Presidents: Blacks, Women, Hispanics, Mormons (oh my?)
For crying out loud. I am sick of hearing about all the different possible "firsts" for Presidential candidates. Bill Richardson the first Hispanic, or Barack Obama the first black, or Hillary Clinton the first woman, or Mitt Rmoney the first Mormon.
I don't care. I think most people don't care. It has all been done to death. Yes, not as President. And if you want to take pride in it, go ahead; I took pride in George H.W. Bush being born in Massachusetts, but most people didn't care, and that was cool too.
And I am also sick of people asking whether it matters. No. It doesn't. Indeed, it matters a lot less now than it ever did before, because we are so ideologically polarized: you really think someone who is pissed off at the Republicans and wants to stick it to them, and happens to be an older Southerner who's a bit racist or sexist is going to not vote for Obama or Hillary? Unlikely. Even if he is a racist or sexist, he'll say, "well, could be worse, he/she could be a Bush!"
Same thing with Romney and the Christian right. Romney is, socially, fairly conservative (including being pro-life), and the relatively small parts of the Christian right that may be inclined to vote against a Mormon as President will say, "could be worse, he could be a Clinton!"
In these times, anyone can become President if they win a major party nomination, because you're probably guaranteed at least 40 percent of the vote no matter who you are (unless you are George W. Bush maybe, were he allowed to run again ...).
I don't care. I think most people don't care. It has all been done to death. Yes, not as President. And if you want to take pride in it, go ahead; I took pride in George H.W. Bush being born in Massachusetts, but most people didn't care, and that was cool too.
And I am also sick of people asking whether it matters. No. It doesn't. Indeed, it matters a lot less now than it ever did before, because we are so ideologically polarized: you really think someone who is pissed off at the Republicans and wants to stick it to them, and happens to be an older Southerner who's a bit racist or sexist is going to not vote for Obama or Hillary? Unlikely. Even if he is a racist or sexist, he'll say, "well, could be worse, he/she could be a Bush!"
Same thing with Romney and the Christian right. Romney is, socially, fairly conservative (including being pro-life), and the relatively small parts of the Christian right that may be inclined to vote against a Mormon as President will say, "could be worse, he could be a Clinton!"
In these times, anyone can become President if they win a major party nomination, because you're probably guaranteed at least 40 percent of the vote no matter who you are (unless you are George W. Bush maybe, were he allowed to run again ...).
"It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt."
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