Juliette makes some excellent points in this article, but the fundamental–if not exclusive–reason why most blacks will vote for Obama is that he is (half) black.
Granted, blacks have predominantly voted Democrat ever since LBJ wrote off the South and adopted blacks as the sole possession of the Democrat Party but 2008 is different. This year they have, as my Irish mother used to say, “one of their own,” a factor which sways even J.C. Watts.
I still recall the thinking in 1960 in my Irish-American community in the Bronx. Most people were registered Democrats anyway but the Dem nominee then was “one of our own,” John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and come Hell or high water, they would vote and fight for his right to become President of the United States.
Even in Ireland, JFK had rock star status and his picture hung in virtually every living room in the country before, during and after his presidency. (Those pictures only came down after his tendency to too easily drop his pants, but that’s another whole story.)
Picture yourself as a black in America. It’s been drilled into you that your lot in life is not your responsibility but rather has been determined by evil racists–mostly Republicans, despite the fact Republicans passed the 1964 Civil Rights Bill over the protests of racist Democrats.
Forget the blatherings of Bill Cosby who pleads with you to take responsibility for your lives and stop blaming others. This is your chance to make a statement, make a difference, and vote for change for the sake of change. Vote for the guy who’s (half) black even if he is unqualified.
Senator Obama may or may not win on November 4th but if he is the victor, America loses. He will have been elected on the basis of his color, not because of the content of his character.
