Ok, so you folks know that I'm proud because of the fact that the next president is gonna be a Black man, right? You guys know this especially if you've been around my page for some time now. Well, I've been observing comments from people all across the blogosphere, and the one thing that stands out, is that many people are saying that they're proud of our country because they looked past his race and voted for him.
Did they really?
Now, I'm not trying to trivialize Obama's accomplishment, or take away from the historic nature of it. However, I've been thinking about this: Did the electorate really look past his race? Or did we have no other choice given the state of the economy, combined with John McCain's inability to truly address our needs as the world comes crashing down around us financially.
I really would like you to think about this for a few and lemme know what you think in your commentary. Like I said before, this is in no way an attempt to take away from the historic significance of his election. Its merely an attempt to look back and break it down for what it was. My concern is that today, while some of us still celebrate this victory, others are gonna look to this as its being advertised. The last thing I'd hate to see is people coming to the conclusion that we do live in a "post racial" society given his success to date. Oh and please don't give me that "we've come a long way" talk because I already know that we have.
I'm looking for an honest dialogue.
Lets be honest, if the economy wasn't in shambles...
and if George Bush wasn't as unpopular as he is...
do you think Barack Obama would have beaten John McCain?
Would the electorate "look past race" as its been said, and elect him president?
8 comments:
Hello
i hope they at least looked at intellect, first smart president since nixon if u asked me
Okay. You're correct, he had no serious challenge to the White House, not from that disastrous Republican duo, not intellectually speaking.
But Obama did face a huge backlash from millions of voters. You know McCain got votes solely because he was the white candidate. Just because he was white, just because he was establishment, just because he was older.
We all know Obama is singularly the most qualified candidate to come down the pike for many years.
I'm truly impressed by all the white voters (remember the black/latino/youth votes were less than a third of his total) who stepped out of their comfort zone and voted for the best man for the job.
They ignored their lifelong institutionalized racism and deeply ingrained cultural misgivings.
Forty-three percent of all white votes went to Obama- startling and wonderful.
Barack is one of the luckiest politicians in our times - and I pray it continues. I swear, the Lord made a path for him beginning years ago, as surely as he parted the waters for Moses.
Had Granpa McCain not selected Sarah Palin, and instead chose a VP running mate like the GOP moderate Tom Ridge or supposedly economically strong Mitt Romney, AND the economy wasn't in utter shambles, I don't think it would have been a landslide victory. Would Barack still have won? You're guess is as good as mine.
BTW, got a surprise for ya at my blog.
I'm glad you are asking this question. If I hear one more person talk about us being in a "post-racial" society or saying that black people can now achieve anything I think I will scream.
I think that he was very lucky like Kit said. But I also think that on some levels some people ARE becoming a bit less occupied with race.
I know that a lot of people voting him in because he was the best of two evils, others because he was on the Democratic ticket, others because they really believed in what he stands for.
If conditions were different politically, who knows.
Unfortunately, I think that it would have been a lot closer, if not swung the other way, if shit was not so bad.
Sorry to be such a pessimist/realist.
I still have hope in what he can accomplish now that he has been lucky (?) enough to become the prez-o-dent.
I absolutely cannot understand why race should be an issue when electing a president. But whether or not I understand it, apparently it was important to many people. I voted for Obama because he is intelligent, well-educated, eloquent, and relatively young and healthy. I think he will be an inspiration to young people in the country and that he will unite us (except for the ignorant, prejudiced doofuses out there)during what promises to be a difficult time.
It is also a mystery to me why people refer to Obama as "black." He is half black and half white. Fifty/fifty. He came out a pleasant shade of brown. Probably half of so-called "white" people bake themselves in the sun and/or tanning beds, so they can become brown...the darker, the better. So why on earth do so many of them dislike people who are naturally brown? Maybe they're jealous!
Torrence: I hope thats how they looked at him too. But you know this country has been dumbed down so much over the years that they think Sarah Palin is a Rhode Scholar.
Blackberry: I still think them "looking past race" was only because they were scared as were many of us given the state of affairs. I'm just not willing to give White folks a pass that easy because they stand to lose quite a bit given the alternative being John McCain.
Kit: I was debating this with some of my friends and thats just what I was saying. I was caught up on whether it was timing or luck. And I think its a little bit of both. I'd say the stars were aligned for him to walk right on in. I actually had a "brother" tell me that we Black people should thank White people for his victory because WE didnt turn out to the polls as expected. I wanted to kick that Negro in his balls.
Stuck: I had to ask this because at first hearing it was scaring me. The last thing I'd like to see are people disillusioned by this victory. Its bad enough that people are afraid to be honest about race in America, but to buy into this is detrimental.
Madam Z: Well race was the issue as I see it because Barack Obama only comes along once every 200yrs or so. Oh, and you could thank that ONE DROP rule made up by the white establishment for him being Black. Lets be honest, there's no section on job applications for HALF BLACK or ALMOST WHITE.
Wow, you captioned everyone's posts perfectly. Way to go! It's all valid, isn't it, the ishs of race, current political climate, economic downturn, age of competitor, the no other option votes. I'm thrilled he's in, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to help him, and it feels good to wake up knowing he'll soon be at the helm.
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