US Elections - 2008
January 05, 2008
There is a lot of talk about Obama being on his way to being the first black president. Since I am black, I have been asked my thoughts on this. Quite frankly, I don't think of Obama as being a prospective "first black president," although, of course, he would be. Yes, he is black, and I admire the grassroots work that he did in Chicago prior to entering the political arena. African-American voters are watching Obama closely, whether they plan to vote for him or not.
I think Obama has made it as far as he has on his own merits and savvy, and not for his race. As I see it, the U.S. needs to "get over" its biases against people of color and women. It’s time that we stop being preoccupied with race and gender. This is 2008, for goodness sake. Because Obama was brought up in a multicultural family, he has a more global view of the world than many. I think knowledge and respect for other cultures is extremely important and a valuable asset. As you probably know, Obama's mother was a white woman from Kansas, his father was Kenyan, and his stepfather was Indonesian. Obama was born in Hawaii, the USA's 50th state - a tropical island. He spent part of his childhood in Indonesia. He also spent time with his father herding goats in Kenya.
He’s worked in grassroots efforts in a large urban area, advocating for - and giving a voice to - populations who historically have had no voice. What we have in Obama is a very educated man who can identify with common folks AND chat it up with Fortune 500 types.
His platform is quite sound, I think. He is very bright and a quick learner. If Obama wins the Democratic nomination for President, I would have no reservations about voting for him.
Labels: Barack Obama
posted by Shirazi @ 9:30 PM,
3 Comments:
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At 12:03 PM PKT,
said...
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Thanks for giving this personal (out of the press) views by your freind Deb. She seems right. I personally thought Ms Clinton might be a good choice. She is more experienced and crismatic. But may be USA is yet not ready to have a female president. No?
Nilofer -
At 1:48 PM PKT,
naomi said...
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Ms. Clinton is more experienced. I think she has what it takes to be president. Is she more charismatic? I'm not so sure about that. Sen. Clinton seems to be more guarded than Obama and Edwards.
Many voters have said that they have grown weary of the Clintons and the Bush family. They want something (and someone) new.
As for having a woman as the U.S. president, why not? -
At 9:27 PM PKT,
said...
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How about his foreign policy? Has anything on this come out yet.
Jaffer
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