After the Afterglow… Waiting with Baited Breath (Me and Barack Obama's Presidency)

It’s been almost two weeks since we elected our first African American president, Barack Obama, and I’m feeling like I feel after I’ve had sex with someone for the very first time. “Does he feel the same way about me as I feel about him?” “Did we rush into this?” “Did we know enough about each other to take this step?” “Is he the one?”

Now I know some folks, black and white, see Barack Obama as the “second coming,” but I’ve been through this sort of thing before… falling for the dream and not the man. I still have high hopes for my relationship with Barack Obama and the Obama presidency but relationships of politics past keep haunting me. There was Washington DC’s former mayor Marion Berry smoking crack with his mistress while in office, former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson taped saying he’d like to cut off Barack Obama’s nuts and having a love child with his mistress, former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s affair with his chief of staff then perjuring himself in court about it in addition to a federal investigation into his possible tax evasion and funds misappropriation and last but not least, Clarence Thomas who sexually harassed Anita Hill only to still be appointed a Supreme Court Justice who not only opposes Affirmative Action but is one of the most conservative judges on the bench. I could go on but I won’t (and for the record Colin Powell was on this list of disappointments with the outright lies he told the United Nations to invade Iraq but he redeemed himself recently with his admonishment of the Republican Party’s hate mongering and his open support of Barack Obama).

Yes, I know white politicians have their fair share of scandals but I don’t have a relationship with them. I do feel though that I have a special relationship with these African American politicians because by and large it was our, MY, community that supported and elected them. And every time they do something to dishonor their office and position they dishonor our ancestors, themselves, their families and every person of African descent. I know it is a heavy cross to bear but that is the reality of the situation. One misstep by these politicians is all the racists (some blatant and some closeted) needed to justify their beliefs that we are inherently inferior to them, that we lack the ability to lead and think rationally and that to be criminal is our nature. So, I worry about an Obama presidency because one misstep by him or his administration could set us back another 15 – 30 years in our struggle to gain economic and political power in this country. The effects would be devastating and far reaching in both the public and private sectors. (You think the systematic dismantling of Affirmative Action is bad... you ain't seen nothin' yet!)

So, I sit back, wait and watch patiently, taking note of who Barack chooses for his cabinet because you can tell a lot about a man by who he chooses to surround himself with. Grandma says, “Birds of a feather flock together, Crows and Canaries don’t hang.” Truer words were never spoken! So far I like his first choice, his wife, an educated, successful, dark skinned African American woman. A sho’ nuff sistah! Not bad, not bad at all... if all of his choices could be this good…


Signed,
Waiting with Baited Breath

OMG... Obama!!!

Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008 - 1:52pm

Oh God…

Can you believe we’ve made it this far…?

In a few short hours we’ll have the results of the most important election in U.S. history and I am as nervous as a whore in church. I want Obama to win with cell in my being… as if it were me running for president. I guess that’s how most black folks feel about this election… if Barack wins then a little piece of us wins too and we’ll know that all things are possible in this supposedly great country of ours.

Now here is what I predict will happen if, God forbid, Obama loses:

1. Black people will stop paying taxes to a government they didn’t vote for.
2. Liberals with money will begin leaving this country en mass while the rest will start Underground Railroads to Cuba and the rest of the Caribbean excluding all U.S. territories.
3. Other countries, like France and Sweden, will take pity on us and offer U.S. citizens dual citizenship.
4. A new civil war breaks out with the “blue” states deciding to cede from the Union.
5. McCain/Palin supporters will live in fear that every time a person of color serves them at a bar or restaurant that they may be ingesting bodily fluids as well as their food.
6. African countries will entice educated and wealthy black folks to move back to the Motherland with the promise of citizenship and good government jobs.
7. I just might smack somebody!
   Share your thoughts here… but let’s pray it goes the other way!

