How 'bout these Democratic primaries, eh? I'm not sure just how much I want to write here -- this could easily turn into a novel-length entry if I don't keep myself in check -- but I've been wanting to share my thoughts on the race for some time now. And it just so happens that Geraldine Ferraro's recent comments have given me a perfect occasion to do so!
According to Ferraro, "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman, he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is." In another interview, in which she discussed this response, Ferraro affirmed that she responded "in large measure, because he is black" when asked why Obama is where he is today. And now, rightfully so, in my opinion, she is taking a lot of heat for these remarks. But whereas Ferraro seems to think that she's being attacked because of her own skin color, I submit that people's response largely stems from the obvious ignorance of her comments -- whether they fully realize it or not.
Now, I admit that Barack Obama's skin color has played a role in his success this far. In fact, in the beginning, I didn't even like Obama all that much because he was clearly being used as the Democrats' token black. Every time I looked, he was being paraded out to give the same speech about how he came from mixed parentage and how that symbolizes the promise of America and blah-de-blah blah -- it basically amounted to, "My mom was white, my dad was Black, ergo America is wonderful." I wondered if he was capable of talking about anything else. People have accused Obama's more recent speeches on hope and change of lacking substance (I disagree), but these speeches are overflowing with depth and meaning when compared to his old rhetoric.
So certainly Obama's skin color aided his rise within the Democratic party, if only because the Democrats were so eager to use him to better appeal to the people and further their own agenda. And it probably factors into the reasons that people support him, though I would hardly state that it is the only or even primary reason -- or that, if the color of his skin were different, people would not feel so strongly about him. Rather, I think that the primary reasons that people are behind Obama are because he a) is an eloquent and inspiring speaker, b) is running an excellent campaign, c) appears cool and downright presidential in his debate performances, and d) successfully presents himself as being uniquely poised to bring about some much-needed positive change in this country. There are, of course, other important reasons regarding Obama's platform (which albeit is not that different from Hillary Clinton's), but still. Does Ferraro mean to suggest that people would vote for Obama even he were a poor and rambling speaker, seemed thoroughly uninformed, unkempt, and unfit to lead in his public appearances, and had been thoroughly defeated by Clinton in each of their debates -- simply because of his skin color? Please. (more...)
