Abbott and Obama

Apparently, Diane Abbott isn't comparing herself to Barack Obama:

"I'm not comparing myself to Barack Obama because he's a once in a life-time figure but two years ago no-one could have imagined a black man as US President. If that was possible in the US, I think people can change their ideas in Britain as well."

Finally, I can agree with Diane Abbott. She's not like Barack Obama. In reality, all they share is the fact that they come from ethnic minorities in their respective countries. Aside from that, they share nothing. Obama is an intelligent, politically savvy with a certain quiet charisma and, for the most part, a very measured approach to political action. He is also, for a politician, relatively good looking. Unlike Ms Abbott, who is fat, earnest, hypocritical cliche and a charisma vacuum to boot. Seriously, watch her on stage with the other four candidates for the Labour leadership. She is the only person - bar Gordon Brown - who seems able to make Ed Balls look quite personable by comparison. The differences between her and the incumbent US President could not be more pronounced: somehow, Obama made himself synonymous with hope. Abbott is synonymous with nothing that even approaches hope.

So no, Diane Abbot is not like Obama. The very fact that she would compare herself with Obama highlights just how much of her political identity she equates with her ethnicity. And for the record, I think people in Britain probably would change their ideas and elect someone from an ethnic minority as a party leader, and potentially even Prime Minister. However, it isn't ideas around ethnicity that would have to change in order to put Abbott in Number 10. It is also our ideas around why it isn't a great idea to elect an inarticulate, hypocritical, socialist idiot as Prime Minister.