Reading a few articles in the last several days about Barack Obama and his relationship with black America. A common thread I've seen in these articles is that polls among blacks apparently show that they don't feel America is ready for a black president. (http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/28/obama.black.vote/index.html) This, apparently, is one of the obstacles Obama currently faces with regard to winning over the black community as a voting bloc.
I'm not sure how many African-American Interference members we have, but I'll throw this question out to anyone who wants to answer it:
Do you think that African-Americans who are withholding support for Obama because they feel America is not ready for a black president believe that 1). non-black Americans wouldn't be comfortable yet with a black president, but that a black American could be aptly skilled at being president, or that 2). they don't believe that there is a black candidate who would be strong enough to be president.
Reading it, it seems like a silly question. Personally, I don't doubt that a black American would think that there are indeed other black Americans who would make fantastic presidents. But I'm having a hard time seeing why, if the choice is #1, the defeatist action prevails, keeping people from supporting a fellow black American simply because of assumptions about other people's opinions. I understand that the upcoming election is a primary, so you would want to throw your support behind a candidate that you think actually has a shot to win. But with all the steam that Barack Obama is picking up in non-black communities, why would a black American not want to support him and seize the opportunity--the best one yet--for a black American to become President of the United States if he/she personally thinks he can do a great job?
Thoughts?
ETA: I also understand that there are questions about issues--i.e., whether Obama really "understands" the plight of the average black American--that can preclude one from supporting him. However, the feeling I get from several of these articles is that this is not the only issue involved.
I'm not sure how many African-American Interference members we have, but I'll throw this question out to anyone who wants to answer it:
Do you think that African-Americans who are withholding support for Obama because they feel America is not ready for a black president believe that 1). non-black Americans wouldn't be comfortable yet with a black president, but that a black American could be aptly skilled at being president, or that 2). they don't believe that there is a black candidate who would be strong enough to be president.
Reading it, it seems like a silly question. Personally, I don't doubt that a black American would think that there are indeed other black Americans who would make fantastic presidents. But I'm having a hard time seeing why, if the choice is #1, the defeatist action prevails, keeping people from supporting a fellow black American simply because of assumptions about other people's opinions. I understand that the upcoming election is a primary, so you would want to throw your support behind a candidate that you think actually has a shot to win. But with all the steam that Barack Obama is picking up in non-black communities, why would a black American not want to support him and seize the opportunity--the best one yet--for a black American to become President of the United States if he/she personally thinks he can do a great job?
Thoughts?
ETA: I also understand that there are questions about issues--i.e., whether Obama really "understands" the plight of the average black American--that can preclude one from supporting him. However, the feeling I get from several of these articles is that this is not the only issue involved.
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