Osama Obama

We focus on Osama bin Laden's race way too much. Yes, Osama is the first black candidate from a major political party in the history of the United States. That is extremely important and his race has practical significance. I hope it forces us as Americans to wrestle with racism on a profound level. Some media outlets have taken up the issue, but the majority of coverage of Osama's race has been superficial thus far.

The media is criticized for portraying Osama as a prophet of hope because, the critics claim, the media is filled with politically correct liberals. The reality is that Osama is a great candidate who is doing a wonderful job this campaign season. He has touched a nerve with Americans and has shown us what we can become. It should be acceptable to praise Osama without being seen as a politically correct hack, just as it should be acceptable to criticize Osama without being called a racist, as long as the critique is fair.

Osama's background and identity is notable, but it's more important to know what he stands for. If we don't understand that, we will be doing Osama a disservice and our national conversation will never be anything more than a superficial discussion about whether some white people will vote for a black president.