LITTWIN: Obama just might write a showstopper in Pa.
By Mike Littwin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Alex Wong / Getty Images
Presidential hopeful Barack Obama greets workers Friday as he visits a United States Steel plant in Braddock, Pa. Obama has started a six-day bus tour through Pennsylvania to campaign for the upcoming primary.
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Bill Blakey, who's showing me the highlights of the Hill District neighborhood, tells me he's 80 years old. I wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't been dressed just so for his job as maintenance supervisor, dressed in the way that men once did, a lifetime ago.
He has worked on the Hill for most of that lifetime. He knows the place. And when he points across the street to show me where August Wilson used to work, I can almost see it as it was.
"See where that pack of dirt is," he says, pointing to a vacant lot that is empty except for the scattered remnants of a ruined building. "They just tore that building down a year ago. He used to sit there in the restaurant that was there, just sit there in that same red booth for hours, day after day.
"To tell you the truth, I thought the man was slow."
Wilson, who would become one of America's greatest playwrights, sat there in a restaurant called Eddie's, saying little, taking everything in. Wilson would say he took a pad and pen with him to record his observations. But Blakey doesn't remember either. He says Wilson just took it all in, taking no notes at all.
I'm taking notes in the heart of Pittsburgh's African-American community - which is about 30 percent of the city's population - to see how Barack Obama plays in a town that has, by official count, 88 neighborhoods, and where ethnicity seems to play a role in each one.
Obama arrived in Pittsburgh Friday - I left just a day before - to start his six-day bus tour across the state, which has been famously described as Pittsburgh on one end, Philadelphia on the other and Alabama in the middle. I came to the Hill to learn whether they thought Obama could sell across Pennsylvania in the April 22 primary.
The Hill was to Wilson what Dublin was to Joyce. Wilson wasn't just from the Hill. He was of the Hill.
And when he wasn't in Eddie's, he would go down to the funeral parlor, or to the jitney cab stand, or to the cigar store, or down the street where the men played cards and dice, or to the Crawford Grill, where Coltrane would play.
When Blakey saw Wilson' first play, Jitney, he told his wife, "He got everything right. Who was OK. Who wasn't OK. Who was corrupt. Who wasn't. He got every part of this neighborhood."
Wilson wrote his 10-play cycle about black America in the 20th century, one play for each decade, with most of the plays set on the Hill, which climbs from downtown, past the Mellon Arena, past the Lower Hill and its rehabbed houses, up to Wilson's shuttered childhood home on Bedford Street.
There is a sign on the street to mark Wilson's life and the house where he was born to a black mother and a white father, the father leaving early and the mother raising six kids. Maybe you know the plays that came of that life. Fences. Joe Turner's Come and Gone. The Piano Lesson. He won two Pulitzers before dying three years ago, at 60, of liver cancer, leaving a legacy that Frank Rich summed up, in a review of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, as sending "the entire history of black America crashing down upon our heads."
Wilson, who would famously say he didn't want to die in Pittsburgh, finished his life in Seattle, where all his plays would be produced. But he would write what he learned on the Hill. And in Fences, his play about a garbageman who once played in the Negro Leagues - Josh Gibson played here for the Homestead Grays - Wilson wrote his own summation, "Death is just a fastball on the outside corner."
I ran into Blakey on the way to visit Alma Speed Fox, who is being interviewed about the 1968 riots, which followed the assassination of Martin Luther King. She tells the story of how she snuck under the spread legs of National Guardsmen.
"They threw me in the paddy wagon, and people started shouting to let the sister go," she says from behind her desk at Freedom Unlimited Inc. "I wouldn't leave until they let us march."
It was the Sunday after King was killed. The riots had begun. But they let Fox, once the president of the local NAACP, have her march.
But the Hill has never been the same. Businesses never came back. The city has struggled, and the Hill has struggled even more. "Absolutely nothing good came out of the riots," she said.
But we were here to talk about politics and Pittsburgh today.
"Pittsburgh is a very clannish place," Fox told me. "It was clannish when I came here and the steel mills were running. You had Polish communities and Italian communities and African-American communities. People stick together in these communities. The steel mills have shut down, but it's the same thing in Pittsburgh.
"Now this primary, it's the first one that's ever mattered in Pennsylvania. It used to be, because the primary is so late, you just had to choose between Democrat and Republican. Now you have to choose between Democrats, and it's hard if you grew up the way most Pittsburghers grew up. 'My God, a woman, no woman's gonna boss me.' 'A black man, you're out of your mind.'"
