Obama Backers, Drop the Race Card

Kathleen Parker takes to task members of the black media who are urging African Americans to vote for President Obama simply because he's black. And she hopes Obama doesn't join in playing the race card himself. "It would be the worst thing not only for his reelection campaign but also for the country," Parker writes in the Washington Post.

She mentions Al Sharpton but singles out radio host Tom Joyner for particular scorn. "I’m not afraid or ashamed to say that as black people, we should (re-elect Obama) because he’s a black man," he has written. Haven't we moved beyond this sentiment, wonders Parker. And hasn't Joyner listened to Obama himself on race? "This country has transcended much that was hideous and painful in the course of our evolution," she writes. "It would be a shame to turn back now." (More President Obama stories.)