I would be called ignorantly racist if I said this publicly, but this is so true. The country has been entraced by the concept of having our first black president; thereby, a post-racial America. I understand Obama was a "politician" prior to being a senator, but he still only served as a senator for one year. He may have been a community organizer, but this hardly is a major asset on the resume to become president. A woman could never have been in his place - This is an indisputable fact. Many much more qualified women in the past have ran for president, but fruitlessly. Had he been a white man with a mere one year of experience as a senator, Hillary Clinton (with her immense resume and all) would have won without worry, but because Obama got the advantage of over ninety percent of the black vote everywhere he went, not to mention a media who glorified him, circumstantially this has proven otherwise.
Because of the stupid system in which technically are votes don't count, but instead the delegates', he got a major advantage in several southern states where the majority of Democrats were black. Democrats have never won the white vote, and minorities make up a very susbstantial number. If the country is too racist to elect a black man, then why did that prove to not be a problem almost the entire primary race? This changed after the pastor scandal, and the consequental heavy speculation that he, and especially his wife, were racists. Obama also had the vote of the richer Demorcrats (who are mostly white, I might add), and the many states that had caucused were pretty biased; Hillary's core voters are hard working, middle-class Americans who can't make it out to a very small caucus at 1 PM.
Despite the fucked system, the biased media, the racially biased against Hillary, and the sexism, Hillary managed to win the popular vote. She even won a primary the night Obama clenched the election. having had a lot of big successes towards the end. Everyone totally wrote her out after she WON Indiana, which was a state she never was supposed to have won, given it was his home state's neighbor among other reasons. She also managed to win states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas, in which he outspent her usually at least three to one in tv ads, with a decisive margin, too. I'm not trying to sound bitter, but she should be commended for running one of the most fiercely relentless campaigns in American history, and one of the best, in my opinion.
Seriously, though, what do you all make of this? How do you think this would have all played out had Obama been white? Do you think he will win in November?

Obama seems like a really boring guy. His blackness doesn't make him anymore exciting to me. Then again I don't treat voting like a tabloid sport. America has a way of pulling each other around in the media. It's like a big naked lesbian mud fight. Interesting to watch if you're out of the ring though.
Really, can anyone here tell me any 10 things Obama promised to do once he becomes president without Googling it? Any of his plans at all? More than just something you overheard on CNN? Because I'm hearing about this race in Canada. Where we don't vote on it and I wouldn't give a shit otherwise. It's all sensationalism.
Not that it won't be better than it is but really now. No one knows what the fuck he's saying. He could go out butt naked and alert the media that he has missing weapons-grade plutonium stocked up in his mother's vagina and they'd cheer.

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It's all about directing yourself to THOSE people, the one's who won't go discern the substantial issues that shape the politician, but instead vote by mainly superficial motives, when it really comes down to it. The average American definitely couldn't list out Obama's promises, but they'll know all about his "change message" tactic. It's interesting that he arguably plagarised from some of John F. Kennedy's speeches, who was also a very young, new candidate. More and more comes out about him that makes me, for once, actually contemplate voting Republican; I mean, there's definitely a reason McCain brings in the most independents, and Sarah Palin is actually quite admirable I think.

Obama was raised by his white mother and white grandmother, notably.


This is all coming from an ethnic person, by the way, as I guess that offers some perspective.

yes. it had nothing to do with him having a good head on his shoulders or the hard work it took to get to where he is. its only because he's black.


its not racist of you, its just stupid.

theres been other black men who have tried to run for president. and guess what? they didnt even make it to candidacy.

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Obama is the only guy willing to pull the troops and get ourself out of this mess that was started eight years ago. With another attack on Pakistsan and their precious resources and Iraq ongoing I have a feeling the Republicans are going to skew and rig the elections again.
We need change, more electirc cars and not drilling.

Another thought:
Bush wouldn't be where he is today if the majority of the Americans weren't idiots.
Nuff said.

I would vote for Obama if I could vote.

HOWEVER, I still believe that there are a lot of people out there following trends, and that Obama is a bit of a trend, unfortunately or fortunately, however you look at it.

The younger generation that sips coffee in Starbucks and reads Nylon and is overall an "indie hipster" is all for Obama maybe because they want to be progressive and hip, seeing as the media glorifies Obama.

Not to say that HE got where he was because he is black. I think he's an intelligent, rational, and hard working man. But a lot of people in America love trends, the new cool thing.

