Hillary Can Be Blacker Than Barack

Clinton dares to go where Obama's not allowed, says writer

By Jonas Oransky, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 6, 2007 9:57 AM CDT

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Hillary Can Be Blacker Than Barack — Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama, D-Ill., far left, white shirt, and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, right, take part in the traditional walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge to commemorate the 42 anniversary of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March, Sunday March 4, 2007 in Selma,... (Associated Press)

With Barack Obama determined not to be a Jesse or an Al, Hillary Clinton has emerged as the candidate most comfortable targeting the concerns of the black community, a Washington Post op-ed argues. Last week’s debate at the Howard University showcased Hillary in the role “forefeited” by Barack Obama, says Amina Luqman.

While Clinton can wax on about double standards—she said “there would be an outraged outcry” if HIV/AIDS affected whites the way it does blacks—Obama must convince white America that he’s “not too black,” by focusing on hope rather than outrage, what unites rather than what divides. The result, Luqman argues, leaves the average black citizen feeling proud but hurt.
(More African Americans stories.)

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