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June 11th, 2008

All My Politics!
by j. saKiya Sandifer

First let me say that I’ve never been into politics and that I have never followed or actively participated in any election of a government official to date.

And I am also not part of the uneducated demographic that certain media outlets pander too.  My lack of enthusiasm in American politics is nothing more than a well-thought decision that has absolutely nothing to do with my lack of understanding in the process.  I’ve always felt that politics has never had the intentions of serving the greater good of the masses and that a politician’s loyalty has and will always be to the highest bidder.

Now with that being said, this year’s primaries turned out to be completely different for me. My interest was peaked this past March when I just happen to see a clip of a debate while in the midst of my daily channel surfing ritual.

As I was captured by the intellect of Obama, I couldn’t help but notice how the various media outlets began to shape the Democratic primaries to play out as America’s hottest new soap opera. Being a recovering addict of All My Children circa the late 90’s, I know cleverly scripted drama when I see it.

With all of the decisive issues and/or story lines that gave this primary season its dramatic appeal, from the importance of race and gender, to being an elitist and thus being not relatable, to denouncing versus rejecting, to mis-speaking versus making shit up and so on…the one I felt had the greatest impact was being able to use the power of lowered expectations to one’s advantage. For Barack and Hillary equally had the “hey, it can’t get any worse” mindset working in their favor. And this is not said to marginalize the genius of anyone. I give both camps a lot credit for recognizing and then using it to their advantage.

I just kept wondering if this would’ve been such a close race ending with an Obama victory if there had been no war, if gas prices weren’t as high as a young Hollywood celebrity (feel free to pick one) or if people weren’t losing the homes they knew they couldn’t afford in the first place. When you really think about it, often we define what something is by what we’re comparing it to and not for what it actually is.

Mid season’s story line shifted to the media’s lame attempt to define the candidates and it seemed that Hillary was always behind the curve. The game had change and I don’t think she read the memo. In a way I began to feel sorry for her. It got to the point where it seemed that she was getting her cues from the George character from Seinfeld. You know when you are totally in wrong but you say something so ridiculous, it deflects from the point.

Now fast forward to the end of the first season’s cliff hanger…”the first African-American presidential nominee.” The build up was incredible! Make no mistakes about it; Obama is a phenomenal forward thinker. He has shown a keen understanding that America has been in a daze from operating in a constant state of fear. He crafted a message that only he could deliver of actually uniting the states. Wow, this really does reads likes a daytime soap opera!

Now I say all of that to make the point…just because there is a new, exciting actor in the show…it’s still the same show! The show format will always remain the same; whoever draws in the most money gets top billing. The message of “change” wouldn’t seem so heavenly sent if it wasn’t backed up with an economic based that raised over $200 million.

And again I must emphasize that I have no intentions in taking anything away from what Obama has accomplished, for it should be commended and sought to be duplicated.

For me, this whole process is best summed by a quote by Greek philosopher Plutarch…”Nothing is harder to direct than a man in prosperity; nothing more easily managed that one is adversity.”

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Entry Filed under: Think About It!, politics