Obama Unplugged (or Unscripted)

We got to see President-elect Obama’s first press conference today, which included Q&A from the reporters. While he did show concern over a reporter who had her arm in a sling, he also took the opportunity to sling some mud at 87-year-old Nancy Reagan about her séances (in fact, she consulted an astrologer from time to time).


http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/about-those-seances/


While he did call Mrs. Reagan to apologize, I wonder if this is just a one-off mistake or is Barack stealing Joe Biden’s gaffe thunder? Obama is exceptionally smooth with the teleprompter, but the votes haven’t been tallied on his ability to speak extemporaneously. If the current trend continues, Saturday Night Live might have hit the jackpot on November 4th.

Obama at the Turning Point of American Politics

Barack Obama’s presidency will be a turning point in America politics. The impact depends on his results. If his presidency is successful, then it will empower the idealist message and the need to include all of the people of America. It might mean that the people are more important than the elected officials.

On the other hand, an unsuccessful presidency could bring out a much more cynical response. We would be forever reminded about voting for a person without much experience. It would show that even the presidency could be bought with enough ($700 million!) money. It would remind us again that great orators don’t necessarily make great leaders.

This could happen in the next four years. Obama will be in charge of the nation, and in a large degree in charge of his legacy.

White America – Not Racist!

If the election of Barack Obama seems to prove anything, it is that white Americans, as a group, are not racist. They voted in large numbers for Obama. If widespread racism existed, we would have seen different results. Racism isn’t a feeling that you put aside for something as important as the presidential election.

Blacks on the other hand, voted for Obama by a huge percentage.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/politics/bal-te.exit05nov05,0,4265903.story

While this doesn’t mean that black people voted racially, it certainly can’t mean that they didn’t.

Another observation is that many blacks did not believe that a black man could be elected president and the fact that he was, turned out to be an amazing moment in their lives. The reverse sentiment didn’t appear with white Americans. While many white people disagreed with Obama’s politics or thought he was inexperienced, not many were shocked that a black man was elected (and men wouldn’t have been shocked if a woman – Hillary Clinton – had been elected). This is a stunning difference between the races and sexes in America.

We can hope that this election brings great things to our country. First, that it shows that most of America is not racist. Second, it shows that American is a meritocracy – that people who work hard, improve themselves, and leverage their opportunities can become successful. Not everybody can become president, but their race or sex won’t be the limiting factor. If these two ideas emerge from this election, America will have achieved an historic victory.

Playing Cards

John McCain and Barack Obama accused each other of playing the race card today.

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_080801.htm

McCain has pledged to keep race out of the debate. Certainly this seems wise in that the race issue is out there front and center anyway. With Obama getting 90+ percent of the black vote in some primaries, it seems that black people might be willing to vote for Obama because he is black. That in itself is not unreasonable considering Obama could be seen as the best person to represent their views. And some might vote for him just because he is black. But the same thing might happen on the other side. Whites (or Hispanics or Asians) might not vote for him because they think he is not the best person to represent their views. And unfortunately, some might not vote for him simply because he is black. But these issues are out there and not going away. The Republicans don’t need to remind people that Obama is black.

So instead of playing the race card, McCain is playing the rookie card. Let’s face it. Of all of the recent known presidential candidates, Obama has the weakest credentials of anyone except for Ralph Nader. He’s a single term senator, with no executive experience, no military experience, no foreign policy experience, and no economic experience. He’s an inspiring speaker, but is that enough to run a country? McCain is on target asking the American people if they want a rookie in the White House.