Make no mistake about it: the 2008 election will be about race. All about race. The press will make sure of that, and the Left will make sure of that. All criticisms of Obama and Company will be regarded as thinly veiled racial attacks. Never mind the Senator’s unfailingly liberal voting record. Never mind his positions on Iraq, taxes, international relations, health care or a thousand other issues. A vote against Obama will be a vote against racial progress.
Of course, had the Democratic primary resulted in the nomination of Hillary Clinton (still not out of the question, by the way), the election would have been all about gender. All criticisms of the Senator from New York would have been regarded as thinly veiled misogynistic attacks. A vote against Hillary would have been a vote against women.
This is not to be mistaken for the Left’s attacks on Hillary, which, unlike the evil Right, were driven by issues and not gender. Clinton supporters, likewise, were not driven by racial motives when they voted against Obama. You see, misogyny, along with racism, can only exist on the Right. If the Republicans were to nominate a conservative African-American, the attacks from the Left would be colorblind. If the Republicans were to nominate a conservative female, the attacks would be gender neutral. If John McCain were to pick Condoleezza Rice as his running mate, the attacks on her would be doubly pure of heart.
Allow me to summarize the rules:
We should vote for candidates irrespective of their race and/or gender. However, if the candidate is black and liberal, a vote against him or her is racist. If the candidate is female and liberal, a vote against her is sexist. If the candidate is conservative, regardless of race and/or gender, a vote against him or her is a matter of principle.
It’ll be an interesting campaign with righteous indignation coming from the Left and unnecessary apologies coming from the Right. It’s one thing to ask a voter to put aside his prejudices; it’s quite another to ask him to put aside his principles. I understand and appreciate - and, by the way, share - the pride we take in a country that’s done more than any other in the area of racial equality. The fact that a black man can be nominated by a major political party is one to be celebrated. I’m also proud that we live in a land that allows us to vote our political convictions. And I resent the hell out of anyone who attempts to label that as racist.
