Well, election day is coming fast upon us and i see it both a momentous occasion and a time to really worry? why? because the two main candidates are a black man and a woman.
The Good: both men like Obama and women like Clinton have never before come this far in the national presidential elections, and this is indeed a time to celebrate the stepping forward of the nation, and especially the stepping forward of a very conservative government that even when controlled by liberals finds it hard to bring about change in itself. this is good. An additional plus is that Obama has a very fresh outlook, as well as having adopted some of the wills of John Edwards after he dropped out of the presidential race. Little things like vowing to lessen the effects of poverty and taking care of all of America's people. Clinton too is a good candidate because she comes from a place of experience, and it is very possible, since as the saying goes, "behind every great man is a great woman", that she played a hand in advising Bill's Clinton administration. Thus, Ms. Clinton is full of experience and probably a good bit of expertise at navigating the government.
The Bad: my major fear here is that voters will vote for Obama or Clinton simply based on race and gender. this both helps and hinders, but here's the deal. Women voters overwhelmingly prefer Clinton, and black voters overwhelmingly prefer Obama. Sound like a problem? well its not a big one, but it could be. what i fear is that people will not see this as an election, but as some reality tv show where you vote in the person whom you feel you can best relate to and send the other candidate home. This is not reality TV. This is REALITY and people had better get that before its too late.
Solution: get out there and start looking at the issues. we need to worry about the war in Iraq, our failure in Afghanistan, multiple genocides in Africa, global warming, 3 recent coups in East Timor, Venezuela, and another small country where the military refuses to give up power, and once it does, it may be given right back to the corrupt official from which it was taken. we need to worry about the country's recession, Cold War II, and Islamic extremism. Poverty, business corruption, falling school credibility and a population of Americans that daily loses its values and becomes more dumbed down and controllable. So get out there and look at the issues, not just the candidate, and find out who you really want to vote for. if you want Obama, Clinton, or even McCain or Ron Paul, go ahead and vote for them, but make sure that you know what you are doing. Do not let the country get any worse. make your decision count.
For the most part, I think the mentality of voting just to get a black man or white woman in office is due to the media. Every time polls are taken and examined, it is turned into a gender/race issue. Of course I can't forget the Clinton camp in their responsibility of this.
Pathetically, a lot more people will vote fro American Idol than will consider voting for the president. People feel they don't want to vote because they don't want to take responsibility, but I think if you don't vote, you relinquish any right to bitch about the state of the union.
-Sonja :)
the two main candidates are a black man and a woman.
I heard a rumor that there's also a white male running. John something or other.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
He is running, but I've not heard much about him. I don't know if the media pushed him out or if he just didn't really campaign. He's only on the ballot in less than half the states.
http://www.gravel2008.us/
-Sonja :)