Well, I guess people were so fed up with Bush and Republican politics and their identification with the morass the country has fallen into that they actually elected a Black president. I wonder if white people justified their vote in the back of their minds with the idea "well, he's half white" or are we really turning a corner where race will not be so important in the way we deal with each other. Let's hope the latter is true.
I'm afraid for Obama. Sure, the first thought is, black president, he'll be a big target for assassination. That's not why I'm worried. The president of the United States is always a target for assassination so, that's nothing new. I'm afraid for Obama because people have placed so much faith and hope in him to the point that it seems he's some neo-Messiah come to deliver the country and the world from all of its social and financial ills. The reality is: We are reeling from 8 years of mismanagement, bone-headed policies, moral decline, greed, and deceit and this will not be fixed overnight. My fear is that Obama, no matter how ingenious and dedicated he is, will be fighting an uphill battle to correct all the problems he faces and that he will be blamed for lack of progress or a worsening economy. I think the country's financial decline has a downhill momentum and will get worse before it gets better. I just hope that the average Joe the Plumber and hockey mom realize this and aren't quick to second guess their choice of voting for Obama if it doesn't get fixed over night. Those of us who consider ourselves "black intelligentsia" worry that any perceived failure of Obama will be a perceived failure of black people in general; this is, of course, not a new concept. We are always made to represent our entire race, especially when it comes to negatives. I can only hope that the spirit that drove a majority of the American public to seemingly, finally, ignore race and elect the first black president will persist when Obama has pitfalls and gaffes that inevitably come with occupying the most powerful and complex political office in the world. I also hope that a black man occupying this office will serve as a much needed beacon of hope for black people, especially young black men. We are always told that we can be whatever we want in this country if we put our minds to it. These are encouraging words, but are often not reinforced by tangible examples. Now it seems that we have the ultimate tangible example for this concept in Obama. I hope that this effect will trickle down to young black men, like those that I often operate on, who feel that they are lesser men in the eyes of the world and now will be able to hold their heads a little higher and better believe that they can actually be whatever they want if they put their minds to it.
