My opposition to a young, charismatic African American candidate who campaigned on hope and change was dubbed by that candidate’s supporters as racism.
The candidate I’m referring to is not Barack Obama, it’s Deval Patrick. The parallels betwen the two candidates campaigns are uncanny… even the reactions by their supporters are virtually identical, as Kimberly recounts that her opposition to John McCain was immediately dubbed as being a form of racism.
Just yesterday, I was stopped in the parking lot by a couple of liberals because of my McCain-Palin bumper sticker. One said, “You’re a racist because you’re voting for McCain!” I replied, “No, I’m a Republican and I’m voting for the Republican candidate. I wouldn’t vote for Obama if he was white.” That stopped them in their tracks. Of course, it also gave me a wonderful opportunity to talk with them about Obama and McCain.
Make no mistake about it… Recent stories about the role of racism in the campaign are merely a preemptive strike to explain why Obama will lose in November, as well as an attempt by the media to invoke white guilt amongst undecided voters so that they will vote for Obama to “prove” they aren’t racists.
This attempt by the media to make a vote for Obama a vote against racism is hardly a new thing. When Deval Patrick was campaigning for the Democratic nomination for governor in Massachusetts, the Boston Globe, in their endorsement of Patrick, said,
Patrick doesn’t often explicitly address his race in the campaign. But his positive reception […] has been a good sign that this state can move beyond its reputation as old, cold, and closed.
Deval Patrick, despite his warm rhetoric on the campaign trail about change and hope, has become perhaps the most incompetent governors of Massachusetts since Mike Dukakis (who has also been playing the race card for Obama) and the jury is still out on who will ultimately prove to be the worst.
It’s worth noting that despite Deval Patrick’s overwhelming victory in 2006, his approval ratings are down the toilet, and he’s abandoned many campaign promises, like property tax relief.
Deval Patrick is a prime example that a well-given speech is no substitute for genuine leadership. It was no suprise to me that Hillary defeated Obama in Massachusetts, despite Deval’s endorsement. The Democrat voters of Massachusetts were already duped once — they weren’t about to fall for it again.
Barack Obama would be a horrible president regardless of whether he is black, white, male or female. he is the most inexperienced and unqualified presidential candidates for a major party in history. But his image won over the left-wing base of the party, and he’s the candidate the party as whole has to offer in November. I am very confident the people of America won’t be fooled the same way so many in Massachusetts were back in 2006.
This election shouldn’t be about race. It should about who is ready to lead. The answer to that one is clearly John McCain.
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