What If Obama Loses?

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  • Posted By: bscruggs @ 09/28/2008 2:39:24 PM

    It's unfortunate that articles like this suggest that African-Americans are generally choosing to vote for Obama because of his race. It's also equally unfortunate that voters might connect him with the thoughts and potential actions of those few African-Americans who, like the white people they so detest, only see race. Any person who would just vote for Obama because he's black is as ignorant as those who would not vote for him simply because he's black. Whether you like Obama or his politics, it is apparent to anyone who's willing to look beyond his skin color that he seeks to help us craft a world in which we can transcend race. Regardless of what happens in November, as a black woman raising two young black men I have been forever changed by the fact that so many white people have been able to see Obama the man, instead of Obama the black man. It gives me hope that someday we will live in a world where the significance of race is diminshed so that my children can just grow up to be men.

    • Posted By: Legitt @ 09/28/2008 2:48:23 PM

      transend race????? thats laughable ..... I guess you forgot to read his book; that will give you an insight on obama's views on race. EXERPTS from OBAMA'S book. THIS SAYS IT ALL .................
      'I ceased to advertise my mother's race at the age of 12 or 13, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites.' From Dreams of My Father : 'I found a solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance and animosity against my mother's race.' From Dreams of My Father: 'There was something about him that made me wary, a little too sure of himself, maybe. And white.' From Dreams of My Father: 'It remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the black masses, to strike out and name names.' From Dreams of My Father: 'I never emulate white men and brown men whose fates didn't speak to my own. It was into my father's image, the black man, son of Africa , that I'd packed all the attributes I sought in myself , the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela.'
      And FINALLY the Most Damming one of ALL of them!!!
      From Audacity of Hope: 'I will stand with the Muslims shou ld the political winds shift in an ugly direction.'

      • Posted By: wtfcherry @ 09/29/2008 4:38:34 PM

        Don't get those excerpts twisted......It's so sad we are so hung up on race......I don't hate nobody.....I'm black and there have been times when I've had my own race to be mean to me.....then there have been times when whites have embraced me.....does that mean that I think all white people love me? No....but it does not mean that I've lost a sense of who I am either.....See based on your comment, I feel you have a slave mentality.....that is slavery messed a lot of up and some of us still carry that type mentality to this day. I'm voting for Barack not because he's black but because he is the better candidate....stop being stuck on stupid.....Ain't nobody mad but the devil

  • Posted By: Josh_Portland @ 09/28/2008 2:41:42 PM

    "I'm not sure how I'll handle that if it doesn't happen." How about not setting Compton and Watts on fire. That would be a start.

    • Posted By: wtfcherry @ 09/29/2008 4:23:57 PM

      No Compton and Watts want be on fire but your face will when Obama wins

  • Posted By: NationTraveler @ 09/28/2008 2:42:09 PM

    I am also an African American who is voting for McCain, there is something not quite right about Obama and it has nothing to do with his race (which if you look a little more closely is more Arabic than African). To all my brothers and sisters please keep an open mind and dont just vote for him because of his pigmintation.

    • Posted By: wtfcherry @ 09/29/2008 4:18:38 PM

      That's your choice......I'm not voting for Barack becasue he's black but because he is the better candidate.......If something is not right, then it's not right with McCain.....He's the one I wourld be afraid of.....so if you want more of Bush, then vote for McCain because that's essentially what you are doing.....Let's not forget McCllean......he didn't say all that stuff about them if there was no validity to it.....hypocrisy...

    • Posted By: Torch Bearer @ 09/28/2008 10:45:49 PM

      Good, I am sure you will fit right in. They are ignorant and you can't spell. The word is pigmentation.

  • Posted By: rfmac @ 09/29/2008 4:18:20 PM

    For the first time in a long time, I am actually voting for a candidate instead of just voting against an idiot. I deeply want Obama to win because I truly believe that whatever beliefs McCain may have had in 2000, he sold his soul to the Republican party for the 2008 nomination. How else can anyone explain choosing Dick Cheney, a man who had no chance at being voted into office under any circumstance, being chosen as vice-president? And now in an insulting and condescending play for the Clinto voters, he chooses Sarah Palin (govenor of the state closest to Russia) as the vice-president ? Forget everything else, the idea of this women being one 72-year old heart beat from the presidency should have anyone with a gram (an ounce is too much) of commonsense shivers and panic attacks. Go Obama-Biden!