Wed., Nov. 5, 2008 - 9:30pm

That was me 24 hours ago…

In case you have been living under a rock for the last 24 hours the United States has elected its first African American president! I prayed for this moment along with millions of other people, black, white, Latino and Asian. We prayed and hoped against hope that Barack Obama would receive a fair election and that this country was ready for a changing of the guard. Last night I sat with two new friends, an Asian woman and a Latino male, at a Mexican restaurant and watched McCain give his concession speech. Later we went to bar that was overwhelmingly young and white and watched President – elect Barack Obama give his acceptance speech. Shoulder to shoulder we stood in awe watching history in the making and you could feel the joy emanating from the people around you. (I also met Ricky Bell from New Edition and Bell, Biv, Devoe!) Never have I felt so jubilant, so hopeful and so empowered and entitled in this country of ours.

Today I awoke bright and early despite my late night carousing. I called friends and family and we shared our stories about where we were when we heard, which news stations gave the best coverage and how we celebrated Obama’s victory, our victory. I walked down the street bopping to the beat of my own music, smiling all the way, and treated myself to a big pancake breakfast.

Children that I teach at a local school congratulated me and their fellow students and I walked over to a group of young black boys and called them all young presidents. One boy asked what I meant and the other boy said she’s saying we’re Obama, Barack Obama. The once confused boy nodded in recognition with a smile on his face. “Yes!” I thought, “He gets it.” I wished co-workers “Happy Obama Day” and they returned the favor and we all agreed there was no longer any excuse because… “Yes, we can!” Si se puede!

But, I am still numb... this feels like some wacky dream. The enormity of this election isn’t lost on me but I haven’t had the watershed of emotion that my counterparts have had. I haven’t cried yet and maybe that’s a good thing because there is nothing to cry about there is nothing but… joy.

I still pray for Brother Barack and his family. (I call him brother because I love him and my care and concern is deep for him.) I pray for the success of his presidency and the legacy it will leave but most of all I pray everyday for their safety and well being because if he should accidentally choke on a pretzel or get shot in the face by a friend on a hunting trip or worse yet catch a rare fatal case of pink eye I will swear this country’s white supremacists (in the government) conspired to kill him. Lawd, they better keep this brother safe!!!

I thank all who supported and voted for him and I know that we have placed our faith in right man.

Peace and joy!

The song says, “Michelle, my belle…”

If you didn’t watch Michelle Obama speak last night at the Democratic National Convention you missed something awesome. I sat there near tears as I watched an intelligent woman and devoted wife speak about her husband “with a funny name” and I was in awe. I realized I could be watching the first African American woman to be First Lady of the United States of America, which thanks to Sen. Hillary Clinton is arguably a cabinet job.

Michelle spoke about her and Barack’s working class roots and their commitment to social change and reform. She also stressed her love of family and of this country (the latter of which having been often criticized and debated due to her remarks earlier in the campaign). She spoke passionately and sincerely and the poise she displayed put a lot of viewers, like me, in mind of the quintessential first lady, Jackie Kennedy.

I watched the convention coverage on C-SPAN, a channel that admittedly does not get enough (any) play in my house, and after Michelle's speech they took calls from Obama and McCain supporters as well as the undecided. While most of the callers were as impressed with Michelle Obama’s speech as I was, I was struck by the comments of some of the callers.

Now I certainly didn’t expect McCain supporters to jump ship, so to speak, to the Obama campaign because of Michelle’s speech because that would've been ludicrous but, I did expect them to at least compliment her as a great orator. Instead, what we got were people who despite of her working class roots attacked her Ivy League education as elitist. I believe the word that was used by one caller was “suspicious” which is funny considering the current president graduated from Yale… another I vy League school. I wonder was the caller suspicious of him, too? Maybe Mrs. Obama should acquire a southern accent to make her more working class… or perhaps a ghetto one?

They also said repeatedly that Obama has no plan for “all of the change” he talks about, a point that some staunch Hillary supporters who called in also echoed. Wow, Obama has outlined his platform numerous times and in numerous formats … I see these people don’t have access to newspapers, magazines or computers… or is all that readin’ and cipherin' “suspicious” too?

