Despite being two weeks removed from the 2008 general election it still seems to be a meaningful talking point for not just so called pundits but everyday people as well. In the spirit of "post-election analysis" we have to look back on all aspects of the election cycle. One of the most glaring things we see that many can be excited about was the treatment of race during this election cycle. President-Elect Obama brought race to the forefront of nearly every conversation about the election. Both the media and citizens alike listened intently for what may be subtle racial jabs, and pointed out the moments when the racism wasn't so subtle. Matt Bai from the New York Times wrote an article pontificating if President-Elect Obama spelled the end of "Black Politics", Gwen Ifill made news for her book about President-Elect Obama and his relation to Black Politics, and since President-Elect Obama's historic victory, Newark mayor Cory Booker has been all over television.
But as the nation gives itself a collective pat on the back for the racial progress exemplified during this election, we have to examine all the forms of diversity that were called into question. Just as this election was historic for racial reasons, there was history on the matter of gender, and in that aspect the United States is woefully not progressive. Senator Hillary Clinton ran a very meaningful and solid campaign garnering what some analyst call the largest popular vote in Democratic primary history (about 18 million votes). Yet the amount of attention paid to Sen. Clinton's historic campaign paled in comparison to the attention given to President-Elect Obama.
There are many reasons for this. Some argue that Sen. Clinton is in some way "hyper-masculine" on account of her hawkish foreign policy, but the more pointed subtle jokes attack her for her pantsuits and short haircut. People attacked her crying as either being too feminine or faking her level of femininity. A fair number of these analyst commenting on her femininity are men. That idea reeks of male arrogance. For a man to try and define a woman's femininity is as absurd as Ralph Nader suggesting Barack Obama may be an "Uncle Tom" for big corporations. Ralph Nader was publicly embarrassed and chastised for his comments but the treatment of Hillary Clinton went (in large part) unchecked. Major media outlets and nationally renowned columnist wondered aloud what an Obama presidency would do for the self-esteem of young Black men. This is a vital thing to examine but yet equal attention wasn't given to what the candidacy of Sen. Clinton meant to young women everywhere.
Obviously Sen. Clinton was not the only women to be on the national stage during this election cycle. The other is Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. Gov. Palin is obviously a polarizing figure; those who support her think she's one of the best things to happen to politics. Those who oppose her feel that she is unfit for managing a grocery store let alone a state or country. But one thing remains true, her politics were remarkably consistent with a very famous Republican governor who made his way from the Governor's Mansion to the White House. In 1980 a good looking charismatic, affable man ran for president from the State of California. The man wasn't trained in politics, didn't hold a law degree and didn't graduate from a prestigious northeastern university. He was none other than Ronald Reagan. Reagan had his share of naysayers but none regarded him as a flat out bimbo. In political terms it's hard to argue that Gov. Palin is a master at her craft, but much of the criticism around her both from mainstream media and everyday voters was not so much in regards to her political positions, but more to her character. In an election where so much was made about the nation's diversity and social growth, the rampant sexism seems a bit out of place to say the least.
There are many reasons why this took place. First we can see that yes, the United States is still a sexist place. It is also still a racist place, but that's material for a different day. There is no reason that someone should have to use equal pay as a campaign promise. It is unimaginable that women are getting paid less for equal work, and yet they are. A second point in understanding this unfair treatment is the candidates themselves. President-Elect Obama has a likeability not seen since John F. Kennedy. As such, the women in this election were his opponents and in the media at least, people sought to tear his opponents down regardless of who they were, using any tactic they could come up with. Finally we see that in very real terms, Sen. Clinton leaves alot to be desired when it comes to her campaigning. Her "win at all cost" motif turned off many voters (particularly Black voters) because she would sometimes use what could be perceived as racially divisive tactics to get votes. This behavior helped to hide her story of a woman candidate breaking the “glass ceiling”. As for Gov. Palin she leaves alot to be desired politically. She lacks comprehensive economic solutions, has no serious stance on anything other than abortion and her foreign policy skills are weak to say the least. However these were all women who sought to politically even the playing field in the United States. Regardless of their policy positions, these candidates should have been treated with respect, and acknowledged for what they were doing for women whether you agreed with them or not. They were not. And that shows that the United States has made progress with a R (race) but not G (gender).
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Progress with a R but Not G
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Citizen Change
President-elect Obama has demonstrated that he is more than ready to hit the ground running. The first indicator of this was his selection of Rahm Emanuel as his chief-of-staff. Emanuel is a no-nonsense democrat who has a history of having a liberal approach to politics and hard line approach to bipartisanship. By most indications he is bipartisan as long as the other side agrees with him. Another former Clinton aide, John Podesta is co-chairing Obama’s transition team. Podesta has both White house and Washington experience. With this choice Obama is showing that he wants to hit the ground running and make as smooth a transition as possible in the early days of his presidency.
