DISCLAIMER: This is a politically charged post, being made in a blog typically reserved for other topics. If political opinions do not interest you, please skip this post.
I don't like to get into politics in this space. Quite frankly, getting people to buy into the notions like "video games might be worth something" is difficult enough without introducing an additional polarizing factor like politics into the mix. Thats not to say I don't have my own opinions on the governance of this country, but its not something I like to push upon onto people unless prompted. But tonight I can't sleep thanks to a line that was crossed earlier today by a prominent politician, and so I have come to my place of reflection to speak my mind. Feel no obligation to continue reading if you came here looking for the typical fare this blog has to offer.
Though I have been an Obama supporter during this Presidential campaign, I most certainly respect the efforts of Senator Clinton. Truth be told, were it any other election but this one, I would likely have happily supported her. I disagree with some of the tactical decisions she has made during this primary season, but by and large I think she would have made an excellent Democratic nominee in a year without Barack Obama. But of late, I've developed a mounting frustration with the Clinton campaign. Attempting to perpetually change the conditions on which victory is determined, flip flopping on the seating of the Florida and Michigan, her utterly disrespectful "memory" of taking gunfire in Bosnia, and her racially charged statements about the control she maintains over the working class white voters have, quite frankly, left a bad taste in my mouth. Now I'm a reasonable person. I understand that every candidate, including the one of my personal preference, has made mistakes during the campaign. We all say things we wish we could take back, and I for one don't like to deitize politicians out of their human right to imperfection.
But earlier today, making a mistake came off the table. When asked by a local newspaper why she was continuing to campaign despite concerns about party unity, her response was:
"My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it."
Later in the day, Senator Clinton offered this clarification on her remarks - I won't call it an apology.
Most people don't know it to look at me, but I'm half African American. Its not something I make a big deal about, because frankly, it doesnt matter to me. I was fortunate beyond measure to be raised in an environment in which diversity was not something that needed to be discussed or explained or thought about - it just way. But as is the case with all kids, I grew up, and came to realize that the rest of the world wasnt nearly as accepting of differences as they were in Mrs. Summer' Kindergarten class. Racial discrimination is something I have experienced a scare few times in my life. It doesnt take very many times to understand it. I most certainly do not support Senator Obama exclusively because he is black, but I very much appreciate the historic significance of an African American President.
There are, I'm very sorry to say, still a lot of ignorant people in this world, and in this country. Intolerant people who would and do judge people because of the color of their skin, gender, religious affiliation or sexual preferences. And some of these people are hateful enough as to commit horrible crimes in the name of their perverted close mindedness.
And so here we are today, 2008, with a very good chance that a Black man will be elected President of the United States of America. And unless you've been living in a sheltered box your entire life, you are just as aware of the presence of those crazy, hateful, intolerant people as I am. And if you are anything like me, or my family, or the people I know, you worry about it.
I know very well what Senator Clinton meant to say. At least I know what I hope she meant to say. You never know what can happen - it ain't over until its over. But that message is a whole lot different than the one she laid out today, stirring up an unthinkably horrible possibility in the dawn of a social coming of age of this nation.
To dare to even insinuate that your campaign remains active JUST IN CASE something like an assassinate occurs is deplorable beyond words and shameful beyond reprehension. What sort of motivating factor is that to remain in the running for president? What does that say about you if thats all you have left when asked why you continue to run? What kind of person must you be to even consider such a thing privately, nevermind in front of a news outlet, knowing that there might just be someone sick enough to commit such an act? And knowing that any thoughtful American who has experienced any form of intolerance much less lived through a previous political assassination already harbors this unspoken fear, how could you dare play that card? Then to offer something less than an unequivocal apology is unimaginable.
I am as disgusted today as I have ever been in a public official... and thats after I give Senator Clinton the benefit of the doubt. It is time for the undecided super-delegates and the democratic national committee to end this primary, since we see what Senator Clinton views as end game. Party unity indeed...
I'll leave you with a video of the Special Comments from Countdown with Keith Olbermann and a quote from said video of particular relevance.
"And to not appreciate immediatly, to still not apprciate tonight,just what you have done today is to reveal an incomprehension about the America you seek to lead. This Senator is too much. Because a senator, a politician, a person who can, let hang in midair, the prospect that she might just be sticking around, in part, just in case the other guy gets shot, has no business being, and no capacity to be, The President of the United States".
