No "watching parties" are scheduled, no overwhelming excitement has mounted. I think it is because many people got tired and uninterested after the numerous other (Super) Tuesdays that passed and no clear winner seems to be emerging. Well...let me retract that. Actually, a clear winner does seem to be emerging. However, it is just taking too long and most people don't have the patience for politics. Being a graduate of Political Science and now relying on Youtube and Yahoo TV to provide me with some brief snippets of what is currently happening in the world (I don't have a t.v.), I really can't afford for my patience to run thin on this election. Besides being interested in the outcome and the process of this primary battle, it is simply one the most exciting "shows" to follow out of my options right now. Needless to repeat again, another primary is occurring today.
Last December, before heading out to Nigeria to bring the year to a close, I told a co-worker that I think Senator Barack Obama is the right man for the job...and I think he could win. This was before any primary had even taken place. She reminded me, a black woman, that this country is still very racist and that America is not ready to see a black man in office. I told her I believe this country is indeed ready for change but that his candidacy is just as much about us -- the people -- than it is about him -- the representative. Plain and simple: If we the people step up and vote and be activists for this cause, he will be sworn into the White House next January and we will have a new president.
We continued to discuss his chances but didn't come to an agreement. Fast forward to April, five months after that prediction, and everyone seems to be on the bandwagon now. African-Americans who originally didn't think he could win are supporting him in record numbers. Liberal white Americans are falling in line too. College students seem to be his bread and butter constituency. Yet, with all of this support, people's endurance are still starting to stagger. It seems like there is still some doubt of his chances of winning, suggesting that the longer the primary goes the more chance there is for Sen. Hillary Clinton to win the nomination. But I wonder and ask, did they genuinely believe that Sen. Obama could win in the first place?
As I told my co-worker 5 months ago, and others since then: every president Nigeria ever had was black. And every president Ghana, Zambia, and Ethiopia ever had were black too. Plus, Liberia has a woman president now and that's just in Africa. There have been other women presidents and prime ministers around the world before Senator Hillary Clinton arrived, if she were to win the presidency. The point I am making is that we shouldn't base a candidates likability on their race or gender. Although we have been trained and socialized to do so, I think we all know that innately that is a flawed argument and couldn't pass the test of time. Moreso, when that characteristic is stripped from a candidate's "presentation", what is left? If you believe in that "what", then that is the candidate you should endorse. I endorse Barack Obama because he is an ambitious change agent and willing to attempt to change this country...radically. I don't believe he will be about the same old politics that we have endured for so many years. I believe he is indeed someone who will fight to change America and change the world, from the ground up. Yet, I don't think he will be perfect at doing this job either, as he himself has said this, but I do think that he is the best person in position to do so in this election cycle. His understanding and connection to the youth, his common sense and common cause intelligence, his good writing and speaking abilities (I don't think this ability is as stellar as everyone wants to make it out to be), all contribute to his superior vision for this country that surpass any other candidate running. The fact that he is black comes secondary to why I would like to see him in the Oval Office...although it would be a nice thing and very much welcomed visual and cultural adjustment to our national landscape. However, as I read from an interview of the talented Q-Tip this past weekend, if Barack wins, "it's great, now everyone get to work and create more history."
So, this blog today is dedicated to the politics of this nation. If Barack wins this primary today he would effectively have beaten Hillary Clinton in the numbers game. If he doesn't win today then the primary will continue on and we won't know who gets the nomination until much later...although it is still likely to be Sen. Obama. But I want him to win today, deliver the knock out punch. No one expects it today, but that's what makes it even more exciting. He is trailing in most polls by 6 points, give or take 3 points for the margin of error. But I think he can do it though. I have the audacity of hope. I too am getting a little tired of this drawn out process. But I am even getting more tired of talking about politics by myself. A win for him today can attract everybody back on board and we can keep the train moving. So for those in Pennsylvania, those democrats who believe in this Senator from Illinois, do the rest of us a favor who are not voting today....and knock Hillary Clinton the f*ck out!!!!
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