The real question becomes- for those on the left anyway- how progressive is Obama. Republicans cried all during the election season that this man had the most liberal voting record in all the Senate. Author John K. Wilson, a former law school student of Obama’s who wrote a book about Obama’s political rise, said that fact could be quite misleading. He argues that Obama in the United States Senate tended to vote along party lines a majority of the time, however as an executive Obama is more likely to govern center-left. This means Obama is more moderate than his voting record indicates. He is more a pragmatic thinker who will give earnest audience to both sides of the political discussion. Wilson however, thinks the unique thing about an Obama administration is that those on the left that espouse progressive views can finally be heard sincerely.
That is where the challenge is for progressives. President-elect Obama has not display any willingness to make any major moves to the left politically. However, judging by last week’s election that may just be what many of his supporters were asking for. All indicators suggest that Wilson was correct in his assessment that progressives can get the attention of Obama and move him in a way that they want him to go. Every president has particular interest groups that he responds to. This is not new to Washington. Andrew Johnson was influenced by former Confederate officials thus leading to him vetoing several Civil Rights bills and ignoring key phases of Reconstruction, Franklin Roosevelt was moved by progressives to enact the most expansive government programs in the nation’s history. Lyndon B. Johnson’s ear was had by many prominent Civil Rights leaders, and most recently George Bush has been ready, willing and able to give audience to “big business”.
What all this means is that progressives must be pro-active while they have a president who is willing to hear them out. An Obama administration seems the most likely to be attentive to progressives since Lyndon B. Johnson. The key is that progressives approach the administration with clear strategy and attainable goals. Groups with progressive causes need to be ready and able to articulate their needs to a listening Obama Administration and be prepared to show the administration where their help is needed. If they can do this, it seems likely the administration will be an asset to their cause. Evidence of this is when President-elect Obama met with NBA star Baron Davis. Davis who was troubled about the lack of educational opportunities and resources for inner-city kids asked the then Senator would an Obama administration do anything to give these kids a better opportunity. Obama’s told Davis to make sure the inner city children were prepared to take advantage of resources when they came the children’s way.
In all of Obama’s soaring rhetoric there was one phrase that was the key to his engine of change. He would say “we are the change we have been waiting for.” This was not merely a throw away line. Instead it was Obama tapping into his inner Kennedy for a modern day “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” With this line, Obama put the responsibility of change back on the citizens. For those progressives who campaigned relentlessly for Obama during the election season, he was talking to you. Obama knew his administration wouldn’t necessarily introduce sweeping legislation that would delight progressives everywhere, but what he would do is what founder of the Political Education and Action Committee Chigozie Onyema said and “get out of the way” of progressives who were seeking to make meaningful and significant change. That in and of itself is more than George Bush was willing to do in the last eight years. So the onus is on the citizens. Whatever change that does or does not come will be because either the common people of the nation got aggressive and made their demands a reality, or voted in record numbers and then lost interest in civic engagement. Allowing things to remain politics as usual.
The real question becomes- for those on the left anyway- how progressive is Obama. Republicans cried all during the election season that this man had the most liberal voting record in all the Senate. Author John K. Wilson, a former law school student of Obama’s who wrote a book about Obama’s political rise, said that fact could be quite misleading. He argues that Obama in the United States Senate tended to vote along party lines a majority of the time, however as an executive Obama is more likely to govern center-left. This means Obama is more moderate than his voting record indicates. He is more a pragmatic thinker who will give earnest audience to both sides of the political discussion. Wilson however, thinks the unique thing about an Obama administration is that those on the left that espouse progressive views can finally be heard sincerely.
That is where the challenge is for progressives. President-elect Obama has not display any willingness to make any major moves to the left politically. However, judging by last week’s election that may just be what many of his supporters were asking for. All indicators suggest that Wilson was correct in his assessment that progressives can get the attention of Obama and move him in a way that they want him to go. Every president has particular interest groups that he responds to. This is not new to Washington. Andrew Johnson was influenced by former Confederate officials thus leading to him vetoing several Civil Rights bills and ignoring key phases of Reconstruction, Franklin Roosevelt was moved by progressives to enact the most expansive government programs in the nation’s history. Lyndon B. Johnson’s ear was had by many prominent Civil Rights leaders, and most recently George Bush has been ready, willing and able to give audience to “big business”.
