Is America ready for a black president?
Barack Obama is all but a lock to run for President of the United States of America in the 2008. I don’t know if he’s the first black man to run for President ( though I can’t think of another ). If it matters, Obama is actually half black and half white - his father was Kenyan, and his mother from Kansas.
The question remains, is America ready for a black president? Well, let’s take a look. Why would it matter what color the president of the United States is? Should it make a difference if he is black, white, Hispanic, or Asian? In a word, yes, it does matter.
A hint of doubt
If a black man is elected to the office of President of the US, there will be a seed of doubt throughout his entire term. Many citizens will wonder if he is going to act in the best interest of the entire country, or whether he might put black citizens ahead of the rest of the country. Yes, I realize this is a strong statement, but I’m not afraid to say what everyone is thinking, but many are afraid to say.
If Obama is elected, and he approves laws or pushes for legislature that supports programs aimed at black citizens specifically, there may be a public outcry that he is not acting in the country’s best interest. After all, black Americans are far outnumbered by white Americans as of today. While minorities should not be ignored, isn’t it more important to carry out the desires of the majority of the citizens of the country?
Conflicting Goals
Two of Obama’s primary goals, as listed on his official website, are Ending the Conflict in Congo and Stopping the Genocide in Darfur. Both countries, of course, lie in Africa - a predominantly black continent. And Obama is half Kenyan, another African country. Is Obama truly interested in these people’s well beings, and believes that they are important to the world? Or does he want to get involved because of the fact that the citizens of those countries are black? After all, Obama is against the War in Iraq, but he wants to get involved in two other conflicts that also have nothing to do with America.
Is it racist to doubt a black man’s ability to serve as president?
I’m sure many will read this post, and cry “Racist!” I know that, and I’m ok with that. It’s going to happen, and there’s no stopping it, other than not publishing this post. But I truly have to wonder if a black man can effectively serve as president of the nation, and have the full confidence of the nation behind him. Many people must be thinking the same thing, but are simply afraid to voice their opinion.
What do you think?
So, what do you think? Am I right for doubting Obama? Or am I wrong? I want to hear what you think about it.
Jeremy Steele said
February 19 2007 @ 7:51 pm
Everyone is a little bit racist, it just depends on how racist they are. Anyone who says they are not even the tiniest bit racist is a big fat liar.
I highly doubt Obama will even win the preliminaries. However, the one thing he does better than Clinton is he doesn’t change his opinion constantly. Hillary for the war, then against it, then a year ago she was for it, now she is against it again. I mean, good god, make up your friggin mind!
Plus, she used to help out with stuff in upstate NY (which is where I live). Lately she hasn’t done squat though. She’s forgetting about the people who voted her in.
Leroy Brown said
February 20 2007 @ 7:03 am
I’m working on a post about Hilary as we speak - I’m not convinced she’s the right candidate either.
A senator who doesn’t try to help his/her home state is a poor one, at best.
Bob said
February 21 2007 @ 6:47 am
Certainly a fair question to ask…
Same type of question was asked in the 60’s, when JFK was running for, and elected Prez — as a Catholic — many voters were concerned that he would answer to the Pope, rather than act in the best interests of the U.S…
I’ll look at all candidates on the issues and decide who to support (I definitely like John Edwards so far, but I’m open to look them all).
For the record, a number of black candidates have run in the past:
Shirley Chisholm in the 70’s
Jesse Jackson in the 80’s (actually won a few primaries)
Al Sharpton and Carol Mosley-Brown in 2004…
Leroy Brown said
February 21 2007 @ 10:32 am
I wasn’t around for JFK ( Shows I’m not as old as I feel sometimes ) , but that’s an interesting point.
I don’t know a few of those folks you mentioned, but Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton bring a smile to my face. They had to know that *they* couldn’t win an election…. talk about extreme racism.
Tom said
February 23 2007 @ 5:18 am
Do you think a white president who concentrates on ending a war in, ummm, the former Yugoslavia for example, would be looked on as having white people’s interest at heart and not the interest of the country? Obama’s goal for Africa say nothing about invading anywhere and he has spoken against using our troops to invade foreign countries. His thinking is that we should be using this arcane art called diplomacy, something the country used to be pretty good at back in the old days. And in answer to your question, “Is it racist to doubt a black man’s ability to serve as president?” if it is based on nothing more than his race then the answer is yes.
Leroy Brown said
February 23 2007 @ 6:32 am
Tom,
I think it’s pretty apparent that the situation in Darfur won’t clear up unless a: they get tired of killing everyone, or someone steps up and gets involved. I don’t think it’s our place to do so, but it seems that Mr. Obama does. If diplomacy works, great. But what happens if he tries diplomacy, and it fails? What, exactly, is the next step?
