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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
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February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
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January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
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Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
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Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
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Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
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Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
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January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
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David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
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Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
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John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
June 4, 2008
/ 1 Sivan 5768
Race, gender: Dueling discontents
By
Clarence Page
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
As Sen. Barack Obama began to sew up enough delegates to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination, a new opponent began to appear on his horizon: the grievance reflex.
That's a quirky trait in us human beings that makes us keenly aware of any unfair edge that somebody has over us and that just as easily allows us to ignore any unearned advantage that we might happen to have over them.
You could see the grievance reflex busily at work during the final days of the Democratic nomination marathon.
For example, the primaries ended as they began, with apologies. Remember the days when Sen. Joe Biden, the former Democratic presidential hopeful from Delaware, found himself apologizing for what he thought was a compliment? He referred to Obama as "clean" and "articulate," terms quickly condemned as condescending by some of us hypersensitive black folks, among other critics.
That was child's play compared to Obama's recent resignation from his church, Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ, after YouTube picked up video of a guest minister, the Rev. Michael Pfleger. With his clownish mockery of Sen. Hillary Clinton, the white South Side priest reignited the firestorm of controversy that Trinity's retired pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, lit under Obama's campaign in March.
I confess. When I saw the video of the Rev. Michael Pfleger's mockery of Sen. Hillary Clinton, I laughed at first.
After all, in my mind, Clinton had it coming after her bold appeals in recent weeks to "hard-working white voters" in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. After all of the support that black voters gave her and her husband in the past, she seemed a bit too casual about throwing black voters under the bus. She sounded almost as if she was personally offended by black disloyalty.
But my chuckle was a guilty pleasure. Like devouring a pint of butter pecan ice cream, it's fun until afterwards when you think about what you've done.
Father Pfleger apologized to "anyone who was offended and who thought it to be mockery, that was neither my intent nor my heart." He should have apologized to everyone because everyone should be offended.
Pfleger is hardly the first commentator to observe that Clinton probably lost ground because she displayed too much of a sense of entitlement on the campaign trail. I've noted it, too. But, despite her gracelessness in citing her appeal to white working-class voters, an appeal that is confirmed by exit polls, I can't read what's in her heart. It is not fair to imply, even in jest, that she feels entitled by her skin color to be president, even if she sometimes sounded to some of our ears as though she did.
Besides, Father Pfleger was preaching in a church, not doing standup on HBO's "Def Comedy Jam" or BET's "Comic View," even if he appeared to be auditioning for both.
Now is the time for Pfleger, a long-time headline-making civil rights activist, to help the post-primary healing, not fan more flames of resentment.
A lot of healing needs to be done, judging by the divisions on display between the Clinton and Obama factions as the party's rules committee met to resolve Florida and Michigan's disputed delegates.
It was a cruel twist of fate, as former President Bill Clinton has noted, that the first presidential primary to feature a truly viable black candidate and a truly viable female candidate happened to be the same primary.
Dueling grievances were inevitable, especially in the party that goes to extra lengths to accommodate diversity and identity politics based on race and gender.
Now, with Obama poised to win the nomination, many women, in particular, are no less disappointed than many blacks would be if Obama appeared to have the nomination snatched away from him by some unfair surprise.
Father Pfleger's lampoon tapped into black frustration about white racism in a way that enflamed white anxieties about black anger. It also ignored the suspicions and resentments some Clinton supporters have that Obama may have an unfair advantage over Clinton simply because he's a man.
To heal those hurt feelings and others left in the wake of the long primary fight, Obama needs to show his willingness to fight unfairness wherever it may be. Bridging his own party's divides will be a tough task, but he's an appropriate man to take it on. After all, he's the change-agent candidate who rose rapidly to the front ranks of his party's hopefuls by running as a unifier.
If he can reunify his own party in this year of dueling discontents, he's ready to take on the rest of this country's grievances and the world!
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment on Clarence Page's column by clicking here.
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