I don't like to get into politics in this space. Quite frankly, getting people to buy into the notions like "video games might be worth something" is difficult enough without introducing an additional polarizing factor like politics into the mix. Thats not to say I don't have my own opinions on the governance of this country, but its not something I like to push upon onto people unless prompted. But tonight I can't sleep thanks to a line that was crossed earlier today by a prominent politician, and so I have come to my place of reflection to speak my mind. Feel no obligation to continue reading if you came here looking for the typical fare this blog has to offer.
Though I have been an Obama supporter during this Presidential campaign, I most certainly respect the efforts of Senator Clinton. Truth be told, were it any other election but this one, I would likely have happily supported her. I disagree with some of the tactical decisions she has made during this primary season, but by and large I think she would have made an excellent Democratic nominee in a year without Barack Obama. But of late, I've developed a mounting frustration with the Clinton campaign. Attempting to perpetually change the conditions on which victory is determined, flip flopping on the seating of the Florida and Michigan, her utterly disrespectful "memory" of taking gunfire in Bosnia, and her racially charged statements about the control she maintains over the working class white voters have, quite frankly, left a bad taste in my mouth. Now I'm a reasonable person. I understand that every candidate, including the one of my personal preference, has made mistakes during the campaign. We all say things we wish we could take back, and I for one don't like to deitize politicians out of their human right to imperfection.
But earlier today, making a mistake came off the table. When asked by a local newspaper why she was continuing to campaign despite concerns about party unity, her response was:
"My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it."
Later in the day, Senator Clinton offered this clarification on her remarks - I won't call it an apology.
Most people don't know it to look at me, but I'm half African American. Its not something I make a big deal about, because frankly, it doesnt matter to me. I was fortunate beyond measure to be raised in an environment in which diversity was not something that needed to be discussed or explained or thought about - it just way. But as is the case with all kids, I grew up, and came to realize that the rest of the world wasnt nearly as accepting of differences as they were in Mrs. Summer' Kindergarten class. Racial discrimination is something I have experienced a scare few times in my life. It doesnt take very many times to understand it. I most certainly do not support Senator Obama exclusively because he is black, but I very much appreciate the historic significance of an African American President.
There are, I'm very sorry to say, still a lot of ignorant people in this world, and in this country. Intolerant people who would and do judge people because of the color of their skin, gender, religious affiliation or sexual preferences. And some of these people are hateful enough as to commit horrible crimes in the name of their perverted close mindedness.
And so here we are today, 2008, with a very good chance that a Black man will be elected President of the United States of America. And unless you've been living in a sheltered box your entire life, you are just as aware of the presence of those crazy, hateful, intolerant people as I am. And if you are anything like me, or my family, or the people I know, you worry about it.
I know very well what Senator Clinton meant to say. At least I know what I hope she meant to say. You never know what can happen - it ain't over until its over. But that message is a whole lot different than the one she laid out today, stirring up an unthinkably horrible possibility in the dawn of a social coming of age of this nation.
To dare to even insinuate that your campaign remains active JUST IN CASE something like an assassinate occurs is deplorable beyond words and shameful beyond reprehension. What sort of motivating factor is that to remain in the running for president? What does that say about you if thats all you have left when asked why you continue to run? What kind of person must you be to even consider such a thing privately, nevermind in front of a news outlet, knowing that there might just be someone sick enough to commit such an act? And knowing that any thoughtful American who has experienced any form of intolerance much less lived through a previous political assassination already harbors this unspoken fear, how could you dare play that card? Then to offer something less than an unequivocal apology is unimaginable.
I am as disgusted today as I have ever been in a public official... and thats after I give Senator Clinton the benefit of the doubt. It is time for the undecided super-delegates and the democratic national committee to end this primary, since we see what Senator Clinton views as end game. Party unity indeed...
I'll leave you with a video of the Special Comments from Countdown with Keith Olbermann and a quote from said video of particular relevance.
"And to not appreciate immediatly, to still not apprciate tonight,just what you have done today is to reveal an incomprehension about the America you seek to lead. This Senator is too much. Because a senator, a politician, a person who can, let hang in midair, the prospect that she might just be sticking around, in part, just in case the other guy gets shot, has no business being, and no capacity to be, The President of the United States".
I can't say Hilary Clinton was ever getting my vote.
Obama's support comes from a group of people who see through the scare tactics previously used to divide us. I'm just hoping there are enough of us outnumber the people that believe that games, other races, other genders, or the "liberal elite" are the source of their problems.