Tuesday, 3 June 2008

A Note on Today

After the months we've endured of the Democratic primary, Obama's "clinching" of the nomination today seems anticlimactic. Thinking about it today, this is a pretty big fucking climax. A black man --A BLACK MAN!-- has won the nomination of the nation's most popular political party. It is the first time in our nation's history that a black man has been the nominee of any party. That's pretty damn good. The Civil Rights Movement has a helluva long way to go, but who would have thought on April 4th, 1968 (the day King Jr was assasinated) that 40 years later a black man would head a major party's ticket.

It's considered taboo and uncouth to say --or admit-- that race plays a factor in one's decision to support a candidate, but I'm admitting it here. Part of the reason I support Obama is, indeed, his race. The benefits to American race relations, American foreign policy and American progressivism that would come with the mere fact that a black man is President are enormous and were probably incomprehensible just a few years ago. So while race is not my primary motivation for supporting Obama (McCain is a nutjob would most likely be numero uno), it certainly plays a part.

I'm starting to deviate quite a bit from the stated purpose of this blog, but fuck it - I love politics and I'm in Washington D.C. I'm going to talk shop.

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