Obama, Leftists, Affirmative Action and Race

It amazes me that so-called anti-racist liberals are celebrating the election of Barak Obama to the US Presidency. In the few conversations I've had with such people, they laud the maturation of the American people in finally accepting a Black as president. They wax nostalgic about how Martin Luther King, Corretta Scott King and Rosa Parks would be smiling brightly at the sight of a Black Man taking the White House. They smile a dreamlike smile and call the election 'historic' and 'monumental' and point out that just 50 years ago, Blacks were being lynched in Virginia, a state that overwhelmingly voted for Black Barak.

How racist.

Politics is a dirty game and nobody plays it dirtier than the United States. It is true that Barak Obama is the first Black President of the US, but should skin color be the criteria for voting in a world leader?

The talk about Obama from Obama supporters reminds me of the supporters of Affirmative Action, a policy of reverse discrimination which somehow 'fixes' the discrimination faced by Black Americans for centuries. Those employers taking part in Affirmative Action are supposed to choose the Black candidate for the position over the White candidate if their qualifications are somewhat equal. The action does not take into account the personality, the likability or even the potential of the person doing a stellar job. All it takes into account is, if, on paper, the person is as qualified as the other and if the person is Black. It's a racist policy which does no service to either candidate and which can potentially put an employee in a job that doesn't fit.

I worked for a radio station a while back which had an equal opportunity policy. Basically that meant, if you were a white male, you had no chance, whatsoever, of ever attaining a job at this station. Their criteria forced them to first hire female voices (Some of which were terrible), next minorities, Amer-Indians, Blacks and finally if all else fails white males. The rational, simply white males have dominated radio for decades, it's time to give other people a chance.

So basically, in both these scenarios, if you were a white male, you were screwed. Simple as that.

So how does all this tie into the election of Barak Obama? Simply put, it's amazing how politics creates strange bedfellows and how people's true racist feelings come flooding forth on or just after election day.

Obama supporters are lauding the election of the first Black President. They are not lauding the election of a qualified president, a statesman, a Democratic president to take them out of the Bush years, but merely a Black president. Color takes precedence, Color makes the President. As one Obama supporter told me on my election coverage special on Radio-Shalom Montreal (1650 Am - www.radio-shalom.ca), 'I wanted to be part of history, I wanted a Black President, I voted Obama!'

Conversely, the Republicans are making the best out of a bad situation. They never, once, during their campaign mentioned Obama's skin color. They held their dignity and discussed the issues, Obama's political affiliations, Obama's track record (which is non-existent) and Obama's qualifications to hold the highest office in the land.

Those who focus on color rather than qualifications when it comes to Obama should take a close look at themselves and wonder how they became blatant racists.