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Obama and Hillary: A Microcasm of America's Prejudices
For the past month, I can't imagine anyone watching more CNN than myself. This election fascinates me in ways unsurpassed since October 2000. However, I see a few problems with the Democratic primary that are representative of society as a whole. I’m a big fan of both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, for different reasons (I also support Bill Richardson, but in this star-studded field, he can’t get any traction.) But the treatment they are receiving from the media and the public deeply troubles me.
Right now, the trendy thing to do is to strongly dislike Hillary and to proclaim Obama as the second coming. But why? For the past few months, I’ve asked people that trumpet a distaste for Hillary Clinton a simple question: why? Nobody seems to be able to give an answer. Usually, when people say they don’t like someone, a list of reasons follows, but not with Hillary. Generally, I get a response that sounds something like “well, uh, you see, uh, she’s just so…unlikeable….”
I don’t get it. I would have loved it if people had answered my query with “well, I don’t really like her Health Care plan” or “You know, her stance on immigration seems pretty soft,” but with her, none of it matters. I pay more attention to presidential politics than most of my peers, and I’ve watched plenty of Clinton’s speeches, so I must be missing the quotes or gestures that seem to be turning people off. Prior to the New Hampshire debate, Clinton came off to me as a candidate truly willing to delve deeply into the issues, listen to people, make a few jokes and really analyze political situations. So I asked myself, what’s the problem here?
Once I was honest with myself, the answer became painfully obvious. She’s a woman. Plain and simple. Bill Schneider, Wolf Blitzer and the rest of the CNN journalists sounded shocked Thursday night when they discovered that Obama won more female voters than Clinton did. I’m not. Hillary just can’t win. First she’s cold and calculating, then Monday she had the audacity to show emotion and tear up. And of course, now people are skeptical as to whether it was legitimate or not. Her appearance matters, her tone matters, and more. It’s all unfair.
The headlines on the news websites are all about Hillary Clinton crying, and not anything substantial. It never ceases to amaze me what Americans think of as “news,” and this one can be added to the list. A candidate showing both passion for her country and fatigue from a relentless weekend of campaigning and posturing just should not be news, but it is. I think she’s sunk, which is sad because I think she would be a terrific president. It’s certainly true that for the past five days, the Clinton campaign has gotten thrown around and confused, but before that, I just didn’t see the criticism as being valid.
I may be the only liberal-minded person in America that feels this way, but the coronation of Barack Obama is, if anything, more distressing to me than the Clinton-bashing. People are in a frenzy about Obama and his persistent message of change. So much so, in fact, that he doesn’t have to say anything substantial. He has positions on issues, certainly, but he doesn’t really have to, because nobody’s listening to them anyway. We’re all too in awe of how he says anything that comes of his mouth to care. In New Hampshire, the crowds are massive and the excitement high. But a couple news outlets have done stories on how the same people who go out of their way to chant his name and hear him speak for change also have no idea about what he wants to do or what he stands for. And to me, that’s a shame. I understand that being president isn’t all about policy, but that’s a huge part of it, and it’s a portion that so far has been ignored. I agree with his stance on health care (no mandates except for parents) and on many others, but do most people even have a clue what he thinks?
Additionally, I was offended by the way CNN, Fox and MSNBC covered the Obama win in Iowa. All three 24-hour news stations rushed to interview every black person they could find to ask them “So, how do black people feel about Barack Obama winning in Iowa?” Had I been interviewed, my answer would have been “Well, I just got off the phone with all 30 million of us, and we’re all pretty pumped, because clearly, we all think the same way.”
Now, it can’t be ignored that there are many black Americans that were extremely encouraged by the results Thursday night and the subsequent uplifting speech senator Obama delivered. But sweeping generalizations are the name of the media game these days, and so the quest is on to find out what black people think and feel about Barack Obama.
My greatest fear about Senator Obama is what people/the media will say and do when he messes up. And he will. I’ve seen it before; people like to see celebrities fall, especially black ones. Obama is a celebrity, make no mistake about it. On one hand, I believe that if Obama was white, he wouldn’t be in this position today. His ancestry and skin color have amplified the level of attention and awareness surrounding him. So far, society’s prejudices have worked in his favor. However, if he wins the democratic nomination and then makes a well-publicized slip-up, I highly doubt that the media empire will be as forgiving as they’ve been to President Bush. Race is a part of that. I just see the same mobs of people who can’t get enough of him now will be more likely to doubt him if he messes up.
As I said, I’m big fans of both candidates. But in observing the media and public reaction to the campaign thus far, I’m seeing some very telling trends emerging. If you’re an Obama supporter and you can tell me exactly what changes Sen. Obama plans on making (which he’s said, if you haven’t been too starry-eyed to hear), then great. Scream for him all you want! And if you dislike Hillary for substantial reasons, then more power to you. Voting for a president can’t just be about likeability, though. We did that in 2000 and 2004. We sure love him now, don’t we?