Now look, I’ll be real, McCain supporters have every right to pick apart the Obama campaign and find fault everywhere they look hell, I do it to McCain. But it’s the die hard Hillary supporters that are driving me crazy. Side by side Hillary and Barack’s political views and platforms are very similar, the devil being in the minor details. However, these rabid Hillary supporters act as if an ungrateful Obama stole this election from Hillary. The people have spoken and Hillary didn’t have the delegates she needed to ensure her nomination, PERIOD! Holding on to Hillary’s candidacy for dear life will not change this fact.

I beg all of you Hillary supporters not to let her be our 2008 Nader, costing us Democrats the election! Please! If Hillary had gotten the nomination I would have mourned Obama’s loss but I certainly wouldn’t consider voting for McCain or not voting at all because too much is at stake and I certainly wouldn’t continue to grouse publicly giving the Republicans all the ammunition they need to defeat us in November. Hello, have you seen that ridiculous “Deborah” ad with a Hillary supporter jumping ship for McCain? If she were one of my girl friends I’d slap her and say, “Snap out of it!

Lastly, for the Hillary supporters who are actually upset that she wasn’t named as the vice presidential candidate, how do you know she wasn’t offered the position and declined? I think she can effect more change as a senator. What would she gain politically from being Vice President? She is already a powerful and vocal senator and as V.P. she would definitely have to lose her voice in favor of completely supporting the President and his policies, something I think she may have a problem with. I would. Furthermore, being V.P doesn’t mean you’re a shoe in for President, ask Al Gore. Nah, Hillary can still be President and if, when , she runs again she’ll get my vote but only if you Hillaryites back off.

It's Because He's Black... Obama 2008

When people see me they see two things a, black, woman. It is an undeniable fact that I am indeed a black woman, black, of African descent, and woman, person of female gender. I am also a registered Democrat and a proud graduate of a women’s college. I say all of this because for some reason people think there is some dilemma I must be facing or some war raging inside of me over which Democratic candidate I support. “It’s clear isn’t it,” I say to all of my friends, “I am supporting the best candidate for me, whose politics and experiences are most closely aligned with mine.” The Clinton campaign says Hillary is the far more qualified candidate but, if I am asked to vote my conscience on Election Day then I must vote for Barack Obama.

Over lunch my good friend, Ana, a white woman, asked me who I was rooting for and I told her that in my case it was okay to assume that I was supporting Obama. I know that some black folks get upset by this but I’m not. Why should I be? Hell, I’m proud of Obama for having the gumption to mount such an ambitious campaign and the tenacity to stay in the fight. Furthermore, Obama, to me, is the embodiment of America and its’ dream. He is of mixed race yet he and the majority of Americans see him as black. (If that ain’t American I don’t know what is!) His father was absent throughout most of his life. He did not grow up rich and privileged but middle class and he had to take out student loans to pay for his education, like me. He was also the first African American elected president of the Harvard Law Review. He isn’t an actor, oil tycoon or owner of a minor league baseball team but a civic minded lawyer and now a Senator and perhaps one day, a President.

Obama is also Martin Luther King’s dream very nearly realized. He has brought together the races toward the greater good of making change in America. People, at least in the media and other public forums, judge him on the content of his character not by the color of his skin yet the fact that he is a black man running for President is not lost on them. His speeches rouse and ignite the listener and make the impossible seem possible. People, hungry for something new, latch on to him. He represents the little guy, the every man fighting against the political machine, fighting for his equal share of the power. He is the face of the disenfranchised, while Hillary is not. If he is elected President the world will celebrate America’s ability to somewhat transcend our racist past and America will be the first major western country to elect a person of color to lead a country.

