Opinion
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The news media should challenge all presidential candidates equally.

Many people already declared their candidacy for the 2008 presidential election. Now, the national news media must provide Americans the relevant facts they need to choose the best one for president. This is a purpose of a free press. However, many in the news media act as if it is their job to point out that candidate Barack Obama is black as often as possible.

Voters do not need journalist to mention Obama's skin color. They can see him on television, on the web and in newspapers if they need to judge a candidate based on body traits. Writers who fixate on Obama's skin color seem to say, "Judge this candidate by different standards because of his skin color."

I don't remove race and racism as relevant topics during a presidential campaign. But, there is proper context for this discussion. Political commentary should discuss all candidates from the perspective of race and racism or discuss none of them this way. They stack the deck against Barack Obama when they only mention race when interviewing or writing about him. They make it seem as if issues of race and racism are his alone to solve. "The African-American senator from Illinois isn't sure how to handle race as an issue in his bid for the White House," wrote Boston Globe columnist Joan Vennochi.

Balanced reporting requires journalists who mention Obama's skin color to report other candidates' position on race. They should ask all candidates if they agree with the theory of race that inborn traits like a different skin color decides human potential and performance. If they answer yes, journalists should ask them two more questions. How do you identify yourself racially? Do you believe racial considerations decide Americans' vote? Then, all candidates will share Obama's dilemma of trying to please the millions of Americans who reject race theory without alienating the millions who believe it is fact.

At minimum, the news media's obsession with Obama's skin color reveals that some writers do accept the race theory as fact and that it influences votes. Otherwise, they would not stress Obama's skin color. After all, they are not obsessively reporting his height, the shape of his nose or his shoe size.

Most press articles and television commentary about Obama show a double standard about race. Those writers believe it is tolerable for them to stereotype Obama as the black or African-American presidential candidate. After all, he presumptuously ignored the social order and declared himself a candidate for the presidency simply as a qualified American and not as a black or African-American candidate. They had to enforce social order rules that require him to wear his assigned racial label prominently as a badge that acknowledges his blackness and minority status. Then, he can run for office only after he admits the burden he places on Americans to accept him in this role.

On the other hand, some members in the news media self righteously excoriated presidential candidate Senator Joe Biden for his comments about Obama. He described Obama as "the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy." "Shame on you Biden for disparaging previous African-American candidates by suggesting they didn't have those traits," ranted the press.

The people who attacked Biden for his comments did not disagree that Obama had the positive traits described. Instead, they made the bogus charge that Biden's clumsy description of Obama disparaged the character of previous candidates labeled African-American. I must have missed when the national press corps embraced those previous candidates of African descent as mainstream presidential candidates. They are insincere to so narrowly interpret Biden's statement.

Those writers had no reason to fear that Biden's comments gave voters a more balanced image of Obama. He also labeled Obama an African-American like they did. In addition, Biden's description of Obama as a "mainstream African-American" was self-contradicting. African-American describes someone with a different racial and cultural identity marginalized outside American culture into a minority group. Therefore "mainstream African-American" can describe someone at the center of African-American culture, but not in mainstream American culture.

Americans probably can elect to the presidency any qualified person no matter his or her skin color. However, they would have to make a much greater effort to overcome feelings of patriotism and accept someone with a hyphenated American label as president. Obama did point out on the news program 60-Minutes that African-American was not his description of himself. It was a label other people assigned to him, because of his skin color.

Kenneth Brooks is a freelance writer and speaker. Contact him at P.O. Box 882, Vallejo, CA 94590. opinion@ethicalego.com