What all this means is that progressives must be pro-active while they have a president who is willing to hear them out. An Obama administration seems the most likely to be attentive to progressives since Lyndon B. Johnson. The key is that progressives approach the administration with clear strategy and attainable goals. Groups with progressive causes need to be ready and able to articulate their needs to a listening Obama Administration and be prepared to show the administration where their help is needed. If they can do this, it seems likely the administration will be an asset to their cause. Evidence of this is when President-elect Obama met with NBA star Baron Davis. Davis who was troubled about the lack of educational opportunities and resources for inner-city kids asked the then Senator would an Obama administration do anything to give these kids a better opportunity. Obama’s told Davis to make sure the inner city children were prepared to take advantage of resources when they came the children’s way.
In all of Obama’s soaring rhetoric there was one phrase that was the key to his engine of change. He would say “we are the change we have been waiting for.” This was not merely a throw away line. Instead it was Obama tapping into his inner Kennedy for a modern day “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” With this line, Obama put the responsibility of change back on the citizens. For those progressives who campaigned relentlessly for Obama during the election season, he was talking to you. Obama knew his administration wouldn’t necessarily introduce sweeping legislation that would delight progressives everywhere, but what he would do is what founder of the Political Education and Action Committee Chigozie Onyema said and “get out of the way” of progressives who were seeking to make meaningful and significant change. That in and of itself is more than George Bush was willing to do in the last eight years. So the onus is on the citizens. Whatever change that does or does not come will be because either the common people of the nation got aggressive and made their demands a reality, or voted in record numbers and then lost interest in civic engagement. Allowing things to remain politics as usual.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
What It All Really Means
The 44th President of the United States of America will have one thing that previous Presidents did not have. A large dose of melanin. Sen. Barack Obama is uniquely different from past Presidents and that will be evident every time someone lays eyes on him, but what is important to note going forward is what his election means to the people of the United States. Sen. Obama went from being just the third elected African-American Senator in the United States since reconstruction, to being the first African-American nominated for president from a major political party. From there he is now the first person of African descent to serve as leader of the free world.
This means many things to many people. Undoubtedly it means a great deal to Black Americans who have occupied any space in the United States. Many Blacks see this not only as Sen. Obama's accomplishment but as something that all Black Americans have accomplished. Many recognize the direct line between prominent and public figures like Frederick Douglass and Barack Obama. Many see that line as having gone through people such as Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, Dr. Martin L. King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, and Jesse Jackson to get to this point. In keeping the memory of these giants alive, Black folks have also kept with them memories of Montgomery, Birmingham, and Selma. These werent' the only places atrocities were happening, they were just places where the heinous behavior of Whites was caught by the national media. Millions of Black Americans carry with them daily the personal humiliation, terror, fear, anger, and disrespect that a racially prejudice nation exacts on a Black person's life day in and day out.
For them, this election means something much more. The election is confirmation of their humanity. Dr. Gregory Carr of Howard University says that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 never told Black people they can vote, it told White people that the Constitution gives Black Americans the right to vote. This election didn't tell Black Americans that a Black man was qualified to be President, it told White voters that a Black man was qualified. That is why this election becomes so special. It becomes special because it was not only Dr. King's dream, but the dream of the 250,00 others who joined with him on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that their children be judged by the content of their character. In many ways, Black Americans feel that they (through Sen. Obama) have been judged by the content of their character. When King joined striking sanitation workers in Memphis some of the men protesting wore signs that said "I Am A Man." That was a declaration that for many in this country needed to be made. For hundreds of years the humanity of Black Americans always existed but was not always acknowledged. Just as their humanity came under question so too did their place as Americans. James Baldwin said that Blacks could never commit treason because they were never viewed by Whites as real Americans. Because of this they could not betray something they never really had in the first place. On the heels of this election, many Blacks living in the United States feel a sense of belonging and acceptance for the very first time.
The pride in this election is not exclusive to Black Americans. Many White Americans too feel a sense of pride and accomplishment at the election of a Black President. For many young White Americans they had to live with the humiliation and embarrassment of the behavior of their ancestors. They listened as the stories were retold of the unimaginable horror and terror that White Americans reigned down on Black Americans for centuries, not counting the institutional racism that pervades United States society. Many young White people wanted a chance to carve out their own niche in United States racial history. They wanted an opportunity to show they were better than the past. An opportunity to display the supposed growth and progression of the nation. This opportunity came in the form of Senator Obama. Mr. Obama offered a racial olive branch to Whites who committed such vicious transgression in the past, while seemingly offering a sense of pride and hope in a people long downtrodden in the United States. This perfect combination helped to fulfill Dr. King's unforgettably poignant and memorable words. "The Negro needs the White man to free him from his fears. The White man needs the Negro to free him from his guilt." Blacks used White Iowans and their caucus night election of Barack Obama to free them from their fears, and Whites used a Black Presidential candidate to free them from their guilt.
