IT’S not lipstick on a pig, but the economy period stupid!” This statement is being shouted from the rooftops of tens of thousands of American homes in foreclosure. The destruction of greedy Wall Street, the $700-billion welfare package offered by the Bush administration to save AIG, exorbitant gas prices, swelling unemployment followed by longer food lines, and the simmering panic by Americans looking to leadership for answers — These are the issues and concerns that have gripped the presidential campaigns of 2008.
Who wins the race for White House will be decided on who can relate to the pain of American suffering, and frankly who can offer the best social program to help Americans in need while at the same time cutting the multitrillion dollar deficit and the credit crisis the United States faces internationally.
A new week has started with Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin out of the limelight and Barack Obama, Democrat, on the “good foot” — ahead in the polls as he talks to voters about the economy. Sen. McCain’s gaff last week that the fundamentals of the American economy were strong on one of Wall Street’s worst days in history, flip flopping on supporting deregulation versus regulation of financial institutions, calling for the firing of SEC Chairman Christopher Cox without knowing the president of the US can’t officially do this and then finally blaming Obama for the Wall Street mess gave the Republican candidate a bad week politically. While Obama is in the lead, he is not by much; which has people scratching their heads and asking why. The answer may be the racist attitudes by some white Americans, particularly Democrats despite feeling Obama’s message is the best for them.
This is a winning year for the Democrats in Congress in both the House and Senate and should be for the presidency as well, but a recent AP-Yahoo poll showed a significant percentage of white Americans view African-Americans as complainers, violent and lazy. These feelings may have an impact on whether Obama wins or not in November.
Pollsters are confused over voters lying that race does not matter in the election. The McCain campaign knows Obama can’t discuss race because he will be perceived as using the “race card” and lose white support. Instead they put out subtle racially charged advertisements to anger white voters. One such advertisement shows menacing images of two black men — one ousted Fannie Mae Chairman Franklin Raines and the other Obama, followed by one of a vulnerable-looking elderly white woman at the end. The McCain campaign made an unsubstantiated claim Raines was in Obama’s inner circle in an effort to link Obama to the recent financial failure of Fannie Mae. Another advertisement depicting Obama as a pervert who supports sex education for kindergartners also sends the subconscious message of the hypersexualized black male.
With the issue of race being the proverbial “elephant in the room,” Sen. Obama refuses to allow it to get in the way of his run for the presidency. He realizes he must work harder than McCain to prove himself worthy — with the economy in the toilet, racial tensions tend to increase, but Obama is up for the task — attracting thousands to his rallies and strategizing to win more progressive white voting states in the Midwest.
The first presidential debate between McCain and Obama this Friday will be on foreign affairs and not the economy — something Americans are not paying very much attention to right now. However, this debate has a direct link to America’s economy and the rest of the world. America’s future policy on the war in Iraq and the country’s $89 billion budget surplus, Arab countries in the Gulf wondering about the value of their investments in America, China looking at the loans and credit they have extended to the United States (thinking perhaps whether they will ever get paid back) and the overall security of the global markets are all very much connected to Wall Street and Main Street America.
The candidate who can own this week and clearly win this debate may begin to see the handwriting on the wall for the White House in November.
— Yvonne R. Davis is a freelance writer based in Connecticut, US.
