Great Expectations

The notion conjures up interesting images: Nutter, passing by a mirror, catches a glimpse of himself, stops short and says: "Holy Mackeral! I'm black!"

Another is that there is a racial content to ideas. There are White ideas and Black ideas and their validity rests solely on their color. Stop and frisk is a White idea, and anti-black.

What's an example of a Black idea? Maybe selling the airport?

But I digress.

Who is the blackest of black candidates?

If we go on skin tone, it is Dwight Evans, who is a dark-mocha black.
So, if you are black and you want the blackest of the black candidates to be mayor, you should probably vote for Dwight.

I don't know how that would change his numbers, but it has to help.
If blacks are making their decision based on skin color, it is clear -- what with Dwight hovering around the 10 percent mark in the public polls -- that there are not enough dark-mochas out there.

Nutter and Fattah, in my book (and I am not an expert on this) are almost equally black. I judge Nutter to be nut brown, while Fattah srtikes me as coffee-with-just-a-touch-of-cream brown. Of the two, Nutter is slightly darker -- so he may also appeal to the dark-mochas out there as a 2nd choice to Dwight. The swing dark-mocha vote is something we should watch on Election Day.

My theory is that many of these conversations aren't about race, but about class.
I know it is against the law to talk about class in America, but I said it and I am sticking by my guns.

All of the candidates -- the dark mochas, the nut browns, the coffee-with-creams, the pinks and pale whites -- come from working-class/lower-middle class backgrounds and often it shows. Look at Bob Brady. The guy is a congressman, but he has an unreconstructed Philly accent. He exudes working class, almost down to the dems and dese and dos.

Even mutli-millionaire Tom Knox has a kid from the streets air to him. In fact, you get the impression that running for mayor and spending his very own $8 million on the cause is Knox's way of showing up the snooty, rich (very white) guys he's met over the years.

Despite his roots, I see Nutter as strictly a middle-class overachiever.
With his St. Joe's and Penn credentials and his button-down look, Nutter is the earnest nerd who made good. He's the guy who sat in the front of the class and was first to raise his hand when Father O'Doyle asked a question. He speaks in crisp, distinct from-the-grammar book diction. The fact that he is "Michael" to everyone, and not the more demotic "Mike" is a sign.

To me, Fattah -- whilst seeking to be champion of working class and poor blacks (of all shades) -- exudes upper class. He's got the big house in East Falls. He's got the kids in private school. He's got the princely demeanor and polish. He's even married to a princess.

But, I digress.

As Fattah exorted us last night, the race among these five Democrats shouldn't be about class.

And apparently it shouldn't be about the content of their character.

It should be about the color of their skin.

- Tom Ferrick