Is Obama a messiah for white liberal guilt? Will the election of a black president provide an atonement for the guilt?

At what point in US history will liberal guilt for slavery be assuaged?

Perhaps after America does what Britain has done and apologized for its traffic in human cargo. Just saying...

in part over that issue is neither here nor there. Penalizing a couple of White generations of essentially lower-class poor folks via Affirmative Action is neither here nor there.

Let's hand over the Democratic Party's nomination as well and THEN issue an apology [that tiny portion of the population that once had slave owning ancestors; that is] on bended knee in order to finally wash away liberal guilt.

I AGREE, HOW RIDICULOUS ARE WE BECOMING. WE NOW PICK A BLACK PRESIDENT TO ATONE FOR THE PAST SINS OF SOME OF OUR ANCESTORS, TOTAL RUBBISH.

UNFORTUNATELY, THERE ARE STILL MANY UNEVOLVED FOLKS WHO WILL ALWAYS BE RACIST AND SEXIST. EVERYONE SKIPS OVER THE SEXIST ISSUE EVEN THE ARTICLE TRIED TO PLAY IT DOWN, SORRY IT DOES EXIST.

SO ON THAT PREMISE IT SEEMS A WOMAN SHOULD BE THE PRESIDENT TO ATONE FOR ALL THE WRONGS WOMAN HAVE ENDURED.

GET OVER IT VOTE FOR THE PERSON WHO WILL ADDRESS CURRENT DAY ISSUES. FOR ME THAT IS HILLARY.

@Gatewood

The Civil War was a tragedy that followed the institution of slavery, meaning, if slavery hadn't existed in the US the Civil War probably would not have happened. It was a very sad waste of life to correct a wrong which was just as deplorable and which should never have happened in the first place.

An apology will go a long way towards American healing. It takes a big person to acknowledge where a wrong was done by them and then to admit that to the person they had wronged. The people who instituted slavery have long died, the actual slaves had long died. But slavery's impact is not trapped in the past. It pervades every aspect of American society -culturally, economically, socially.

Otherwise I agree with you, guilt is not useful in deciding public policy. I don't agree with the sentiment that people ought to vote for Obama to assuage their guilt (in whichever form). They ought not to support Clinton 'cause they feel sorry for her and women in general either. They most certainly shouldn't support the Republicans 'cause they had just a few bad years, by not stretch of the imagination.

Is your dick just too small for you to use a normal typeface?