I’m working on a post entitled “Is America ready for another white president?” - I’ll post a link as soon as it’s finished..
Tom said
February 23 2007 @ 9:03 am
And what was the next step in Serbia? And why should Serbia be any different than Sudan? And why do you think his being black would have any effect on his policies? The real question to ask is does George Bush being white have an effect on his policies? For example, did he ignore New Orleans because mostly black people live there?
Does America need another white president? | Green Llama said
February 23 2007 @ 9:19 am
[...] my recent post, Is America ready for a black president? , some people thought I had a valid question, while others thought I was on the racist side. [...]
Leroy Brown said
February 23 2007 @ 9:27 am
No one’s saying we had any business in Serbia. We probably didn’t, at least any more than we have business in Iraq, or we would in Sudan. Just because past ( or current ) presidents make mistakes and have poor judgement, that doesn’t make it ok for future presidents to do the same.
Does Bush being white have an effect on his policies? I don’t know. I hope not, but it’s impossible to say. I think it would be more accurate to say that Bush being an idiot has an effect on his policies more than anything.
With regards to New Orleans, I don’t really want to go too deeply into that here. I have a post on the subject which you’re welcome to read.
The residents of New Orleans have absolutely no one to blame but themselves. The ones who chose to stay in the city, despite the impending hurricane and ruin, and either a: stupid, b: lazy, or c: a combination of both. White, Black, Hispanic or Indian, that should be crystal clear to everyone.
Cory OBrien said
February 23 2007 @ 5:03 pm
I love this post. It’s bold and unforgiving, and definitely brings up some valid points. To that I’ll add that while America may not be ready for a black president (or any president that is not a white male for that matter), I think that’s why it would be such an important achievement, especially when we try to preach tolerance and understanding through out the world. If we can’t do it here, how can we expect others to do it there?
Leroy Brown said
February 23 2007 @ 7:27 pm
Cory,
That’s a good point. We are supposed to be an example for the entire world ( at least that’s the image we try to portray ) - what better than to put aside our racial differences and be able to vote freely… and perhaps vote a black president into office? I’d be all for it - if he’s the right candidate, but not for the sake of novelty.
Cory OBrien said
February 23 2007 @ 9:39 pm
I agree, and I also by no means meant that we should vote in a candidate just for the sake of novelty. I just hope that if a candidate has the qualifications, we can look past any preconceived notions and vote in the right person for the job.
jim said
February 6 2008 @ 10:24 pm
I am part German, part Polish, and part Irish. I call myself an American. Why can’t Obama call himself an American? After all he is half white. Why must blacks call themselves African Americans? Either you’re an American or not. I will not vote for anybody that does not consider him or her self anything but an American.
Lonzo said
February 15 2008 @ 9:39 am
“African American” is the correct term for Black amercicans. Its not how one consiters themselves just a person with Asian decent but born in american is known as “Asian american”. Being half white or anything else doesnt change that its the correct term.But being honest when you look at him you would consiter him a black man, which is why he is known as an African American. This is comming from a sixteen year old, so I’d think you’d already know these things.
Bob said
February 15 2008 @ 11:26 am
Interesting. I am ‘American’. My Ancestors are from Europe, but I have no reason or proclivity to refer to myself as ‘European-American’.
Stan said
February 15 2008 @ 6:41 pm
Why do all these people support a canidate that ahs only been a senator for ONLY 2 years. Why do you think he is capable of being the president of the greates county on the face of the planet. He is not quilified!!! I think that white (tree hugers) americans are voting for him strickly because he is black. Just like every major corporation in america, they have to have a certian percentage of minoity employees. That is B.S …the better more quilified person should get the job, PERIOD!
FUCK Obama!!!
Stan said
February 15 2008 @ 6:44 pm
AMEN BOB!!!! Hey 16 yr old…you must be a tree hugger!
Lonzo said
February 26 2008 @ 2:50 pm
Not really I just know proper terms, eh it doesnt really matter though. Your both just to dense to see that your logic is off so why should I bother wasteing my time talking to “Grown ups”, Who dont have the brain power of a sever year old?!
Jay said
February 26 2008 @ 3:28 pm
Interesting Lonzo — However, I’d suggest that you stay in school and learn a bit more proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling (”amercican”? “consiters”? “Your” should be “You’re”, “wasteing”?, a “sever” year old?) And the logic looks just fine to me, one is free to consider oneself a hyphenated-American if one wants to, but ‘American’ is just fine for others. Personal attacks towards someone who chooses not to hyphenate is a bit childish, don’t you think? And finally, it looks rather clear that Mr. Obama is bi-racial.