Historic Election Year – 2008
The Presidential Race Boiled Down to Three Minority Candidates
Three viable contenders, after 35 Primaries, belonged to an interesting set of minority groups; Women: Hillary Clinton, African-American: Barak Obama, Aged: John McCain.
Hillary Clinton
While it may be argued that women who make up half of the world's society are not a minority, it must be recognized that politically they have been very under-represented, to put it mildly. The fact that a female candidate for president was able to get this far in the process is something that every American can be proud of regardless of their political leanings. In this land that was founded on the premise that all men are created equal, it had been a long time coming that the term could truly begin to be used with its universal human meaning. While there had already been one female Vice Presidential candidate, Geraldine Ferraro in 1984, her candidacy was not a strong one and she was not able to capitalize on it to make a run for the highest office. Others had run the race before but Clinton was the first to have a viable shot at attaining her party’s nomination.
Barak Obama
This was another bright spot on the nation's character. Here, an African American with a very steady and realistic chance of winning the Democratic nomination ran a race that appealed to people across the board. It was a candidacy that, while admittedly liberal leaning appealed to a universal cross section of voters and race was not seen as his major obstacle. Even religion, his father was Muslim, did not become an overshadowing factor. He continually inspired audiences with an upbeat message that drew young and old, black and white, rich and poor together. Again, America could look with pride on this symbol of progress in racial harmony. While it was not reason to conclude that racial problems were a thing of the past, it was a very clear look into a future where men and women could be judged by the content of their character rather then gender or the color of their skin.
John McCain
While “people of age” have run for president before, there had never been a candidate older than McCain, who was 71, upon their first entry into the oval office. Ronald Reagan was the oldest at age 69 when he was sworn in, in 1981. It seems that McCain had to answer for his age more than the other two did for their “minority” status but this can be understood as age brings on health issues that are not just the result of prejudicial thinking. Or … are they? One could not argue that health is a serious issue for the leader of the free world but once those concerns were answered, was it harder for people to believe that an older person can do the job as well as a younger?
The Presidential Age Factor
History might be the best teacher here. Eight presidents have died while in office. Of those eight, four were assassinated. Of the remaining four, Zachary Taylor died of Cholera and William Harrison died of Pneumonia. These two diseases were not ones to worry about by 2008. Franklin Delano Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage caused by arterial sclerosis. However, he was also serving his fourth term of office, something the 25th amendment to the Constitution no longer allows, and he was relatively young at age 63. The fourth man, Warren Harding died of a stroke, which in 2008 was still considered deadly but his age of 58 would not have been considered a danger. Of the four presidents who were assassinated, Abraham Lincoln (56), James Garfield (49), William McKinley (58) and John Kennedy (47), the average age was 52. Presidential actuarial history may be suggesting that youth, rather than age, is more of a debilitating factor.
The Land of the Free
Gender, race, and age were shown to be retiring as prejudicial factors in the American experience of selecting a president in the primary season of 2008. This ray of hope was anticipated to be a substantial breakthrough in the relationship between all people, not only of the United States of America but of the rest of the world as well.
Sources
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/poll-tracker.htm
http://www.helium.com/tm/592142
