As Barak Obama took the political field with a microphone to soothe the tensions created by the incendiary comments of his pastor, Jerimiah Wright, he has proved once again that what we need as a nation is not help shedding ourselves of our institutionally racist ways; what we need is to have the democrats move beyond using racism as a crutch to support their failing candidates. As Obama talked about how the jubilant atmosphere of his black church might shock the average white churchgoer, as Obama posited that "race is an issue that this nation cannot afford to ignore", as he linked his racial background to the repudiation with which the American people reacted to the comments of his pastor, as he spoke of the continuing segregation and inferiority of black schools, and linked racism of the past to the failure of black men to remain with their families and find good paying jobs; he conveniently sticks with the status quo, his buzz words of change and hope were not applied to the accepted paradigm. He declined the opportunity to condemn pastor Wright for his black racism, he declined the opportunity to admit just how far this nation has come, and declined the opportunity to admit that the ills that befall the average black family can hardly be blamed on white racism when black men commit crimes at many fold the white male rate, when two thirds of black men drop out of high school, when three quarters of black children are raised without a father.

There was nothing new in this speech, no change, certainly no hope. "We have no choice [except Barak Obama] if we are to continue on the path to a more perfect nation" he said, alluding yet again to the notion that only a black man can "fix" our country, and unintentionally to the notion espoused by Geraldine Ferraro that he would not be where he is today but for the color of his skin. In fact, rather than assure the American people that he disagreed with the vehement accusations of pastor Wright, he ludicrously suggested that he wasn't there when those statements were made, and that we just don't understand that there is more to the man than the statements being circulated by the media.

The mere fact that Obama's pastor's remarks were received so harshly by the American people, that in spite of the fact that Jerimiah Wright could have been given a pass for his comments because of the color of his skin, he was held accountable because racism is intolerable regardless of who originates it or to whom it is directed; indicates just how over race the American people are. It is the Democrats that can't let go. It's the Liberals that need race as a crutch in order to win elections and who need deep racial divisions to in order to have a race card to play when their candidates hit the rough road of their own indiscretions.

Imagine, on the other hand, that John McCain had a pastor, whose services he had attended for years, who had married him and his wife, baptized their children, and spoken at his political events. And imagine that that pastor had been a supporter of the KKK. What type of media reaction would you envision? This revelation would not be one that could be condemned as guilt by association or cherry picking of the pastor's statements. This problem would not be put to rest by giving a speech on race and just how far America has yet to go to solve the problem. McCain would certainly not be able to get up on a podium and tell the people that "we need him if we are to continue on the path toward a more perfect nation".

The sole reason that Barak Obama was able to pull this insolent charade is because he played the race card. He began with talk of his blood being a mixture of both slave and slave owner, and thus indemnified himself from any reverberations resulting from the comments of his pastor and supported by the Obama family's financial contributions. We can and will move beyond race in this great nation, but not until we shed the light on the terrible defeatism and victemology that lies behind the curtain of change and hope.