election 2008 from the eyes of an ebony mom

Today former Republican presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee was addressing the National Rifle Association in Louisville, Kentucky. A loud noise was heard off stage and he said, “That was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair, he’s getting ready to speak.” This statement was met by laughter  and he then went on to say. “Somebody aimed a gun at him and he dove for the floor.” This is a country that has seen President John Kennedy, Sen. Robert Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. killed by crazed gun men. In 1972 a gunman shot and paralyzed presidential candidate George Wallace. The idea of someone taking a shot at Sen. Obama is not funny on any level. America is a dangerous place and any jokes about any candidate getting shot are truly off limits. Note to Huckabee: stick to your talking points.

Michelle Obama made the following statement, “for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country.” The Tennessee Republican party has taken this statement and created an ad featuring an endless line of white people and one Hispanic stating how proud they are of this country. Interpersed throughout the ad you see Mrs. Obama’s statement being repeated over and over. The message is simple and blunt, this black woman does not appreciate this great country. The question left with the viewer, is if she feels this way does her husband share this radical, unpatriotic viewpoint? What Mrs. Obama was really saying was this is a great time in the history of this country. This is a country that still has the stain of slavery and segregation on its hands. Some white Americans say they are sick of hearing about slavery, but the reality is black Americans are the only Americans brought here in chains. So like it or not Black Americans look at this country from a different perspective. Black Americans love this country and there is no other country that offers the kind of opportunities available here. Please forgive us if we don’t see this country through rose-colored glasses. We are proud of this country but that does not blind us to its flaws.

For the past 6 years we have been engaged in a war that was waged almost unilaterally. The US tried to get our usual allies to stand with us but we were unsucessful. Our philosophy was shoot first and ask questions later. Once the real questions were asked we found there were no weapons of mass destruction and since that time we have changed the reasons that we invaded Iraq in the first place. Now we see our lame duck president taking pot shots at a new strategy that includes discussion prior to agression. He has questioned the wisdom of talking with our enemies and suggested that this is almost delusional. This morning in Isreal President Bush said “Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: ‘Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.’ We have an obligation to call this what it is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.” Sen. Obama responded to this attack by saying “George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the president’s extraordinary politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel.” The Prseident is in no position to take aim at Sen. Obama. It is often asked when a president leaves office, “are you better off then you were 8 years ago?” The answer is sadly no.  Whoever is elected president will have to find a way to deal with conflict and hopefully they will not use the acts of their predecessor as a blueprint. shame on you Mr. President.

I just watched an exchange on Chris Matthews Show, Hardball. His guests were Andrea Mitchell and Pat Buchanan. They were discussing the importance of Sen. John Edwards’ endorsement of Barack Obama. Matthews made the statement that Edwards’ central issue was a populist message. Edwards spoke passionately about poverty throughout his campaign. Buchanan (author of A Brief for Whitey-(You can find it on Google) said that Edwards is a rich trial lawyer and can hardly be called a populist candidate. He went on to vent about how he resented how the panel last night called the West Virginia voters dumb, un-educated, under-educated and dumb. Matthews took exception to Buchanan’s tirade and said no one on the panel called the voters dumb and the reference to their lack of education was taken directly from exit polls. Buchanan went on to say the voters in West Virginia were being called racists, but when blacks vote for Sen. Obama they are not called racists. Buchanan contends this is a double standard. He went on to call Barack Obama, “Adlai” and said we’ll see how he does in Kentucky. This was a reference that only old folks or political junkies would get. Adlai Stevensen was a Senator that ran for president in 1952, and he too had been labeled by the media as “elite”. Matthews tried to restore order but Buchanan was completely unhinged. He hates black people in general and Barack Obama specifically. If he is this agitated before Obama is officially declared the nominee by August he will be sitting in the studio in his pointy hat.

As expected Hillary Clinton clobbered Barack Obama yesterday in the West Virginia primary. What did she accomplish? She picked up 10 delegates and she solidified her self- proclaimed title as the candidate of the hard-working white folks. As Bush would say Mission Accomplished, and we see how that worked out. Clinton took an opportunity to continue to tout herself as the stronger candidate. The only problem is in spite of this ego boosting victory the numbers still make this an uphill (if not impossible) climb for Clinton. Despite all the media hype and all the over-analysis of the numbers Obama is the likely candidate. In watching her last night I see she is truly committed to playing this out until the bitter end. She might have toned down some of her harsher attacks but she is not calling off all the dogs. As she likes to say “I am in to Win It” or what might be the more appropriate statement is “I am In this to make sure He doesn’t.”

