Put bluntly Obama is an African-American, and the conventional thinking and reality is that white Americans might publicly swear that color doesn’t matter to them when it comes to voting for a candidate, but then suddenly develop an acute case of voting booth conversion on Election Day. That meant that once inside the cozy and very private confines of the voting booth they punch the ticket for a white candidate in a head to head contest with a black candidate. The campaign trail is strewn with the wreckage of the campaigns of black candidates that held leads, in some instances substantial leads, over white opponents, and then went down to flaming defeat on Election Day.
That's my concern also. Tomorrow night will be a test to see if America has turned the corner and really put race behind, deep down inside I just don't think they have. White supremacy is a habit that's hard to kick.
Later in the article Mr. Hutchinson sound a bit more optimistic about Obama chances by comparing Obama's candidacy to that of Deval Patrick's, who is black, recent governor's seat victory in Massachusetts:
The two tips that Obama could escape their fate was the victory of Deval Patrick who won the Massachusetts's’s governor’s seat in 2006. He had even less political experience than Obama, had less money, and was up against a seasoned office holder. He won anyway, and he won with white votes.
The even bigger tip that things might be different with Obama is Obama himself. He plays hard on his multi-racial upbringing and heritage, can raise bushels of campaign cash, is a centrist politician that gets high marks as a consensus builder during his stint in the Illinois state legislature, and is not typed as a race card player ala Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.
So it's up in the air and we will see tomorrow whether or not America has turned the corner or just continuing to go around in circles, stay tuned.
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