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Commentary...Barack or Hillary? I’m delightfully undecided
As a woman, I want to vote my feelings. But as an African-American I want to vote my mind.
Call me bipolar or schizophrenic, if you like, but I am delightfully undecided over my choice of U.S. Sens. Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton for president.
First, I am still mind-frozen over having such a choice. I grew up in the ’50s and ’60s where in a segregated, sexist nation, Blacks attempting to vote could be killed and most wives, along with the kitchen table, were considered the property of their husbands.
Either Obama or Clinton would be a leap over President Bush, who should be impeached for his dereliction of duty in the Katrina catastrophe and his deliberate lie that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, which led us to a failed invasion that has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 U.S. soldiers and at least 30,000 Iraqi civilians.
Being an African-American woman brings its own set of suspicions and mistrust to how race and gender will play out in the political race. Usually Black victories reward men and triumphs for women serve whites and whatever is left filters down to African-American women.
Nevertheless, the results of both the New Hampshire and Iowa primaries were spectacular. Obama proved that Iowans, in one of the whitest states in the U.S., could transcend race to vote for a man who challenged them to the noble calling of unifying America.
Then the comeback of Hillary in New Hampshire was also instructive. The old rules say that a woman running for national office has to be tough as nails, but the new rules want to see a degree of vulnerability and tenderness and a lot of likability in men, as well as women. Spouting facts doesn’t cut it—a candidate has to step out of a role and “be real.” Clinton took off her mask and found her “voice” as she said and the voters, especially women, many of whom had been offended by both Obama and Sen. John Edwards ganging up on her, rewarded Clinton with enough votes to win.
If I had to vote today, I would be undecided for “old school” reasons that could be subject to change.
First, other than entertainers and athletes, it is rare to see whites lavish affection on a Black man who would actually be beneficial to African-Americans and other non-whites. Clarence Thomas, maybe, but could you imagine masses of whites ever cheering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X or Rep. John Conyers (D. Mich.)? Will some of the “Obama-mania” turn out to be an organized concoction to propel Obama in an effort to ensure that Republicans retain the White House? Could the tensions between Obama and Clinton supporters become so nasty that the feuding opens the way for a white male compromise candidate, such as Edwards?
Secondly, Obama is a spell-binding orator, but the African-American community has been blessed with an overflow of political oration, from former congressman Barbara Jordan, to Rev. Jesse Jackson, to Rev. Al Sharpton, to Pastor Jeremiah Wright. I believe what African-Americans want most is substance. Is a senator who has not finished one term in Congress experienced enough to handle the nation’s top job?
On the other hand, African-Americans have had eight years of productive experience with Bill and First Lady Hillary in the White House, which resulted in the most diverse cabinet administration in history, strong support for affirmative action and the doubling of small business loans to African-Americans. Through her work with the Children’s Defense Fund and scores of service-oriented groups, Clinton has more than 35 years of aiding causes important to African-Americans and women.
When Clinton was First Lady, I had a chance not only to talk to her at the White House, but also to see firsthand how her efforts inflamed conservatives who passionately resented her efforts to provide health care for sick children, resulting in her being unfairly labeled as divisive.
Sexism, of course, will plague Clinton, as much as racism, will plague Obama in a country addicted to the premise that only white males should reign. Complicating the views of Black males is the Vashti syndrome. Vashti was the biblical queen who was uppity enough not to obey King Xerxes I’s orders to flaunt herself in front of his male cronies. Her independence so intimidated the men, who feared their own wives would rebel, that Vashti was banished from the kingdom.
Sadly, that Vashti syndrome is working in my own house. I overheard my grown son tell his friends, “If Hillary becomes president, the women will become more sassy and out of control. And Black women are already too sassy.” I wanted to slap him, but that would be too much like proving his point.
Then I see the “Black and I’m proud” syndrome working in me. As much as I admire Clinton, can I really vote for a white woman over a non-Uncle Tom-kind of Black man for president of the U.S.?
Either way, as of yet, I can’t say may the best man win in the presidential race.
(Dr. Barbara A. Reynolds is president of Reynolds News Service. She teaches prophetic ministry at the Howard University School of Divinity)snews.blogspot.com.)
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