Jack,

I’m appalled.

Yesterday on your CNN blog you made the outrageous claim that the only way to make sense of the closeness of this presidential race is America’s racism against Senator Barack Obama.

In your words,

“Race is arguably the biggest issue in this election, and it’s one that nobody’s talking about. The differences between Barack Obama and John McCain couldn’t be more well-defined. Obama wants to change Washington. McCain is a part of Washington and a part of the Bush legacy. Yet the polls remain close. Doesn’t make sense…unless it’s race.”

I don’t know which is more shocking 1) your offensive suggestion that many McCain supporters recognize Barack Obama’s superiority (it’s so well-defined!), but refuse to vote for him because they are racists. 2) your simplistic analysis of the differences between the candidates, particularly your wild assertion that Obama, a Washington senator, is not really part of Washington because he wants to change it 3) your frightening disconnect with the majority of Americans and what determines their vote.

Jack, as a news analyst, you make a living off giving reasons for your intuitions. But, strangely, here you saw no reason to back up your accusation with facts. Now, I admit, that would have been a daunting task.

You would have had to explain why the very white Al Gore lost to George W. Bush—the man you say is a spitting image of John McCain. Then you would have had to explain why four years later another white man, John Kerry, met a similar fate against the same candidate—the one who looks just like John McCain.

You now have a black Democratic candidate going up against “a third Bush term”—as you dub it. If his principle domestic and foreign policy is nearly indistinguishable from Gore and Kerry, why would you be so quick to blame it on racism? If the two white guys lost, why wouldn’t the black guy lose too?

Had you provided some analysis with the accusation, surely you would have reminded your viewers that Barack Obama’s race is actually helping him in certain sectors. Black voters are expected to cast upwards of 14% of all ballots in this election (up from 12% in 2004) and current trends suggest at least 95% of these votes will be for Senator Obama. Compare these percentages with the New York Times’ published analysis of the Edison/Mitofsky exit polls in 2004 and we see a significant increase of Black votes going for Obama in 2008. To counter that bump, you would need a lot of racists, if racism is indeed what is driving people toward McCain, as you state.

Jack, if I read correctly between the lines, you believe this: Republicans who don’t approve of President Bush’s job performance (his ratings are in the 30’s), and who still are going to vote for McCain / Palin must all be racists, because this new Republican ticket is just like Bush / Cheney except for the color of Barack Obama.

Do you really want to say that?

My reading of the polls is quite different than yours. At least half of the American people disagree fundamentally with essential elements of the Democratic Platform. Despite many noble economic and political goals of the Party, in recent yeas it has found itself in the clutches of radical groups like Moveon.org, Planned Parenthood, Greenpeace, to name just a few. These organizations make it impossible for a moderate Democrat, who would appeal to Middle America, to get the nomination.

If many Republicans are unsatisfied with President Bush, it is not because of his conservative principles, but rather because he has not been as efficient as they would like in their application.

Jack, until the Democratic Party breaks free from this ideological stranglehold, it is more likely that a conservative, Republican, black man or woman will rise to the office of President of the United States of American than the Democrat’s Barack Obama. He is an exceptionally talented man, but his values do not coincide with the majority of America –as Gore and Kerry proved. And that’s got nothing to do with color.

I look forward to hearing your counter-analysis.

God bless,

Father Jonathan

Father Jonathan Morris is author of the new book, “The Promise: God’s Purpose and Plan for when Life Hurts.” For information, click here.