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Obama’s Safety Concerns are No Joke
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02/13/07 12:58 PM ET
As I was half-listening to Tucker Carlson’s self-titled show on MSNBC yesterday afternoon, my attention was sparked when Mr. Carlson and political analyst Pat Buchannan discussed Senator Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) “60 Minutes” interview from the night before. Of interest to the two men was the comment by the senator’s wife regarding the security concerns of Obama, an African-American, in running for the nation’s highest office.
I was surprised to hear Messrs. Carlson and Buchannan, analysts with whom I am very friendly and see in green rooms from time to time, essentially dismiss the worry by Mrs. Obama that people would target her husband solely because he was an African-American running for the presidency. Let me tell you gentlemen: the threat is real.
Years back I had the opportunity to speak with Alma Powell, wife of former general and Secretary of State Colin Powell, about why her husband failed to run for president in 2000. With her remarkable grace and candid assessment, Mrs. Powell looked me in the eye and told me she was worried about someone making an attempt on her husband’s life strictly because of his race. I believed Mrs. Powell’s concerns regarding her husband then and I believe Mrs. Obama’s concerns regarding her husband now.
As a former White House official to serve under both the president and the vice president of the current administration, I’ve often been asked to provide political commentary on television. In this capacity, I’ve received threats to my physical safety just because I am an outspoken African-American Republican. I can only imagine what Sen. Obama receives when the mail arrives in his office from around the country.
As hard as it might be for my two friends from MSNBC to believe, racism is still a factor in this country — particularly for African-Americans seeking elective office. I’ve watched with horror the growth and strength of hate groups such as the KKK as they spew their vitriol toward African-Americans and other minorities. The Klan has had a resurgence in membership in suburban Washington, D.C., in recent years — we’re not talking about some fringe group in the middle of nowhere.
So while this country has made remarkable progress in the past several decades regarding race relations, Mrs. Obama has every right and every reason to worry about her husband’s safety out on the campaign trail. We’ve come so far in this country, but we have much further to go for outspoken African-Americans not to fear for their safety from some crackpot when seeking the highest office in the land or offering blunt political assessments on television.
I was surprised to hear Messrs. Carlson and Buchannan, analysts with whom I am very friendly and see in green rooms from time to time, essentially dismiss the worry by Mrs. Obama that people would target her husband solely because he was an African-American running for the presidency. Let me tell you gentlemen: the threat is real.
Years back I had the opportunity to speak with Alma Powell, wife of former general and Secretary of State Colin Powell, about why her husband failed to run for president in 2000. With her remarkable grace and candid assessment, Mrs. Powell looked me in the eye and told me she was worried about someone making an attempt on her husband’s life strictly because of his race. I believed Mrs. Powell’s concerns regarding her husband then and I believe Mrs. Obama’s concerns regarding her husband now.
As a former White House official to serve under both the president and the vice president of the current administration, I’ve often been asked to provide political commentary on television. In this capacity, I’ve received threats to my physical safety just because I am an outspoken African-American Republican. I can only imagine what Sen. Obama receives when the mail arrives in his office from around the country.
As hard as it might be for my two friends from MSNBC to believe, racism is still a factor in this country — particularly for African-Americans seeking elective office. I’ve watched with horror the growth and strength of hate groups such as the KKK as they spew their vitriol toward African-Americans and other minorities. The Klan has had a resurgence in membership in suburban Washington, D.C., in recent years — we’re not talking about some fringe group in the middle of nowhere.
So while this country has made remarkable progress in the past several decades regarding race relations, Mrs. Obama has every right and every reason to worry about her husband’s safety out on the campaign trail. We’ve come so far in this country, but we have much further to go for outspoken African-Americans not to fear for their safety from some crackpot when seeking the highest office in the land or offering blunt political assessments on television.
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