Color Blind
Here's what Howard Owens has to say on Trent Lott, Condi Rice, and the future of racism in American politics.

If a Trent Lott was going to be smacked down today, it would have to be his own peers - white men - who would do it. The leadership on the minority left has become so concerned with protecting its own power that those leaders are only interested in protecting the status quo, and that status quo involves promoting overtly racists standards, such as affirmative action. Since Lott's remarks did not openly threaten their agendas, his comments meant nothing to them (not until they saw they could get some press by condemning Lott). But conservatives grasped early on that if Lott's comments went unchallenged, the remarks would have a subtle but profound impact on extending the stereotype of white male conservatives - that we are closet racists.

The same conservatives who drummed Lott out of office will embrace Rice exactly because she can run on the content of her character and not on the color of her skin. We have, I am saying, moved that far beyond racism. You cannot succeed in American politics by making race an issue, and you'll fail if you try. And, let's face it, George W. Bush is a big reason that has happened.

The GOP is still the bastion of middle class white males, and it is the party of choice for most conservatives. With GWB in power and leading the charge, he has strengthened the hand of all like-minded conservatives. It's not that they are more emboldened to speak out; it's that their condemnations of racism and rhetoric supporting a color-blind society are amplified through a powerful bullhorn in GWB. And Bush does give them cover, because those who might disagree with the modern conservatives (notice, I'm not using the odious term, "compassionate conservatives"), will too quickly find themselves on the wrong side of the divide over race.

Great stuff.