StarrEise wrote:
I just had an epiphany that I'll share with all of you.
I was about to post something about how if Obama wasn't a black man, this race wouldn't even be close because McCain is a trainwreck and his running mate a national joke (and potential national nightmare); that Obama would be miles ahead of McCain if not for his skin color and that there must be inherent racism keeping him down. (I still believe partially in the latter - sorry, I just do.)
But then I stopped to think about it. If the Dems had picked a white candidate with Obama's experience, spouting Obama's policy message, the situation would be drastically reversed and McCain would be miles ahead in the polls. There is no way the Dems would have picked a white candidate with Obama's credentials over Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden.
So: Why Obama? He is charismatic, he inspires hope, sure. But would he be so charismatic or inspirational if he were just some young white guy with only a few years' experience in the Senate? I think not. I think if he were white, he wouldn't be the Democratic candidate and we'd be seeing a very different race (pun intended).
Will it change my vote? No, I'll still vote for Obama because I don't like McCain and Palin. But I think Obama is the Democratic candidate and the forerunner in this race primarily BECAUSE of skin color. I think there's a lot of white guilt out there (I have my fair share) and a lot of people who think it's time to see a black man in the White House because the old white guys have fucked us all. Does that make him the better candidate? I don't know. But if Obama is where he is because of his skin color, I'm not sure that helps resolve the issue of race in this country or validates it. Only time will tell.
You may all tell me to go fuck myself now.
just sharing my thoughts in return...
i would have never supported clinton or biden. i live in dc, so if either were the nominee, i would have had the luxury of not voting, bc my vote for a dem doesn't matter here anyway.
i cannot stand hillary -- i think she has gotten to where she is bc of her husband, and i don't find her positions particularly compelling. and i can't respect some of the decisions that she's made in her personal life because i think she's made them to advance her career -- my opinion, who knows what's in her heart.
and i didn't think bush-clinton-clinton-bush-bush-clinton was healthy for the country. i opposed her for that alone.
i know biden is an old storyteller who can't shut up and is too sloppy with facts...would never have supported him.
i didn't think dodd and richardson the rest of the dem field had a chance nationally. (but i thought they were all legit vp candidates.)
if obama wasn't in it or wouldn't have survived iowa and nh, i would have gone for edwards.
and can you imagine this election if edwards had won the dem nomination? holy fuck, what a catastrophe that would have been.
but i wanted someone new, a clean slate, young with energy. for the dems in the primary, that left obama and edwards. i was more inspired by obama, as were a few million others.
so, i know i didn't support obama bc he was black. and i didn't support obama in spite of his experience. really, i don't think bill clinton's experience as governor of arkansas was all that much better than obama's now. or giuliani's experience as mayor of 9/11. or john edwards. dodd, biden, richardson all had more experience, but, eh. hillary was trying to run on her experience as first lady, which pissed me off and i found not credible.
while hillary was the obvious choice for dems, i didn't think there was any way in hell she'd win the general election. her negatives are too high. she would have mobilized the gop base like nothing else in the world.
i donated money to obama before the iowa primary bc i thought he was the best dem in the field. and i thought he could win. and, again, a few million other people thought the same way.
as it turns out, he's run an incredible campaign. he's hopefully going to capitalize on the support and close the deal on nov. 4.
so to me, it's about having someone with a clean slate and energy, and obama was the best pick of the dems this cycle. wasn't about his skin color.