  • Posted By: sarahs121 @ 09/29/2008 3:59:54 PM

    wtfcherry- Biden DID run for President but pulled out after he did poorly in IA. Maybe you should bone up on your reading...and quit accusing people of being stupid when you don't know what you are talking about. Also, playing the race card only pushes people away from your candidate. People of tired of being called racist when they don't support Obama. I personally don't support him b/c I don't think he has enough experience or a true understanding of how to get things done. He has yet to accomplish anything significant in his time in the Senate. I personally prefer someone who has proven they can act in a bipartisan manner and accomplish things.

  • Posted By: City Girl @ 09/28/2008 2:49:15 PM

    I am not going to vote this year because he is the first black man to run for office. There have been many men and women over the years that I have admired. Colin Powell, Condelizza Rice and many others that were Black, Hispanic or White. I will vote for the person most qualified for President. AND... I am not going to vote for a president where as the 2nd man in charge has more experience than the person in the top spot does. The black community needs to know that..... my vote will not be because of Obama's race but rather his experience. And.. there have been many times in my voting life that the man I voted for did not win. Such is life!

    • Posted By: wtfcherry @ 09/29/2008 3:52:46 PM

      you are stupid......Joe Biden didn't even have his name in the hat to run for president. If he had wanted to run, I wouldl like to think he would have entered his name. It is not experience because Barack is qualified......You vote for who you want but don't try to patronize people by saying you like Powell and Rice......who cares....George Bush has been the most ineffective president in my life time but he became president and one of those terms was stolen. And you call that experience..........that's McCain's friend.....the one he voted for 90% of the time.....That's why we (America( is so @$$ed up now.....Just telll the truth and shame the devil.....you don't want to vote for him because he is Black.....that's a sad excuse....you are shallow, narrow minded and out of touch with reality....

  • Posted By: Roz0804 @ 09/29/2008 3:41:15 PM

    It is called being a realist! We know that we could never put a President in office by ourselves. We are use to have things taken away from us. Our jobs, our homes, our children living lives w/know hope for tomorrow. These are events that we live with every day. The failing market has failed the Black communities 25 years ago. We have soup kitchens in most of our churches. Soup lines and clothes closets to hand out to people living in their cars and shelters. This is not new to us. The White community has turned their heads and looked the other way. We dont' jump out of windows or jump infront of trains because we don't have money. We just deal with it. What will always perplex me is how can anybody in their right mind want to elect somebody that's going to continue the same politics that this last administration has put us through. Suffer! You have not seen suffering yet! If you don't put Obama in office, it will be you (non-minority voters) who will be the suffers.

  • Posted By: woohoo @ 09/29/2008 3:35:48 PM

    this article was very stereotypical. Obama is not the end all be all to A-A accomplishment. not all A-As are supporting him solely for his race. Obama is intelligent, a great husband, father, and statesman. is he perfect? no, we know that. is racism going to end with him becoming president? no, we know that. are the troubles of this world going to majically disappear if he wins? no, we know that.
    please believe if condoleeza rice ran for pres, we would not have supported her by any stretch of the imagination. A-As seemed to be clumped together all too often and our mannerisms all too typified. newsweek has definitely lost its worthiness over the past year.

  • Posted By: macdoodle @ 09/29/2008 3:29:38 PM

    well hold on to your hats
    because i think you worry too much
    the more people hear from McCain and Palin the more ThEy like OBAMA.
    IM IN DEEP GOP TERRITORY where GOP lifers usually are clear about thier choice and are now saying .. i haven't decided.
    TO ME -THATS MUSIC TO MY EARS
    SADLY, AMERICA ALSO DOES HAVE STILL A FEW LOUD BIGOTS
    TO THEM JUST SAY - WELL, VOTE FOR HIS WHITE HALF (LOL)
    SOME ACTUALLY LAUGH AND WHO KNOWS
    OBAMA DOES SEEM TO HAVE THat old LUCK OF THE IRISH -
    SO MAYBE THEY WILL.!
    WORK HARD, BE POSITIVE, MAKE CALLS AND REGISTER EVERY ONE TO VOTE YOU CAN
    DONT SIT BACK AND WORRY
    MUCH OF LUCK IS WHERE WE PLACE OURSELVES
    HOW WELL WE USE WHAT WE GOT.

