why we can't have a black / female president right now (is it because we are not ready???)...

i have been thinking about this for a couple of days now...

and, while thinking about it, i have been questioning whether or not to make a thread about it somewhere on ATS...

i really don't want to get off topic with this (by having members calling me a racist / antifeminist / the like), so i will keep it simple:

the following is what i have been thinking (and is not fact, its just my opinion as of now):

i don't think that we can handle a black president right now...

why???

because racism in america is real and as strong as ever

sure, it may not seem that way...

but i really believe this...

we need a president that can unite this war-torn (torn by the various opinions of the current war) nation...

hell, people poke fun at president bush just for being from texas (just to mention one thing)...

this is not racism, but it certainly shows how people think nowadays

additionally, i believe that we cannot have a female president right now...

simply because people really are sexist still in day and age

i believe that if we elect a female as president, the country will be even more torn than it already is...

as i type this, i become enlightened to another fact:

it really doesn't matter what background / sex the president is, as long as he / she can unite the country!!!

the above fact is what i really want the american people to realize...

yes, if the president turns out to be black / female, it may divide the country...

but, it might also be a great blessing if this person has great policies that can unite the country

i hope i don't start a political mud-slinging match, but i had to get this off my chest...

Originally posted by they see ALL
yes, if the president turns out to be black / female, it may divide the country...

The country is more divided than it has ever been (in my awareness) and our president is neither black nor female and yes, the president and the administration are the very reason that the country is so torn.

So it doesn't follow that a black or woman president may divide the country. We're already as divided as we can be. If anything, Obama would unite us. Hillary? I'm not so sure. But to say that we're not ready for a black or woman president because it would divide us is like saying we can't leave Iraq because there would be a civil war.

There already is (a civil war) and we already are (divided).

Yes, we're ready. We're SO ready! And it's time someone else had a chance to heal and soothe our country after the white male in office has so royally screwed it up. And you may say it has nothing to do with him being white or male?

Exactly.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
Yes, we're ready. We're SO ready! And it's time someone else had a chance to heal and soothe our country after the white male in office has so royally screwed it up. And you may say it has nothing to do with him being white or male?

i actually liked one quote from senator obama that was in my sociology textbook

it said something along the lines of: "we need to stop looking at a black man with a book in his hands and say he is acting white"...

good stuff...

I think that the time is right. But you have to have a candidate that can motivate people to vote for him/her.

Personally, I think that Hillary won't get enough votes to win in an election and that the Republicans would choose to run against her.

Obama is still an unknown to me. Personally, from what I've seen so far, I like him. He would be my choice at this time.

Just because there aren't any women or black candidates the majority of Americans agree with on policy doesn't mean that Americans are sexist or racist. I know, the pounding of the liberal campaign drum is beating already and by the time the election is finally here they hope to guilt everyone into voting for either Obama or Hilary Rodham Rodham.

The truth is that I would have voted for a female or black candidate 20 years ago if there were any that held a conservative POV. PM Thatcher for instance is still near the top of my all time favorites.

I'd just like you all to note, and remember, that I'm not voting against Blacks and women in 08, I'm voting against the Democrats giant liberal agenda and so should you.

Originally posted by Gatordone
Just because there aren't any women or black candidates the majority of Americans agree with on policy doesn't mean that Americans are sexist or racist.

i know...

i didn't say this...

i said that racism and sexism is very real in america right now

The reason we can't have a black/female President right now is because there are no qualified candidates running.

Al Sharpton - Will run on orders from Hillary, to take black votes from Obama Hussein Barak.

Carol Mosely-Braun - Will run on orders from Hillary, to take black votes from Obama Hussein Barak.

Obama Hussein Barak - Will not be elected, because Hillary will not allow it.

Hillary Clinton - One of the top hated women in America. Although the Democrat nomination is a lock, she will not beat ANY Republican for President.

Condi Rice - Way smarter than Hillary. Has stated she will not run. Would make a great Vice-President for our next President...Newt Gingrich. Which would make her a front-runner in 2016!

Walter Williams - If Newt Gingrich decides not to run, he would be a great candidate.

Most Americans will vote for who ever they think is best qualified no matter what color the politician's skin is or what organs the politician may have.

