Late to the Party, But the Bar's Still Open
I've been talking a lot offline about Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and sexism and racism in America's effect on their campaigns. Many of my friends and fellow liberals feel Hillary is a known quantity, already a polarizing force as Bill Clinton's most important advisor, but most think that Obama has a tougher road thanks to his black heritage...or more accurately, his black AND white heritage.
This bullshit of "is he black enough" from both the liberal and, particularly, the conservative camps drives me absolutely batty. That's why I was so impressed and sympathetic with Obama's responses to 60 minutes (particularly the video "Black Enough?" there at the bottom left, where he says he still gets passed up by cabs and no one ever asks him if he's black when he's playing basketball). He and I are of a same mind on this - America is at the point where race, while sticky at times, is really being blown up by black and white intellectuals who assume it's a bigger issue with the prolitariat, who obviously must be bigoted morons, than it is. The astounding thing about all these interviews is the subtle yet racially-pointed questions asked by the interviewer in the first place - questions 1, 2, and 3 are on his race, his name and his admitted drug experiementation, THEN we get to his experience, which in my mind is his biggest obstacle.
The question of Obama's race is significant if someone is polling the entire country, but honestly we'll probably see most red states stay red and blue states stay blue. We all learned in 2001 that you only have to win 50.01% of the vote to be President, and it can happen again. So if race is the determining factor (and I don't think it will be - I think sexism, being unaddressed in the same way as race as been, would be more devisive) I don't think it will decide the presidency.
The ultimate concern for me is whether the Dems will pass the nomination to Clinton, who fits the predicatable safe path and middle of the road canidacy, rather than take a swing at the first candidate with genuine political charisma and common sense to get the nod in decades. Obama is obviously bright, well-spoken, grounded, and a powerful personality in a time where personalities rule. He's a REAL PERSON. He speaks to the next great generation of Americans. He is not afraid. I can only hope Democrats recognize this for how amazing valuable it is and have the balls to back him.
I've been talking a lot offline about Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and sexism and racism in America's effect on their campaigns. Many of my friends and fellow liberals feel Hillary is a known quantity, already a polarizing force as Bill Clinton's most important advisor, but most think that Obama has a tougher road thanks to his black heritage...or more accurately, his black AND white heritage.
This bullshit of "is he black enough" from both the liberal and, particularly, the conservative camps drives me absolutely batty. That's why I was so impressed and sympathetic with Obama's responses to 60 minutes (particularly the video "Black Enough?" there at the bottom left, where he says he still gets passed up by cabs and no one ever asks him if he's black when he's playing basketball). He and I are of a same mind on this - America is at the point where race, while sticky at times, is really being blown up by black and white intellectuals who assume it's a bigger issue with the prolitariat, who obviously must be bigoted morons, than it is. The astounding thing about all these interviews is the subtle yet racially-pointed questions asked by the interviewer in the first place - questions 1, 2, and 3 are on his race, his name and his admitted drug experiementation, THEN we get to his experience, which in my mind is his biggest obstacle.
The question of Obama's race is significant if someone is polling the entire country, but honestly we'll probably see most red states stay red and blue states stay blue. We all learned in 2001 that you only have to win 50.01% of the vote to be President, and it can happen again. So if race is the determining factor (and I don't think it will be - I think sexism, being unaddressed in the same way as race as been, would be more devisive) I don't think it will decide the presidency.
The ultimate concern for me is whether the Dems will pass the nomination to Clinton, who fits the predicatable safe path and middle of the road canidacy, rather than take a swing at the first candidate with genuine political charisma and common sense to get the nod in decades. Obama is obviously bright, well-spoken, grounded, and a powerful personality in a time where personalities rule. He's a REAL PERSON. He speaks to the next great generation of Americans. He is not afraid. I can only hope Democrats recognize this for how amazing valuable it is and have the balls to back him.
2 Comments:
I have mixed feelings on Clinton and only positive feelings on Obama. I am also interested in seeing Richardson get some deserved press instead of the bullshit he has been getting.
Right, I was talking about a fantasy Dem ticket the other day, and I thought that Obama/Richardson would be good. It's oddly in the Bush/Cheney ticket vein without the evil - Obama is the front man whose charisma makes stuff happen in the electorate and in the world, and Richardson, who's been made all but unelectable by the press for some reason, would lend even more experience to fortify Obama's biggest deficit. That ticket would absolutely nail liberals, women, and minorities I believe and certainly announce a new dawn of modern American politics as the first and only campaign to feature 2 people of color going for the nation's highest office.
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