Life and Times of AlieMalie

You know what I don’t completely understand? Why it’s such a big deal to everyone that Barack Obama is the first! black! man! to win the presidency of our country. Maybe it’s because I was raised in a family that didn’t see color and have never really looked at things in terms of this person is a different race than me or you or them, who knows? What bothers me is that Barack Obama being black is more important than the fact that he was more qualified to lead our country in this day than his competition.

I am not trying to marginalize the historical aspects of his win. The fact that 40 years ago he wouldn’t have been able to attend a desegregated school or get a seat on a bus. First major party nominee to be an African American. First African American to be elected as President. That’s great! Don’t get me wrong, but why is it the first thing people focus on? I congratulate Senator McCain on his extremely gracious concession speech last week, but he mentioned the fact that Barack Obama is black three times. Look past it! That’s far from the only reason that Barack Obama won.

We weren’t solely voting for a president based on race, I know that some people were, but geez, can we get past it yet? I voted for the person whom I felt would get our country back on track and had they been purple with yellow polka dots, I wouldn’t have cared. Been concerned? Most likely. But based on the issues, Barack Obama got my vote (and my life for the past 4 and a half months).

Anyway, I’ve often said that the truth comes out in jest and I think that Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton on SNL a few months back said it best when she, as HRC, said she wasn’t running for president as a woman, she was running because she thought she was most qualified. Barack Obama is in the same boat – he wasn’t running for president as a black man. Barack Obama was running for president because he thought he was/is the most qualified – it just so happens that he’s an African American. Deal with it.

First and foremost he will be our president, he just so happens to be an African American president.

And I’m not posting it just because I want to watch it again, though I do love it, but because it honestly says exactly what I’m trying to say here a few minutes into it (1:50), although from HRC’s perspective. It’s just as meaningful when you apply the same logic to Barack Obama.