Barack Obama: New Day Dawning?
Published by admin on Tagged UncategorizedIt’s been a long, long time coming…but I know…a change is gonna come.”
- Sam Cooke, 1965
I’ll be honest here folks. Until the Iowa caucuses a few days ago, I didn’t think Senator Barack Obama had the proverbial snowball’s chance in Hell of winning the White House in 2009.
Like many, I’ve been following Senator Obama for a while now; from the publication of his aptly-titled “The Audacity of Hope,” to the earliest rumors of a potential run at the Oval Office. And, despite my middle-aged cynicism, how could I not be intrigued? Just the title of his latest book is compelling, and at the same time ironically insightful. In this age of alarming sub-prime rates and a questionable Middle East war that has no real end in sight, who among us could be audacious enough to have hope where none seems to exist?
Despite all of this, I never seriously considered casting a vote Senator Obama’s way until now. Being of a certain age, the concept of noteworthy African Americans throwing their hats into the Presidential ring is hardly novel at this point. After all, starting with the early 1970s, Representative Shirley Chisholm, Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. and, most recently, Reverend Al Sharpton have all made serious bids for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Intelligent, honorable public servants without question, yet no one (not even Black folk) took them very seriously. I was in that crowd.
Then, there’s the generational thing. William Jefferson Clinton was my generation’s JFK, and 1992-2000 our collective Camelot. He hit the scene touting his Bible-belt roots, playing the Saxophone on “Arsenio,” and openly reveling in Toni Morrison’s designation as “America’s first Black president.” So, based on the “Slick Willie” love factor, many folks in my age group were prepared to vote old Bill back in by proxy, via Hillary. Having lived through eight years of unprecedented financial prosperity and social progress, conventional wisdom seemed to say, how could you not cast a vote for the Senator from New York?
Current events certainly don’t help. Noose stories popping up in the news almost every day. New Jersey becoming the first northern state to formally apologize for slavery, some 142 years after Abraham Lincoln “freed” my people. Don Imus referring to ambitious African American female college athletes as “nappy-headed hos.” And this is a Nation ready to elect a Black President? I’m not so sure. But, Senator Obama may still get my vote.
Then, there are all those issues that political pundits seem to tip-toe around. The very same issues that fuel Barbershop conversations in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Compton, Harlem, Watts and other African American enclaves across the Nation. For starters, how well-received will Senator Obama be in the so-called “Red States,” that massive segment of Americana that carried George W. Bush to victories in the 2000 and 2004 general elections? Moreover, how will Mr. Obama’s “mixed race” heritage play in those same states? And finally, if Senator Obama actually does capture the Oval Office this year, will he live to finish his first term? It’s a scary thought, one that almost everyone seems to tap-dance around, but it’s a valid query nonetheless. Just think about other famous politicians (i.e., JFK and RFK) who floated the “audacity of hope” nearly 50 years ago — and who also sought to unify this fractured country — and remember how their respective stories ended.
I suppose no one knows for sure just how this will turn out. What is clear, however, is the mounting panic and frustration evidenced by Camp Clinton. The pre-Iowa civility which had previously characterized this particular presidential campaign is now tinged with equal parts desperation and unction. Still, Senator Obama’s staunchest detractors must tread the fine line of “political correctness,” lest any severe criticism of the current Democratic front-runner seem like race-baiting. So, Senator John Edwards is reduced to laughable claims that Mr. Obama is “too nice” to lead the Nation and Senator Clinton must resort to snide assertions that “some people believe hope can lead to change.” I’m certain the level of vitriol will escalate and become even more creative with subsequent Obama primary victories.
In the meantime, I’ll be studying Senator Obama’s positions and plans with pitched intensity and waiting to see who 2008’s ultimate Democratic nominee turns out to be. I might even be audacious enough to hope that it’s someone who can lead this Nation back to greatness.
Elias Vaughn
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