Is Racism really "more deadly" than Ageism in this Presidential Race?
An article in the New York Sun (Hat tip: Instapundit) states that the racism that Obama faces is a much bigger deal than the ageism that McCain faces:
Funny that the author points out all kinds of stats and percentages for those who say that racism is an issue, yet fails to provide the same information on those who say they will not vote for McCain because of his age. I'll help the author out here. Here is just one sample of how voters feel about McCain's age in an article entitled, "Is McCain too Old to be President?":
So, a full 20% in New Hampshire are unlikely to vote for McCain due to his age. That is comparable to the 19% who said they simply did not believe the US was ready for an African American president. And how many more outside of New Hampshire might be hiding how they feel about age? Who knows?
My point is that many people will not vote for various politicians based on a lot of factors, but when it comes to race, those factors get front and center stage while the others are pushed off to the side as unimportant when they may be as important or moreso.
But there is a double standard in operation. Of the two sins, racism is by far the more deadly. Color is strictly off limits while a person’s age, it seems, is fair game for humor. ..
A Newsweek poll taken between April 24 and April 25 asked voters whether America is ready for an African-American president, and 19% said no, with 7% saying they were unsure. That is more than a quarter of the electorate.
A subsidiary question was worded to test the true feelings of respondents. It asked whether those who said America was ready for an African-American president held views about voting for a black candidate they were not willing to express. More than half, 53%, said they believed that “most” (12%) or “some” (41%) of the 74% saying America was ready for a black president were disguising their real thoughts.....
Although Mr. McCain may appear to be at a disadvantage because his perceived weakness is regurgitated and reinforced nightly by entertainers who ridicule him because of his age, Mr. Obama ultimately may suffer the most because his disadvantage is not spoken about openly.
Mr. McCain can address the issue of age head on. He can point out that the very notion of age is fast changing. Sixty is the new 40 and 80 the new 60.
Mr. Obama, meanwhile, dare not raise the issue that, like an iceberg, threatens to sink his chances. Truly, it is no laughing matter.
Funny that the author points out all kinds of stats and percentages for those who say that racism is an issue, yet fails to provide the same information on those who say they will not vote for McCain because of his age. I'll help the author out here. Here is just one sample of how voters feel about McCain's age in an article entitled, "Is McCain too Old to be President?":
One-fifth of New Hampshire residents surveyed in a recent University of New Hampshire poll said McCain's age would make them less likely to vote for him.
So, a full 20% in New Hampshire are unlikely to vote for McCain due to his age. That is comparable to the 19% who said they simply did not believe the US was ready for an African American president. And how many more outside of New Hampshire might be hiding how they feel about age? Who knows?
My point is that many people will not vote for various politicians based on a lot of factors, but when it comes to race, those factors get front and center stage while the others are pushed off to the side as unimportant when they may be as important or moreso.
Labels: politics
posted by Helen at 8:51 AM
32 Comments:
As I point out every chance I get, for all the hair pulling certain people do about the racism in this country, if you look at the FBI statistics for hate crimes, you'll see that per capita, Jews suffer hate crimes at a higher rate than blacks.
I'm not saying the racism isn't a problem or asking people to overplay antisemitism, I just think that charges of racism are made much too easily.
Funny, are the same people talking about sexism?
All the ism talk gives me narcolepsy.
I'll not vote for the Illinois Senator because is an up and down leftliberal. Hillary the same. John Kerry the same. Breckboy the same.
But I have to say, while his color does not either bother or thrill me, his attitudes creep me. Especially linked to his wife and pastor.
And in full disclosure, to have, at this point in history, the age of Jihad, a president of the American republic named Barack Hussein....sticks in my craw.
So, a full 20% in New Hampshire are unlikely to vote for McCain due to his age. That is comparable to the 19% who said they simply did not believe the US was ready for an African American president.
Actually, that's not really comparable, since it's not really asking similar questions. The first asks if the survey respondent would vote for McCain because of his age. The second asks the survey respondent if they think other people would vote for Obama because of race. I'm sure there are plenty of Obama supporters out there who think that America is too racist to vote for a black guy.
As far as the percentage of people who actually won't vote for Obama because he's black, as opposed to the myriad other reasons not to vote for him, who knows?
It asked whether those who said America was ready for an African-American president held views about voting for a black candidate they were not willing to express.
Just because you have views you're not willing to express doesn't mean you're racist. The liberal left by labeling any opposing views on racism, illegal immigration, gay marriage/rights, etc. as racist/homophobic/sexist has created a climate in which many are not willing to express their views due to fear of ridicule, or other retribution such as losing their job.
