The Democratic primaries have been the most heated in a long time in large measure because you have two worthy opponents sparring against each other. Either one would make history as the first African American and first woman President respectively. Recently, the issue of race in America’s political culture has become a very important issue. Do you think race is as important or perhaps more important than gender in determining for whom people will vote?
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January 28, 2008 at 5:58 pm |
I think that race and gender are of the same importance. I don’t look at race or gender to decide on who I am going to vote for. I also dislike how the media is using the idea of the first woman and or African American president to bring in rating. But, I am happy to see that voters are coming out in record numbers due to the fact that there is a woman and African American running for president, it also shows how far America has come in equal rights for all people. Is race as important or perhaps more important than gender in determining for whom people will vote. No both are a great picture of change for America politics. Most people will agree that they would like to see a change from the Bush administration and these to front runners are painting a grand picture of change. In deciding who the American people will vote for it will all come down to who they relate to most and who will keep America as a great power in the world of the future.
January 28, 2008 at 7:46 pm |
I think that race and gender will absolutely play a part in the upcoming election. It would be impossible for these issues not to play some part. I think that both will play an equal part in the choices of a small number of voters. I do not however think that either issue will be major deciding factor in the outcome of the election. There will be a number of African American voters that will vote for Obama solely because he is an African American, just as there will be a number of women that will vote for Clinton solely because she is a woman. There will also be a select number of voters that will vote against Obama and Clinton for the same reasons. I think that the over all vote will be based on the issues and the cantidates differing views and beliefs. Most of the voting public is above the pettiness of voting based solely on race or gender.
January 29, 2008 at 2:01 pm |
I don’t know if I have a direct answer to your question of race and politics, but I do have ancillary thoughts on the overall premise. I think there is one overwhelming reason you’re seeing race and gender as an issue in the present race for president. The media has become lazy in this country, and how can you not pass up such a mind-numbing simple story as race and gender when you have a white male, a black male, and a woman running for president.
The “issues” of the present presidential campaign are determined solely by the media. Over the course of the last six months alone, each candidate has made thousands of statements on a myriad of issues, and it’s not until the media deems it “important” do you see it played out with such vigor on the front pages. Sound-bites, and one liners is what seems to sell, so that’s all you’re going to get. Sound-bites and one liners that ruffle peoples feathers geared toward emotional reactions rather than the more deeper workings of the real issues regardless of our race or gender has become the status quo as of late.
January 30, 2008 at 8:02 pm |
Okay, so call me an ‘Obama Girl’, but this guy rocks. He is a great orator, has Camelot-ish charisma beaconing back to the JFK days, and his message is one of hope and change. The fact that he has drawn in so many new, and often young, faces to the democratic process is a victory all by itself. And the issue of race? Meh. Seems almost irrelevant to me. Though, I have heard others say that the country isn’t ready for a black president, which would put Obama at personal risk of assassination if he were elected president.
Now, Hilliary? Whole other story. I think gender prejudice is hampering her progress enormously. She has a narrow path to tread. If she acts too ‘masculine,’ she is widely referred to as a cold, insensitive *itch. If she shows too much emotion (like that little display the night before the New Hampshire primary), she is criticized for being a post-menopausal hysteric who would have no political clout with the big boys on an international scale.
Maybe it’s me, but I think race relations are going better than gender relations at this point.
January 31, 2008 at 4:31 am |
I think that race is less important than gender in determining who people will vote for in the Presidential election. As Linda said, women in high positions have issues to tread that men don’t have to deal with. Many of the same qualities of strength, decisiveness and leadership that are admired in men are often considered qualities of a bitch. Show emotion and you’re demonstrating overly feminine characteristics and too strong and you’re a bitch. There isn’t any corresponding adjective for men.
On the other hand, as John said, there will be people who will vote for or against people sole on these criteria. I believe these people are those who are less likely to take the time to research and consider the real issues. I think that even among these people a woman would have a disadvantage than a black man.
I also feel that gender and race issues, thankfully, are less an issue for younger voters than for older voters. I grew up in the 60s and 70s and I don’t think younger people can appreciate how historic this election is — even the fact that we have to consider whether a woman and black man running for president are even issues at all is fantastic.
February 3, 2008 at 3:53 pm |
Seems that more than a few here think that the media is responsible for whipping up excitement (and ratings) for the wrong reasons. I agree ‘the Issues’ with a capital ‘I’ should be the core of the media’s reporting, but it seems to me they are merely giving the public what they want.
Also, I think the candidates are being disingenuous themselves. When I look around me, the major issues I see revolve around the war in Iraq and the state of our economy. Instead, we are hearing about national health care. What’s that all about??
Much of our citizenry like sound bites and ‘Inside Edition” type reporting. These are not the informed citizens the framers of our constitution had in mind when our democracy was still an infant in the cradle. These voters are not the people who watch political debates. They may vote for something as stupid as who has the nicest hair (that would be Democrats, if history serves). Sadly, I blame an impatient culture who has gotten addicted to images and lazy thinking. The media is merely giving them what they want.