Obama and Hillary: A Microcasm of America's Prejudices
For the past month, I can't imagine anyone watching more CNN than myself. This election fascinates me in ways unsurpassed since October 2000. However, I see a few problems with the Democratic primary that are representative of society as a whole. I’m a big fan of both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, for different reasons (I also support Bill Richardson, but in this star-studded field, he can’t get any traction.) But the treatment they are receiving from the media and the public deeply troubles me.
Right now, the trendy thing to do is to strongly dislike Hillary and to proclaim Obama as the second coming. But why? For the past few months, I’ve asked people that trumpet a distaste for Hillary Clinton a simple question: why? Nobody seems to be able to give an answer. Usually, when people say they don’t like someone, a list of reasons follows, but not with Hillary. Generally, I get a response that sounds something like “well, uh, you see, uh, she’s just so…unlikeable….”
I don’t get it. I would have loved it if people had answered my query with “well, I don’t really like her Health Care plan” or “You know, her stance on immigration seems pretty soft,” but with her, none of it matters. I pay more attention to presidential politics than most of my peers, and I’ve watched plenty of Clinton’s speeches, so I must be missing the quotes or gestures that seem to be turning people off. Prior to the New Hampshire debate, Clinton came off to me as a candidate truly willing to delve deeply into the issues, listen to people, make a few jokes and really analyze political situations. So I asked myself, what’s the problem here?
Once I was honest with myself, the answer became painfully obvious. She’s a woman. Plain and simple. Bill Schneider, Wolf Blitzer and the rest of the CNN journalists sounded shocked Thursday night when they discovered that Obama won more female voters than Clinton did. I’m not. Hillary just can’t win. First she’s cold and calculating, then Monday she had the audacity to show emotion and tear up. And of course, now people are skeptical as to whether it was legitimate or not. Her appearance matters, her tone matters, and more. It’s all unfair.
The headlines on the news websites are all about Hillary Clinton crying, and not anything substantial. It never ceases to amaze me what Americans think of as “news,” and this one can be added to the list. A candidate showing both passion for her country and fatigue from a relentless weekend of campaigning and posturing just should not be news, but it is. I think she’s sunk, which is sad because I think she would be a terrific president. It’s certainly true that for the past five days, the Clinton campaign has gotten thrown around and confused, but before that, I just didn’t see the criticism as being valid.
I may be the only liberal-minded person in America that feels this way, but the coronation of Barack Obama is, if anything, more distressing to me than the Clinton-bashing. People are in a frenzy about Obama and his persistent message of change. So much so, in fact, that he doesn’t have to say anything substantial. He has positions on issues, certainly, but he doesn’t really have to, because nobody’s listening to them anyway. We’re all too in awe of how he says anything that comes of his mouth to care. In New Hampshire, the crowds are massive and the excitement high. But a couple news outlets have done stories on how the same people who go out of their way to chant his name and hear him speak for change also have no idea about what he wants to do or what he stands for. And to me, that’s a shame. I understand that being president isn’t all about policy, but that’s a huge part of it, and it’s a portion that so far has been ignored. I agree with his stance on health care (no mandates except for parents) and on many others, but do most people even have a clue what he thinks?
Additionally, I was offended by the way CNN, Fox and MSNBC covered the Obama win in Iowa. All three 24-hour news stations rushed to interview every black person they could find to ask them “So, how do black people feel about Barack Obama winning in Iowa?” Had I been interviewed, my answer would have been “Well, I just got off the phone with all 30 million of us, and we’re all pretty pumped, because clearly, we all think the same way.”
Now, it can’t be ignored that there are many black Americans that were extremely encouraged by the results Thursday night and the subsequent uplifting speech senator Obama delivered. But sweeping generalizations are the name of the media game these days, and so the quest is on to find out what black people think and feel about Barack Obama.
My greatest fear about Senator Obama is what people/the media will say and do when he messes up. And he will. I’ve seen it before; people like to see celebrities fall, especially black ones. Obama is a celebrity, make no mistake about it. On one hand, I believe that if Obama was white, he wouldn’t be in this position today. His ancestry and skin color have amplified the level of attention and awareness surrounding him. So far, society’s prejudices have worked in his favor. However, if he wins the democratic nomination and then makes a well-publicized slip-up, I highly doubt that the media empire will be as forgiving as they’ve been to President Bush. Race is a part of that. I just see the same mobs of people who can’t get enough of him now will be more likely to doubt him if he messes up.
As I said, I’m big fans of both candidates. But in observing the media and public reaction to the campaign thus far, I’m seeing some very telling trends emerging. If you’re an Obama supporter and you can tell me exactly what changes Sen. Obama plans on making (which he’s said, if you haven’t been too starry-eyed to hear), then great. Scream for him all you want! And if you dislike Hillary for substantial reasons, then more power to you. Voting for a president can’t just be about likeability, though. We did that in 2000 and 2004. We sure love him now, don’t we?