Finding a Balance

My homeboy and I had an interesting debate the other day.

We're both Obama supporters, both college-educated and gainfully employed young black men. (Well, I guess we ain't that young anymore.) We tend to view the world in racial terms and neither of us is in the habit of giving people the benefit of the doubt.

Anyway, we were discussing the upcoming presidential election and trying to decide just how realistic an Obama victory might be. Previously, we had been cautiously optimistic, but with the introduction of the Alaskan Vixen, we're not so confident.

It's not so much that Palin is threat, it's more that what she represents is a threat. For some reason, Rip Van McCain couldn't get the Republican base excited enough to buy into his bullshit, which was a boon for Obama. Big Homie still had to deal with the ridiculous coverage he received from the media, but for the most part I felt good. But, with Palin's staunch opposition to abortion, her pretty smile and the faint whiff of trailer trash she gives off every time she walks by, well I think the base has found a reason to support the Crypt Keeper.

Now the race has tightened and my fried and I are trying to decide if we should chalk this up to general prejudice, or whether we needed to acknowledge that Palin appealed to the Republican base the same way Obama appealed to the Democratic base. With the latter, race is definitely factor, but it would be more difficult to say it's the deciding factor. My friend quickly decided that it was racism, pure and simple. I, however, was not so sure.

See, I can understand that there are many people in America who just don't agree with Democrats on much. They like school vouchers, think abortion is amoral, think public healthcare is socialism and fear taxes like the bubonic plague. These folks think we should stick it out in Iraq, think Iran needs to be humbled and are really afraid that the gays will marry one day. These people are blood red Republicans.

Many of these folks would vote for Satan if he had an R behind his name on the ballot.

But, there are a lot of folks that share many standard Republican values, but who are in pain because Republican policies don't benefit anybody but the uber-rich. These folks like the idea that the government could be there to help them out, even if they would never see themselves as looking for a handout. They want affordable healthcare and they would prefer to have their sons and daughters back from Iraq soon. These folks might consider voting for a Democrat if his/her plans sound good, and the Republicans have shown themselves inept. They probably have voted for Democrats in local and state elections.

But, a black president is still a stretch for them.

See, I'm thinking that if the Democrats and Republicans both were running white men, this race would have been over months ago. Because Americans have been conditioned to see white and male as the default for any position of power it would have been much easier to focus on the issues important in this campaign. And, on the issues, the Republicans get their butts whipped. Most logical people agree that George Bush and his Republican friends have screwed us all.

However, Obama introduces a wild card. The issues are still important, but what's also important is how a black person will handle ruling America. Because, despite the reality, most Americans view the president as the "ruler" of this country.

For many white people, the idea of placing a black person in the supreme position of authority is a scary prospect. They worry about retribution, about shifts in power. They wonder if a black person is really qualified for that kind of power and they are concerned about what seeing a black person in a position of authority would do to the minds of other black people. Truthfully, these are all legitimate concerns that I can understand.

And that's why I can't just chalk up the closeness of the race to pure racism and prejudice. Many voters are not certain that voting for a black guy will truly serve their self interest. They are also not certain that voting for a Republican will serve their self interest. So they are trapped in a sort of no-man's land where it seems like there is not great choice, but simply a choice of the lesser of two evils. ( Black people know all about that, don't we?)

Looking at things that way makes it easier for me to understand why Obama isn't destroying McCain. It's like there is a giant balance with black fear and Republican fear on opposite sides of the scale. That means race is a big issue, but I'm not sure if it's solely about racism anymore.

That's a tough position to be in.