Presidential Race

    The 44th president of the United States....was unexpected. The 44th president is Barack Hussein Obama, the first African American president ever elected. This was unexpected considering our nation’s history of slavery and discrimination. Many questions came to mind when he was elected. How strongly does race still influence our society? If he makes a mistake will he be hated more because he is African American?  What motivated voters to turn out in such large numbers?

    San Francisco Chronicle blogger, Willie Brown seems to have the answer to one of these questions. In one of his blogs he compared President Obama to Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play in major league baseball. Brown states "Obama hardly brought up race at all during the campaign, arguing that his candidacy has nothing to do with being black. Jackie Robinson didn’t get into the majors because he was black- he has there because he was a great ball player. Barack Obama won't get elected because he is black, he will get elected because he is a brilliant politician."

    President Obama's platform for the 2008 election was not based on the color of his skin. His high priorities are health-care for all, ending the war Iraq and Social Security reform. Obama pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and he supports implementing a cap-and-trade program to reduce these greenhouse gas emissions. He opposes gay marriages and supports civil unions. Nothing in his platform has anything to do with the color of his skin.

    Suzanne Goldenberg made a good point when she said "Americans placed their faith in Barack Obama today. Turning their backs on a past of slavery and segregation and electing the first African-American to the US presidency." Everyone knows that the United States has a past of slavery and segregation. What some don't realize is that discrimination against African-Americans still exists today. It may not be as noticeable as is was in the past but it is still present. This makes me question why people did or didn’t vote for him. 

    What happens if he messes up or doesn’t do a good job? Will Americans focus more on how he messed up or will voters just say it’s because he is African American?  If the first African American president fails how long will it be before another African American is elected? 

    He stated “To those Americans whose support I have yet to earn-I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help and I will be your president too." He understands that not everyone supports him. he doesn’t know why but he is not letting that bother him. He is telling them that even though they don’t support him and he didn’t in their vote he needs their help to succeed. He needs to hear what they want and believe in so he can do his best to be a good president.

    Obama understands that to some people his race is an issue but he is not letting that stop him or bring him down. So he is going to do his job to the best of his ability to make changes for the better. So even though the United Sates had a past history of slavery and segregation it's appears we are trying to move past the mistakes of our ancestors. This presidential election was just another step in the right direction and hopefully will mean good things are to come in the future.