Obama and Race

I got a email a while back pointing out the subtle racial tones of this presidential race. I don't recall some of the points made - some very valid ones and as is usually the case some which were such a stretch they undermined the message.

What I remember, for example, is it saying what if Obama stood on a stage with a seventeen year old out of wedlock daughter. Race stereotyping would come to play as we thought yeah, "those" people have no morals! There were better comparisons but I do not recall them, sorry.

The sense of the email was how unfair our attitudes are toward a black running for president. I found it interesting but what it didn't say, if it had been a balanced and fair comment on race, is that if Obama were white it would be very unlikely he would even be in the race.

Think about a white freshmen senator with little experience, far left contacts, very liberal voting record and so on. I doubt he would get a chance to get any where near a primary. His early record would be enough to make people reject as too liberal to support. What if our "white" democratic contender had a extremist pastor that said "God damn America?"

So please, don't bring up that argument, it goes both ways.

Oh, and was really amused to see Sarah Palin on TV questioning Obama's experience. What's the term....hutspah? Well, would Sarah Palin be leading a Republican ticket if she had gone into the race on her own? I doubt it - too inexperienced, very conservative religious views, etc. She is running only as vice-president only because John McCain selected her. Conservative Republicans might have liked her but she would not engender enough support through the party and on a national level to do it on her own. Do you disagree? I think there are similarities here.

I don't think our political process does a good job of selecting the best candidates to lead our country. I think we should ask five year olds! The "Are you smarter then a five year old" show on TV has shown how highly qualified they are!