On Monday morning, I heard a news report, which said that race is not an issue in this year’s presidential election. ABC news reported a poll that shows McCain and Obama running neck and neck on the war in Iraq. Obama ahead of McCain on health care reform, taxes and the economy, but McCain leading Obama when it comes to handling terrorism. Based on the poll numbers, an ABC reporter concluded that race is not a concern.However, that same story said it would be very important for African-Americans to come out in large numbers if Barack Obama wants to win. The question is how can there be no issue of race when the reporter concluded at the end of the segment that the key factor for Barak Obama presidential hopes is the voter turnout of African-Americans at the polls.
If there were no race issue in this election, then why would it matter how many of any one group went out to vote on Election Day? If the polls show McCain and Obama neck and neck, arguing that there is no racial discrimination, would it matter one way or another who was voting?
Apparently what ABC news and most other news outlets mean when they say there is no race issue in this election, is that there is no race issue for Caucasians in this election. Whites are in favor of both candidates equally. It is not racial bias if African-Americans vote for Barack Obama, according to this report. Apparently, there is no problem with minority groups voting along minority lines, because of the color of a candidate’s skin. It seems that if the majority of the population votes based on this factor, there is racial discrimination. Therefore, the media says race is not an issue in this presidential election as long as whites are willing to vote for Obama.
If African-Americans vote for Obama based on his skin color, that is their concern, but there is a double standard of moral value on this issue in the press. There is a justification of this act on
the part of the media that is intellectually dishonest. Voting for Obama because he is black is a racial issue.
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Also, imagine if John McCain had belonged to a church for twenty years that preached against "black" anything. Imagine if that church preached against McCain's opponent, saying that the opponent figured he deserved to be the next president simply because he was black... How quickly would the crucifixion commence? The day before yesterday, I imagine.
That said, I think that there are some talk radio hosts who wholeheartedly supported Romney based strictly on the fact that he is a Mormon and they share that religion. So I guess everybody is subject to scrutiny. :-)
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