Change?…I Don’t Think So
The candidates that are running for the 2008 presidential elections, for the most part, are the same suspects as before, just different names. However, there are two Democratic candidates that are making waves, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Why are they making waves…because they are different.
Ahh, Hillary Clinton. We all know who she is from her husband, Bill. Some say that Bill made her who she is, but others say that she was the brains behind Bill when he was President, he was simply a face for the public…who knows?? There is much controversy over Hillary running, she is a woman you know! This is the first difference that I would like to touch on. Can a woman handle running the country? Of course, there is no reason why a woman does not have the ability to run the White House. The problem is that a woman has never done it before so there is doubt in peoples minds. Hillary trys to put a good image in peoples minds but that is hard to do when you have half the people telling you that you are too harsh and the other half that you are acting too girly. For this reason you end up with a vision of her in a power suit sitting on a large floral couch (not the best).
Then we have Barack Obama. The black guy right..no, he isnt black enough to be black. Barack is a young senator from good old Illinois that helped out the people of Chicago, YAY! The biggest issue with him is that he is African American. The white people, especially in the very conservative areas, dont think that a black man should be the President, but then you have some of the African American community that thinks if there is going to be a black President that he needs to be dark black, if you know what I am saying. Well, can a black man run the country? Again, of course, there is no reason why not. It is simply that he is different.
The main problem Hillary and Barack have with winning the election is not that they are not capable of doing the job but that they do not know how to market themselves to the people. As you know, if you dont feel like you can have a beer with the President then they cant be in office. I think some people would have a problem having a beer with the stiff woman and a young almost black man.
There is a poem that I like entitled Welcome Change. There is a section of the poem that I feel explains what citizens are feeling.
We fight change, because we fight the unknown,
We fight the unknown, because we are scared,
Scared of change, scared of the unknown.
This is what most of the people are feeling, they are scared of someone that is not your typical graying old white guy in office. It matters what they look like because that is what people know. If they know nothing else about a candidate, they will probably know what he or her looks like. Look the part of you wont get cast. Do I think either of them are going to elected?..personally, no. However, I could be very wrong, I have been before. I think they are just a small step in the process of change, put the different ones in the mix first, then get them elected.
If you want to read the whole poem by Gina Whitacre called Welcome Change, go to the link. http://ourfootprints2.wordpress.com/2007/07/06/poem-welcome-change/