February 4, 2008 at 3:53 pm |
As sad as it may seem, the issues of race and gender will most definitely play a major role in the upcoming election. Even with as far as we have come with gender and racial equality, there are still issues that have yet to be resolved. It is my belief that this election will come down to whether or not the nation wants a woman or an African-American as president. I believe that many topics and/or views of the candidates will be ignored by voters, and that people will vote solely on their racial and gender biases. Not to say that the better candidate won’t win, but i believe it will be a very close race, as many people are biased one way or the other.
February 8, 2008 at 2:52 am |
Hi, Linda, Professor, and all~
I listened to an interesting interview this afternoon on NPR (sorry I don’t know who it was, around 4 PM today). The gentleman speaker was a supporter of Mitt Romney, who has been defeated in the primaries–according to this guy–because he was branded, “the Mormon candidate”. He said the same labelling was taking place with Hillary and Barack, and even though no one appreciates it, they are resigned to it becoming an issue.
Funny, no one asked how many blacks in CT voted for Obama, but in all the exit interviews on all the local news stations, they found African Americans to query. Hmm.
February 8, 2008 at 9:23 pm |
Well, I think it is true that some may vote against Hillary Clinton solely because she is a woman and Barack Obama solely because he is black. But I do think it’s also true that some may vote for either of them solely because of her gender and his race.
Finally, I believe that there are many who may vote against Hillary Clinton not because of her gender but because she brings a lot of baggage from the 1990s and from her husband’s political experiences.
February 8, 2008 at 11:12 pm |
I totally agree, Dr. Fiierro, since Hillary seems hell-bent on bringing the old baggage along. In my opinion, this is no different than what some people say about George W. Bush, finishing off the job in Iraq that his father left unfinished.
As for Hillary, I found myself needing an anti-emetic every time this television commercial came last month:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzBvQ9EeF3k
It brought me back to the first few months of Bill Clinton’s first presidential term. I voted for Clinton that term, but gagged upon witnessing Hillary’s voluntary (or was it, appointed) role in researching national health care. Her obdurate, ‘ram-it-through’ approach was downright nauseating. I was working in healthcare at the time, and had been witnessing firsthand all the ills brought upon by managed healthcare administered by insurance companies. Needless to say, the idea of a centralized healthcare system funded by the government came across as a real ‘Depends’ moment for me. I abhor the idea of middlemen getting in the way of the doctor-patient relationship.
And now, all these ‘gifts’ that Hillary is promising in the commercial I linked to terrify me for several reasons, but top among them is a serious worry about how we can afford them on top of paying social security benefits out to that demographic monster called the ‘Baby Boomers.’
Don’t even get me started on her idea for universal pre-K. I’m no fan of the K-12 education in this country and would hate to think that kids would have to get into the system even earlier than they do now.
February 12, 2008 at 1:59 am |
I do think that race and gender can, and do, affect the votes of the populace. Unfortunately, this sort of undermines the American ideal of unaffected equality free of bias. I think votes should be entirely based on one’s opinion of the candidates in question, and less influenced by demographics.
February 13, 2008 at 3:39 am |
During elections,they should make a law that everyone is blindfolded and each candidate is required to use voice modgulator. This is the only way race, gender, or physical appearance will not effect the candidate for president. This country is focused too greatly on physical appearance wether that pretains to hilarys botox ingections or obams racial status. Should that even matter? Unfotunetly, a lot of females will vote for Hilary and a lot of African Americans will vote for Obama.
September 14, 2008 at 9:43 pm |
Over the years, the issues of race and gender have lost some significance, however those issues are still weighted heavily when it comes to the presidential elections. The presidential elections are not something to be taken lightly because they will greatly effect the future of the country we live in. In order to maintain the greatest interests of our nation we have to make sure that we are choosing a candidate who is more than able to make the country proud. For some, gender plays in big role in deiciding which candidate they will vote for. Some see men are being better authority figures than women and feel that it is best to vote for a man. Others however; see it as the exact opposite, they believe that women are better authority figures than men. It all kinda depends on how people were raised and who’s beliefs they excepted. Males, Females, blacks and Whites are all protrayed differently by the media. There are also certain stereotypes that go with each one of them and makes them look bad or introduce a sweeping generalization about them. As much as i hate to admit it, race and gender are always going to play a very big role in elections, because like i was trying to say people will always turn to stereotypes and generalizations instead of looking at the ability. Sarah Palin who’s a possible VP is going throught all that right know. There is alot of judgement being placed on her because she is a women, dispite her impressive creditials and ability. It shouldn’t be all about gender rather it should be about ability. Instead of thinking in term of race and gender people should be asking questions like, Who’s going to be able to run the country the best? And most importantly who has the ability to run the country the best?
October 4, 2008 at 6:59 am |
Neithor race nor gender matters. What matters are the issues at hand. We live in a society where the economy is rundown. Every individual in America is feeling the effects of our economy. The next administration needs to be able to fix what the Bush administration has caused, this castastrophe of an economy. It doesn’t matter what he or she will look like running the administration. What matters is whether or not he or she can get the job done. Senator Obama and Biden seem more focused on the issues. Whereas, McCain and Palin, seem more focused on certain issues and feeding the American people tumutous lies about Barak Obama. Its evident in how each one attacks the other.