It’s not accidental that the discussions of race have been systematically dismissed from this campaign. From the very start, Obama has been the first black candidate to nationally campaign with the premise that no where in his agenda is there a desire to hold white Americans accountable for the past.

When you consider the life experiences that Barack Obama has had, it actually makes sense. He was raised in Hawaii where the mixture of cultures and races is normal and far less problematic than in middle America. He had opportunities for education and political advancement as much as any American, white or black. It’s been clear that he neither seeks black issues out nor leads on any racial issues. He purposely skips black driven events such as Tavis Smiley’s State of the Black Union and the MLK anniversary and can be counted on to miss any event featuring Jesse Jackson, Sr or Reverend Al Sharpton.

He has the black vote without making a single promise or any contract with the black community whatsoever.

Here is a guy who is like OJ Simpson…who has little connection to the black community who is being venerated by the black community because of his success in the white community and that lets him get away with…let’s just say a lot.

But getting back to Reverend Wright…the problem with Obama’s relationship with Wright wasn’t really the things that Wright said (though they didn’t play well in the media). The problem wasn’t whether Barack Obama heard or didn’t hear the things that Reverend Wright was saying for 20 years, the problem was that Obama simply never cared what Wright was saying.

Wright was the teacher to Obama’s pupil. Wright showed how to communicate with humor, with gestures, with style and cadence. Wright inspired many, not just Obama because he is bright, articulate, funny and persuasive. Wright’s message was never of primary interest to Obama as he never bought into religion during his childhood…in fact, his mother never much cared for religion.

Obama knew all along that Wright’s militancy represented a problem for him and his worst fears were realized when all the main stream media began picking up the clips and playing them so he responds with his ’major speech on race.’ What does he do in this major speech but acknowledge that he has both a black and white parent and that there are some people from both races that say crazy, stupid things. Does he advance the discussion of race? Does he ever bring up the issue of race afterwards?

So when Wright gets the national attention by his appearance on Bill Moyers, the NAACP convention and the National Press Club, all of a suddent Wright becomes this major liability to Obama and he disowns him. Just 5 weeks earlier, he states that he ’could no more disown Reverend Wright than he could disown the white grandmother who raised him.’ Wow…5 weeks time and boom

So did disowning Reverend Wright clarify race relations for anyone?

Is it possible to discuss the topics raised by Reverend Wright or must everyone just shut it down as Obama has done because talking about these issues is too divisive?

I made the following comments on the TalkLeft diary referenced above…

Somehow, somewhere , some people had the notion that voting for Obama would magically heal race relations in America but there has been absolutely no evidence of that occuring. In fact, the black community is aware that Obama gets their votes without a single commitment given to the black community. Obama has distanced himself from the black community by refusing to appear at functions such as Tavis Smiley’s, the MLK assassination anniversary in Memphis and in fact, any event that has either Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton for fear of being identified with either of them.

The curious nature of the Wright and race relations is the dichotomy of interests…Obama’s interest is that his popularity is based on not talking about race relations, especially the history of what has happened whereas Wright demonstrates that he cannot let go of the history. So Obama disowns Wright to make himself acceptable to white America - witness the reaction of the main stream media for this act of ’courage’ when in fact, he has demonstrated his break from the mainstream black community and his break from the person he could not disown just 5 weeks prior.

So the media thinks that by shutting the discussion down and disowning Reverend Wright is an act of courage, the proper thing to do. At least at first they do. Then it does finally dawn on some that this isn’t the solution but an acknowledgment of the problem itself…The Denver Post - editorial 4/30/08 titled “The Company Obama Keeps”. The DP editorial gets to the narrative with surprising clarity…

“The insensitivity and the outrageousness of the statements shocked me and surprised me,” Obama said. Wright’s rants, he continued, contradict “everything that I’m about and who I am… . The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago.”

Does Obama really expect Americans to believe that it was Wright, and not the prevailing political winds, that changed overnight?

But ultimately, it comes down to asking…why isn’t the media or the candidates actually talking about the racial issues that are being danced around here by Bob Herbert or for that matter, everyone else?

The answer lies with the Obama campaign…they have systematically attacked anyone who wants to talk about these issues. Any time that Hillary or one of her surrogates actually started to talk about racial issues, they were tarred and feathered as racists and the issue was taken off the table out of fear of being motivated to hurt the black candidate that is running as the white candidate.

Likewise, the media can talk about Wright and the things that he says but they consider the racial issues that the candidates won’t talk about as off limits.

I suppose as long as we don’t actually talk about these issues, they go away. As long as we consider the things Reverend Wright talks about as distracting and not the ’real’ issues facing Americans today, they don’t exist.

I wish someone would explain to me how a Barack Obama presidency would help race relations in this country because I’m not seeing it.