The more things change. . .

All the Democratic presidential candidates ever talk about is “change.” Who is the best change agent? Who will change politics? Who will bring positive change to our country? It’s enough to make me change the channel.\nOne thing seems almost certain: the Democrats will present a candidate who will significantly change the tragically limited presidential mold of “white” and “male.” Both Obama and Clinton assert the campaign isn’t about race or gender. But after 42 white men have led our country of “justice” and “equality” for almost 220 years, the candidates are foolish to deny that a long overdue breakthrough isn’t significant.\nDespite the talk of change, when it comes to issues of race and racism it seems Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama play traditional games – diversions, empty generalizations and silence.\nObama and Clinton spent a week sparring over Clinton’s supposed diss of Martin Luther King, Jr. Obama’s people claimed that Clinton downplayed Dr. King’s role in passing the 1964 Civil Rights Act, while Clinton shot back that Obama distorted her remarks and injected unnecessary racial tension into the presidential contest. As if to insure no misunderstandings, Clinton has strongly affirmed her respect and admiration for Dr. King. “Each of us, no matter who we are or where we started from, is a beneficiary of Dr. King,” she said.\nObama has since conceded, “We share the same goals, ... we all believe in civil rights, we all believe in equal rights.” He added, “I think [the Clintons] care about the African American community ... and they want to see equal rights and equal justice in this country.”\nClinton offered her own olive branch, saying the racial tit-for-tat “does not reflect what is in our hearts” and that “when it comes to civil rights and our commitment to diversity ... Senator Obama and I are on the same side.”\nAnd so the “racial tension” subsides with generic commitments to equality while the significant issues that continue to plague people of color in this country (not to mention women and all people living in poverty) go unmentioned. We hear about the candidates’ plans for Iraq, for education or health care (generally speaking), but not about the specific realities of racism in everyday life.\nForty-five years ago Dr. King spoke of “manacles of segregation,” “chains of discrimination,” and the “lonely island of poverty” in a “vast ocean of material prosperity.” Today, those conditions haven’t changed; they’re just harder to see. Yet, our political leaders create stirs over trivial misunderstandings rather than nooses in Jena, La., educational and health care disparities, income gaps, housing discrimination, and incarceration statistics that all alarmingly point out that the “bank of justice” Dr. King described still distributes bad checks to people in our country based on race.\nReal change would be candid truth about the continued shortcomings of our great country followed by action. Real change would be for all candidates to address the inequalities because they aren’t black issues or women’s issues, but United States issues – our issues.