Barack did it?

Barack Obama did it! Dangit! He did it. I was hoping he wouldn’t. He was doing so well for so long, and everyone loved him. He has been the media’s darling throughout the whole process. (Yes, the media is harder on Hillary Clinton. It’s just easier.) He’s been speaking of hope and change and uniting America. He’s spoken of not a “red America“ or a “blue America,” but of a United States of America. He’s had some people feeling cheesier and more inspirational than after a workout with Richard Simmons. Then, his true colors were exposed. Not by him, but by people around him.\nIn case some of you were too busy this last week bathing in the sun and busting out in uncontrollable beach musicals where everyone can sing as well as the people in “From Justin to Kelly,” a lot of interesting things have been said exposing Obama’s – and Clinton’s – true colors. First, former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro stated that Obama was only successful because he was black. Good one, Ferraro. Then the Reverend Jeremiah Wright recently gave a sermon suggesting that Clinton doesn’t know what it feels like to be a poor black kid growing up in a country dominated by rich white men. He suggested that some Americans want Clinton to win because she is a part of the status quo. Wright has surely said plenty of other things about Clinton and about America for which I’m not here to dispute or argue. But more than anything, both of these people have exposed to everyone that Obama is black and Clinton is a woman.\nI know this might come as a surprise to some people, considering that some Americans attempt to walk around with blinders all day. But this is another example of Americans trying to sweep the impact of the past under the rug. Some would like to believe that race and gender have absolutely nothing to do with the excitement that has been generated by both candidates. Then again, some people think I’m cute.\nSince this presidential campaign has begun, some people have tried as hard as they could to ignore the big elephant in the room. I believe it’s because America is still not ready to deal with the dark past and present of race and gender issues in America. Some people still don’t want to accept that America is a country controlled by rich white men who have in many ways continued to oppress anyone who doesn’t fit into the rich white man club. But that’s America. It always has been and, unless drastic changes occur, always will be. The thing that makes all of this remarkable is that a woman and a black man have a good shot at a rich white man’s office. There. I said it. If we really dealt with our issues as a nation, these possibilities wouldn’t be such a crazy notion.