At any rate in such an historic time the words of many great thinkers and scholars seem appropriate. None seem more appropriate though than the a simple phrase uttered by a music artist not thought to be particularly articulate, philosophical, or political. Young Jeezy sums things up the best by simply stating "my president is Black." That simple sentence means so many things to so many people. Any well reasoned person will see there is plenty of room to criticize President-elect Obama and his policy positions. Also most people recognize that his election will not end the institutional racism of the nation, but for so many older Black people, they can close their eyes knowing that at least one person of African descent was given the opportunity to do something that for them was unheard of. Those people can smile knowing they can leave the nation they have lived in, fought for, fought against, and demanded better from in better condition than they inherited it. The United States is not yet a more perfect union, nor the mythological shining city on a hill, but it is a majority White nation, that calls a Black man with a Muslim sounding name President.
This means many things to many people. Undoubtedly it means a great deal to Black Americans who have occupied any space in the United States. Many Blacks see this not only as Sen. Obama's accomplishment but as something that all Black Americans have accomplished. Many recognize the direct line between prominent and public figures like Frederick Douglass and Barack Obama. Many see that line as having gone through people such as Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, Dr. Martin L. King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, and Jesse Jackson to get to this point. In keeping the memory of these giants alive, Black folks have also kept with them memories of Montgomery, Birmingham, and Selma. These werent' the only places atrocities were happening, they were just places where the heinous behavior of Whites was caught by the national media. Millions of Black Americans carry with them daily the personal humiliation, terror, fear, anger, and disrespect that a racially prejudice nation exacts on a Black person's life day in and day out.
For them, this election means something much more. The election is confirmation of their humanity. Dr. Gregory Carr of Howard University says that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 never told Black people they can vote, it told White people that the Constitution gives Black Americans the right to vote. This election didn't tell Black Americans that a Black man was qualified to be President, it told White voters that a Black man was qualified. That is why this election becomes so special. It becomes special because it was not only Dr. King's dream, but the dream of the 250,00 others who joined with him on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that their children be judged by the content of their character. In many ways, Black Americans feel that they (through Sen. Obama) have been judged by the content of their character. When King joined striking sanitation workers in Memphis some of the men protesting wore signs that said "I Am A Man." That was a declaration that for many in this country needed to be made. For hundreds of years the humanity of Black Americans always existed but was not always acknowledged. Just as their humanity came under question so too did their place as Americans. James Baldwin said that Blacks could never commit treason because they were never viewed by Whites as real Americans. Because of this they could not betray something they never really had in the first place. On the heels of this election, many Blacks living in the United States feel a sense of belonging and acceptance for the very first time.
The pride in this election is not exclusive to Black Americans. Many White Americans too feel a sense of pride and accomplishment at the election of a Black President. For many young White Americans they had to live with the humiliation and embarrassment of the behavior of their ancestors. They listened as the stories were retold of the unimaginable horror and terror that White Americans reigned down on Black Americans for centuries, not counting the institutional racism that pervades United States society. Many young White people wanted a chance to carve out their own niche in United States racial history. They wanted an opportunity to show they were better than the past. An opportunity to display the supposed growth and progression of the nation. This opportunity came in the form of Senator Obama. Mr. Obama offered a racial olive branch to Whites who committed such vicious transgression in the past, while seemingly offering a sense of pride and hope in a people long downtrodden in the United States. This perfect combination helped to fulfill Dr. King's unforgettably poignant and memorable words. "The Negro needs the White man to free him from his fears. The White man needs the Negro to free him from his guilt." Blacks used White Iowans and their caucus night election of Barack Obama to free them from their fears, and Whites used a Black Presidential candidate to free them from their guilt.
At any rate in such an historic time the words of many great thinkers and scholars seem appropriate. None seem more appropriate though than the a simple phrase uttered by a music artist not thought to be particularly articulate, philosophical, or political. Young Jeezy sums things up the best by simply stating "my president is Black." That simple sentence means so many things to so many people. Any well reasoned person will see there is plenty of room to criticize President-elect Obama and his policy positions. Also most people recognize that his election will not end the institutional racism of the nation, but for so many older Black people, they can close their eyes knowing that at least one person of African descent was given the opportunity to do something that for them was unheard of. Those people can smile knowing they can leave the nation they have lived in, fought for, fought against, and demanded better from in better condition than they inherited it. The United States is not yet a more perfect union, nor the mythological shining city on a hill, but it is a majority White nation, that calls a Black man with a Muslim sounding name President.
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