Does race matter?

Obama opponents have been bitching about the supposed support Obama gets entirely on race sometimes going as far as to say that his entire popularity is based on the fact that he's black. This is ridiculous and a little fucked up. Obama is qualified and that's why I'm voting for him but I often wonder why there's a problem with thinking that it is groundbreaking and imperative that we elect a black president.

I'm not one to believe that a president should mimic the majority of Americans based on class, income and even morality. I believe that a presidents should be elected on the basis of how well they'll represent the country but as I believe that Barack Obama would be a great president even if he were white and old, the fact that he is black makes it even more important to me that he be elected.

It is time for a black man (or woman) to be elected to the highest position in American government. It is time for the minorities and under privileged of this country to be able to say "I could be elected President!" 

Upper class white men have had there chance, and lets be honest, a lot of them, maybe even a majority were disappointments. It's time for America to practice what it preaches. Most Americans would never say "I'm totally OK with the racism in this country," or "I don't feel the need to actually make an effort to change things," but that doesn't change the fact that that is what many of them are thinking. 

The sad thing is that the racism in America hasn't changed nearly as much as we pretend it has. It is, however, hidden a lot better. We no longer outwardly discriminated based on race but rather against the poor but the poverty rates in this country are largely concentrated on minority groups. For instance the completely non-sensible drug laws rarely affect the white kids who do lines of cocaine at parties with alcohol often purchased by their parents or smoke pot on their back porch. No, almost all of the inmates doing time for drug possession are poor minorities who couldn't afford a good or even mediocre lawyer to get them off. 

Just look at Hurricane Katrina. I highly doubt that if the super dome had been filled with middle class white people it would have taken three days to get them BASIC supplies to keep them alive let alone luxuries of any kind. But they were poor and black and it would seem that poor minorities are a lot less important than the white majority. 

This isn't to say that Barack Obama is speaking out about discrimination as much as he should be. Probably because it wouldn't be so great for his campaign, but even so the fact that a BLack man could be elected is fantastic. It is time for the American people to stand up and prove that everyone deserves a chance. It is time for black children to see that they can become president. It is time for everyone black or white to realize that it's time for a change. I for one am ready.