Barack and I have shared experiences. Issues that I am most concerned with are racism, classism and sexism, in that order, and race has had the most impact on my life. I have often times been the only or one of very few black(s) in social and professional settings and I have found that whenever I achieve some level of success inevitably my race enters into the picture. Once, I received a promotion at a large insurance firm and a white female colleague said that I got it because I was black, never mind that the majority of the other people who were also promoted were white (five out of the eight who were promoted were white). In graduate school I was selected to make a 35mm film with the total financial backing of the school, I was one of five, some of my white classmates began griping that the only reason I was given this honor was that I was black. (The other recipients were two white men, an Asian man, and a white European woman; I guess I took some poor white man’s space.) In both instances it was my race that set me apart from the others and made me a target of scrutiny not my gender much like the way Geraldine Ferraro said the only reason why Obama has gotten so far in this campaign is that he is black man. (The funny thing is that if we fail it’s because we’re black and if we succeed it’s because we’re black… we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t.)

Gloria Steinem asserts that if Mr. Obama were a woman with his credentials he wouldn’t have gotten this far and the fact that he is a man has everything to do with his rise to national prominence. She lists his credentials as a person who became “a lawyer after some years as a community organizer… served as a state legislator for eight years, and became an inspirational voice for national unity.” Then she poses the question, “Do you think this is the biography of someone who could be elected to the United States Senate? After less than one term there, do you believe she could be a viable candidate to head the most powerful nation on earth?”

Hillary supporters like Steinem like to simplify and devalue Obama’s experience saying that Hillary has 35 years experience in public policy but this is due in part to her husband’s various political offices where she surely served him as an advisor. She has only served one full term in the Senate and her experience in the White House was as First Lady… FYI not a political office. Furthermore, if Hillary has 35 years of experience in public policy then Hillary is part of an antiquated political machine in Washington, a woman in an old boys club. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure she went through pure hell at times but she is a part of the machine. In fact, she is such a part of the machine that in order to save she and her husbands’ political careers she turned a blind eye to his numerous documented dalliances and transgressions, standing stoically by her man. She is a centrist in a party filled with centrists there is nothing radically new in her rhetoric and the truth of the matter is if she is elected to lead this country not a whole lot of our policies will change and after the initial oohs and ahhs of having a woman president it will be in effect, business as usual. She will prove that we can run a country as good as any man but not… better.

What Geraldine, Gloria and other Clinton supporters resent is Obama giving Hillary a run for her money. Let’s face it none of us thought his campaign would last this long but it has and Hillary and her cronies can’t believe she has to prove herself against, of all things, “a junior Senator from Illinois.” The funny thing is Geraldine in some ways is right. Race is a factor in this political race because the Clinton’s wrongly assumed that Bill’s presidency had bought the black races’ vote for Hillary but they never counted on the little upstart from Illinois. And no amount of saxophone playing on late night TV, visits to African American churches or counseling from high profile black ministers during a marital crisis can make you… black. (Just ask Duane “Dog” Chapman, the bounty hunter, he found out quite publicly that going to jail does not also make you black.)

Now, I am not a fool. My day to day existence as a black woman in America will largely remain the same if either Hillary or Barack are elected. Electing either of them as President will not change the minds of racist cops who negatively profile me and other people of color as criminals when we drive down the street. Nor will it create a fair and balanced judicial system that does not sentence blacks and Hispanics more harshly than their white counterparts. Nor will it ensure that my gay, lesbian and transgendered friends will be given equal rights as heterosexuals to legalize their relationships and in turn have the private sector, such as HMO’s, recognize those partnerships. Our children will not be magically moved from over crowded classrooms in deteriorating buildings with no books and computers to sprawling state of the art campuses of learning. No, none of these great things will happen… not in Barack or Hillary’s four years as President of the United States of America.

But maybe, just maybe, an Obama Presidency will give those racist cops cause to pause before they pull us over. Maybe, just maybe, parents will begin to demand better schools for their children en masse so that their baby can grow up someday and become… president. Maybe, just maybe, I and others of my race will feel inspired to Pledge Allegiance to this country that has left us largely disenfranchised and stand shoulder to shoulder with their white counterparts and say we are proud to be American. But maybe, just maybe, it will inspire us all to believe in America’s dream of equality, freedom and justice for all.