Frankly, I get the feeling that for a lot of people, it’s anybody but a Bush or Clinton. Enough already.
You must not have seen Saturday Night Live this week. 
You mean like this?
So, will we revert to the old way of classifying mixed-race people? quadroon, octoroon, sextaroon? How much black ancestry do you need to be “black”?
Wow, talk about a cockeyed optimist. 
I have to wonder if some of this “not black enough” idea comes from Obama’s not sounding “typically black” to white people whose most frequent exposure to black speakers is through TV interviews with pro athletes.
If you must continue to label people black, how about doing so only when their blackness is past the 50/50 mark?
Because he was black? 
He’s certainly No True Scotsman.
monstro, you asked who these were. When given names, you respond with:
That changes the question from the implication of there aren’t really any black commentators doing this to the balance of commentators isn’t doing this, or possibly the better commentators aren’t doing this.
Depends on what you mean by “Black”. In this county, if you look like you have some Black ancestry, most people think of you as Black. Whether you choose to think of yourself as Black is your own business, but if you “look Black”, you’re going to have a hard time convincing people you are not.
Imagine if Obama, who grew up in a White household, decided that he self-identified as White. He’d probably get a lot more heat about that. The guy is biracial in ancestry and self-identifies as Black-- to the extent that he uses race as part of his identity. And that last part is important, as he’s always careful to point out that race is just a part of what makes him what he is. He is a politician who happens to be Black, not a Black politician (if you get the meaning of that).
Look at Tiger Woods. He’s probably only about 1/4 African in ancestry, but he’s called Black or African-American all the time. He knows that growing up looking as he does, that he’s going to be considered “Black”, even if he thinks of himself as multi-racial.
I’m confused. These racist middle-Americans–they won’t vote for a black candidate, because of race, but then they are supposedly critical of Obama because he’s not black enough? 
Sadly, there are enough dittoheads out there who will listen to Rush’s “half-erican-American” BS.
I can see Ms Dickerson’s point, that Obama does not completely share the AA “experience”, but isn’t she also guilty of lumping AA’s together? No-one has the same “experience”–the black middle class suburban experience is different from the Southern rural, and both differ from the urban ghetto.
I like Obama. I like Clinton. I hate to have to choose-but I will, based on their positions. My dream team would be Hillary for Pres and Obama for VP–but I keep hearing in my head the cries of protest of keeping the black man down. So, I flip it and make Obama Pres and Hillary VP–and my feminist voice is outraged. Time for alcohol…
Neither of those commentators claimed that Barack isn’t “black enough” - defined by the OP as meaning he isn’t worthy of their black votes or political backing. They merely disagreed with his being labeled “black” from an academic standpoint.
Hmm… I’m going with the “slightly tongue-in-cheek” interpretation on that one. I know that you’re aware that No True Scotsman is a much abused fallacy accusation, and has a narrow range of application. It applies only to claims of coincidence, and never to claims of fact. For example, certain definitional criteria must be met in order to be a recognized as a Cherokee by the Cherokee nation, the Eastern band, or the Keetoowah. It is not a fallacy to say that So-and-so is no true Cherokee if, in fact, he isn’t.
It’s not about experience, per se. It’s about heritage. African-Americans (that is, the descendants of West African slaves) share a unique history that, however loosely, binds them together even after class differences are taken into account. Other black people are coming in from different perspectives, with different cultures and histories.
The very fact that Obama knows more about his roots than just “I come from Africa” makes him decidedly different from most African-Americans.
Thank you, youwiththeface --that makes a great deal more sense. Note to self: read carefully… :smack:
“If you must continue to label people black”? Don’t lots of people label THEMSELVES black? I have several biracial students who self-identify as black. Should they not be allowed to choose that for themselves because they are only 50/50? Obama married a black woman, lives in a black community, goes to a black church. Who is anyone else to say what his racial identity should be?
Or was I just whooshed bigtime?
Has Obama made a big deal about being black? I don’t recall him doing so. When he talks about his heritage he seems to emphasize how unique it is.
I agree with the OP. This is typical media BS. I also agree with Tomndebb that Obama is the rockstar candidate of the season, like Dean was last time. Watch for the inevitable backlash.
Not black enough? We’ll soon sort this out! … Oh Damn! Where’s a paper grocery bag when you need one?
The point isn’t trying to convince black voters that Obama isn’t black. It’s reminding white voters that he isn’t white.
And I’ll give the conservative hate machine credit, they’ve come up with a clever spin on this. If they had tried to define Obama as being black, they would have risked some voters not wanting to admit they’re too prejudiced to vote for a black candidate. But by inventing the theme that Obama is faking his ancestry, they make him look like the guilty party - and people can vote against him guilt-free.
And if they were identify solely as their other halves (especially if their other halves are white), would you accept that? Would you participate in referring to them that way to others?
Has anyone actually said that he’s not black enough? I thought the controversy was over whether he was black, period — that monicker being reserved for descendants of West African slaves. Please don’t descend on me with "how dare you"s and such. I’m just asking the question.