So what do you do? If you're Alma Fox, you choose to be optimistic about a younger generation, a generation for which race isn't always defining.
"The young people," she says, "they look at these issues and they see them in an entirely different way."
Sala Udin was someone I needed to see. He was a friend of Wilson's. He was on the city council for 11 years. He was an activist who went south with the freedom riders. He was an actor who helped found, along with Wilson, the Black Horizon Theater and who played roles in several of Wilson's early plays.
He's also a leading supporter of Barack Obama.
"If you take his history of community organizing, that he comes from the South Side of Chicago, and that he wants to take community coalition building to a national level and change politics in the nation, it's no wonder I'm attracted to that. For all of us organizers, it's like heaven. 'My God, the president is one of us.' "
The question is whether he's one of a majority of Pennsylvania Democrats. Obama's 10-12 points behind in the polls, but Sen. Bob Casey became the first major politician in the state to endorse him, and Democrats are breaking records for new registrations.
Udin understands about ethnicity in Pennsylvania, but he doesn't see why Obama can't overcome it.
"People in the middle of Pennsylvania are no different than people in Iowa. The same way he makes black people look up and take notice, Obama makes white people look up and take notice. This shouldn't be a surprise. When you boil the differences down, we all need the same things, we all want the same things."
Some nervous Democratic politicians seem to want the same thing, too. Sen. Pat Leahy wants Hillary Clinton to quit. Howard Dean is pushing the superdelegates to decide. Clinton, though, says she's not going anywhere.
Pennsylvania, meanwhile, continues to gear up. And Udin tells me that when it's over, he's signed up for a role in Wilson's Two Trains Running, which will play here in May.
The play takes place in 1969 in, yes, a Pittsburgh restaurant. The subtext is, not surprisingly, racial unrest. And in 2008, in a far calmer setting, we're still waiting to see how the story turns out.
littwinm@RockyMountainNews.com.
Comments
Posted by gwats on March 29, 2008 at 2:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
In the back of my mind, I have to believe that racism and cronyism in PA can be overcome and that a black man has a shot at winning the hearts and mind of every voter in the Keystone State. hey, I can dream, can't I? Or did Karl Rove steal that from me too?
Posted by jason on March 29, 2008 at 6:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Democrats control Pittsburgh. Could that be a reason Pittsburgh is LOSING population??
Posted by DisplacedColoradoan on March 29, 2008 at 7:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Pittsburgh is losing population because you prefer your precious, cheap, dissident-infused, Chinese steel.
The Republicans and the Bush administration have presided over the greatest economic expansion in history... in Communist China.
Posted by RS on March 29, 2008 at 7:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There are three Democrats in this race; one moderate and two extreme Leftists. Looks like the moderate will be the choice of two major voting blocks - workers and taxpayers. Unfortunately, these two groups combined may not be enough to win.
Posted by jason on March 29, 2008 at 8:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Unions are another reason Pittsburgh is losing population.... Unions keep America from being competitive....
Posted by scastaneda on March 29, 2008 at 9:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sorry, Litwin...
Was that supposed to be a coherent editorial or something? That was just a brief "people's" history of some non-white Americans who happened to live in a state where (oh by the way) an African-American is campaigning. Very (un-)compelling.
Come on, Mike. You & I both KNOW it only took you about half an hour to write that. You don't cite any sources. You don't make any sense. And still, people post responses that suggest that they actually take your writing seriously.
Go back to your silly little drawings, Litwin. You obviously don't have the brain power to write a meaningful and coherent editorial.
Posted by scastaneda on March 29, 2008 at 9:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeah, Littie...
I just re-read your piece to make sure I wasn't missing the point. I'm not. There's no point. No wait. There IS a point.
Your point is that there are African-Americans living in a state that's about to vote in Democratic primary elections. That's deep, dude. Really heavy.
Posted by SASQUATCH on March 29, 2008 at 9:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I hope its close. That way "Operation Chaos" will have that much more time to work its magic!
Posted by Froward69 on March 29, 2008 at 10:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeah SASQUATCH,
you revealed just how much of a lemming you are. Oxycontin addicted limpballs, instructs you to interfere with Democracy. To further facest theocratic ideology. you are proving SASQUATCH, you and your ilk to be in fact traitors!
