Barack Obama’s election to the presidency should not come as a shock. His political operation was more disciplined, more organized, and more effective than that of his opponents. The wisdom of his policy objectives compared to those of his rivals can be debated ad nauseam, but, it is not my intention to do so; I will leave all normative judgments regarding policy aside. Obama ran a truly remarkable campaign, and for this, he deserves great praise. He defeated not only Hillary Clinton, an old-hand with a formidable political-machine, but John McCain, a Republican beloved by independents. This is no small feat. From this vantage point, Obama’s win is well-deserved, and not particularly surprising.
What is surprising is the way that some, but not all, of Mr. Obama’s supporters across the nation have reacted. Rather than framing his win as a victory of Democratic ideals over Republican ideals, they have framed it as the final victory of open-mindedness over racism.
This is a more than a little baffling. No one debates that racism is a repulsive relic of the past, an ugly stain on our nation’s character. No one debates that there may have been some Caucasian or Latino voters who opposed Mr. Obama due to his race, just as there may have been some African-American voters who supported Mr. Obama due to his race. But in the grand scheme of things, Mr. Obama’s race is irrelevant. America is designed to function as a blind meritocracy. Is it perfect? Does it function as such in every single regard? I doubt it. But there are numerous African-American, on both sides of the political divide, who have ably climbed to the top of their field: Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Charles Rangel, and James Clyburn, just to name a few. This seems to say a good deal about the poor health of racism in America.
Given that this nation was founded while slavery was strong, Mr. Obama’s success is indeed an achievement. I congratulate him. Still, the notion that only the election of an African-American to the White House can truly demonstrate equality is misguided in that it implies that a victory by Mr. McCain would have meant that racism is still alive and well. Are wealthy African-Americans who supported Mr. McCain due to his economic plans racist?
African-Americans have suffered horrendously in the past. But the twenty-first century has arrived. Those who frame every action of an American who happens to be of African descent in terms of race relations only prolong, enflame, and give life to a dying problem. America is not “about” races, ethnicities, gender, or age. America is about ideas. America is about willpower. Most importantly, America is about skill. And though I am not affiliated with either party, I can see that in the political arena, Mr. Obama had a great deal of it.
He won. I take off my hat.
Nicholas Tatsis, Circulation Manager