Accidental Blogger

In order to make certain sections of America comfortable with his candidacy, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Hussein Obama has some nagging problems to tackle beyond just his skin color.  He also has a Muslim problem, a patriotism problem, a friends and pastor problem. He even has an edgy wife problem.  So it came as a surprise and a disappointment to those of us who supported and defended him against charges of un-American exoticism to learn that some overzealous campaign staffers of Senator Obama are themselves "othering" others who do not in their view fit the description of true blue Americans.  It is somewhat ludicrous but not surprising in the realm of political pandering that the campaign of a candidate who is dogged by the suspicion of being a secret Muslim, should try to bar honest Muslims from being seen in the same frame as Obama on TV broadcasts.

Two Muslim women at Barack Obama’s rally in Detroit on Monday were barred from sitting behind the podium by campaign volunteers seeking to prevent the women’s headscarves from appearing in photographs or on television with the candidate.

The campaign has apologized to the women, both Obama supporters who said they felt betrayed by their treatment at the rally. 

“This is of course not the policy of the campaign. It is offensive and counter to Obama’s commitment to bring Americans together and simply not the kind of campaign we run,” said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. “We sincerely apologize for the behavior of these volunteers.”

Building a human backdrop to a political candidate, a set of faces to appear on television and in photographs, is always a delicate exercise in demographics and political correctness. Advance staffers typically pick supporters out of a crowd to reflect the candidate’s message.

When Obama won the North Carolina primary amid questions about his ability to connect with white voters, for instance, he stood in front of a group of middle-aged white women waving small American flags.

On the Republican side, a Hispanic New Hampshire Democrat, Roberto Fuentes, told Politico that he was recently asked, and declined, to contribute to the “diversity” of the crowd behind Sen. John McCain at a Nashua event.

But for Obama, the old-fashioned image-making contrasts with his promise to transcend identity politics and to embrace all elements of America. The incidents in Michigan, which has one of the largest Arab and Muslim populations in the country, also highlight an aspect of his campaign that sometimes rubs Muslims the wrong way: The candidate has vigorously denied a false, viral rumor that he himself is Muslim. But the denials at times seem to imply to some that there is something wrong with the faith, though Obama occasionally adds that he means no disrespect to Islam.

“I was coming to support him, and I felt like I was discriminated against by the very person who was supposed to be bringing this change, who I could really relate to,” said Hebba Aref, a 25-year-old lawyer who lives in the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills. “The message that I thought was delivered to us was that they do not want him associated with Muslims or Muslim supporters.”

In Detroit on Monday, the two different Obama volunteers — in separate incidents — made it clear that headscarves wouldn’t be in the picture. The volunteers gave different explanations for excluding the hijabs, one bluntly political and the other less clear….

The volunteer “explained to me that because of the political climate and what’s going on in the world and what’s going on with Muslim Americans, it’s not good for [Aref] to be seen on TV or associated with Obama,” said Koussan, a law student at Wayne State University.

So Obama, who has had his own problems with "exotic" dresses, cannot now be seen with supporters whose clothing may not be mainstream American.  Does this strike anyone as painfully ironic?  If he is not to appear with Muslim women in Hijab, what about Sikh men in turbans, orthodox Jewish men in yarmulkes? Are they barred also from being seen in the company of the presidential candidate? I am a supporter of Obama and sometimes I wear strange exotic clothing. Should I worry about being seen at an Obama rally for fear of scaring home grown Obama voters? I hope Senator Obama will step forward to denounce and reject such high handed and wrong headed thinking among his ignorant supporters. After all, what is so scary or off-putting about the picture below?