October 30, 2008
The White House Race
My latest article in The Nut Graph, comparing the issue of race in the US and Malaysia. Incidentally, it is estimated that 3-5% of people may fall prey to the Bradley Effect – mentioned below here.
By Tricia Yeoh
ONE question hovering over the minds of Americans as they enter the final leg of the 2008 presidential election campaign is whether race will influence voters. If it does not, then the battle between Senators Barack Obama and John McCain should be purely about their policy stands, experiences, and abilities. It should have nothing to do with the fact that one man is black and the other, white. If this is the case, the US would have successfully displayed leadership in its championing of equal civil rights.
But how realistic is this? If racism fundamentally still exists, then what is the use of the constitution (in the US or Malaysia) in legislating morality, really? This is, of course, if we consider racism a serious moral issue.
Read more here.
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Egalitaria 
Lochos Vestu said,
November 1, 2008 at 3:35 am
Just think, if both warhero John McCain and female trailblazer Hillary Clinton were also both Black, who among McCain, Clinton, and Obama is the least qualified and most inexperienced? Naturally, Obama.
Imagine if there was a White version of Obama in skin color (despite the fact that Obama is 50% white). Well there is. His name is John Edwards, and like Obama in the 2004 Presidential Elections, he was young, youthful, projected a nice image and said all the nice and wondrous things that Obama have been saying. But see, as in 2004, in this election, John Edwards has lost out. If Obama was not Black, his presidential campaign would not be successful today, because his supporters are caught up with the idea of “making history” above every other consideration.
Sometimes, however, if we have truly moved beyond seeing a person’s race and skin color, then we judge a person by his or her achievements and accomplishments in life. We judge them by their merits. If we judge them only by merit, then John McCain and Hillary Clinton are miles ahead of Obama.
We must remember that, while it is historic for a Black to be a US President, it is not good enough of a reason for such a flawed, dishonest, self-absorbed and opportunistic politician such as Obama to be the next US President. Just as we argue not to judge a person by his or her skin color, then Obama’s different skin color in this case should not be a reason to support him to be the next US President just for the sake of making history.