We know we’re in trouble when even David Brooks’ heart is all aflutter at the (mere) prospect of a black man in the White House. So much for that reactionary Martin Luther King, who told us to ignore skin color for character.

This is progress? Tribal identity trumps everything else? Take a look at Kenya.

Middle is onto something. If Barack, and more importantly, perhaps, his supporters, stick with the theme of bringing us together and tearing down divides– great (though I reserve my right to vote for someone who’s actually qualified for the job). But if the theme’s voting for a black guy ’cause it’s his turn– sounds like Jesse Jackson’s campaign to me.

And how about this one: electing Barack erases the shame of Gitmo and Abu Ghraib…..

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From the most recent “Washington Diarist” column by Leon Weiseltier in the New Republic, entitled “Miracle Man”:

“I hear a lot about Obama as a “post-racial” candidate, and I am not sure what this means. I understand that he is a hybridity idol, Kansas and Kenya and all that–”our first Benetton candidate,” as a friend admiringly remarked. But Obama cannot make history as the first black candidate for president, or as the first black president, and be post-racial. Last week he was not post-racial: Iowa was post-racial, and so was New Hampshire, and so may our improving country continue to be. Obama is certainly not regarded post-racially by the post-racialists. “When an African American man is leading a juggernaut to the White House,” a vibrating David Brooks asked, “do you want to be the one to stand up and say No?” Well, yes, if “no” needs to be said, and if we are in a place beyond race. This condescension is not Obama’s fault; it is hard to balance one’s elation at the possibility of such an American apotheosis with one’s refusal to regard Obama as the representative of his race. We should vote for him because of “his face,” Andrew Sullivan has hotly advised, which would effect “a re-branding of America.” But a president is not a logo and America is not a brand. If the consideration of race, disguised as postracialism, has the effect of abrogating the discussion of Obama’s fitness for what he seeks, then we will have mistaken a good feeling for a real change, which is a characteristic American error. All this adoring talk has the consequence of making Obama stand for little more than his own identity.”.

Pretty astute, I think.

And I always had a feeling that Andrew Sullivan was shallow, sort of like a gay Thomas Friedman (not that there’s anything wrong wioth that), all sufrace flash and no thought deeper than a sidewlak puddle.

“We should vote for Obama because of his face”? “Rebranding America”?

What? This kind of insipid drivel is what passes for politcal analysis now?

G-d save us.

The “Benneton candidate” quip is hilarious, but only if it’s meant to be a joke. But I have a feeling that it was meant to be serious. If enough people actually vote for Obama because of that, we’re screwed.

I understand there are, in Norway, regulations requiring a certain percentage of female board members in all publicly traded companies. Is that practiced in other Euro/Scandinavian countries?

Ramon, I wanted to add that there are many women in politics over here. The quota-regulations have led to a situation where women are elected into positions within the party platforms mostly just to fulfil the fixed quota. From then on, it’s a way up, as there usually are only few – if any – female competitors. From my experiences on both sides of the big pond, I think that gender relations are more relaxed over here. Women are more emancipated in public life without getting ridiculed for their second X-chromosome, and a woman that knows how to drive a nail into a wall or check the oil in her car isn’t inevitably branded a lesbian. On the other hand though, there’s no (post-)industrialized nation where women are more likely to do all the housework (70%) than Germany. Then again, people here are rather peculiar about the appearances of their houses, and freshly cooked meals are common.