rise up Rochester

“So nobody really thinks that Bush or McCain have a real answer for the challenges we face, so what they’re going to try to do is make you scared of me. You know, he’s not patriotic enough. He’s got a funny name. You know, he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on those dollar bills, you know. He’s risky. That’s essentially the argument they’re making.”

These were Barack Obama’s comment’s in Union, Missouri. John McCain’s manager responded by saying that Obama “played the race card…from the bottom of the deck.” He says Obama is shameful and wrong, etc. BUT I’m really glad that Obama brought up the issue, because we all know that it’s there and we all know the media has been playing off his “otherness” from the very beginning. I don’t think it was wrong of Obama to point out what has been going on all along. That otherness is not just about race–it’s about religion as well, and it is about his name. (How many times have you heard someone call him Barack Osama…just to be snide?)

Who will you vote for?

I think what this interaction really points out, aside from the fact that both democrats and republicans are using the issue of race to divert our attention from what the candidates are actually proposing, is that race is in an issue in a way it should not be.

Every time I pick up an article to read, even from my beloved NY Times, I can’t get more than a few paragraphs in without reading, “But…Obama might not be able to secure the votes of white, southern, truck drivers or white women in the teaching profession,” or whatever other nonsense groups they use to define the American people.

So why mention it in every article? Why continue to divide Americans into racial groups and analyze their decisions when we are trying to create a supposedly “color blind” society? Or was that ever the goal? Even though I believe that there is discrimination against all groups that takes place, when the media, in a presidential election, emphasizes to readers and viewers that whites and blacks, women and men all vote differently because of their race and socioeconomic status alone and that a candidate has to tailor his appearance and promises to all different subsets (again, based on race) it simply perpetuates the idea that we are not all humans with similar needs. It doesn’t give enough to credit to the people out there who think outside the box of charisma and physical appearance.

Think about one NY Times article on the subject: “McCain Camp Says Obama Plays Race Card.” The article gives some great information about what is going on, and has gone on in regards to racism in political campaigning, but it falls into the exact same thinking pattern that we must all break from. For example,

The tactic could cut both ways: it might tap into the qualms some white, working-class voters in crucial swing states may have about a black candidate, or it could ricochet back against the McCain campaign, which has been accused even by some fellow Republicans of engaging in overly negative campaigning in recent days.

Or this comment: “The sparring over race thrust an unpredictable element into the campaign.” Did it? The media has been talking about race since long before the primaries. Is the NY Times really surprised that Obama said what he said? Not to mention the negative ads McCain’s camp has been running (i.e. comparing Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.”)  Unpredictable element? Hardly.

So, the country could have its first black president in 2008…how do you process that? In some ways, I think a moment of pause to consider the fact that many blacks in America are struggling today and yet we may well have a black man as our president…which could be seen as a symbol of hope and progress, is necessary.

But, I also wonder if spending too much time praising that as an accomplishment diminishes the fact that he obviously got where he is for a reason, and it has nothing to do with the color of his skin. And sometimes by associating the accomplishment with his race makes it seem as though that is part of the his mystique; part of his successful persona. I think it is appropriate to acknowledge that McCain’s campaign and the media in general have tried to make Obama an ‘other’ and make McCain and Hillary ‘one of us’. But the lines between politician and the common people is the ‘other’ and ‘one of us’ that we should still be wary of.

Obama is not necessarily a representative for black people in America; he is supposed to represent our whole country and its value of the Constitution. I think we could look at him symbolically all we want and to some degree that may be appropriate.  To be black in America, some describe, is an entirely different experience that whites cannot only be aware of but never understand. But, if we are to move into the realm of “post-racial politics,” we all need to step outside the paradigms of class, gender and race and not think about whether Obama looks like he represents us and will help us out–all we need to do to decide who is the best candidate is determine which one believes in liberty for all people. Who will best protect us? More importantly, who will serve us.

As it stands now…I don’t know who I’m going to vote for. Either vote seems to move away from my principles…