My doubts grow greater everyday about the chances that Obama could win the nomination and the election. His Secret Service code name is "renegade," for God's sake. That word is way too close, when looking at the letters, to "nigger" for my taste. They said "don't read too much into it." Oh no, don't think so. The other candidates get code names that are from nature or animals. And with the racism that I experience as a woman every day and every time I step outside the door, despite having nearly three degrees and being a certified science teacher, I think - no, I know - that whites will go into the voting booth, look down, read the names and "Barack who?" could be the likely response.
If the logic that blacks folks must remain in their place in the white world is sound, then my foregone conclusion has to be that Barack Obama is sure as hell out of his place. And hence is destined to get the real WWF smack-down real soon. Forgive me readers, Heloise is feeling jaded today. But seriously, I really think that Obama's name will be written with something akin to invisible ink for most whites come voting day.
But does that mean we the people can't get him into high office? No, not at all. If the desire to vote reaches critical mass and people vote with their feet by going to the polls, then come election day, he won't need a rich daddy, vote buyers, book buyers, or ghost writers, if he becomes the party's candidate. But will he?
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Arch Conservative
Poor poor Barack.
Let's get a couple of things straight here........
First of all, Obama is not black, he is half black, half white, and if his skin were a couple of shades lighter he wouldn't even be considered black at all by anybody.
Second...the whole post suggests that the only reason anyone would vote against Obama is because he is perceived to be black. That is absolute horseshit and completely ignores pretty much all of the more pertinent and valid factors regarding Obama's candidacy that those who are much more seriosu than this post's author take into consideration. Things such as.....what does Obama actually believe and stand for? What has he doen in the past that shows he would make a good president? What direction would he lead us in as a nation.
The reason I would NEVER vote for Obaama has nothing to do with the color of his skin and everything to do with the fact that he's a run of the mill liberal. He's an empty suit with no real experience and all of this talk about his vision for America and his ability to unite America is a joke. You cannot unite two sides that don't want to be united. I guess the left's idea of unity though is to have their guy elected and then pretend that everyone loves him and that there is something worng with those who don't.
I didn't vote for Kerry and sure as shit ain't voting for Hillary. I will always refuse leftist ideolgy regardless of who's trying to force it upon me. Anyone who feels the need to label me a racist or sexist can fuck off!
2 - Lee Richards
"renegade...is way too close, when looking at the letters, to "nigger", for my taste."
A slight bit of over-reaching, perhaps?
Or do you read something nefarious into "Santa" & "Satan", too?
Racism is too serious (as you know better than I) to be used in such a silly context.
3 - Ben Caswell
Obama is not polling like Hillary because of only ONE THING:
NAME RECOGNITION.
As more and more and more people learn the measure of the man, more and more and more will join forces with this gathering momentum.
Whoever writes this blog strikes me as someone more interested in creating a controversy than recognizing what is so. As a science teacher myself, I am surprised at the bluster.
4 - moonraven
Obama is not polling well because he is capuccino out of the jar.
US voters are singularly unconscious (and it's really cost them, with the price continuing to rise), but maybe even unconsciously they would like to see The Real Thing?
As for the comparison of Obama with JFK--I can see that: nice looking, superficial thinkers, glib (they both have what we call "facilidad de palabra" in Spanish), young.
I campaigned for JFK in a rabidly republican district--but that's because the alternative was so creepy--as folks fpound out later when they did vote him into office and re-elect him. Yeah, the Nixon Trip shows just how unconscious US voters were even Back in the Day....
5 - handyguy
6 months before a single primary ballot has been cast, polls are not very meaningful...they're certainly subject to change. Democratic voters may in fact go for Clinton overwhelmingly in the primaries, but nobody knows that yet, just as Giuliani doesn't have a lock on the GOP nomination just because he leads in early polls.
For Democrats who want badly to win the next election, the nagging fears that 5% or 10% [or more] of the population are not yet ready to vote for a black president or a woman president are very real considerations - this could change the result in a close fall election. But how this will affect the nominating process is unknowable at this point.
6 - Baronius
That renegade/nigger thing might be the funniest line I've read on blogcritics in years.
7 - handyguy
The fact that Obama has raised money from far more individual contributors than any other candidate in either party [including, according to Dave Nalle, the most donations from military personnel] is interesting. I don't think all those people are rabid leftists, either. He is the freshest face among the major candidates, with less baggage.
8 - moonraven
handyguy,
You make him sound like Jimmy Carter.
Too bad he ISN'T....
9 - Baronius
The Carter comparison is interesting.
I'm convinced that this will be another 1976. There are so many people running. There's not going to be a first tier / second tier, which is the way the press is describing it. (Rule of thumb: whatever trend the press perceives is false.) Instead, pretty much everyone is going to get some attention along the way. One of the "minor" candidates could easily win a nomination.
Boy, that was jumbled. Let me say this better.
Usually, there are 2-3 likely candidates, and a few others with little name recognition. One of the likely candidates wins. This time, the campaign cycle is longer, and there are more free media. Both factors will help the less-known candidates to get their names out. Both factors also increase the likelihood of a macaca moment for the major candidates.
In a way, Obama is a beneficiary of the long campaign cycle. He's gotten more attention than a 1/2-term senator normally would. But the cycle may be too long for him. He may be boring by next year.
So I wouldn't worry about name recognition or racism.
10 - REMF
"But the cycle may be too long for him. He may be boring by next year."
Wrong, sorry. Obama is our next president.
- MCH
11 - REMF
"The reason I would NEVER vote for Obaama has nothing to do with the color of his skin and everything to do with the fact that he's a run of the mill liberal."
- Arch/Bing
But you voted for a Deserter...twice (?)