The title seems like language that has long been retired from the American dialogue, but this statement was made to Obama supporter while she was campaigning for the Senator in Pennsylvania. This is a mind set that is alive and well all over our great country. Some white people will never feel comfortable with the idea of a black man in the White House. Some of the Pennsylvania voters said ” white people look out for white people, and black people look out for black people.” Fortunately not all white people share this limited view. If that was the case Sen. Obama would not be positioned to be the democratic nominee. He has successfully put together a coalition of people of all races. He has not transcended race as some have suggested. He is a black man and it is difficult for some people to see a black person as an authority figure. My husband is an Ivy League graduate who has had several management positions throughout his career. He is also unusually tall and he was once in a store surveying the facility when an elderly white man walked up to him and extended his hand to shake. My husband obliged him and the man said with a twinkle in his eye, “this is the first time I ever looked up to a black man.”  He thought this was hilarious, but the reality is some people will never change. They will always look down on people of different races. In a campaign one can not use all their efforts on the ones that will not change, but they must put their energy in the ones that can see race but have the capacity to see more.

*Washington Post, May 13, 2008

When we were kids we were taught winners never quit and quitters never win. Our parents used this statement to motivate us do our best and know it will take hard work to achieve our goals. As we became adults we were forced to accept the fact that in some cases no matter what we did, we can and will fail. As mature adults we also learned that we could fail and get up and start again. We would only become a failure if we decided not to try. Watching Hillary I tend to think she only learned the first part of the lesson. She is stuck on the winners never quit, and in spite of the numbers she refuses to quit.  The numbers don’t lie and the numbers say this thing is over. She has the right to continue and that is what she plans on doing. As this thing goes on she will show she is not a quitter, but she will also show she is a sore loser.

Today was a joyous day in my home. I was surrounded by the love of my husband and my two children. I have a 13 year old son who is full of promise and potential. He is old enough to make decisions but still young enough to dream big. I see high school in the near future and college down the line, but what scares me is the war. Today over 4000 of our citizens are dead and there are so many mothers grieving today. When I look at election 2008 one of my biggest concerns is which candidate will be able to bring this conflict to an end. Now we have armed forces full of volunteer recruits. In an effort to get more recruits they are letting people with criminal activity in their past become soldiers. In war time it is harder to recruit so desperate times call for desperate measures. What concerns me as we go into our 6^th year of this war is what is going to happen when there are no more volunteers? At some point the draft is going to be taken off the shelf and that I can not fathom. I can not bear the thought of my dear sweet son going to a far away country to fight in a war that never should have been waged. This election season I want a candidate that will offer real solutions to end this conflict. I don’t want to hear that Obama is elite because he does not relish a cheese steak or that McCain is losing his bearings because he is old. We do not have time to continue to wallow in trivia. I want to hear plans and solutions to protect America and spare any other mothers the pain of losing a child and spending Mother’s Day in mourning—that is my prayer.

On MSNBC this morning the host was asking her guest why was Barack Obama not calling himself the nominee? She said others in the party were saying at this point he has a lock on the nomination. Sen. Obama is doing just what he should be doing. He says the numbers are in his favor but at this point he is not the nominee. If he were going around calling himself the nominee the press would be calling him arrogant and declaring this thing is not over. The press can anoint you one week and since you are already well-oiled they  fry you the next week. Sen. Obama is conducting business as usual and making his case to the people and he has started campaigning against Sen. McCain. There are still issues to be resolved and I am sure the Clintons have more tricks up their sleeves. It will only be over when he is officially hailed as the nominee either in Denver or if Sen. Clinton finally stops running long enough to read the handwriting on the wall.

Yesterday we heard Hillary Clinton say she is the candidate that appeals to working class whites. She went on to say that Sen. Obama has had difficulty connecting with this group, and the Democrats can not win without them.  House Majority Whip, South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn,  made a couple of very important points relating to her statement. “(A)If Clinton believes Obama will do poorly with white voters in November, based on how he has done in the primaries, does that mean she believes she will only get 8% of the black vote in November, based on what she is doing now? (B)He also said any perceived backroom deal had better not take the nomination away from Obama because that would devestate young people and blacks.” Both of these groups have been energized during this primary season. At this point Clyburn is an uncommitted superdelegate but he does say he is proud of what Sen. Obama has achieved. He said members of his family are very involved in the Obama campaign. He went on to say “I’m not going to sit down and watch anybody marginalize my grandson’s dreams and aspirations. And I’m not going to see anybody go out and just absolutely nullify the energy and time my daughter put into Barack Obama’s race.” The reality is it will take ebony and ivory voters to unite for the Democrats to prevail in the fall. Sen. Clinton’s attempts to pit the races against each other smacks of old school politics and this is the season for change, and Sen. Obama represents the change America wants and needs.