I know that many people – including HHR – said that Palin rocked the speech. And she did. However, I know that it is going to lead to a lot of problems.
I said this in an editorial a few weeks ago on Fox Charlotte...I think that the words are going to ring true even more now:
“...In the most emotionally-charged election since 1860, voters will hear as much about “-isms” as we will about issues this fall. Since February, we have heard about ageism, classism, sexism, and racism in politics. This will only continue...Because of it, this election may be the nastiest presidential run in our nation’s history...”
“...We may even be personally insulted because of our personal politics. However, for what we face today, Roosevelt said it best: we have nothing to fear but fear itself. Politics above the fray of name-calling and race card-dealing is the biggest internal challenge that we face this election...”
“...Because of the bravery of previous generations that faced those challenges, our generation now is called to vote our conscience despite the catcalls of division that will be repeated by all sides until November. Furthermore, we are duty-bound to do so. Remember: the only way to truly be politically correct this fall is to be true to yourself...”
With that said, although Gov. Palin is a great pick for the McCain ticket, I think that this Sarah Palin selection will make an ugly campaign season worse.
One of the sore spots for African-Americans is the belief that white women have benefited more from Affirmative Action than African-Americans have. Now that they have achieved a lot (while Black folks, especially Black children, continue to lag behind in several key regards), the talk from at least one party is of eliminating Affirmative Action.
The image of Sarah Palin attacking Barack Obama on things such as being “community organizer” is not going to play well with the moderate voter. It’s going to look like the epitome of the Affirmative Action dig: white woman of privilege being used to attack the rising Black man for the benefit of the older white man.
I don’t think of this election in these terms. I know that politics is politics. However, this is one of the dynamics that will be discussed. I mentioned it to Claudio on Wednesday night when she gave her speech. On Thursday, during Claudio’s first interview of the day – one with a hip hop radio station – the FIRST question/comment from a caller was about this dynamic. He responded by saying that he was told that the sentiment was out there and he’d hear about it.
To Claudio’s defense, he commented on Wednesday night that he felt that she was flirting with going too far with her comments. I agreed. I figured that because of the issues from her past and her daughter’s pregnancy, Palin had to error on the side of toughness (or, for some, inappropriateness) than on the side of being soft, even though I hoped that she wouldn't quite "go there."
I really hope that the worst of America doesn’t come out. I can tell you from a first-hand experience, people can be nasty. It can turn an election to being based on emotions and mud-slinging instead of issues. Not everyone can ignore it and not react. To me, it’s fine because I know that we have to overcome our emotional reactions to the issues before we can objectively resolve the issues together. I sling the mud off of my shoulders and continue on. However, we saw even within the HHR posse that emotions can overtake objectivity and get things heated quickly.
Let’s see how this goes from here.
