I was surprised to come across an article on the front page of the New York Times describing the quandary for black women trying to choose between supporting Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. The article, which takes on an interesting angle of going to South Carolina and speaking to voters in what the article calls "hubs for black women in the Carolinas" or beauty salons.
Apparently, Obama has a special canvasing team dedicated to making appearances in these rural beauty parlors to spread word about his platform and connect with voters. It kind of sounds like an old-time approach to politics which will probably serve him well. After all, not everyone can be persuaded by a YouTube video or livechat with a candidate.
The article points out some of the key concerns for black women when choosing either candidate. Apparently, women are concerned about Obama's safety. One interviewee said, “I fear that they just would kill him, that he wouldn’t even have a chance.”
I guess I've never considered that one candidate would be in more danger as president than another. It's interesting that this issue would actually impact voters.
Another issue that black women are taking into consideration when determining a presidential candidate is loyalty to race or gender. The article explains that while voters should vote based on the political platforms, a lot of the time the decisions are based on "face value."
The article also draws connections between the South's love of Bill Clinton and how he could help Hillary's run. Some voters see Hillary's election as a way to bring back Bill into politics. Obama, on the other hand, is utilizing outside endorsements from folks like Oprah Winfrey and John Lewis to rally support.
I'd like to think that the Democratic nominee will be chosen because of his or her qualifications and not race or gender. However, this probably isn't the reality. Our society may be ready to embrace a women or black man as president, but it's not in the position to say that these aren't issues. When we can disregard gender or race or even sexuality from politics, we've really achieved something.
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4 comments:
This is an interesting point that I never really gave much thought to as of yet. It is true that, while, it should be the issues that win a candidate votes, more often than not it is their appearance, approach, personality, or something else seemingly superficial. It should be interesting how this plays out in the cases of Clinton and Obama.
Honestly, the safety issue is one of the only reasons I'm not set on voting for Obama. Coming out of a Southern-White-Republican administration, something about electing a black Democrat seems like a recipe for potential disaster. We'd basically be voting to stick Obama in the crosshairs of every pissed-off, racist good-ol'-boy who owns a gun -- which, as I understand, is almost all of them. I'm sure Barack can take care of himself, but I worry.
I'd like to think we don't live in the same era as people like John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald, but I guess you can never be too sure. Some Americans are fairly tolerant and can vote and judge based on issues and policy, but there's always those people who take race and gender too far and make an issue out of the smallest differences. I guess the only way they'll ever be noticed is if they do something drastic. Let's hope they don't.
I really enjoyed reading this entry. I'll admit I know little about Obama's campaign or his talking points but it's always struck me as a little jarring to see how much his race card is played.
Strange to think he might get shot for it.
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