All the poll
s said that South Carolina was supposed to be close. Televised specials on black female conflict between race and gender were all over the airwaves, and it was concluded that South Carolina would be a battle ground between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
The problem was that the poll in my gut said the race wouldn’t be close at all. Barack Obama was going to win, and he was going to win big.
Don’t get me wrong, Hillary Clinton has her supporters. I also expect that she has a strong chance to win the Democratic nomination. But truth be told, black people have made their decision. Obama is loved by nearly all black folks, rich or poor, educated or not, old and young. As my 18 year old God daughter (who knows far more about BET than the Presidential election) said to me the other day, “Barack Obama is my n*gga.”
I looooove that man!” While I didn’t completely agree with her method of expression, I am a fan of free speech. Sorry if her choice of words offends you.
Black people are not supporting Barack Obama because he is black. Like everyone else, they support Obama because he is one of their most cherished Americans.
Bill Clinton, the alleged “First Black President” showed the true colors behind the “benevolent overseer” mentality the Clintons have used to control the black vote. Black voters “belonged” to the Clintons, so how dare Senator Obama step in and try to take the driver’s seat? He surely could have,
as many African-American leaders have done, received a top notch seat in Clinton’s cabinet, or been positioned as one of Clinton’s valued channels into the black community. But choosing the high road meant alot more than just being a nice guy. It implies that he believes himself to be destined for the highest office in the land. Unlike many of us, Obama doesn’t quite seem to “know his place”.
Bill Clinton thoroughly embarrassed himself, and his wife, on national TV. Attacking Obama at every turn only showed his true colors as it pertains to people of color. Using the typically negative, nasty political and psychological manipulation we’ve seen in the past, former President Clinton reminded America that he and his wife are simply politicians on a mission, willing to say anything or hurt anyone in order to get a vote.
Obama came out smelling like a rose, and all of America is sniffing.
He is being compared to John F. Kennedy, even by Kennedy’s daughter herself. Barack Obama has been patient, yet firm and has refused to engage in verbal political violence, even after being baited, beaten, bombarded and berated by Bill and Hillary Clinton. Martin Luther King is smiling in his grave, as the Clintons have made Obama into a political Ghandi.
I am not sure who is going to win this race, but Obama’s blowout victory in South Carolina made a clear statement. Black people, as a collective, have abandoned the Clintons. They will support Hillary if she gets the nomination, but will only tolerate her the same way an abused woman would
tolerate her husband after he has murdered her romantic lover.
The relationship has gone flat, the honeymoon is over. Barack Obama has become the First Black President.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor at Syracuse University and author of “What if George Bush were a Black Man?” He is a regular contributor to national media, including CNN, ESPN, CBS, FOX and MSNBC. For more information, please visit http://www.BoyceWatkins.com.
