Running While Black

Running While Black

By Bob Herbert

I really liked this article from the New York Times. His idea overall is how the Republicans choose to play the race card during this race. The party chooses to "run low-life political ads featuring tacky, sexually proactive white women who have no connection whatsoever to the black male candidates." Also at the start of the race, John McCain's campaign stated "The American president Americans have been waiting for." The made me laugh out loud actually because of how crude the party was assuming that a person running for president was some un-American who decides to burn the Ameircan flag in his fire place during his free time. How Herbeert has written this clearly states what it;s like to be running while blac; exteremely difficult. Reading this actually makes me like Barack Obama a little bit more. Mr. Obama endures all of those outrageous accusations about him with a smile and comes back at McCain with less... What's a good word...? I'm not sure but Barack keeps his smile and his cool, while McCain and the Republicans play the Race Card in a game of uno.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/02/opinion/02herbert.html?_r=2&ref=opinion&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Eyes on the Pride

Eyes on the Pride
By Dick Meyer
This article is quite the opposite from the previous article, "Does Race Really Matter?" Meyer focuses completely on the race issue and believes that it is essential for Democrats to accept that they have an African-American running for president. He calls the Democratic party 'sneaky,' and not exactly proud to possibly be making history. The rest of the country should be proud as well. Meyer also tells us that is Obama were white, this election would be based on the unpopularity of John McCain. All of Obama's television advertisements are forced on letting the public know that the Democratic party cares about them all individually, when, as Meyer believes, there is not one voter out there that5 possibly believes that such a large corporation cares about them all individually. Those advertisements need to focus on that fact that Obama could make history and give voters a solid cause to embrace this monumental event.
Reading this makes me want to afree with Meyer. He is a very powerful writer and can support anything he talks about. The realization is that Obama is not white. I, personally, do not understand racism. I can see through all that, but I know most everyone out there cannot. The only way to overcome that is to make it known, and like Meyer said, the Democratic party should not be nonchalant about anything involving something so important.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/08/eyes_on_the_pride.html

Does Race Really Matter?

Does Race Really Matter?
By Michael A. Cohen
There was a recent article in the New York Times concerning the Bradley effect with this year's election. There is the thought that whites all over the United States have been lying to pollsters about voting for Barack Obama because they don't don't want to vote for him simply because of the fact that he is black, Cohen dubs the people 'closet racists.' However, come election day, the color of Obama's face may play a factor to the outcome of the race. Despite the color of his skin, 66 percent of voters think Obama "shares the values most Americans live by," a higher number than that of Mr. McCain. The most interesting fact is what might save Obama if this Bradley effect is true; he is likely to reel in 95 percent of the African-American vote. "If Obama wins 95 percentof the black vote, he will not need a single additional voter over what John Kerrey recieved in 2004." Obama is also leading in the Hispanic department.
This was a well thought out article. It includes every which way that Obama is winning the election right now and a wonderful comparison of elections prior to 2008. Especially the mention of the Bradley effect, it really makes you wonder; Does race Really Matter?

http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/does-race-really-matter/?ref=opinion