Reader e-mail!

Had to say that I really liked you blog about Obama.  I loved his speech and think he will be our first black president.  Or, at least, I sincerely hope so.

This isn't the first time I've heard promulgations of "Obama for President." I've heard pundits on TV mention it several times. Hey, after that speech, I was ready to offer him my first born for electrifying me even more than when I first heard Howard Dean's "I represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic party" speech.

Is the Obama-for-President speechifying a lot of hype, though? Are we jumping the gun a bit?

My girlfriend and I discussed last night the viability for an African American president. We both agree that we may very well see a black president in our lifetime, and probably before we'll see a female president. (Sorry, DNC-ers, Hillary Clinton is far too polarizing to be a viable candidate, unless she's running against Dick Cheney.) In our current political climate, perhaps it wouldn't matter if John Kerry and/or John Edwards was an African American, considering how many people have already made their decision. And an intelligent, well-spoken candidate of color not prone to ridiculous dramatics or possessing a storied past (ahem, Al Sharpton, cough-cough) could motivate minorities, including the much sought-after Latino vote, and connect with young people more effectively than some rich, white Republican ever could. Of the 19 battleground states, 13 have Democratic governors and only 6 have Republican controlled houses; 12 of these states had Republican governors in 2000 (source). The climate is shifting, and quickly, thanks to the warmongering ineptitude of our current administration.

Unfortunately, the time is simply not now. The election is still too close to call, and for an African American to become president, the political climate will have to shift just a wee bit more to the left. There are unfortunately plenty of people in this world whose latent racism will make them unconciously trust an African American less than a white person. As Americans who do vote increasingly make their decisions far earlier and along party lines, though, it won't matter what race or ethnicity the candidate is. Anyone who won't vote for a black president based solely on race isn't voting Democrat in this day and age anyway.

So can someone like Barack Obama become president? Right now, probably not, since he's from the Midwest, from a state that is becoming increasingly Democratic, and from a big city. Things have to shift a little, and I think that's happening. If John and John are elected in November and conditions improve or are percieved to have improved, John Edwards may have a really good running mate choice for 2012.

Though, if my friend Chris is right, Bush will not leave office even if he is defeated in November. Instead, Bush will instate Marshall law and declare himself Emperor. Then it'll require a coup to get him out. Of course, Chris also believed (albeit briefly) that Massod were behind 9/11, so take his theory with a grain of salt, no matter how plausible it seems.

UPDATE: The reader e-mails again

I think you hit the nail right on the head with how much more composed Obama is than past African-American candidates like Sharpton and Jackson, as well.  They don't seem stable.  Passionate and fill the personality code to get books in schools, clean up the streets and fight for equality, but I don't see them being the best choice for sit-downs with foreign leaders or actually filling the role of commander-in-chief.  But when I look at and listen to Obama, I believe that he can.  And I think that he actually can be president now.  Not this instant... he needs to win the senate race first and get some more politics under his belt.  8-16 years down the road, I think we've got a very strong candidate.  Passion still moves people and I don't think we've heard someone with that presence in a long time.  Clinton is a great speaker, but I think Barack exceeds him.&! nbsp; This is the first time that I have heard him speak (aside from question and answer clips).  So, I don't know how he is typically, but there was so much hype for his speech that this cannot be a fluke.  Now, you've got an African-American man who touts great ideals, carries himself like a leader and talks like one in a very eloquent manner.  He also has those little tiny shades of gospel church preaching peaking through his dialogue.  Just enough to draw in the lower to middle-lower class black families to make then feel like he is speaking to them (and not "whitened" black man) and just feint enough to not scare away the semi-conservative middle of the road folk.  I think he can be really broad-reaching in his appeal and draw in a lot of votes.  And personally, he's the first politician I've been excited about in my lifetime right out of the gate.  Anyone I've been excited about in the past in any capacity has been som! eone who I've grown to like and cheer for.  I can't be the only o ne feeling that way.  Mark my words, he will be president.

I guess John Edwards was right last night -- hope is on the way.