Did Ralph Nader drop the Uncle Tom bomb on Obama?

A great related article on Warren G. Harding and rumours that he had an African-American lineage. 

Harding: The first African-American president?

This just shows Nader for the megalomaniac he his.  He has Jesse Jackson complex: if he can't be the one to make history then he just wants to spoil it for everyone else.

The statement was not misinterpreted. Immediately following Obama's first speech as the President Elect, Nader was interviewed on Fox. He had this question on his mind: "Is Obama going to be Uncle Sam or Uncle Tom?"; a statement that any rational human being who wants to continue a political career would most likely keep to themselves. Unfortunately, Ralph Nader didn't agree. Furthermore, when given a chance to retract his inquiry, he said that, in retrospect, he still would not use a different phrase than Uncle Tom.

I also saw the same post election speech by Obama and afterwards the Fox interview.  I wish I had Tivo but I swear I heard him say we dont need any toadsters up in washington or something to that effect.  But that has the root word toad which is racist.

E F - Toad is racist?  First I've ever heard.  Google'd it too, just to see if I was ignorant.  Can't find anything supporting that statement. 

Anyway - yeah - Nader could have chosen better words last night on Fox, but people hear "Uncle Tom" and instantly think "racist" and that's really not the case here I don't think.  (btw, I am NOT a Nader supporter or even interested in him).  If you look at the historical significance, "Uncle Tom" was considered to be acting in a way that was detrimental to blacks as a group, due to his loyalty to his "Master".  I really think Nader was trying to say that in a "catchy" way by comparing Uncle Sam (total freedom) to Uncle Tom (blind loyalty to white America, thus undermining the African-American group) but he underestimated the effect of his words.  The anchor, of course, jumped on the opportunity for controversy.  

So who needs the sensitivity training?  Nader or the public?   I wouldn't choose those words because they are inflammatory but that's only if you don't understand the real historical significance. 

This man needs prayer. I'm still in a state of shock, but at least, he his out of "his" closet! This is how he really feels. God bless him anyway. Here is a man that has tried to get in where he can fit in and it has not happened yet and now will not happen . This is who he really is. I feel sorry for him. He has rang a bell that he can't un-ring. Why when we, as, "Black Americans", "African-Americans", or even Americans that happen to be "Black", carry on simple conversations, knowing how to speak, and yes, even know how to simlpy articulate a thuoght, it's termed as "talking white". I was taught it was simply correct english.

Nader, you son of a bitch.  While you do occasionally bring up good points to consider, this was by for the most irresponsible, ignorant, and foolish thing you have EVER said - there by negating everything you've ever said before it as credible.  This man is the first African American to become our nation's President in it's history, and you have to soil it with your sour losing hate speech.  You are truly a son of a bitch.  I regret ever even CONSIDERING you as a viable option.  Congradulations of destroying your own legacy in One Sentance.  You make me sick.

Uncle Tom real name was Josiah Henson.  He was an ex-slave slave that tried to help other slaves better themselves. Self taught and very proud. I think Mr. Nader should stop using racially backwards notions and just admit he also is sore loser.

Nader wasn't making a derrogatory comment. He was encouraging Obama not to become a toadstool for white corporate America. To bad most of the people out there are too reactionary to even realize what he was saying.

Someone will say, "yes but there are more effective ways to tell the president elect not to be a sell out".

Maybe, but, no one listens to Nader to begin with. So I can see why he might have intentionally tried to shock. I believe it was a message to the black community to be on their guard and not think that just because Obama is black that he has their best interests at heart. It was also a challenge to Obama not to be a sell out. And from what I can tell so far, Obama does not pay much attention do the opinions of independents... so again this may have been the most effective way.

Nader wasn't making a derrogatory comment. He was encouraging Obama not to become a toadstool for white corporate <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />America. To bad most of the people out there are too reactionary to even realize what he was saying.

Someone will say, "yes but there are more effective ways to tell the president elect not to be a sell out".

Maybe, but, no one listens to Nader to begin with. So I can see why he might have intentionally tried to shock. I believe it was a message to the black community to be on their guard and not think that just because Obama is black that he has their best interests at heart. It was also a challenge to Obama not to be a sell out. And from what I can tell so far, Obama does not pay much attention do the opinions of independents... so again this may have been the most effective way.