What about Barack and Michelle's decision not to have children?
Isn't that likely to be a factor in the race?
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The central flaw with the "Americans won't vote for a black presidential candidate" hypothesis is that it's contradicted by Obama's success as a candidate.
More likely, a great many Americans are looking for reasons to vote FOR a black candidate, and those who choose not to vote for Obama have nonracial reasons for not voting for him. Indeed these nonracial concerns -- about his leftism, character flaws and weakness on national defense -- are strong enough to overpower the goodwill many voters feel toward this otherwise-attractive candidate.
Perhaps the "Are Americans too racist to vote for a black presidential candidate?" articles are products of naivety on the part of journalists. Or perhaps some of the journalists have an agenda to support Obama by making it seem that opposition to him is mainly race-based and (therefore) without merit.
I suggest everyone look into the Global Poverty Act (S.2433)
Sponsor: Senator Barack Obama.
What is it? A tax on U.S. citizens of .7% of our GNP for welfare to 3rd world nations. Currently about 845 billion dollars (a year) or 2.3 billion dollars (a day). Ever heard of it? Me neither. The vote is coming up soon. Need more info, but I think it is up and over (beyond) what we already do, and does not take into account private contributions.
Obama is actively trying to have aspects of his past declared off limits to discussion.
The "racism" charge is just a BS tactic to deflect criticism of Obama's leftwing past and associations.
Just like when someone tells the truth, like, "Hamas prefers Obama as US president" is a "smear", when it is only an accurately reported fact.
S.2433 as reported to the Senate makes no mention, anywhere, of a tax, a tax as portion of GDP, or a dollar amount.
In any case, 0.7% of GDP would be just under $100 billion.
Please do not spread easily-refuted rumors.
The results of that Newsweek survey are funny. They could be neatly summed up as: "I'm not racist but the rest of the country is and won't admit it."
It makes me hopeful that there is a Lake Wobegon effect of racism. On average people aren't racist but they think it's above average to be that way.
Hang on jay, I'll get the links.
Can't pull the links off and get them to show up here.
However, try checking this out.
Joe Biden, Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee issued a report on the Global Poverty Act, and placed it on the Senate Legislative Calendar on Thursday, April 24. The bill may not have reached far enough for you to pull it off the web. However, it has apparently progressed far enough for you to not be able to find it, and therefore call it a rumor.
If .7% of the GDP is but 100 billion dollars, this nation is much more broke than I had assumed.
Rasicsm will be a bigger factor than ageism because racism hides and only will rear it's ugly head in the voting booth. I think McSames biggest liability is a connection to people who lie and get away with it.
Go to the very first entry on a Yahoo! search for "S.2433," click on "See Full Bill Text," which takes you to thomas.loc.gov; then click on "S.2433.RS," then "Printer Friendly Display."
You can easily print and/or read the entire text of the bill. The "tax" is an urban legend, nothing more.
Seven-tenths of one percent of GDP is, as I stated, just under $100B. I got the GDP figure from a spreadsheet at bea.gov; it's $14,185.2 billion as of 1Q08. Multiply by 0.007 to get, to 1 significant figure, $100 billion.
Rasicsm will be a bigger factor than ageism because racism hides and only will rear it's ugly head in the voting booth.
What difference does that make? Just because ageism can rear its ugly head sooner and more openly, that makes it less of a factor? Makes no sense.
What about Barack and Michelle's decision not to have children?
Huh? They have two.
* * *
Some of are hoping McCain picks a really good VP and then kicks the bucket.
seven tenths of one percent is .7
seven thousandths of one percent is .007
Just saying.
As with all government publications, depends on where you go. Go the the cia world fact book, and you get much higher numbers for our GDP.
Rizzo: They asked two questions.
I find it disturbing that people who do not support Obama are considered racists. It is happening to Clinton voters and if he wins the nomination, it will happen in the general election. It is not going to convince me to ignore the real weaknesses and beliefs of Obama. I'll gladly vote for McCain, no matter what I am called.
Cham: I know you are a Clinton supporter, have any Obama supporters accused you of being a racist for it? Do you plan to vote for Obama if he wins the nomination?
br549: I just did the calculation myself and it comes to about $97 billion. Also I went to the links Jay provided and it doesn't appear to show a percentage (originally I could only find the House version). However, I did notice a few articles with the same numbers you mentioned, but I don't know how they came to that conclusion.
Well, keep searching, serket, like I am. Seek and ye shall find. Whatever it is one is looking for, they can find it via the Internet; the fastest growing purveyor of misinformation and disinformation available today. Er, outside of the U.S. Government, that is.
