minorities coincide with the white working classes.

Putting the white working classes at loggerheads with ethnic minorities through this kind of misinformation is a nasty BNP tactic, and I'm astonished to see you have bought into it. Please do some research.

[Sean Fear]

"Putting the white working classes at loggerheads with ethnic minorities through this kind of misinformation is a nasty BNP tactic, and I'm astonished to see you have bought into it. Please do some research."

Oh right I suppose Nick Cohen's a BNP supporter then. I think white working class people are capable of thinking for themselves, and many of them have come to the conclusion that they're treated with contempt by this government. That's why they gave you a hammering in May's elections, in London and elsewhere.

[Conservative in America]

I work for a large corporation in America and we have many black employees. However, we don't have many blacks in leadership positions. It has been my observation that most of my black co-workers are not willing to put in the extra effort to acquire new skills so they can be promoted to management. The black employees seem to have a mindset that they deserve to be given a promotion after being with the company for so many years. This attitude is what keeps black people from achieving more in America, not racism. A President Obama will not be able be to change this mindset.

[Zimbabwean]

Would Obama have qualified to be on the A list for his race? I refer, of course, to Louise Bagshaw's touting of Sarah Palin's selection as being a vindication of the A list.

[Londoner]

First to say that londoner @ 13.12 is not me, the more regular "Londoner" on here, as I hope regular readers (such as my ConHome friend Malcolm Dunn - friend because we so often agree with each other) have recognised. I’m the upper case one.

I agree (again) with Malcolm about the strange posting from LA @ 4.43am LA time (12.43 in London). Lifting the stone and finding such deranged creatures is an argument in itself in favour of the candidate they hate.

On the race issue, I totally agree with the other comment above:
“It WOULD'VE been outright tokenism to elevate Obama to the presidency SOLELY on the basis of his skin colour - it's definitively NOT tokenism to let that be a factor in the decision and that's Boris' point.”

People are more likely to understand the context in which Boris makes the race point if they read the whole article. I read it in the paper itself this morning and it is excellent. Before he gets to the race point he makes a number of powerful points about what electing Obama might do to improve America’s standing in the world. Sure, it starts from the premise, I know strongly resisted by some around here, that Iraq has been a ghastly mistake and that President Bush has managed to do severe damage in the world to the reputations of both American democracy and capitalism – quite a double whammy for a Republican but one that should indeed put his down as the least successful US Presidency of my lifetime except possibly Carter.

As all the best articles, Boris’s is therefore quite persuasive with those like me who are still waverers on Obama v McCain. Ex the Palin decision, I think I might still be marginally for McCain but, even without her, I found Boris’s article a further nudge in the Obama direction. A good columnist can “nudge” his reader’s views, and that’s what Boris is. He is not writing the article as Mayor of London, it’s an extra-curricula activity, less dangerous than some others I could think of! But neither is he expressing views, as a columnist, on the US Presidential election that are incompatible with his office, as it would be for the Shadow Foreign Secretary or the Leader of the Opposition. He is after all just a Mayor and he hasn’t been rude about McCain either if McCain were to happen to win. I don’t think he’ll be invited to the Bush farewell party though – but would most Londoners want him to go if he were?

[Ulster Tory]

I wonder what London's esteemed mayor thinks about Obama's links with Alinksy?

[Ulster Tory]

RE: Conservative in America @ 15:55

In my opinion, it is all down to the victim mentality that many have, whether due to race or socio-economic grouping.

The welfare state is one cause of this mentality, and another is announcements such as Catriona Ruane's this morning. Her claiming things such as people from less privileged backgrounds should be ENTITLED to a certain amount of places in Grammar Schools (which normally indiscriminately select pupils on the basis of their academic ability) is not helpful to encouraging people to raise their level of achievement.

For a civilisation to progress, we must have people striving to raise the level to keep up/get ahead rather than reward those who do not.

[resident leftie]

Wow, we are onto lazy black now, are we? Old school racism. Thank you for reminding us how far we have to go.

[stephen hoffman]

there is much less racism in the US now -if anything the theme of the election is ageism against mccain. Boris should be careful what he wishes for obama-afterall this guy is extremely protectionist -an american sarkozy if you like - meaning trade if obama gets into power will be much harder than ever before- at least mccain for all his mistakes will not tear up free trade agreements .

people should elect obama if they want cos they share his views-not for the colour of his skin- because that's like positive discrimination, which in my humble opinion is racism.

[Rebecca Carpenter]

It is really irresponsible for Boris to be counseling people to vote for someone when he himself will not have to live with the consequences. The truth is, the opposite of what he says is true: ie if Obama wins it will show that race issues are alive and well because a man has been elected upon his looks and charisma and not his ability to be a leader. Boris doesn't talk about Obama's adequacy to be a president but only of how he will break-through race issues. Race issues are not the only issues out there! It's affirmative action all over again. I think we will be seeing just the beginning of race-based politics. Boris admitted himself that people will vote for him just because he is black. That's racism as well. They're voting for him because they want to be in the cool club. This race card is dirty politics. A manipulative way to get people to vote for who they want because to not do so would be un-PC.