who said feelings have no place in politics?

by Aaron Rodriguez

Published: February 13, 2008

I understand the sentiment. It’s downright annoying to see the awe inspired masses of college students staring at videos of Barack Obama the same way dogs look at potential owners in a kennel. Obama is more than just a man, he’s a movement and he’s everything to everyone. A single word from his silver tongue will end war, cure cancer and bring your beloved childhood dog Duke back to life. As someone who supports Obama strictly out of expediency, I can certainly agree that for the most part Obama’s support is built not on tangible goals but hopes and dreams. I’m surprised more Hillary supporters haven’t had aneurisms trying to break the mystical bind that Obama has on so many people. Of course, I think that human intuition must count for something. There is certainly more to the entire “likeability” question than one would assume.

Let’s be honest with ourselves for a moment. Is there a real difference policy-wise between Obama and Hillary? Yeah, the fine print on their healthcare proposals is a little different, but they aren’t different in any significant way. Do they both want to end the war? Yes. Do they both support a watered down version of universal health care? Yes. Ok, so let’s move past this and stop pretending like there is some serious policy debate that we must have. This isn’t Malcolm or Martin, it’s Coke or Pepsi.

Why, then, do I support Obama over a virtually identical candidate? Because the whole feel good audacity of hope business is significant. It should not be discounted that so many people find Hillary to be the establishment candidate, nor should it be discounted that so many people find her to be lackluster in the inspiration department. This wouldn’t matter if her proposals were somehow more revolutionary, but we’re being offered a standard politician with nothing else to bring to the table. Barack Obama is different; we’re being offered a standard politician that has rejuvenated people’s faith in politics.

Most of the criticisms leveled at Obama from Hillary supporters can be summed by saying that Obama just makes people feel good. I’m not really sure how this is a bad thing. For the past eight years the American public has been subjected to one of the most incompetent administrations in American history. Two poorly executed wars, a rising deficit, a general sense of fear and a looming economic crisis tends to put people in a bad mood. It’s about time people started to feel good again.

People who find Barack Obama to be inspiring aren’t shallow. Well, they might be shallow, but not for that reason. One thing we need to remember about politicians is that the person in the position is just as significant as their policies. A lot of times the positions that a candidate runs on get pushed aside for various reasons. It isn’t always easy to get promises passed through and sometimes unforeseen issues arise that supersede topics that were important during a campaign. When that happens you’re left with a person that has to adapt to the concerns of the time and address the public. If Hillary isn’t inspiring anyone and if she’s found to be generally unpleasant, then we’ve got to take that into consideration. That isn’t to say that a politician’s positions aren’t relevant, but we’re in an election year where nearly every decision is a good one so long as it doesn’t result in a senseless war. When the candidates are this close ideologically, voters have to look at other areas where they differ.

There are some who claim that Hillary has the potential to return America to the good old days of the 1990s when her husband was president. This is fallacious for a number of reasons but I’d like to speak directly to the aspect that is in relation to my support for Obama. Contrary to what people seem to think, the Clinton years were not all that great for black people, and frankly no black person should vote for Hillary based on the idea that she’s somehow the second coming of Bill. During the 90s, black imprisonment rose, there was a decline in income for poor African-Americans and the divide between black and white incomes continued to grow. In addition, the welfare reform that took place during the Clinton years had negative effects for the black community. Yet for some reason as a black man I’m supposed to love Bill because he played the saxophone on the Arsenio Hall show and he has an office in Harlem. Put simply, the Clinton years weren’t great for everyone, especially those who were Bill’s most diehard supporters.

What benefit will black people gain from Hillary Clinton winning? None, other than seeing their favorite man from Arkansas hanging around the White House again. They will, however, gain something from Barack Obama winning. As I’ve stated before, a lot of black people (especially the youth) are turned off from politics because they rarely see people who look like them running the show. A black man as the president of the United States will have a deeper impact than the respective policies of any candidate. Unless someone has documentation of a Clinton proposal to overhaul the entire public education system or a revitalization plan that will bring jobs and revenue to impoverished inner city eras, then there is nothing Hillary can do that will be as powerful as showing minority children that their teachers aren’t lying when they say that any child can grow up to be president.

Once again, I understand the sentiment. The appeal of Barack Obama is entirely in the realm of the intangible. People support him because he makes them feel good, he gives them hope. To outsiders it seems like there should be something more holding up his base than ideas and beautiful words, but Hillary supporters want this to be about issues that don’t really differentiate the candidates. And since I can’t decide between the two on paper, I’m voting for the candidate who inspires me more.

—

(email this article or post to social network)

—