Refresher on meaning of "per cent":
1% = 0.01
therefore
0.7% = 0.007
CIA World Factbook US GDP numbers are $13.79 or $13.86 trillion, depending on definition; either figure is lower than the one I used.
There is absolutely no mention of a tax, any dollar amount, or any portion of GDP in S.2433.
This is an urban legend. Hasn't made it into the "Obama" list on Snopes, but somehow I suspect it will.
Pete: It makes me hopeful that there is a Lake Wobegon effect of racism. On average people aren't racist but they think it's above average to be that way.
I agree with this, that charges of racism are being way overblown. However, it has been interesting watching how the Democrats treat a black man and a white woman.
William: Bush recently said he is disappointed that the intelligence agencies around the world came to a wrong conclusion on Iraq and he also mentions that he stopped playing golf because it sends the wrong message during a war.
Jay, it does say this: At the summit of the Group of Eight (G-8) nations in July 2005, leaders from all eight participating countries committed to increase aid to Africa from the current $25,000,000,000 annually to $50,000,000,000 by 2010, and to cancel 100 percent of the debt obligations owed to the World Bank, African Development Bank, and International Monetary Fund by 18 of the world's poorest nations.
I'm not sure what they are trying to add with this bill, unless they are just agreeing to what the G-8 decided on.
jay,
You threw me with 14,185 billion as opposed to 14 + trillion. I'll read better next time.
Still ain't gonna vote for Obama though.
To be absolutely clear, S.2433 and similarly high-minded pieces of legislation do have the potential to become phenomenally expensive. And I am rather unlikely to vote for BHO myself.
Anything the government does takes money out of our pockets. That has become their main job, it seems.
Sorry about the math boo boo. Hope your not a math teacher.......... or one of my customers.
Anything the government does takes money out of our pockets.
Thus the truism. Government give you something without taking away something else. But this goes beyond money. Mostly they're taking away our freedom.
Still around, jay?
Here's another one you can rip me open on. Google the Williston Basin oil fields or simply, "The Bakken" oil formation.
More oil then anywhere, and it's right here. From Montana to the Dakotas and up into Canada.
The question remains if we will be allowed to drill it, though.
We can't drill in the lower Gulf, off Florida, because it may harm mother nature. So the Chinese set up oil rigs in Cuba's waters and are drilling sideways into our oil fields.
Saw a cartoon online this morning. Guy with a clipboard is talking to a couple and he says something like "I'm taking a survey on whether people's favorites for the Democratic nomination. Are you racists or sexists?"
Guess you could add "ageists" to that.
I was listening to the radio returning from work yesterday (Hannity). Obama stated he would like to debate both George W. and McCain on, basically, the things that fill the airwaves in this day and age concerning terrorism, Islam, Israel, Iran, oil, talking to / about terrorists and terrorism, etc. He states he would win that debate.
Oh, someone, please, make it happen. How about you, Obama? Make it happen. I truly wish to hear that debate. Make the debate about what you stated, and stick to the points you made. The ones you say you can win the debate on.
McCain, is but a moderate democrat. A RINO. At best.
Now that he has basically defeated Hillary, Obama is beginning to rip into the other side. Typical. This is new? This is different? This is but business as usual. Bush's speech in Israel made no mention of anyone by name. It was about appeasement, how it failed - will always fail. Obama took it to heart, put his own name on it. A rallying cry? As many have said, it has been worked out that one cannot say anything bad about Obama, or you are some kind of "ist". Must be nice. Meanwhile any and everything is open season for him. That must be nice, too.
I remember reading various news publications in the late sixties, early seventies - while Vietnam was raging. The articles spoke of the middle east becoming the next hot spot. Oil and Islam.
The think tanks and our government have known about this for decades.
The parties KEEP us divided. That keeps the will of the people defeated. Four to eight years of democrat "rule". Four to eight years of republican "rule". The economy goes up, the economy goes down. The liberals are happy, the conservatives are unhappy, etc. Back and forth, seemingly forever.
Reminds me of my (still not closed) divorce. I was paying one lawyer to cut my throat, and the other to stem the bleeding. I saw them eating lunch together at a local restaurant right in the middle of things. Fired both of them. It was basically illegal for me to pay my wife's lawyer. But "family" money was all we had. There was no his and hers money. So, I had to take cash, give it to my wife, so she could give it to her lawyer. Quite the gimmick.
Lawyers. George H.W. Bush started bashing lawyers, if you'll remember. Boom. We got Clinton (with 38% of the vote, mind you).
Ahhhh, Saturdays.
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