Single What? Female...

It really is the economy, stupid...

at least according to Time Magazine which devoted nearly an entire issue to the race issue in our present presidential campaign. Right now, folks in the most contentious county in Missouri (MISSOURI!) really are more worried about how they are going to continue to pay for gas, feed their families and keep their businesses going rather than whether or not Barack Obama is white or black enough (he's really equal parts of each, so we can share!).

Thing is though, while many may not worry so much about white or black, there is now the "foreigness" issue. Fox News and other such fear-mongering media have not helped with this as, particularly with McCain's numbers dropping, they STILL feel the need to point out that his middle name is Hussein and that his father was not only an African immigrant, BUT a MUSLIM, too. Sadly, there are too many folks still freaked out about Muslims, (did anyone NOT see the clip from one of McCain's last rallies?) still believing that they are all extremist terrorists who want nothing more than to blow up our country and shout things like "Death To America!" in the streets...while jumping up and down shooting guns. Therefore, many say that it's not okay to vote for Obama because he is some crazy Muslim extremist thanks to his father while others twist the argument saying that it is okay to vote for Obama as he "wasn't around his father much anyway..." The first is just crazy talk as um, a) not all Muslims are terrorists and b) I know it doesn't feel like it, but we really DO still have freedom of religion. Meanwhile, the second argument...is it just me, or is that almost as or more offensive to Obama? The offense his father committed was leaving his family, not being a Muslim...or giving him a "funny name" (though of course, some of us would LOVE to be able to call out our parents for giving us funny names...my parents sadly just had really high hopes when they named me :p)

And speaking of Obama's being the child of an immigrant and a citizen, isn't that kinda part of the American Dream? My mother's parents were from Denmark, my father's parents were from Grenada. Therefore, my parents were children on IMMIGRANTS! And they certainly were not alone. Of course, anyone remotely "foreign" right now - with exception to the foreign nations who are lending us money and contributing to our debt (cough[China]cough) - for some reason is to be considered un-American. Our country was built on the fact that a whole lot of foreigners felt - and do feel - free to come here and later, become AMERICANS. The Republicans are notorious for using race as an attack tool, but now, with the inability to truly go there, they are testing Obama's "Americaness"; his patriotism. They are using the campaign slogan "Country First" as if Obama isn't true to his country...or is really even from here. (Um, by the way, he was born in Hawaii while McCain was born in PANAMA.)

The GOP doesn't dare use race outright, but still, they are afraid of what Obama stands for in the sense that he is the new face of the quintessential American Story. He is the child of mixed race parents - one of whom happened to be an immigrant. Other politicians have been raised by single mothers, have had patriotic extended family and even had immigrant parents, but they've also been all white and had escaped having truly foreign sounding names. My mother was the surprise last child of Danish immigrants who, after giving "American" names to their previous three children, decided to give my mom the serious Danish name. If she had gone into politics and tried to run with her unpronounceable "foreign" name, she might not have made it. But it has been a long time since the registrars at Ellis Island changed people's names to make them roll easier off the tongue or since folks changed their names to appear less "ethnic". These days, you see "foreign" names all over the place - on TV, in the news, next door. And like when you watch the Olympics and can't always tell which folks are the Americans, isn't that one of the great parts of being American?

The GOP has to get over this ridiculous fear. I know that they are pulling out all the stops due to McCain's slipping poll numbers, but, seriously, are these the tactics they want to use...again? And have they not seen that those tactics are not really working? (except with crazy bedhead ladies who think Obama is an Arab...and do you really want that as your target audience?) I got something else for them - and the candidates - to think about

I want to know who is going to fix my shrinking IRA and help me get a job. That's what I care about right now...and I am not alone.

KEEP PAYING ATTENTION AND VOTE!!!!!!!!!

Peace --Alex

posted by funkweee @ 3:16 PM