Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

An Obama Win Would Belong to LBJ

Run is confirmation of slow change since Civil Rights Act

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 4, 2008 12:02 PM CST

(Newser) – Unless the polls are wrong, the winner of today’s election is clear: Lyndon Baines Johnson. “We have lost the South for a generation,” Johnson said when he signed the Civil Rights Act. Well, “for that generation, time’s up,” Richard Cohen writes in the Washington Post. Barack Obama isn’t a transformational figure, he’s “a conformational figure,” representing a seed that’s already blossomed. It was planted by Johnson.

“Pockets of racism exist,” Cohen allows. “But the country has changed.” Johnson forced black people and white people to mix: Affirmative action put African Americans in positions they’d previously been kept away from. Now, America has celebrated black entertainers and black elected officials, and for that matter Jewish and Indian and Austrian ones as well. It isn’t just Obama that’s post-racial: It’s America.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (1)]

Martin Luther King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, lead a black voting rights march from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital in Montgomery. (Getty Images)

Barack Obama speaks at a rally at the Prince William County Fairgrounds in Manassas, Va. Monday, Nov. 3, 2008. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th President of the United States, at the signing of an immigration bill. (Getty Images)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Barack Obama is often called a transformational figure. I beg to quibble. Barack Obama is a confirmational figure, and this election confirms what has been gradually occurring in American society. - Richard Cohen

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

AP Photo

35 Brutally Honest Reasons Men Say No to Sex (The Stir)

Which Entertainer Pulled Out of 'Inappropriate' Whitney Tribute? (NewsOne)

The French Government Wants to Tone My Vagina (Slate)

Obama Photo on Facebook Helps Catch Drug Dealer (HuffPost)

Hottest Women to Ever Appear in the SI Swimsuit Issue (Bleacher Report)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 2 of 2 comments

Shannonals

Nov 16, 2008 5:49 AM CST

As long as the media exist and normal men and women fear change, racism will never fade away.

Guest

Nov 4, 2008 4:16 AM CST

No, Obama stands on his own. It is America that is racial. I am white and the color of his skin has nothing to do with it. He is one of Gods children as same as the whites. Get real it time to put this racist behind us. We all live in the best Country in the world and we need to embrace that whether we be black, white, brown, etc.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Rick Santorum: Birth Control Is 'Not OK'

Valentine's Day Role-Playing Goes Very Wrong

Washington Post (Source Grid »)

Obama's Kenyan relatives await results eagerly
AFP

Obama embodies King's dream
Dispatch Online (South Africa)

America can purge its original sin today
National Post (Canada)

Politics

Barack Obama • Lyndon Johnson • race relations • Voting Rights Act • Obama 2008 • racial equality • Election 2008

More Newser Stories

Most Popular National Politician Today Is ...

Hillary Clinton, as 'buyer's remorse' plagues a third of the country

(NEWSER) - The most popular politician nationwide is the one that got away: Hillary Clinton. Nearly two-thirds of the country sees the secretary of state favorably, and a third are battling what Bloomberg terms “buyer’s remorse” over not electing her president. Just over a year ago, only a quarter of Americans felt that way. “Looking back, I wonder if she would have been a stronger leader, knowing the games and the politics and all that goes on,” says a Florida woman. “I don’t think she would have bent as much.” More»

Gingrich: Obama So Terrible Blacks Will Vote for Us

Gingrich doubles down on 'food stamp' president jab

(NEWSER) - Newt Gingrich once again called Barack Obama “ the food stamp president ” yesterday, and said Obama has been so bad for black voters that they could jump to the GOP. Last time Gingrich tried the food stamp line—in which he touts himself, by contrast, as the “paycheck president”—critics accused him of coded racism . But this time, Gingrich followed the remark with a pitch to black youth, noting the 41% unemployment among black teens, Talking Points Memo reports. More»

Sarah Palin on 2008 Loss: 'I Wasn't at Top of Ticket'

Asked about losing to Barack Obama while in India

(NEWSER) - Republicans might have fared better in 2008 if Sarah Palin was atop the ticket—suggests Sarah Palin. While speaking today at the India Today Conclave, the former Alaska governor was asked why Republicans couldn't defeat Barack Obama in the election, reports the Hill . She tipped her hat to Obama's strong campaign, and said he was able to convincingly bill himself as a change candidate. When India Today's editor then argued that she also represented change, Palin said, "I wasn't at the top of the ticket, remember?" Palin says she wasn't claiming she should have been the nominee. More»

2008 All Over Again: Obama to Base Campaign in Chicago

First reelection bid outside DC in recent memory

(NEWSER) - President Obama’s reelection campaign will likely be based in Chicago, not Washington—a rare move for a sitting president, and one that his advisers hope will help him rekindle the energy of 2008, Politico notes. Usually, campaigns are kept close to the president’s DC home, where they’re easily accessible, said a Democratic consultant: "In modern presidential history, this is kind of revolutionary." More»

Tea Party's Whip-Wielding Obama Float Stirs Anger

NAACP official calls it 'sad'

(NEWSER) - A local Tea Party float has caused a mild media stir thanks to its less-than-sensitive mascot: a man in a Barack Obama mask whipping a "future tax payer." Organizers of the parade have gotten complaints about the float, which some saw as political, racist, or just plain "over the top," the Yakima Herald-Republic reports. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

An Obama Win Would Belong to LBJ