Thursday, June 19, 2008

Random Collection of Thoughts on a Day Off

This is what happens when I spend the day with the kids, then start blogging late in the night.

Michelle on The View - No fault that I can find here. But here's a thought. The Obama campaign has been whining about "attacks" on Michelle. Now while I'm sure there are some nasty things being said (on both sides), anyone who gets up on the stump can be questioned about their comments. And Michelle is both bright and vocal, and has made comments that are worth examining. In contrast, Cindy McCain is there, but I don't think I've ever heard her speak. For her husband's sake, the campaign would be best advised to keep her on the light shows. I surspect a visit to Oprah country will be in the works.

Black Conservatives for Obama - I will still maintain that voting for someone primarily on race is for the stupid. So imagine my frustration when I heard JC Watts, who I was on board with as a VP possibility for McCain, has said he's thinking about voting for Obama. Will the shitstorm of unpredictability never end?

I was listening to Hannity yesterday, and he had on Armstrong Williams, conservative and black like Watts. And Armstrong Williams, despite disagreeing with Obama on most everything, feels some viceral desire to vote for the potential first black president. Because of his race!

Were there an absolute distinction between the candidates, I doubt you'd hear this.

Dating with two kids, high gas prices, and nobody single around - Okay, so there's not much more to say here. I tried the Hannidate thing on Sean Hannity's site. No one within 100 miles of me. eHarmony can't match me. And every other dating site features women who can't even spell out 'you are', much less escape a glaze over their eyes were I to mention politics.

Thus I turn to my growing readership, most of whom would have to Google New Bremen to have any idea where it is. So if you know of any single women in this part of the great state of Ohio, or if you are one, most of what you need to know can be found in the pages of my blogs. The rest is what email is for.

Like I said in the beginning, this is what happens when I spend the day with the kids, then start blogging late in the night.

10 comments:

Beth said...

lol, I did Google New Bremen once since I live in Ohio and was curious of its whereabouts.

repsac3 said...

Race (or gender, or ethnicity, or religion, or home state, or any other descriptive affiliation, from military veteran to bald man) should be no reason to vote for or against someone, but I can see folks using it as a factor. People want to see folks "like them" in high places, so a fellow black, (or Mormon, or Greek-American, or Ohioan, or woman) is going to get "familiarity points" just for being who they are, and regardless of their other attributes... The same factor was in play when so many Mormons were supporting Romney, & likely would be in play if Condi was on the Republican ticket.

I would hope that Watts is basing his possible support for Obama on more than their shared skin color (& would be disappointed to find out otherwise), but I do understand the desire to help make history, and put someone "like me" in the White House. ("like me" = like Watts & Obama; this "me" here is a white guy, in case that matters to anyone...)

Any single issue voting is silly enough, in my opinion, but making any of these "familiarities" the single issue on which you base your vote is just foolish... ...but there's no doubt, there will be people who vote for Obama just because he's black, and McCain just because he's from Arizona.

Name: Soapboxgod said...

What is truly amazing to me on the race issue is that African Americans will criticize a white southerner who does not vote for Obama because he's black as a racist.

On the other hand, as we're seeing here, you have African Americans who will vote for Obama strictly because he is black.

You cannot eat your cake and have it too.

A vote against color or a vote in favor of color is a decision predicated exclusively on race. Both are acts of racism.

Patrick M said...

Beth: Then you noticed the size, or lack thereof. Thus my dilemma. I'm guessing you're somewhere in the east half of the state.

Repsac: I've actually though about it myself. If it came down to two candidates, similar positions on issues, similar levels of confidence in them, and the only real difference was skin color, I'd go with the black man. It would be different from what I had before.

There are far too many single-issue voters out there that skew things. They probably cancel each other out in the end, but ignorance just annoys me.

He who Reigns from the Box of Soap: Is it racism to use race as a determining factor when you've eliminated everything else?

Name: Soapboxgod said...

yeah I still think it is.

Quotas based on race (i.e., affirmative action) are wholly unecessary for a number of reasons.

For one, it short changes the minority by essentially saying in so many words "Hey, you can't get this job by your own merit. Instead you can only land this job based solely on the color of your skin. In an effort to meet these quotas, an employer might then hire someone less than qualified thereby setting the minority up for failure.

What's more, they are unecessary based on this simple premise:

Let us suppose that I don't want to hire someone solely because they are black. While they may in fact be the best candidate for the job, I don't want to hire them. So, I end up hiring a less productive white guy. He produces only 1 widget to every 4 that the black guy could produce.

My business suffers.

Conversely, suppose I hire the black guy to meet a legislative mandate under Affirmative Action.

Now the black guy only produces 1 widget to the white guy's 4. Again, my business suffers.

Seems to me I recall something about judging a man based on the content of his character and not the color of his skin.

Toad734 said...

Cindy just did an interview with that guy from CNN. She isn't exactly Laura Bush (Meaning a wall flower and playing a traditional role for a Texas wife) but she isn't far off.

Michelle is a free person, free to say and do as she pleases but she isn't running for President so I don't know why they bother attacking her. As far as Rush is concerned and his attacks on her, at least she hasn't been divorced three times and isn't addicted to hillbilly heroin.

In principle, I agree, that voting for someone based on their race is stupid. However, 43 Presidents have now been elected by white people on would not have been elected if they weren't white. So in reality, all white people who have ever voted for President are just as guilty as JC Watts. Now, as far as Ferraro, sure, maybe Obama wouldn't be in the position he is in if we wasn't half black but none of the previous 43 presidents would have been in the position they were in if they were black. I think it all comes out in the wash.

Also, being Black in America means you experience things in different ways than most whites. You do have a different perspective right from the start...Ok, maybe someone like Tiger Woods is the exception but I think for most black people in this country they are perceived in a different way and therefore perceive things in a different way. That commonality is why someone like Oprah or Watts may be inclined to vote for Obama; it’s the same principle as Americans electing a guy they could see themselves having a beer with or dresses up like a cowboy; it makes them comfortable...for some reason. I think any minority in this country could identify with that and people will vote for familiarity over content any day of the week. It's why George Washington, John Quincy Adams, George W Bush were elected; everyone already knew their names. Do you really thing W would have been elected if his father had never been President and his name was Kolwoski instead of Bush?? Not a chance. For me, I would rather have an elitist as president because I am certainly not voting for the douche bag who sits at the end of my bar every night.

Toad734 said...

Soapbox:

More than likely, its going to be the black or white buy producing 1 widget and the Mexican producing 4.

Patrick M said...

Michelle is a free person, free to say and do as she pleases but she isn't running for President....

True. But what she says is fair game for analysis. Not attack, but analysis, considering the power a First Lady (Hillary Clinton) can wield. And Michelle is smart enough to do as much as Hillary.

As for the black community, it is a fair point. Having staunch conservatives feeling this tug is wholly understandable. But I stand by my statement they'd be quiet about it if they were excited by McCain.

But the only way we're going to get out of the racial mindset is if we ALL get out of it. I wish we could get a black president just so we (whites) can stop having to feel we might have racist motivations.

Of course I don't want it to be Obama, no matter what his skin color might be.

Toad734 said...

Patrick:

Or the lack of power a first lady has like Laura and Barbara Bush.


I think I have a solution to the majority of your dating, gas and driving issues:
Move out of the sticks!

Patrick M said...

Toad: It all depends on the first Lady. Some were powerful in public, some in private. But one that engages in public gets scrutinized for those statements.

As for moving, I've got a line on something that could double my income and halve my driving. Plus, you're forgetting I have 2 kids. Single parent mobility sucks. I can't even move 10 miles up the road right now.