Last night as I watched John McCain give his acceptance speech at the RNC, I couldn't help but wonder: Is this the best the GOP has to offer?
McCain is old. McCain has a temper. McCain has questionable morals. Yet, the race between McCain and Democrat Barack Obama is close.
We're only fooling ourselves in this country if we don't admit that race has a lot to do with the closeness of these two candidates. There are people in the country who don't want to vote for a black man. There, I said it.
In 1992, a young Bill Clinton beat George Bush I. It was a dynamic battle -- much like this election; a Democrat with new ideas versus old Washington ideas. And in 1996 when Clinton ran against Viagra-popping Bob Dole, he used Dole's age against him.(Remember Clinton saying: We do not need to build a bridge to the past, we need to build a bridge to the future.) Why isn't it working in this election?
What if Obama's father's genes hadn't been as strong and he'd been born with lighter skin and wavy hair? Would more people be willing to accept his ideas? I'm willing to bet yes.
I'm willing to bet if Obama were a white man, the Democratic Primary wouldn't have lasted as long as it did. Jesse Jackson wouldn't want to cut his nuts off, and he'd have a double-digit lead over McCain in the polls.
I'm willing to bet if Obama had been a white man who turned down Wall Street jobs, the mainstream media would be lauding him as a hero with great values. Had Obama been a white man working on the south side of Chicago, he'd probably have his face on money right now.
Eight years ago, Former Florida Govenor Jeb Bush set in motion the worst presidency in history. Will voters let racism give this country more of the same?