Posted by Froward69 on March 29, 2008 at 10:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I forgot SUBVERSIVE! the will of the people is meaningless to you and your ilk. you all are TREASONOUS!
Posted by blu_boi on March 29, 2008 at 11:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
WOW! It’s all over the news, Sen Obama got a Key Pennsylvania endorsements! Bob Casey Jr.!
Of course we don’t want the word to get out that Sen Clinton got SEVERAL Key Pennsylvania endorsements:
Gov. Rendell
Philadelphia Mayor Mike Nutter
Democratic Chairman T.J. Rooney
Sen. John Murtha
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl
Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato
Rep. Allyson Schwartz
Rep. Joe Sestak
More endorsements are coming this weekend for Hillary but don’t expect to hear about it on cable news, mums the word!
Posted by maukaman on March 29, 2008 at 12:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The really pathetic thing about the Democrat Party is that they can only come up with two totally unqualified candidates to be President. Or I guess they could come up with several more unqualified candidates. Can anyone name three important pieces of legislation that either Barack or Hillary have authored? I have yet to get an answer to that question. If they had so many ideas regarding foreign policy, the economy, etc. why didn't they introduce the legislation?
Posted by LOUIE on March 29, 2008 at 2:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Go, Brother, Go! I love a fresh vision, is not the world going to try your youth? So much lays at stake, do I trust my hand to youth or experence? What if experence lacks vision, or the vigor to follow through? What if America needs a cromwellian hand of guidance that only a protector of preservation can see unto inheritance? Damn the decision of my nation's fate...may by God's hand the best man win! Those who blood pays her debt, must pray the best man wins!
Posted by BJG on March 29, 2008 at 3:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
blu_boi:
Mikey doesn't recognize anyone else in the race except his love Obama. Hillay is a non-existent being to him. Mikey's boss ought to suggest he go on vacation until the election, as he has nothing of substance to write about except his adoration of the Obama. Maybe he could write about why he loves this man so much, admit that he's getting paid by the Obamaites, and quit the propaganda. Mikey is the reason that I will vote for McCain if his boyfriend gets the democratic nod. Thanks Mikey for making up my mind about who is best for America. Misogyny works every time for me.
Posted by KaySieverding on March 29, 2008 at 8:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am only a little younger than Hillary Clinton and I really do appreciate what women went thru in opening up opportunities that younger women now benefit from. However, I think that Hillary Clinton would be perceived a lot differently as a presidential candidate if she weren't married to an ex president. People got burned on the Bush-Bush presidencies and I think are turned off to family political dynasties. It just seems too back room. I would like Hillary more if her husband were a musician, a scientist, or a businessman.
Having a black man as President will create many powerful and positive images. All minorities world wide will be inspired by his success. America will not be able to be described as a racist nation if Obama is president. If he were a product or a business they would call his positive racial presentation an "intangible asset". I think Mrs. Obama will present a positive image also--her life story is positive. I am glad that Mr. Obama is a good husband and father and presents those values.
I think Hillary has a very good job as a Senator. I think Bill Clinton should occupy himself with the sub prime mortgage mess and how to reduce its negative effect on urban america.
Posted by scastaneda on March 29, 2008 at 10:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Dear KaySieverding,
You say that you think Hillary "would be perceived a lot differently as a presidential candidate if she weren't married to an ex president." I say she'd be perceived a lot differently if she weren't married to a man who publicly cheated on her, was accused of rape and using state police to cover it up, and then perjured himself trying to weasel his way out.
I might have some respect for her if she'd castrated the sumbich, or AT LEAST divorced him. But her political ambition is far more important to her than her dignity and self-respect. I can't muster up ANY respect for Hillary, and I'm quite frankly amazed that anyone can.
Posted by FlorenceBurns on March 29, 2008 at 11:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm worried about how we keep sending our troops to Iraq on multiple tours of duty and exhausting them and their families. Seems like McCain or Clinton will need to bring the draft back unless we can have a change in the White House.
I think Obama has it right with wanting to invest in our own backyard with alternative engergy. It'll help to bring jobs back and get us to depend less on foreign oil.
