Clinton vs. Obama
Wednesday, January 9th, 2008I’ve barely been following the elections or researching the candidates because I feel that none of them are going to offer anything in the way of real change. It’s particularly saddening considering that we have the potential to elect the first black (man) or (white) woman president.
According to talk around the dinner table, the latest tawdry gossip (compliments of conservative talk radio) is that the Clinton campaign will have a “bomb to drop about Obama.” For me, the dynamics of this election have brought the stark reality of our political system, hell, the way things work on a larger level even, to light. Things are getting ugly. There’s no building of alliances, no effort to see eye to eye or keep the peace.
A black man and a white woman (Both are classically used to represent black people and women as a whole - bell hooks has a lot to say about the sexism and racism of that in Ain’t I a Woman.) are pitted against each other in typical divide and conquer fashion. Whether it’s just being played up by the media or it’s truth, what seems to be an escalating animosity between them pains me.
And yeah… I’ll admit that I am happy Clinton won New Hampshire tonight. Although I know that ultimately I could never vote for her in the primary, (as a lesser of two evils I would) I didn’t want to see her defeated so quickly. People are all too gleeful at the prospect of her loss and it really does get on my nerves. As well, I guess I want to hold on to the idea of a woman president for just a little longer. I don’t want her to win, but dammit, I don’t want her to lose either!
I’m having trouble fleshing out the divide and conquer point and how this connects to other events historically.
