isn't she lovely?

ok, i've quietly sat by and refrained from making any comments about the current presidential race, but silence i can no longer keep.

bill clinton - while very charismatic and obviously successful in winning two presidential elections -- he is not america's first black president, and he is not running in 2008. hillary is. i think it is ridiculous that he has taken such a dominant position in her campaign. for someone who is trying to become the first female president, she sure is relying on her husband a lot. as a woman, she should be able to stand on her own two. if she's gonna play with the big boys, she needs to do it independent of her husband's political status.

bob johnson - i support the right for each and every eligible american citizen to vote for their candidate of choice. and no matter how much emphasis the media try to place on race, african americans (the author of this blog in particular) are capable of researching the issues and candidates, then making an educated decision. (and one a sidenote, every eligible african american should be researching and voting, if only to honor those who fought and died for us to have this opportunity). however, for bob johnson to think that bill and hillary are "deeply and emotionally involved in black issues" may be a bit of a stretch from reality. in this america obama is seen as a black man by most. and his experiences as a "black" man are more similar to the the black population at large. bill and hillary can sympathize all campaign, but they can never truly walk in a black person's shoes.

race - the election should be about the issues. i would think after all these years of struggle, we have moved beyond the color of one's skin and onto the content of one's character. but perhaps i'm just another clueless african american woman who must decide to vote based solely on race or gender rather than choosing the best candidate.

we are at an awesome point in history that both a woman and an african american can have a viable chance at becoming america's next president. let's not relegate the presidential race to gender and race. let's focus on the real, pressing issues at hand - and there are many on which to focus.