6 

Let's face it. The American Presidency has traditionally been a question of the best white man for the job. The opportunity to make it a question of the best person for the job disappeared with Hilary Clinton’s failed candidacy for the Democratic Party nomination.

The pertinent issue at hand is what kind of president do the American people want? It should be obvious that it is not a matter of whether we want a black president or a white president, there is far too much at stake to vote in those terms.  Should the next president be “good”, “strong”, “competent”, “charismatic” or “resolute”? There are countless numbers of adjectives that can be used to describe what a presidential candidate should or should not be and I’m sure you have a few of your own. At the end of the campaigning it should boil down to casting your vote on who is most likely to do the best job of leading the country.

In a perfect world, there are no race matters in presidential election campaigns - there are only the issues. And yet I have been witness to people saying things like, “I’ll vote for Hillary because she’s woman” or “I’m going to vote for Obama because he’s black.” Fine, but do these people know enough or care enough about the issues? The idea of voting for someone simply because the person is black, white, or female, is simply ludicrous. To do so is to assume for example that voting for a female candidate will guarantee that things will be better for women, or voting for Barack Obama will ensure that the plight of Black Americans will become better overnight or voting for John McCain will keep the status quo. Are people really that naïve? I suspect that many, far too many, are. Politics has never been simply (excuse the pun) black-and-white and it won’t be this time either.

About two years ago, when the speculation surrounding Hillary Clinton’s presidential aspirations was starting to gain momentum, a female Black American friend and I were discussing what Hillary’s chances of being elected were. We both agreed that breaking the tradition of having to choose between two white, male candidates would be healthy for the country, but she maintained that the U.S. simply wasn’t ready for that. “Honey, they will elect a black man before they let a woman become President of the United States,” she had said. When I asked her who “they” were, she replied, the real power, i.e. the power behind the power. I’ve never really understood what she meant by that, but what astounded me was her conviction. Mind you this was long before there anyone knew that the young senator from Illinois would make a run for the White House. Was my friend right?

When it comes to the issue of race in the current presidential campaign, there are those who maintain that race is not an issue and those, like myself, who hope that it is not an issue. New York Times Op-Ed columnist Frank Rich stated recently in a piece called “Last Call for Change We Can Believe In” that “Most Americans, unlike the press, are not obsesses by race.” He adds that “Those whites who are obsessed by race will not vote for Obama no matter what he or anyone else has to say about it.” On the latter, it could probably be stated that those blacks who are obsessed by race will not vote for McCain no matter what he or anyone else has to say about it either. What I wonder though is how Mr. Rich knows that “most” Americans are not obsessed by race. It’s a nice thought, but “most” Americans also know that racism is alive and well in the United States. It may not be as obvious as it was when I was growing up, but it’s there in subtle and not so subtle guises. Just ask any African American.

As much as I hope this presidential campaign will not be marred by “the race card”, as voting day approaches don’t be surprised if it appears if it’s a tight race.