Senate majority leader Harry Reid is catching a lot of flak for comments he made about President Barack Obama. Reid, who claims he was an early backer of Obama, praises Obama for "being light-skinned," and "not speaking in Negro dialect."
These comments are quite stunning, but not totally surprising. When it comes to race it seems that the white men running both parties often had the same condescending views on black people. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich recently said that many Republicans are uncomfortable with Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele, because he comes from "a different background." Obama faced fierce opposition from Hilary supporters who refused to get behind a black man.
Reid has already apologised for his gaffe, but the damage has been done. Reid is already on thin ice, and this scandal might push him over the edge. But people should not be surprised, Reid belongs to a church that would not ordain black men until 1978, and then only under pressure from the U.S. government. Brigham Young, one of the founding fathers of the Mormon Church, also believed that black people had the "mark of Cain" on them and had "been cursed by god."
