Would Obama be in this position if.......?????

Question

Hi...First off, I am not a racist, and I am voting for Obama......

With everything else about him being equal, other than the color of his skin, do you think he would be in the same position he is is now ?

I don't think so myself. I think if he were white; it would be Hilary in his place because she would have gotten most of both the male and female black vote. But since Obama is black; he got both sexes of the black vote. In other words, I think the color of his skin is an advantage not a disavantage when it comes to this election. What do you think??????

Answer 1

Maybe you should stop looking at colors and gender and actually pay attention to what the candidates have to say.

Nontheless, Barack Obama is who he is today partially because of his skin color. I'm not talking about his position of power and I'm not talking about his candidacy. I'm talking about his life, personality, and way of being.

Answer 2

No, I think he had to work harder to convince voters who initially saw him as a "long shot" at best to become the nominee. What he has endured while keeping his "cool" is what, I think, shows that regardless of his alleged "lack of experience" he can rise to the challenges and deal with them in a mature, intelligent manner. This is in sharp contrast to McCain, who is known to lose his temper and lash out at anyone who challenges his point of view.

Answer 3

It's impossible to say.

Let's say he was a white male.  In that case, Senator Clinton probably would have won the African-American vote, but at the same time, people who didn't vote for Obama because of the fact that he's not a white male, and his name is Barack Obama, and voted for Clinton instead-- may very well have voted for him.

It's impossible because there's no precise way to measure how many of Clinton's voters voted for her because of negatives or perceived negatives about Obama.  

Answer 4

Pretty minor factor when it's all said and done. There are waaay more women than black folks in the US, but Hillary still didn't manage to win. Obama came out on top because he did a lot more than win the black vote... he was also strong among young people of all races as well as voters with a college degree. And he wasn't automatic with black voters – he still had to win them over.

Answer 5

I think that the real question is, would McCain be in the same position if he were black?

And if hillary were a hermaphrodite, would she be in the same position she is in?

These "what-if" questions really chap my ***...  

Answer 6

I do think that Obama's race helped him to get "noticed" in a crowded field of qualified candidates.  And he did have a natural constituency, even before people knew very much about him.

On the other hand, it's impossible to know how many people ruled him out from the very beginning, just because of his race.  And I'm not talking just about racists.  My mom, for example -- she voted against Obama in the primaries because she felt that *other* people are racists.  She figured there was no chance a black man, no matter how qualified, could beat the Republicans in November.

Previously we have had four black presidential candidates:  Shirley Chisholm, Carol Moseley Braun, Jesse Jackson, and Al Sharpton.  One might question the qualifications of the last two, but Chisholm and Braun were both very experienced.  Yet none of the four got anywhere at all.  For that reason, I am skeptical of the notion that black candidates enjoy an advantage.

Answer 7

obvious advantage in this case.

Answer 8

His accomplishments in life are not unique and rather pedestrian.  I don't see what is unique about his mediocre accomplishments.  It is a fact that a white person would not have been given an Ivy League offer with his academic record and achievements.  He would have been just another white kid.

Don't let me get started on that idiot spouse of his.  Her Princeton senior thesis is 9th grade level, tops.

Edit:  From all the thumbs down, I touched a sore spot with liberals who want to change opportunities for higher education into a matter of group membership and leave out academic and individual achievement.

Answer 9

I believe if he were white he would not have the support he does. Many people have told me they are voting for him just because he is black [which is infuriating]. They just want something huge to go down in the history books and to think that they were part of it. They dont think about the real issues. And obama encourages it too which is also infuriating. I am so sick of this race be about superficial things and not the issues.

edit: and many of the people who told me that are not black. And think about how many wanna be black people that are out there that will vote for him because they think it makes them more black? black may be the minority, but if you add it onto the wanna-bees you have a near majority.

Answer 10

Can you say affirmative action?.The answer to your question is no.He'd probably be the manager of a McDonalds.

Answer 11

I don't think Obama won because he was black.  Afro-American only account for less than 12% of the population.  Besides, he was running not as a black man, but as a proud American that was what MLK's dream was about.  I believe people are ready for a change and have connected to Obama and his message.  It is time for us to come together work as a nation and continue to be leaders in the world.  

Answer 12

Hugeeeeeeeeeee advantage!

Answer 13

Possibly.

Would McCain be in this position if not for the luck of his birth?

Would he have made it into The Naval Academy without his legacy appointment?

Nope.

Needed prep school as it was.

Answer 14

Race definitely played a role.

Answer 15

In the beginning of the primaries, Hillary and Obama were splitting African-American votes about 50/50. After Hillary made some careless remarks regarding African-Americans, most of them moved to Obama. Most likely, it would have been the same if Obama was white (though Hillary would probably have more AA votes in the beginning).

Answer 16

the bear is being a bit retarded.... I mean come on how much of the population is black or even mixed with black? Small percentage of america wouldnt you say? There as many racist people to counter that just to boot.

Answer 17

N O ! ! !

IF .. OBAMA was a WHITE man WITH the SAME LACK of Qualifications, HE would have been - L A U G H E D - out of the Nomination process ... in the BEGINNING !!!!

Alaska Govermor Sarah Palin has MORE TOTAL political experience than Obama!!

KS1982