12 - moonraven
Obama is NOT your next president.
I will bet you a hundred bucks. Right now.
(Like taking candy from a baby....)
13 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Obama is NOT your next president. I will bet you a hundred bucks. Right now.
Marthe - care to lay $100 on the sun rising in the east tomorrow? I got the C-note, but I wanna check with my bookie first...
14 - moonraven
I AM your bookie.
15 - zingzing
"And with the racism that I experience as a woman every day and every time I step outside the door, [blarblarblar,] I think - no, I know - that whites will go into the voting booth, look down, read the names and "Barack who?" could be the likely response."
ok--this makes no sense. if racist whites don't know who barak obama IS, how are they going to know that he is black?
"But seriously, I really think that Obama's name will be written with something akin to invisible ink for most whites come voting day."
bah. anyone who follows politics at all--be they black or white--knows who barak obama is. and a large majority aren't going to vote against him because he is black. that's just silly. they'll vote for a lot of other reasons. maybe they want to vote for experience, or a woman... who knows. some small percentage might vote because a certain way because they hold racist attitudes, but i'm sure that's true for black people as well. some black people ARE going to vote for obama simply because he is black. that's not necessarily racism, it's just voting for someone who represents your views.
is a man voting against hillary automatically sexist? is a woman voting for hillary sexist? no. it's not even sexist if her sex is the reason why a person votes for or against her. it's just voting for your interests.
same with obama. some white farmer in idaho might vote against obama because he's an african american from chicago. chicago doesn't know diddly about idaho, and white farmers in idaho probably don't even know more than two or three black people.
that's what voting is about: representation. you overstate racism to an extraordinary degree in this case. it's only one of a ton of different things going on here, and it's a much smaller hurdle in middle america for obama than his inexperience or his urban (meaning "city") background.
really, his race may be his biggest plus. maybe only 5% of the white population (probably none-too-liberal anyway) are going to vote against him because of his race. but, he'll get more of the black vote, more of the other minority vote, probably a bit of the female vote, a bunch of the liberal vote... the positives that come out of his race outweigh the negatives for his campaign, i believe.
16 - REMF
You're on, moonraven!
17 - Baronius
Zing, it's the definition of racism if someone votes for/against a candidate based on their race. Ditto with sexism. I don't see how you can call it "voting their interests". OK, to be fair, if a person thinks that voting for his type will help people of his type, then I guess he's thinking of his vote as in his interests. I just don't think that's why people would vote for their type. They want to see one of their own succeed, and that's whateverism.
18 - moonraven
Here we call that egoism(o).
REMF:
Gee, I almost hate to take your money.
But I will, anyway....
19 - zingzing
baronius: "Zing, it's the definition of racism if someone votes for/against a candidate based on their race. Ditto with sexism."
not if they don't do it solely for the reason that they hate a certain skin color or a certain sex. people vote for who they want representing them. people vote for those with similar intersts. if a female candidate shows that she is only interested in women's issues and has no time for the nation-at-large, then it is not sexist for a man to say, "well, i want a president who is going to be interested in things other than women's issues," that is not sexist. if a woman votes for a woman because "she's looking to take care of my interests, being a woman," that is not sexist either. not in any negative sense at least. it's just voting for someone who is looking after your interests.
same thing for race.
that's what i'm trying to say. of course there are those who will vote for or against a candidate solely because of what race/sex they are. voting for someone just because they look like you is... silly. voting against someone because they are different is "whateverism." voting for someone because they back up your issues (which may be dependant upon their race or sex) is not a bad thing at all, in fact it may be smart.
20 - moonraven
Right--All women's issues are inherently separate from those of the other (not quite) half of the human race.
Women's issues--like stopping wars, having the right to choose, educating children and adults, growing businesses, preventing violence against their gender and against children, equal pay for equal work.
You know--stuff that degrades men.
21 - RJ
Obama is not polling like Hillary because of only ONE THING:
NAME RECOGNITION.
So...once all of America knows the name "Barack Hussein Obama" they'll be rushing to vote for him?
Bwahahahahahahahah!!!
22 - RJ
ok--this makes no sense. if racist whites don't know who barak obama IS, how are they going to know that he is black?
Uh, cuz his name is "Barack Hussein Obama" ...
23 - RJ
some small percentage might vote because a certain way because they hold racist attitudes, but i'm sure that's true for black people as well. some black people ARE going to vote for obama simply because he is black. that's not necessarily racism, it's just voting for someone who represents your views.
ROTFL!!!
So...whites/hispanics/asians who vote against Barack Hussein Obama simply because he is "black" (even though he is half-black and half-white) "hold racist attitudes" ... but blacks who vote for Barack Hussein Obama simply because he is "black" (even though he is half-black and half-white) are "just voting for someone who represents [their] views" ...
ROTFL!!!
24 - IgnatiusReilly
"Ted Sorenson, John F. Kennedy's advisor and speech writer says, "Obama reminds me in many ways of Kennedy." Okay, all well and good."
So is Sorenson saying Obama reminds him of Heloise, since she claims to be Kennedy? I am confused.
"And with the racism that I experience as a woman every day and every time I step outside the door"
When did women become a race unto themselves? Are you sure you don't mean sexism? Also, your reasoning is very unclear. Assuming someone does hate you for your sex (or race), why would the awareness of your schooling abate their hatred?
25 - zingzing
moonraven: "All women's issues are inherently separate from those of the other (not quite) half of the human race."
don't be an idiot. it's fucking obvious that by "women's issues" i meant stuff that ONLY APPLIES TO WOMEN. and it was JUST AN EXAMPLE! just like there are men's issues, there are women's issues. for fuck's sake, grow up.