I do not see the comment as racist at all. He challenges Obama to not pander to white america, and I think black americans should agree with that sentiment. Also, the phrase "Talking white" I do not think refers to actual speech, but is used here to mean presenting issues in a way that is exceedingly friendly to white america. As for whether or not Uncle Tom pandered to whites, that is a separate issue, but that is what the term has come to mean. 

Sorry.

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This shows just how shallow Nader really is when it comes to racial issues.  It’s depressing, because what he says is basically right---problem is, it’s just <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />TOO basic.  People are not potato chips or toasters that can be judged with a vibration machine or an ohm meter.  And now I have to wonder, how much does Nader care about race relations?  I already know how flippant he is about politics---after all, he runs for president ONLY.  He doesn’t care that by messing up the Gore election, he screwed real live people over.  His tampering might just have helped the Iraq war start.  Blood may be on his hands.  Not a good job, Ralph.  Not a gob at all.  And who needs Nader anyway when we have people like Sanders and Kucinich?  Goodbye, Ralph.

I watched the news last night, Nov. 4th, 2008 and saw the "uncle Tom" comment being made by Nader, directly after the Presidential Elect announcement. And this was LIVE, not a previous interview.

This is instance is not from June. This is from LAST NIGHT.

My jaw hit the floor!!! I couldn't believe that someone would say something like that and then when he was questioned about his choice of words, and given the chance to correct his choice of words, he gets offended that people are disgusted at his word choice.

Then Nader has the audacity to try and throw it back on the interviewer by calling him (the interviewer) a bully!!!!

I used to think that Nader had some valid points in his campiagn for president each time, but with the use of this one thing, he completely made me disgusted and I have lost all respect for him and anything that he has to say.

ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING!!!!

By the way, didn't we practically fry Don Imus for making a comment a while back using the word "nappy"?

And Ralph Nader referenced Obama as Uncle Tom...... and there are still people sticking up for him? DISGUSTING!!!

And to the person that said why does an "Uncle Tom" reference have to be negative...ARE YOU KIDDING?! While the reference or real person (Josiah Henson) may have started out as something positive, it is not something that is postive now!!! Nor could it ever be construed as trying to be positive. Some things, over time, although they may have started out as positive or less inflammatory, will NEVER EVER be associated with positive things, ever, because of their perverted and twisted use!! (Uncle Tom, Swastikas...until the Germans perverted it...it was used in many cultures as a positive symbol..., the word "n**ger...it started out as a term for slave, regardless of skin color).

There is no doubt that Mr. Nader would be better served to leave discussions of whether or not a person is "Uncle Tomming" to those who know something about it.  Which, I don't think is him, not nohow, not no way.  Obama would, however, make a great Uncle Sam figure. He's skinny and would fill a cut-away coat and those pants just right.

I would like to see Obama, even before he takes office, gain about 10 to 15 pounds. He's a bit on the skinny side, for my Presidential taste.  How much change are we supposed to take at once?

I have a comment on the "first black president." There has never been an African American president before. Period. The John Hansen (first president of the Continental Congress, sometimes called the President of the United States) depicted here is a different John Hansen (Liberian Senator who was involved in efforts to relocate African Americans to Liberia). The YouTube bit is talking about the first John Hansen mentioned, but has a portrait of the second (an African American). This a moment in history to be celebrated and people should not be misled. Check the facts. I study this for a living. :o)

This is quite possibly the lamest thing I've ever heard. A white man accuses a black man of being white because he doesn't address issues facing poor African American communities (this of course assumes that all Black people are poor). Barack Obama's plan on addressing poverty in America strongly outlines several of his positions on key issues facing lower income communities in the US: banking reform (subprime lending), welfare reform, tax reductions, job creation (blue collar job creation), mortage refinancing at better rates etc. Read his plan. He talks about it. As far as I am concerned Ralph Nader is depressed because he doesn't have the charisma, vision, direction, or intelligence of our President Elect.  He in fact does not attack the man's issues but his identity. This shows that he sees Pres. Elect Obama for his skin color, NOT his ideas - effectively making him a racist. This whole thing has convinced me of one thing. I am NEVER, never voting for Ralph Nader.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IshiClQqCM heres the video of it.

