Election Thoughts
First, whether you are a democrat or republican, you have to admit that this was not a “fair” election. Legally, it may have been fair. But in reality it was not.
- Obama had the mainstream media by their collar from day one beginning with Oprah Winfrey pleading with him to run for president during an interview about his book. (That’s as far as I’ll take my Oprah bashing in this post. After all, she did SERIOUSLY hook me and Kimberlie up last year during one of the biggest events on national television.) The media preference was obvious much later as Sarah Palin interviews highlighted her errors and edited out her thoughtful answers.
- Obama supporters (if not Obama himself) managed to turn the election into a civil rights issue. The race card was promptly played against pretty much anyone who criticized Obama. Voter registration drives also focused on minority populations — knowing that people vote skin color in places like Macon, Georgia.
- The two party conventions weren’t even in the same league, thanks to a potentially destructive weather scenario that nearly cancelled the Republican National Convention. Even though the convention eventually began, scores of speakers were never heard.
- Obama also duped McCain with the whole public financing thing, allowing him to surpass previous campaign donation precedents.
Regardless of how I feel about the fairness of the election, I do plan to give Obama a fair shot. I did go back and forth between Obama and McCain during the last several months so I’m certainly not bitter about the results. I think in spite of the media bias, Obama will be under a microscope during his presidency. Anytime you are the “first” of anything, people watch you more closely. This happened in Macon with C. Jack Ellis, the city’s first mayor.
I hope that the election of a (half) black president will move us along as far as racial tensions are concerned. Racism is rampant here in Macon and non-racists like me are sick of it. Even if Obama turns out to be the worst president in history, if he can move America forward where race is concerned, than it will probably be worth it.
I also think the Obama will have better luck getting things through Congress than his opponent would have. Many democrats were elected at all levels of government, no doubt riding Obama’s coat tails. With that much support, he should have a nice honeymoon period as president. At least until he screws up.
