Oh, Obama!

Barack Obama is all over the news today, for raising a record 32.5 million dollars from 258,000 donors and for a dubious response to an AIDS related comment in the last Democratic presidential candidate debate.

First, the money race. Obama, the45-year-old freshman Senator from Illinois, raised more money between April 1 and June 30th in 2007 than the entire Democratic field did in the same second quarter in 2003 ($30.8 million) but still shy of the all-time record set in that same quarter by George W. Bush, a sitting Republican President, with $35 million. Obama has now outraised Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton $55.7 to $53 million since January 1, 2007 (and Clinton's amount includes $10 million she transferred over from her Senate re-election campaign fund). In addition, Obama is raising a significantly higher percentage of his money for the Presidential primary election as opposed to the Presidential general election. Clinton had $6 million of her $27 million for the general election, while Obama had only $1.5 million of his $32.5 million. The former First Lady consistently leads the African American presidential candidate by approximately 10 percentage points in national polls, however.

Now, to the accusations of homophobia being cast towards Obama due to this informal exchange at the Democratic Presidential forum last week:

Joe Biden: ...I got tested for AIDS. I know Barack got tested for AIDS. There's no shame in being tested for AIDS. It's an important thing because the fact of the matter is, in the communities engaged in denial, no one wants to talk about it in the community and we do not have enough leaders in the community and outside the community demanding we face the reality, confront the men in the community as well as the women, letting them know there are alternatives.

Tavis Smiley: Thank you.

Barack Obama: Tavis, I just got to make clear that I got tested with Michelle when we were in Kenya in Africa, so I don't want any confusion here about what's going on.

Joe Biden: Well, I got tested to save my life because I had a blood transfusion.

Barack Obama: I was tested with my wife.

Tavis Smiley: And I'm sure Michelle appreciates you clarifying that.

Barack Obama: In public.

Why is this exchange provoking negative reviews all over the blogosphere? As usual, TerranceDC over at Pam's House Blend has nailed it.

[...]

Clearly, his comfort with the issue only goes so far. In the light of morning, far from the flashbulbs and the headiness of being in close proximity to political celebrity, Obama's second response seemed to me a superfluous affirmation of his heterosexuality (given the presence of his wife in the audience, at least) and one that would only be necessary to a mind that read Biden's remark as an implication that he and Obama got tested together and thus had some reason to get tested together. A "comfortable" candidate wouldn't have felt it necessary to respond affirm his heterosexuality by responding to Biden's comment, but would have laughed it off instead, without further comment.

And speaking of laughter, given the response of the audience to Obama's second remark's raucus laughter that seemed to me to be in stark contrast to the subdued response to his earlier remark about homophobia ? indicates that, contrary to Lane Hudson's assessment in his HuffPo piece, any "level of immaturity" indicated in Obama's second remark may actually enhance his ability to "go all the way" in this campaign rather than hobble him in any way.

I've written about black homophobia and its origins before, and I will again, but it occurs to me that it was briefly on display Thursday night, both on the stage and in the audience. In his first line, Obama was "keeping it non-homophobic" for just a minute and the audience response was polite at best. In his second line, Obama was "keeping it real" and they loved him for it.

Word!