Posted by Broncos4Life on March 30, 2008 at 8:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How can anyone admire Hillary Clinton? She stood by a womanizing liar because of her political ambitions. She knew that divorce would hurt her as a potential candidate at some point. So instead of having any kind of a backbone she stood by her man, sacrificed any dignity she may have had and became the punchline to alot of jokes. I think Obama is'nt qualified enough to run this country, but he seems to have some type of ethical backbone his opponent is lacking. It's basically a race of two inexperienced candidates, who have not outlined any real issues, that are dividing the Democrats and their party. John McCain is looking like the lesser of two(or three in this case) evils.
Posted by John_II on March 30, 2008 at 9:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
So, I went to the barber shop a few weeks ago. I'm new to the area so I was curious what the locals were like. Turns out, they were very nice and welcomed me to the neighborhood.
"How would you like your hair cut today?" she asked.
She was a nice lady. Probably about 40 years old. Her daughter sat in the chair across the room, drying her hair.
"Oh, just cut it short" I said. "My wife will kill me if I don't come back looking all handsome."
She laughed and proceeded to cut my hair.
"So, you're new to the area? How do you like it?"
"I love it here." I told her. "This town is so peaceful. Very quiet. The sunsets are beautiful. And the stars at night..."
"The stars at night, aren't they amazing." she interjected.
"Incredible. Sometimes, I just stand outside and gaze at them. I've never seen so many stars."
As the hair on the floor kept piling up, I wondered if this shop will be able to stay in business much longer. Obama was on the television giving a speech.
"I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother..."
We sat there in silence for a moment. Although we didn't say anything at first, the fear of this man's presidency loomed heavily in the shop. If he is elected, he will most likely raise taxes on small business shops like this barber shop. Where will I go to get a hair cut if Obama is elected?
"He's a bum" I blurted out.
"Yes. Yes, he is" she affirmed.
Posted by John_II on March 30, 2008 at 9:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
scastaneda,
I completely agree with your 9:09 and 9:18 comments. I was thinking the same thing. I thought I was missing something. But, I wasn't.
Posted by KaySieverding on March 30, 2008 at 11:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How many people do you see out there saying that they want to risk all their privacy and their reputation and their finances to be president of the U.S.A.? I don't see what the point is of beating them up or beating them down past the point at which another candidate is better fitted for a particular job at a particular time. The Republicans are trying to use Democrats to beat up Democrats.
Senator Obama has shown himself to be a gentleman is his comments that Hillary should make her own choices. Already she has shown that a substantial percentage of the population will vote for a woman candidate. She has set the stage for another woman candidate in a future election. Meanwhile, her knowledge and experience are needed in the Senate.
If Obama does become President, it seems that he and Michelle will role model a responsible marriage and responsible child rearing.
What I see as the fundamental issue of this election is the parties position on regulation.
Posted by scastaneda on March 30, 2008 at 12:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
KaySieverding:
Two comments:
First, you assert that "The Republicans are trying to use Democrats to beat up Democrats." You're obviously not paying attention to the political discourse, Kay. The Repubs are just kicking back right now WATCHING the Dems beat on each other and giggling.
Second, you say that "...the fundamental issue of this election is the parties position on regulation." I think I agree. Here are their positions: Conservatives (i.e. Republicans) want less regulation, fewer laws, fewer taxes and fewer government employees, or at least that's what they say. Democrats say proud and out loud they want MORE of all these things.
That's not so tough, is it? My advice is that you decide whether you want more or less government regulation on private life, then vote for the candidate representing the party with which you agree (Dems = MORE regulation, Repbs = LESS regulation).
Posted by Roninson on March 30, 2008 at 1:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
John_II: I find it pretty sad that all you were able to glean from his speech on race were his comments about his pastor. And then even further, connected this speech to raising taxes on small business.
There may be more strings of logic here, but based on your posting, it doesn't make sense.
Posted by John_II on March 30, 2008 at 1:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Roninson,
You are taking my post too seriously. It was meant to be irrelevant and boring, just like this Littwin column.
But, having read the Obama "speech", I found it dull, boring, and indulgent. It was a brilliant speech in the sense that it changed the topic from black racism to white racism. But, I do not need a lecture from some cheap smooth talking politician like Obama on the subject of slavery. Slavery is old news. Let him talk about black crime in America. That is the biggest issue facing blacks in America, not racism. His grandmother was right to fear black men; they kill more folks in this country than any other race.
