I will vote for MCain because he is white.

[Blaupanzer]

I think it is height that counts. Since 1950, the taller guy almost always wins.

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Blaupanzer
I think it is height that counts. Since 1950, the taller guy almost always wins.

If only that had been true in 2000 or 2004.

[Blaupanzer]

Is bush a short guy?

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Blaupanzer
Is bush a short guy?

He's 5'11", shorter than both Gore (6'1") and Kerry (6'3").

Also, I believe Bush Sr. is taller than Clinton, who beat him in 1992.

[Agathon]

Re: I will vote for MCain because he is white.

Originally posted by Docfeelgood
I am white.
Is this racist?

Yes.

I am black and I want to vote for Obama because he is black.
Is this also racist or a double standard?

No.


This is one of the pathetic tricks that the right try to pull. There is a morally relevant difference between blacks and whites in the US in that the former have been subject to systemic discrimination for the entire existence of the country.

You aren't voting for Obama qua black, but qua member of a group that has been discriminated against. Black people have an additional interest in this because they are members of that group (although, if the rest of us were decent people, we would have the same interest as them).

It would be strange to vote for any candidate merely because he is black, but if one wanted a tie breaker for two equal candidates, voting for a black man would be better, since it would be a blow against discrimination. Black people have, as a group, had the sharp end of the stick. There's nothing different about black people voting for Obama than there was in them rooting for Jackie Robinson or Jack Johnson.

The simple way to prove this is to imagine the racial roles reversed. If white people had been enslaved and discriminated against, would you still vote for Obama because he was black? If you did, you would likely be a racist (or maybe you just have an irrational love for chocolate coloured things).

[Kidlicious]

Most black people believe that the system is corrupt, that white people favor their own kind, at black people's expense. That's not racist to believe that.

They also believe that a black president would do more for black people, because that's what they would do.

[Lancer]

Country can't afford many more handouts though. I think whoever gets in is going to face the reality that they will have to cut spending almost everywhere.

[Boris Godunov]

And I've not seen any black person who is supporting Obama solely because he's black. Black people supported the Democrat in past elections by 90+%. All the evidence suggests when it comes to polices, black Americans strongly prefer the Democrats.

Now, many blacks are much more enthusiastic about Obama because he's black...but it's also because he's Obama. They didn't have nearly as much enthusiasm for past black candidates like Sharpton or Mosely-Braun.

Face it, if the Republicans had nominated Alan Keyes this year, black people wouldn't suddenly be rushing to vote Republican. When Keyes ran for Senate in Maryland a while back, he got trounced by a white Democrat, and Maryland has a huge black voting population. Black people aren't stupid, and they're not going to vote for a black person if he doesn't represent their values.

But the campaign that's blatantly played the identity card in this race is McCain's, and it was the gender one. Palin's nomination was specifically rolled out as an appeal to the supposed masses of disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters. The idea being, "hey, you wanted a woman, and we're giving ya one!" It was insulting, and many Clinton voters who otherwise might have sat out the election or considered voting for McCain flocked to Obama. They didn't want ANY woman, they wanted the woman they felt was qualified for the damn job.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Lancer
Country can't afford many more handouts though. I think whoever gets in is going to face the reality that they will have to cut spending almost everywhere.

Unless bankers need more?

[Q Classic]

Originally posted by Patroklos
I never could understand this obcession with skin color.

Obviously it is eye color that counts, window into the soul

So Putin's blue eyes reflect calm tropical seas? No wonder he and Bush were so close.

[Q Classic]

When Keyes ran for Senate in Illinois, almost none of the blacks (who live primarily in Chicago) voted for him, as they favored Obama.

It was only the whites in the south that went for Keyes.

[Arrian]

Originally posted by Lancer
Country can't afford many more handouts though. I think whoever gets in is going to face the reality that they will have to cut spending almost everywhere.

I've been thinking that for a while. Several election cycles, in fact. So far, the government hasn't faced reality. I've come to the conclusion that's because most of the public hasn't (and will not).

-Arrian

[Impaler[WrG]]

Blacks can a long history of voting for white candidates who they agree with (aka democrats) so assuming current polling trends bear out only 5% of the black vote with have voted against their usual pattern.

And theirs a significant substantive difference here, a white candidate is nothing new as whites are the dominant political/economic/social group in the country, no one can claim that its an accomplishment for McCain, whites in general or the nation at large. On the other hand all these factors are indeed accomplishments for Obama, blacks in general and the nation at large.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Boris Godunov
They didn't have nearly as much enthusiasm for past black candidates like Sharpton or Mosely-Braun.

They don't have as much enthusiasm for those two, because white people would never vote for them. The're enthusiastic about Obama because whites will actually vote for him. That doesn't mean they prefer Obama to Sharpton.

[-Jrabbit]

I know several women who switched to Obama specifically because of the cynical, manipulative selection of Palin. I think people underestimate the disgust and anger many women feel at this opportunistic, condescending choice by McCain and the GOP, and at Palin herself, who many view as the antithesis of the women's movement.