Hillary is qualified. Obama is not (his resume is comparably empty).

SOME will vote for a candidate because of their skin color. Considering that there are 300 million people in this country you can't escape that some will vote based on color. And I'd be willing to be more will vote FOR Obama because he is 1/2 black, then those who will vote against him for that same reason.

Edited ONCE to fix sentence structure.



[edit on 2/24/2007 by FlyersFan]

Originally posted by FlyersFan
And I'd be willing to be more will vote FOR Obama because he is 1/2 black, then those who will vote against him for that same reason.

very true...

he will definitely get the black vote (because he's black)...

It should matter about who's the best person for the job..

Obama- He's only been in Congress for 2 years. Ask yourself if he was white would he even be in consideration

Hilary- Might just be the Devil, she already was president for 8 years. She ran Bill like a puppet.

Honestly I can't think of a person worth voting for right now any race, any sex.

The US might be ready to accept a black president at this point, but not overwhelmingly. It would be a very close race.

As for a woman, there is a mindset in the US that a woman cannot be a strong Commander in Chief during times of war. If we were at peace for awhile, maybe a woman would have a chance. During these times, I doubt it.

actually, there was a gallup poll recently
it's results showed that only 5% of americans wouldn't vote for an african american president and only 11% wouldn't vote for a woman

actually, here are the full results of the poll

Yes No
Catholic 95% 4%
Black 94 5
Jewish 92 7
A woman 88 11
Hispanic 87 12
Mormon 72 24
Married for third time 67 30
72 years old 57 42
A homosexual 55 43
An atheist 45 53

it seems that america isn't really ready for a homosexual or an atheist..

thought that's an issue for this thread

I tend to think that that poll is measuring people's general views on the issue. Most people want to appear PC when answering questions like that, but when the curtain closes on the voting booth, their true feelings come out.

Poll results will change as the elections get closer.

I'd love to think that we're ready for a non-white man president... but I am continuously shocked by how much racism/sexism still exists everywhere. I think it's very easy to think of ourselves as open minded people in a society that's growing more open minded itself, and so we surround ourselves with like-minded individuals.

But the more I encounter different people in the world, the more apparent it becomes that we are not as far along as we would think.

Racism/sexism/etc are everywhere, and it's not just drunken abusive men wearing wife beaters or someone with a white power tattoo. There are subtleties in opinion in people that I've often seen influence someone in a way that would make them shy away from something like a black or female president. Do they consider themselves racist/sexist? Probably not. Would we consider them racist or sexist? Probably not as well. We can't see those subtleties easily.

We like to think we're living in a better world. But even something like the affirmative action debate that was in recent state elections... people are forced to take sides and some ugly truths come out.

Things aren't as peachy as we'd like to imagine.

uuummmmmm... us being ready?

I don't think it has anything to do with US being ready... they don't care about us, that's obvious..

The truth would most likely be closer to:

They haven't indoctrinated or brainwashed enough black people to follow their fairy tale democracy ....

Obama isn't even black... it's such a joke.

Originally posted by madnessinmysoul
it seems that america isn't really ready for a homosexual or an atheist..

We've already had them.

Buchanan was gay. No question. And as far as 'atheist' goes .... When Lincoln was elected he didn't believe in any religion and highly questioned that God was real. The longer he stayed in office, the more that language changed.

America wouldn't want an openly active homosexual, I agree. Buchanan wasn't 'obvious' about his preferences.

Edited ONCE to add this link-
www.planetout.com...



[edit on 2/25/2007 by FlyersFan]

To my mind if the politician running for the White House is qualified in the eye's of the voting public, than it won't matter what the politician looks like.

His/Her race or gender, for some of us, won't matter a whit. It's his or her views on foreign policy, and domestic policy that matters.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
We've already had them.

i know that
but we aren't ready for them at the moment
it seems like the american people have become far less tolerant than they once were towards certain groups of individuals

Originally posted by madnessinmysoul
it seems like the american people have become far less tolerant than they once were towards certain groups of individuals

Or those who were homosexual were so far back in the closet that America didn't see it and therefore voted for them anyways.

It's pretty undisputed about President Buchanan. Lincoln .. well ... I don't think he was gay (bi maybe), but Buchanan .. yep.