Who would you Vote for in '08 Election?

I have voted 'other'. The reason is that Barak Obama thinks he is a white man.

[robbboy2003]

Originally Posted by shakinah

I have voted 'other'. The reason is that Barak Obama thinks he is a white man.

Interesting, so you're saying you wouldn't complain,if Macain keeps Bush's terrible policies then?

No vote. No worry. No cry. No foul. Peace wit ya!

[warrior]

Originally Posted by shakinah

I have voted 'other'. The reason is that Barak Obama thinks he is a white man.

He is a white man to gain access to the office. When he there, he will fight for us, believe that. I'd hate to be Israel right about the time Barak pulls up his chair to the big desk in that oval office.

[Sasori]

Originally Posted by shakinah

I have voted 'other'. The reason is that Barak Obama thinks he is a white man.

Explain this last statement, I don't want to cut into it without knowing exactly what the blue F this really means

[robbboy2003]

Originally Posted by warrior

He is a white man to gain access to the office. When he there, he will fight for us, believe that. I'd hate to be Israel right about the time Barak pulls up his chair to the big desk in that oval office.

Plus, you know,that he'll have something to say and do about his homeland Africa. Maybe, it is our time! Peace!

Originally Posted by shakinah

I have voted 'other'. The reason is that Barak Obama thinks he is a white man.

Welcome aboard shakinah...

It's funny to me, actually a little sad, that Fiveskin, The Dragon, D Black (to some extent) and other intelligent members of the A.C. community have lost sight of what selecting a President is all about: what that individual will do (based on his past record or positions) for the issues that affect you, your family, and your community!

If your arguement against voting for Obama were that he does not support issues that affect the black community or our concerns or not as well as the other candidates, then I feel your arguement, but this talk about him not being "black enough" "uncle tom" "half-white" are baseless and inconsequential for whether he should be President or not...

From what I've heard, read, and saw, this Brother, (or man for those of you who have decided he's not really black) will support issues that affect the black community, and Africa, better than the other three (electable) candidates...let's debate the issues, not how black he is...the fact that my children will be able to see a black family, not just man, in the white house who represents the Country and supports our issues to the best the political system will allow, brings me joy beyond belief

[jamesfrmphilly]

i have to say that i have been saddened by the level of pessimism displayed on here.
people, when you become so negative that you fail to move in the face of opportunity, we will never win.

my generation went up against far more forminable white power and we won. we fought.
we did not sit around being pessimistic.

now you have young blacks who have far more opportunity than we ever had and all they can do is sit and whine.
it is a shame.

[Nyela]

Originally Posted by marquiss

If your arguement against voting for Obama were that he does not support issues that affect the black community or our concerns or not as well as the other candidates, then I feel your arguement, but this talk about him not being "black enough" "uncle tom" "half-white" are baseless and inconsequential for whether he should be President or not...

Very well said. What many fail to understand, is the president has to be a president to and for the people. Not just black people. In order to win an election, he must focus on people as a collective. If he were to appear as some have asserted he should, he wouldn't have a modicum of a chance of winning the election.

Secondly, with him having a black wife, black family members and black children, I find it astonishing how so many can confidently declare this man to not care about blacks and what effects black people. How could he not care. He has to look in the face of blackness EVERY DAY. He can't escape that.

[s8loud]

I can understand the fervor around Obama's candidacy, but I think we have to approach this with some realism. The bottom line is that Obama is just another corporate candidate who happens to be Black. Sure, he's charismatic and knows how to woo a crowd, but his interests don't lie with those of mainstream america:

1. he doesn't favor single-payer healthcare (not the same as the "universal healthcare" he keeps talking about), and that's a bad thing: the only reason a healthcare crisis exists in this nation is because of insurance companies, and the most Obama can say about that is that we need "affordable" healthcare. heck, why not free? that's the way the rest of the industrialized world does it, and each has remarkably better care than america offers.

2. he wants to expand the military. simply put, that means more wars, which means more death, continued misappropration and misprioritization of our tax dollars, etc. so, he's not as "anti-war" as he likes to present himself.

3. he won't come out against NAFTA which has devastated the lives of millions in Latin America (and, thus, the immigration issue) to the benefit of american corporations. the most he'll say is that NAFTA needs to be "renegotiated."

4. a significant portion of his campaign contributions come from firms (including Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Chase) who want to privatize social security. is anyone in favor of this? i know i'm not.

5. Obama still champions nuclear energy and coal as the answers to the energy crisis when, as it's been documented time and again, that those two approaches will do little (and at least continue to worsen in the latter case) to combat global warming.

6. He supports Israeli apartheid against Palestinians.

The list goes on, but I'm sure you get the point.

I don't write all this to bash Obama and his candidacy; however, I think it's important to do some basic fact-checking around the issues that are important to us. For instance, where does he stand on the sentencing inequities in federal sentencing on crack and cocaine cases? What about inner city poverty? What about social and environmental racism? As far as I've read, he hasn't taken an unequivocal stand for or against any of these issues, and I think we should pause when we hear his lofty sloganeering that amounts to little or nothing in the context of effecting the "change" he wants us to believe he represents. Personally, I think he's more an agent of the status quo more than anything else.

Let us not be so naive as to think that his past is an exact indicatator of what he'll do as (vice) prez. Politics has always been an exception to that rule.

[Nyela]

Someone please help me out.

Is it truly that improbable that those who like and support Obama HAVE done their research AND YET have decided to support him as a presidential candidate.

It amazes me that those who like him are imbeciles and those who don't are intelligent enough to instead sit out on election day or chose his white counterparts. Some of us have always been involved in the political process and understand it more than most will give us credit for. And STILL we choose Obama.

Fascinating I tell you. Fascinating.

One more thing, initially I was not sure who I would vote for. But after all the hooplah about why we should not vote for Obama, my conscience became clear. Despite his short comings, despite his naivety, despite his short Senate term, despite his not chanting POWER TO THE PEOPLE at every speech, I CHOOSE TO SUPPORT OBAMA. Twist it, turn it however you like. He is the LESSER of three evils. Not voting will never be an option for me.