Politricks as Usual

Politricks as Usual

Labels: Barack Obama

Months ago when the Presidential Primaries kicked into high gear, I asked the question, was America more racist or more sexist? On the surface, the answer is that we are a more sexist nation, because Barack Obama is now the Democratic nominee for President. Of course Barack had the weight of Black America on his shoulders, but he wasn't exactly throwing up a fist for Black Power when we saw him. Then, he had unenviable task of having to separate from the church as Rev. Wright raised his fist. His speeches was great and Black America continues to support his campaign for "Change", even though he's speaking for America and not just Black America, he represents that hope.

While the race card was played early, Hillary waited until nearly the end to play her sexist card. In the 23rd hour, her campaign decided to rail against all of the commentary and editorials that pointed out her gender as a sign of weakness.

Personally, I still believe that race has more relevance in any situation. Just think of the way we identify ourselves, I am a Black Man, she is a White Woman, our Hispanic Brothers and Sisters have found the easiest way to distinguish themselves, by adding an "o" or an "a" Latino and Latina. Hillary could've played on the emotions of people (women) everywhere, but the fact of the matter is, White privilege will (has) taken her much farther than many (if any) Black men or women will ever go!

However, there was another factor that helped determine who that nominee would be, class. Socio-economic and intellectual class played an even larger role than Black versus White or Man versus Woman. Hillary was queen for a day with most women and working-class whites. Barack was a hit of course with the Brothers, yet, college educated, forward thinking Whites who couldn't forget the sins of Clinton past gravitated towards Obama with thoughts of RFK. Clinton even went as far as to say Barack couldn't win the working class White vote, you know, the redneck vote (check the numbers in West Virginia)!

But it's all a wrap now. Hillary has finally conceded (four days later), and she has thrown her full support behind Obama. This was huge because she did rack up 17 million votes and many of those voters were poised to sit out or vote for McCain, either way, it was a vote for McCain. I wonder what those four days were like and what was going on? Hillary has mentioned that she doesn't want to be VP, but some say otherwise. I wonder if Secretary of State appeals to her, maybe she can show that she's at least better than one Black woman at something. To be honest, I won't be that mad if she is in this case...