Quote:
Originally Posted by strandinthewind
This questions more than the obvious IMO. People will vote for Obama because he is black - South Carolina proved that. I cannot say I blame them. Ditto for Hillary and women - the primaries are proving that. On the R side, the situation is the same. People cannot vote for a pro choice and/or gay sympathetic person. They can be down the line conservative in fiscal policy, but the loathing of anti-Jesus baby muerders and faggot lovers is too much to overcome. So, I think party line voters are in a little trouble in this upcoming election - or, at least in the primaries.
Personally, I think that anyone who things Obama can or wants to make significant changes is deluding themselves. His actions to date and the people he surrounds himself with in his campaign prove my point ( http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-t..._a_lobb_1.html ). But, he is intelligent, energetic, and inspiring, not to mention electrifyingly charismatic - so, I think people are beguiled by that. I am not saying I do not think he would be a good President. I think he would. And, I will vote for him against anything the R's have now. But, call it the jaded voice of experience, Obama's seemingly earnest claim that he is the avenue for significant change is bogus. Put it this way, since I have been alive, every single President has been the candidate for BIG change and the lobbyist still run Washington and Big Oil's a$$ is wiped by the Congress.
So, I think both scenarios you posit will happen and they are equally was awful. But, it is what it is and in the end, you have to vote for the candidate you like. In this particular election, that will be divided on Christian, race, and gender lines - and IMO regardless of the actual effectiveness of any candidate. |
A few comments on the race thing. It's definitely a factor, whether people want to admit it or not. But let's all remember, Obama is black AND white. People will say "well, he represents himself as black." To those that don't know his family history, they look at him & say "he's black." I'm sure he has experienced discrimination from BOTH races at some point in his lifetime, but I'd be willing to bet more from racist whites. I think he identifies with the black community because of this, and because of the work he did in Chicago. However, he has never tried to deny his white family - he is what he is. If you've never read his first book, it's very interesting. As far as his "change" campaign, I don't know if there was anything else he could have done to combat the "lack of experience" argument.
Now. As much of a factor as it is, I really, truly hope that black people are NOT voting for him JUST because he's half black. I'm hoping that the women voting for Hillary are NOT voting for her JUST because she's a woman. And most of all, I hope that the white males are not voting for Edwards cuz he's the only white guy.
I have heard that the majority of blacks are democrats - is this true? If so, would they vote for a black republican candidate in the general election? Do you think they would cross party lines just to vote for "one of their own?" I hope not. I hope people stay true to who they are & what they believe.
Of course, we all want "one of our own" to succeed, whether it's someone of the same sex, race, from the same geographic location, similar backgrounds, whatever. But I hope people use that as a guide to help them START their research, not as the sole basis for their vote. If that were the case, I would have to vote for Hillary, the white female NY senator - but I don't know if I'm going to do that, because I haven't done enough research to decide. I don't think it's the right thing to do.
I read something scary the other day in the local paper - there are many people (especially in the black community) who do NOT want Obama to get elected. Why? They think if he is, he'll be assasinated within the first year.
Reading that shocked me, then scared me. Now I'm angry & sad - that this could be a reality, that someone in this nation could be so hateful that they would kill our president if he weren't white.
My God. The thing that pisses me off most is that they're RIGHT! There really are people that ignorant & hateful! In a country that voted Bush in AGAIN, we expect everyone to be open minded & trustful enough of a BLACK man to allow him to lead & represent our nation? I'm worried.
Strand,
Tell me about the good old days, will ya? I'm too young to remember......
No really, I know what you mean. Every politician is going to promise change, better days, blah blah blah. BUT, the way you describe it, it sure bolsters the "Why vote at all? Nothing will ever change. They're all a bunch of crooks...." argument.