I found Nader's statements utterly ironic. First, this a white guy calling a black guy an Uncle Tom. Secondly, and more importantly, from the other quotes provided here, it's a completely racist statement. Nader was not just telling Obama to fight for the people, he was also delivering the implicit message that because he is a Black candidate he SHOULD be talking about poverty, meaning he is expected to because of his race. Nader is talking about a guy that was raised by a single white mother and two white grandparents, went to Harvard, and was president of the Harvard Law Review. He was raised and has continuously lived in white culture, not urban black culture, and has his own unique racial experience and yet Nader judges him on decidedly racial grounds.

It's true that Obama didn't want to look like Jesse Jackson. He didn't want to be perceived as a particularly racial candidate. He didn't really went to step on the ever-shifting ground of racial politics when he had his own significant challenges to overcome as a presidential candidate already. So? How is that relevant to Obama, specifically? Why does he have to be a racial candidate because he's Black? He can't just be the Democratic candidate for president, he also MUST be the black candidate? Go ahead and use Obama's mainstream campaign to make a critique of "whiteness" culture, or attack Obama for his silence on important issues, but don't insinuate a racial betrayal because he opted for a mainstream message.

So this Uncle Tom thing started before last night?  I heard Nader say "I hope Barak doesn't become an Uncle Tom to Big Business."  Can he get his head out of his a**?

"He in fact does not attack the man's issues but his identity." - This just shows that you have no idea what you're talking about, and have never paid attention to anything Nader has ever said. This is not a man who launches personal attacks - he only EVER attacks policy positions.

For those of you who think Ralph Nader is racist - he was active in the civil rights movement in the 60s, and I've heard him speak about how he and his friends (black and white) used to talk about how great it would be for there to be a black president. It's unfortunate he chose the words he did, but only because people tend to jump to irrational conclusions about what he meant.

Plus, if you want to talk about racism, why don't you look at the fact that 95% of African Americans voted for Obama? Now THAT's racism.

I was more disturbed by the FOX host hounding the race card than Nader's use of such a charged phrase. I don't think Nader was being racist at all. He was asking a valid question with a vivid example that would hopefully make people think about it. The host was practically foaming to pin Nader to the racial component and didn't address the content at all. He was so excited to have something that could be contorted into a racial slam said by a left candidate, like whoo-hoo, you made a racial slur first! "You want the words "Uncle Tom" to be your legacy?"

NO! Nader wants his legacy to be that to the very end he has challenged the powers-that-be to work for the little people instead of being a slave to outside interests.

Racism isn't dead just because we elected an African-American president, the road is longer than that. But Ralph Nader wasn't being a racist. We're so trigger happy with anything that might taste of racism that we throw the baby out with the bathwater. LISTEN to the question!!!!!!

I DON'T want a president who is in the pocket of corporations. I DO want a president who really helps poor people improve their lives. I was often struck in recent months by how often Obama mentioned "middle class" in policy points but didn't say "poor" or "lower" class as much.

I'm SO excited to join President Obama in creating the change we really need, and I hope everyone who is excited by this election rolls up their sleeves and helps out.

And I thank Ralph Nader for making the point that as great as Obama is, as much as he inspires us and gives us hope, we really have to rise up to demand the change we REALLY want to see - an end to corporate interests and more power to the people who really need it.

Shame on FOX for sensationalizing the wrappings and not looking at the content. Of course, what would you expect from FOX. But silly you for being caught in the FOX race-baiting trap.

Go OBAMA! YES WE CAN!

I don't think that people are over-reacting to Nader's comments by any means. Of course, he may have only intended to insight a suspenseful and constructive challenge to President-Elect Obama, but the old phrase "wrong place, wrong time" echoes endlessly.

To not be offended by Nader basically telling Obama "Don't be an Uncle Tom once your president" is virtually he same as telling him, "Don't play the house-nigger when you get in office". The message may have been valuable (technically), but the delivery was untimely, irresponsible, absent-minded, and inconsiderate. The question is, being that he feels Obama and McCain both play to corporate interest, would he of used those same words when addressing McCain... I seriously doubt it.

Understanding what it truely means, as a black man, to be called an Uncle Tom is, in my opinion, the best personal indicator for the impact of his words. I thought people became more wise with age...

Ralph Nader is just a self-obssessed spoiler!  We are living in a post-racialist age when people do not want to be defined merely by their race anymore than I want to be defined by my sexual proclivities!  But we all live in a racist society still.  I think Barack Obama has been really smart in appealing to the whole electorate and especially young people who do not want to be put in straightjackets and offered out-dated stereotypes.