The latest celebrity to jump on the “Race Card “angle of the 2012 Obama Campaign appears to be late night talk show host David Letterman. In a recent interview with Dr. Phil, Letterman said that Trumps questioning of the President’s birth certificate and college records, “smacks of racism”. It appears to be somewhat recycled: Back in 2008 a piece from Ben Smith, Politico.com suggested that McCain would receive the racist vote (or those would not vote for Obama. The fact that 46 percent of the U.S. Public did not vote for Obama, rather McCain, apparently makes them racists as well. and that’s when the insanity began.
If one Google's “those who voted for Obama racism”, one can find a series of articles written in the 2008 period suggesting that either McCain was a racist or those that voted for the “ticket” were somehow racist. It is, perhaps, the most ludicrous charge ever presented by those who want to grab a piece of the limelight while at the same time, sticking it to “Brand X” Republican running against Obama. The problem with the theory, however, fails to explain the Caucasians who overwhelming did vote for Obama in the 2008 election. The fact that someone does not agrees with a person political affiliation, and/or past voting history, or current actions, apparently makes that persona racist if the target of the non-vote or disagreement on policy happens to be one Barack Obama.
In 2003, when George Bush was running for a second term against John Kerry, the question was ”How did George Bush Get into Yale?” (Journal Sentinel). There was much ado about the grades President Bush may have produced, and it was assumed that John Kerry, the Democrat who ran against Bush in 2004, was a genius whose grades bested Bush by a wide margin. Only problem was that both men has less than stellar grades, once they were released proved them to be “parallel”. Yet the perception persists by liberals and the press: Bush is basically not that smart.
Therefore, the attacks on Bush and his intellect, to the attacks on McCain, and now Trump for being “racists” are nothing more than attacks of conservatism. The later, however, having the unintended consequences of ramping up racism, especially among today’s youth, the whole group that will be voting in 2012. Those who are tired of the, what amounts to BS from the press and people they either never heard of from Hollywood or would not watch, are now leaning anywhere but Obama.
Meanwhile, Trump comes out and questions the President’s birth certificate, which is summarily produced, and asks to immediately move onto more important issues – like unemployment, inflation and jobs, but not before getting in a jab about the authenticity of the document. It is vintage Trump style. Now, those in news and those who are polling assume that Trump rise in the polls is due to the fact that he questioned Obama’s birth certificate and since those must be Republican’s leaning towards trump, they must also be “birthers” (or those who question Obama’s eligibility), and therefore, might even have voted for McCain, therefore – Trump receives the racist vote.
Herein in the reason that Obama got elected: he received support from all races, religions and ethnic groups in a number greater than McCain because a) McCain’s campaign made mistakes and was also tainted with the “Bush” brush and b) Obama over promised on everything from middle class tax cuts to the unemployment numbers to a greater respect for the nation in the world view. In other words, Caucasians, men and women, young and old, voted for Obama because they felt he would make a better President than McCain, not because he was the first African-American candidate. Proving, one would think, that race is a non-issue in Presidential policies, it is policy that Trumps.
In reviewing the policies of the Obama administration and where the nation stands now, a growing percentage of the voting public is just uncomfortable with the decisions the President has made – his approval ranks are down, not because he is African American, but because he is perceived as incompetent (Ties into Trump asking for his college records vis a vis college record asked and answered for one George Bush). The fact that American’s are allowed to question the ability and policies of a President, a Senator, a Congressman, a Mayor, has nothing to do with race and everything to do with competence. Unless of course, you’re the press or members of the entertainment industry who feel they need a boost in ratings, or should at the least, jump on the “Democrat Candidates bandwagon” using every conceivable weapon in an arsenal available for that candidate to get him (or her) elected.
In the case of the current President, they apparently cannot argue on anything other than “Trump is A Racist” and if it were Huckabee in the running, or Plain, or name a Republican, and this includes the ever side-winding, issue moderate, Mitt Romney, they would also be a racist, for running against Obama, and God forbid, potentially asking the tough questions about why the country has gone to hell in a hand basket based on the man’s policies. It is glaringly apparent at this point, that Obama is incapable of running on a record, or on future promises, as the public, for the most part, will not buy a second time. Trump, not unlike Reagan (both called clowns, and buffoons’ upon thinking of entering the race), had to dodge questions about competence based on the fact that they were – somehow not Democrats.
Fortunately for Trump, or Palin or Huckabee or Romney, and/or a possibly unnamed candidate, whoever runs on the 2012 GOP ticket, has a majority of the electorate looking critically at the President, and although they will take time vetting the GOP candidates, it will be on the real issues. The more that the press and their counterparts in entertainment, continue crying “wolf!” (race), the more the public will be turned towards the GOP candidate. It is because those who voted for McCain know they were doing so based on either party loyalty or a preference for policy, rather than a vote against candidate Obama because of race. Alternately, those that did vote for Obama on the basis of his promises and slogan of “Hope and Change”, not on race (as seriously was suggested as “white guilt”: see article ”Will American’s Vote for Obama again due to White Gilt Here in the 2012 election No kidding.
Are there those who voted against Obama because he was an African American – quite possibly true, but to believe that the majority of American’s who did defies reason. The same way that those who voted against McCain because a) he was old (ageism) and b) he had a female running made (sexism), were, again, not in the majority.
Some of the reasons that people are not voting for Obama in 2012 include:
The economy
The lack of jobs
His perceived lack of leadership both at home and abroad
He’s old news and not a big celebrity anymore.
The later from the youth vote: who also could not name the vice president they voted for while voting for Obama in 2008. They will not know the 2012 GOP’ bottom of the ticket either, unless that ticket is Trump and pick a celebrity.
There should, seriously be a test for voters.
How do they feel about being charged a racist? Ask the African-American students who like the Donald – they don’t read the newspapers, they read online blogs, and live on Facebook and Twitter along with their Caucasian, Asian and Hispanic peers. – Ask your 18 year old’s friends, the answer will shock you – they know they aren’t racist, they do know they are afraid for their future; they want a President who looks like he can “run things”.
So do a lot of old white women, white men, middle income men and women, Republican’s, the majority of Independents and a segment of Democrats who are more moderate than “Progressive”?
Expect the charges to intensify, expect the press and Hollywood to get more ridiculous as the time grows closer to the GOP choosing a candidate. It is what it is, policy, and there are major mistakes in policies, those that one’s friends and admirers continue to make regardless of the fact that it is going to have the opposite intended result.
Therefore, should Obama lose the election to “name a Republican”, then the prevailing theory will be that a) 30% of liberals, all of the members of the Press and several entertainer will be moving to Canada, and the majority of the U.S. voting population are racists!
Therapists are going to make millions.
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