Posted by Froward69 on March 30, 2008 at 2:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I assure you John_II,
if you were to see me approaching you on the street at high noon... you would be afraid of me. not knowing who I am, or what I do, based only on my appearance. your assumptions would carry your emotions.
and I am White.
Posted by mike_littwin on March 30, 2008 at 2:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is Mike Littwin. Just for the record to scastaneda and others who might be confused: Drew Litton is the cartoonist. And a wonderful cartoonist at that.
If you can't tell the difference between "Littwin" and "Litton" -- which is, if you think about it, not unlike the difference between "columnist" and "cartoonist" -- it might just say something about your powers of observation.
Posted by John_II on March 30, 2008 at 3:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
That may be true, Froward69. I never said there was no reason to fear non-blacks. But, strictly talking statistics, there is a valid reason to be concerned about black males. Please do not let that fact diminish your own identity as a Bad A** White Man.
Posted by Spencer on March 31, 2008 at 12:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey John, if you went to my barber and supported Bush you might find your ear on the floor.
Posted by John_II on March 31, 2008 at 1:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The left is so violent...
Hey Spencer, was that you I heard last week calling into the Dan & Craig Show on 630AM?
Posted by Spencer on March 31, 2008 at 2:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
uh, that would be a tremendous NO. I have never listed to Haplis on the radio and believe it would be torture to do so.
Posted by scastaneda on March 31, 2008 at 9 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yo, Litwin...
Ok, you got me. You're NOT a former political cartoonist, you're a former sports writer. That makes you far more qualified. But like I said, you caught me making inaccurate statements, and then you got in your childish little jab about my powers of observation. Hooray for your intellectual prowess.
None of that changes the fact that MOST of your so-called columns read exactly like the first draft of a Freshman term paper. You're just filling space with a whole bunch of words that mean nothing. Most college newspapers contain far better columnists than you, and they usually don't get paid at all!
You at least get paid enough that you could afford to have your front teeth cleaned (YUCKY).
Posted by BJG on March 31, 2008 at 10:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The thing about Obama is that he makes these statements to try and please everybody; like if the preacher would have stayed at the church, he would have quit it. And he makes excuses for the vile man,(he's like an uncle, please.) How about if he were starting from scratch on health care he would make it a single payer system. (But he's got no answers on how to fix the existing problem.) He would have voted not to let Bush go into Iraq, had he been in the Senate at that time.(But he's got no plan to get all the troops out.) Someone should tell the man that hindsight IS 20/20, however, lets have some answers about problems we are living with today. Who cares what you "would" have done "if" you were in the senate for more than ONE term. In fact, what has he done???????????????? The guys a joke.
Posted by mike_littwin on March 31, 2008 at 10:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Yo, scas
Yucky?
I'm being critiqued by a guy who says yucky?
Seriously?
Posted by Spencer on April 1, 2008 at 8:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
You would think that hindsight is 20/20 but there are several stooges who STILL think the invasion was a good idea. McBush for one.
Posted by Marshdale on April 1, 2008 at 8:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
BJG. You are scared of Obama. Its so obvious its pathetic. There is only one person less articulate than "W" and that is John McCain. When they have their debates Obama is going to eat his lunch, spit it back out and offer it up as a soufle. Even a somewhat conservative Dem like myself can see that. This is why Republicans are so desparate for Hillary win the nomination because they can rally the base against her. Obama is a whole different ball game. You can serve up spit balls to this guy and he will hit them out of the park every time. He is not a silver tongued devil. He is just quicker on the stump and smarter than anybody else running. Your so called experienced nominee talks out of both sides of his mouth just like our current pres and the Clintons. I honor his service to this country, but he does not back it up when he votes against a package to help veterans. He is a wolf in sheeps clothing, A corporatist, and an old school thinker. It is time for change!!
Posted by John_II on April 1, 2008 at 12:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
scas,
I agree with you about your assessment of Mr. Littwin's columns. But, the "yucky" comment was uncalled for. Lets keep things somewhat respectful.
Posted by DoubleChubbyChuck on April 2, 2008 at 8:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Spencie, do you go to the same barber nitwit littwin goes to? Would that be the denver rescue mission?
Posted by titancain on April 2, 2008 at 11:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
repubs hate career women and gays. Isn't that all the hee haw states need?
Posted by scastaneda on April 3, 2008 at 12:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
No, Mike...
You're being critiqued by a guy who's done enough reading in his life to easily spot purposeless and lazy writing.
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