Brown, What the US presidential election is and is not about

The US election: what it is and isn’t
by Kari C. Brown

What this election is NOT:

This election is not a straight-down-the-middle split between Democrats and Republicans, as we have seen, for instance, many Republicans --- such as former Secretary of State Colin Powell - crossing party lines to endorse Barack Obama and his proposals for how to bring about positive and transformational change to the US in the post-Bush administration era.

This election is not about potentially electing the first Black president of the United States. While it would be a historical and certainly noteworthy feat, race should not be a deciding factor in voting for Barack Obama. It should further not be assumed that all Black people will automatically vote for Obama simply because he is Black. I was saddened to see on the news the other day hateful remarks from a misguided soul saying that Colin Powell only endorses Obama because he’s a fellow Black man. This was only further exacerbated by the statement that McCain made himself when interviewed directly after the Powell interview, saying that Powell’s endorsement for Obama did not come as a surprise, but then offered no further explanation as to why he made that assumption. On a positive note, I must commend the Obama camp for not stressing the race issue during the campaign when they certainly could have, but rather focusing on what an Obama administration would bring to the table. On the same token, race shouldn’t be a factor in voting against Obama either. Sadly, even in this day and age, race still plays such a significant role in so many aspects of life in the USA, and it is certain to affect the polls come election day, with some lost souls still harboring racist or otherwise hateful notions, sadly casting their vote in opposition of a potential Black president instead of casting a vote for the candidate most appropriate for revitalizing the current state of the United States.

What this election IS about:

Selecting the presidential and vice presidential ticket that you sincerely feel most genuinely represents and will best bring about the positive change that is needed to:

(1) uplift the plummeting US economy;

(2) enact appropriate follow-up to the war in Iraq that has drained both monetary and human resources;

(3) reinstate holistic morals and values among the US population (which I’m sure we can all agree have spun way out of control); and

(4) restore the reputation of the United States on a global scale as a true humanitarian nation worthy of respect and of being looke up to.

Let’s be honest, BOTH McCain and Obama are qualified to be president. If you want to go tit-for-tat on the amount of years, personally, I think it’s pointless. Qualification is more than just the amount of years clocked in to a job. Furthermore, we must remember that the president alone does not run the White House. There is an entire administration all working together with the president and vice president and technical advisors, etc.... The question at the end of the day is which candidate would be a leader that represents the change that is needed both at home and abroad, the image we want to portray to the world, and the person you would feel most comfortable with representing the United States in foreign policy negotiations in this day and age.

While I am no fan of the typical campaign speeches with all of their stale rhetoric and lingo as if they were speaking to 4th graders, given the grave importance of this particular election, I made sure to tune in to key campaign speeches and debates this time around. And I must say I was extremely bothered by the condescending tone that McCain took towards Obama throughout all debates (he prided himself in defending Obama when a hateful remark was voiced at one of his rallies, however then went on to take a disrespectful tone with Obama during the debates; which I found to be complete hypocrisy). But more than this, I was utterly disturbed by the faces that McCain was making towards the end of the third debate. This is not a scenario I personally would like to see played out on foreign turf in this age of high gas prices and terrorism. The current US world view is already frayed; I think it would reflect very poorly to have the subsequent leader of the United States conducting himself in a condescending and disrespectful manner in the face of world leaders in key negotiations that will ultimately affect this country. What we need at this point is a leader who carries him/herself with an understanding, humble, and respectful composure when sitting across the table from other world leaders who hold weight with regard to the state of the oil crisis and terrorism for instance.

In addition, with the potential for future terrorist attacks and McCain’s health being a major concern, it is crucial to have a vice president who is qualified and prepared to assume presidential responsibilities from day one should anything happen to the president. And, I believe I join most in saying that, while Sarah Palin may have many strengths, she is simply not qualified to lead the White House or represent the United States in global forums and foreign policy negotiations. Personally, I believe the McCain-Palin ticket represents a huge danger in this respect. Quite frankly, I am appalled by the fact that so many intelligent senior Republicans refuse to admit or voice the truth of the matter; no one is saying that Governor Palin is a bad person or that she is not qualified to be Governor or hasn’t made positive contributions to the state of Alaska. However, at the same time, let’s not let party lines cloud our judgment. For that, I commend General Powell once again for voicing what so many within his own party have not been courageous enough to say.

And finally, let’s talk briefly about the nasty campaign tactics. Again, I am not one for typical rhetoric; neither candidate is going to convince me to believe the hype of a catchy phrase here and there. I pay attention to the bigger picture and then key into the details on very specific issues that I feel will significantly affect the mass. When these falsehoods and nasty tactics start taking hold, I feel, quite frankly that it is not only despicable, but also disrespectful and insulting to the general population. It assumes that we will all automatically fall for whatever lie, over-generalization, or misleading remark that comes out of their mouths and then not call them out when they take a completely hypocritical action.

Let’s take the robocalls, for instance. Come on, who honestly believes that Obama is a terrorist? The Republicans themselves do not even believe that, but they are assuming that the mass of us are gullible and not intelligent enough to see right through that.

And what about the false comments that Obama is a Muslim. As many other key politicians and political analysts commented, Powell also very bravely made the key point that while Obama is a Christian and not a Muslim, so what if he was a Muslim? He further points out that many Americans of Islamic faith fought and continue to fight on the front lines of US military efforts to defend the country. So, what kind of message does it send when such tactics are used to make us think that there is something wrong with this?

Then we are fed with the news that Obama is spending too much money in this last stage of the campaign trail. But then, the Republican Party turns around and gives a $150,000 shopping spree to Palin and her family in order to help them dress to impress during her further campaigning.

Or let’s take the issue of Palin’s nomination as McCain’s running mate in the first place. Assuming that the general public would not see through their obvious tactic to try to attract previous Hillary Clinton supporters, or their tactic to make us believe that Governor Palin is representative of the “middle class,” when she clearly earns much more than the average American. This is preposterous and again, insulting to our intelligence.

So, having said all of this, I urge all of you to not only VOTE in this crucial election, but to make a very careful and conscious decision about who you vote for. I do not believe in coercing people to vote for a specific candidate; I have stated my views above, but at the end of the day, I believe we should all feel free to go out and make an individual, personal, private decision in that voting booth. What I am imploring you to do is:

To not make a vote solely based on party affiliation;

To not make a vote solely based on race;

To not believe the hype that is being fed to you through nasty false and misleading advertisements;

To not fall victim to influence by racist or other hateful comments;

To step back from all of the campaign rhetoric and delve deeper into the issues that really matter and affect the mass population;

To consider which candidate expresses the most genuine desire to look out for the interests of low and middle income families;

To contemplate this election’s reach and impact beyond US borders, because, as we saw with 9-11, the United States is not immune to the effects of global turmoil;

To go out there and make an informed and conscious decision that you feel will truly benefit the mass.

En fin, I’m hopeful that a new and revitalized United States is on the horizon, and that we will all feel so proud of ourselves for being so involved in making it happen!

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