Congratulations, America!
It’s (mostly) official. Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, based on the number of convention delegates who are either pledged to him or are super-delegates that say they’ll vote for him. Partisanship and politics aside, this is a fantastic day for America, having the first black candidate for the White House.
I believe this isn’t so much a step on the journey as it is an indication — proof, if you will — that those steps have already been taken. I’m proud of our country, and frankly I’d have been just as proud had Hillary Clinton been the first woman to lead a major party ticket. That she was a viable candidate the entire way through the primary season also speaks to our progress on that journey.
(And now, let the games begin. >grin<)
[tags]US presidential campaign,Barack Obama,Hillary Clinton[/tags]
Filed under: Doug • Government • Race Issues
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I must beg to differ, Doug. Let me play a little game with you. Let’s posit the following- say the Democratic Party, instead of nominating Obama as its first black nominee, nominated Al Sharpton. Or the Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Or Charles Barron. Or (insert any minority who is a racist or race-baiter here).
Would you still be congratulating America for its “accomplishment”? Methinks you won’t be offering the country attaboys for such an endorsment. To me, all of the media hype and hoopla highlighting Obama’s minority status is a sad commentary that we as a nation are still fixated on identity politics, rather than the ideas and policies that are held by politicians- regardless of their race or ethnicity. If someday in the future, a member of a minority becomes President and that President subsequently enslaves us (metaphorically) under the tentacles of an all-intrusive government, there will be absolutely nothing that we should be congratulating the electorate for.
That posits a whole bunch of stuff that really is pure speculation, especially the part about enslaving us. A white guy could do the same thing, so I’m not sure why that even comes into your question.
And, frankly, I think I would be offering attaboys if Sharpton was nominated, and for the very same, albeit similarly limited, reason. As a country, I think we’ve gotten past the issue of having a black man hold the presidency, and this is simply an indicator of that. Nothing more. This would be true of Sharpton or Obama.
Of course a “white guy” could be doing the same thing for us- 3 decades of the Democratic Party have been doing precisely that. But attaboys should be given for merit, not skin color. I would think far more highly of the broader electorate if we were educated enough to make decisions about a given candidate’s positions as they relate to our Constitutional liberties- not merely the fact that we’re big-minded enough to nominate a black candidate.
My point remains that we as a society are still hung up on supeficiality, rather than substance. It should be common-sensical to withold the congratulatory rhetoric if we are ultimately electing racists or race-baiters into office- even when they are of part of a minority group. Im am emphatically not saying Obama is that sort of leader, but he has indeed kept company with a coterie of people who are indeed those types of people- and there’s nothing to rejoice in that.
And rest assured, when a real leader like Bobby Jindal comes on to the national stage, you won’t see any mainstream media outlets carrying on about the purported fact that finally the image of the United States has been restored in the eyes of the world.
I think I agree with just about every thing you say about merit, hang-ups about superficiality over substance, and even Obama’s friends.
All I’m saying is, a black man being in this situation is indicative of our country’s journey towards racial reconciliation. It is. That is the sum total of all I’m saying about it.