2008 Woodie Awards
Black, female or Republican: Who will be our next president?
Michael McLaskey
Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
As the presidential candidate race gallops along, I hear more and more news pundits talking about the fever pitch surrounding Hillary Clinton, the first female president and Barack Obama, the first black president. When I think about the single-minded focus these folks have put on both gender and ethnicity, I wonder. Doesn’t this sort of rhetoric offend anyone else? Not only that, but in order to live in a nation that values diversity, isn’t this focus on such small characteristics counterproductive?
I understand America’s shameful past regarding both women and African-American rights, and it seems we’ve an obdurate focus on cleansing these sins of our fathers. However, aren’t we reinforcing the divisions that have kept America under the heels of both class and racial divisions by focusing on how huge a milestone this is for our national character, that the good old boys political system would even consider someone other than a rich, old, white man for the office.
What I fear is that those news pundits will keep focusing on gender and ethnicity to the point that a forest, or platform, can’t be seen for the trees, or the other side is camouflage. Would FOX News do that? I don’t doubt it.
Given their apparent ideological leanings, it would benefit FOX News to stay focused on Obama’s blackness, and Hillary’s womanhood. That way, the complete lack of a Republican platform won’t be obvious. I haven’t seen anyone from the Republican side stand up in a serious bid for the White House.
There’s talk, and there always is, about a few candidates, but it seems the red side isn’t concerned as much with campaigning as the Democratic side is.
I hope they’re not just expecting to ride the coat tails of President Bush’s approval rating straight into the Oval Office. In fact, if I can take the word of the average person I meet on the street for credibility, the Republicans are the ones who should be racing for a solid candidate. After the last six years of Republican leadership, America is ready for a change, and our last midterm election proved that. The red side is going to have to pull one impressive rabbit out of its hat soon, or the Democrats will take the White House.
So who will be the next President of the United States? Will he or she remain committed to the war on terror? Will our next Commander-in-Chief get us out of Iraq? Will they nationalize health care? To be honest, I hope I’m in another country by then. I want a country free of corrupt politicians that value businessmen over the workers that keep those businessmen rich. I want a country that values its educational system over the Defense Department, and I want a leader I can support, trusting that every executive decision has the authentic stroke of honesty, truth and justice. I want a President that can make that old adage of the American way more than an empty promise echoed by an empty suit.
I understand America’s shameful past regarding both women and African-American rights, and it seems we’ve an obdurate focus on cleansing these sins of our fathers. However, aren’t we reinforcing the divisions that have kept America under the heels of both class and racial divisions by focusing on how huge a milestone this is for our national character, that the good old boys political system would even consider someone other than a rich, old, white man for the office.
What I fear is that those news pundits will keep focusing on gender and ethnicity to the point that a forest, or platform, can’t be seen for the trees, or the other side is camouflage. Would FOX News do that? I don’t doubt it.
Given their apparent ideological leanings, it would benefit FOX News to stay focused on Obama’s blackness, and Hillary’s womanhood. That way, the complete lack of a Republican platform won’t be obvious. I haven’t seen anyone from the Republican side stand up in a serious bid for the White House.
There’s talk, and there always is, about a few candidates, but it seems the red side isn’t concerned as much with campaigning as the Democratic side is.
I hope they’re not just expecting to ride the coat tails of President Bush’s approval rating straight into the Oval Office. In fact, if I can take the word of the average person I meet on the street for credibility, the Republicans are the ones who should be racing for a solid candidate. After the last six years of Republican leadership, America is ready for a change, and our last midterm election proved that. The red side is going to have to pull one impressive rabbit out of its hat soon, or the Democrats will take the White House.
So who will be the next President of the United States? Will he or she remain committed to the war on terror? Will our next Commander-in-Chief get us out of Iraq? Will they nationalize health care? To be honest, I hope I’m in another country by then. I want a country free of corrupt politicians that value businessmen over the workers that keep those businessmen rich. I want a country that values its educational system over the Defense Department, and I want a leader I can support, trusting that every executive decision has the authentic stroke of honesty, truth and justice. I want a President that can make that old adage of the American way more than an empty promise echoed by an empty suit.
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