And like I said, if I were 18 I would vote for him no matter what. He's got the right ideas.

four years ago, when the elections were in full swing obama spoke at the DNC and it was so arresting that i cried my eyes out and turned and said to my husband. "that guy is amazing. too bad he's black" because i thought that black meant he had no chance in hell of winning anything.

i think alot of other people were just as stunned and moved by that speech. that speech got him on the map. so no, it wasn;t because he was black. it was in spite of it that he has gotten as far as he has.

really, p[eople should vote their conscience. and if your conscience says that women should not have abortions, that we should continue the wars we are in and start new ones, that we should spend less money on poor people and give more money to corporations to baiul them out of the economic mess they created, then you go ahead and vote for mcain and palin.

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When I awoke, the Dire Wolf
Six hundred pounds of sin
Was grinning at my window
All I said was "Come on in".
Grateful Dead

that's quite harsh...
compare the US's situatin with Belgium...I don't think we are doing all that great over here either. In fact, I think it's absolutely ridiculous what this country has come to, but that doesn't mean we're almost all idiots.

I think the US was (and is) a country in crisis and the Republicans took advantage of that with their whole "war on terror" and the continuous throwing around of the words "fear" and "safety" a couple years ago, mainly after 9/11. The people were made to be scared and many of them voted (in 2004) for the person who largely created that fear, hoping for him to also be the one to take it away.
And don't forget the 2000 elections were pretty much stolen.

And I also think you shouldn't forget what great minds have come from the U.S. and amazing inventions and ideas. All those things are so easily forgotten.

agreed.
I think Obama is a very capable man. Let's also not forget that it's not really the president running the country by himself. It's him, PLUS all of the people he brings into office with him.
When I hear him talk I think he is very much ready to do this, and this has nothing to do with the color of his skin.

And well, if people are voting for him simply because he is black then, even though I find that silly, stupid and ignorant, it's still fine by me because he is so obviously the best choice for the US.

Excellent post here.
I certainly was stunned and moved. Pfft I still am when I hear bits of it.

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You must live on land and I must live at sea.

Actually Obama got this far because Hilary had supported the war in Iraq initially. He was one of the main contenders who had been against the war from the start and the ones who had been for the war originally ended up getting burned by their bad decision.

Isn't this an old debate? June was so long ago.

The choice, these days, is far, far clearer.

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"We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard-working, very patriotic, very pro-America areas of this great nation," she told the crowd.

It is quite rich to hear such a remark though. Bush wouldn't be where he has been at if he were black...ADMIT IT.

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If you are Canadian, there is a 30% chance you are already in Broken Social Scene

This is a tough subject for me because it is difficult not to be offended by this line of thinking. It is quite rich to think that this favoritism, or this fervent support by the black community (and other minorities) of Barack Obama is somehow wrong or it did not serve the public well enough. In this case, you thought Hillary was better quilified and had better chances winning were the rules different.

Think about how priviliged and how much favoritism our past presidents have enjoyed. Think about McCain's own record. Think about GW Bush. Is that okay? The answer is no, and I don't necessarily think you'd disagree. However, we give them a pass on those times they have been exalted above others who might have been more qualified because--DARE I SAY IT--we are inclined to expect that out of them. We are inclined to 'live with it' and become cynical about what one must do or have to ascend to power.

Now, you're going to tell me you're upset because the black community, a community often underrepresented, misrepresented, underserved (I could go on) cannot have their moment of 'favoritism' or be invigorated by Barack's story? Give me a break.

Translation on your post: He doesn't deserve what he has achieved because he is black. And anyone who does question you should also question whether what you're actually trying to say is prejudiced or not. Just as much as I should be questioned on whether my descriptions or my dislike, at least during the campaign, of Hillary Clinton was based on my own assumptions about gender.

And don't even tell us that bullshit about not being commended. All I have heard is Hillary this Hillary that from the convention to the cable channels to the newspapers. We DO commend her. We DO want her to continue doing what she's doing in the senate, in her day to day work.

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"We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard-working, very patriotic, very pro-America areas of this great nation," she told the crowd.

I live in a prodominatly black area and I can't tell you how many times I have heard about " finnally gonna get a black man in the white house" . I'm not saying that he isn't the right or wrong choice for president, but I know that he is going to get a lot of votes based on his race alone.

I could ask these same people why they are going to vote for him and the only answer they would come up with would be because he's black.

lol

I love it when people say, "if he wasn't black," as if its the equivalent of losing 20 pounds.

I don't mean to say he is where he is because he's black, but he will get into presidency because of it.
But the ends justify the means. I can't see McCain doing better.

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