    USE IT OR LOSE IT.
    TIT IS REALLY UP TO ALL OF US.



  • Posted By: rbrsol @ 09/29/2008 3:13:05 PM

    Allison, is this article saying that African-Americans fear an Obama loss?
    OR
    All others should fear an Obama loss?
    Or
    Scare tactics maybe?

    Shame on you for writing this garbage
    Shame on newsweek for printing it

  • Posted By: DUMPLIN @ 09/29/2008 2:51:33 PM

    MS. SAMUELS, ARE YOU A JOURNALIST OR AN OBAMA OPERATIVE? IT IS NOT DIFFICULT TO SEE BY THE TONE OF THIS ARTICLE.

  • Posted By: DUMPLIN @ 09/29/2008 2:49:22 PM

    IT IS AS IF THE REST OF US ARE BEING WARNED THAT IF OBAMA DOES LOSE THEN RIOTS WILL BREAK OUT AND OBAMA HIMSELF CONDONES SUCH BEHAVIOR. HIS WORDS WERE "ARGUE WITH THEM, " "GET IN THEIR FACE UNTIL THEY AGREE TO VOTE FOR ME". WHERE DOES THAT COME FROM? CHICAGO STREET THUGS!

  • Posted By: DUMPLIN @ 09/29/2008 2:45:49 PM

    AGAIN THE ISSUE OF RACE IS BROUGHT UP, NOT BY REPUBLICANS BUT THE DEMOCRATS. SO WHO IS PLAYING THE RACE CARD? TRY TO MAKE ME FEEL GUILTY, I AM NOT VOTING FOR OBAMA BECAUSE OF HIS IDEAS AND POLICIES NOT HIS RACE. WHEN WILL YOU GET THAT THROUGH YOUR HEAD? WHY DO YOU FEAR DEFEAT? YOU THINK IF OBAMA LOSES THAT IT WILL OPEN SEASON ON BLACKS? IF OBAMA WINS BE PREPARED FOR YOUR LIFE TO BE EVEN MORE DIFFICULT, COST OF EVERYTHING GOING THROUGH THE ROOF, AND HE IS INVESTED IN KEEPING THE POOR, POOR. THAT WAY HE HAS A PLATFORM. HE WON'T EVEN HELP HIS OWN BROTHER IN KENYA WHO LIVES IN ABJECT POVERY, IN MY MIND IT IS HELPING FAMILY FIRST.

  • Posted By: Alvy @ 09/29/2008 11:40:46 AM

    Didi you know:

    If you grow up in Hawaii raised by your grandparents, you're 'exotic' and 'different.'

    Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, you're a real American story.

    If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

    Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, and youre a maverick - of sorts.

    Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

    Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, then you're well-grounded and rounded.

    If you spend 3 years as a community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, help register 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, 8 years as a State Senator of a district of 750,000 people, chair the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people, sponsor 131 bills, and serve on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works, and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

    If your resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town of 7,000 people, 2 years as governor of a state of 650,000 people, you're qualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

    If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

    If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, left your ill wife, and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian. You're also a true Christain if you have been de-witched, and feel you need to take the mantle of President - for God.

    If you teach responsible, age-appropriate sex education, including the use of birth control, you erode the fiber of American society.

    If you staunchly advocate abstinence-only education, while your teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're responsible.

    If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, you don't represent America's family values.

    If your husband is called 'First Dude', has a DWI conviction, didn't register to vote until 25, and was a member of a group that advocated secession of Alaska from the USA, yours is the quintessential American family.

    And, finally, if you're famous for your quick temper, you're the one to have your finger on the red button.

    OK, much clearer now

    • Posted By: Young Hickory @ 09/29/2008 12:30:11 PM

      Well stated.

      • Posted By: benkrapf @ 09/29/2008 12:59:04 PM

        I can't believe you left out, "If you evade the draft due to family connections, then enlist 7 years after the war has begun, graduate near the bottom of your class in flight school, crash your plane several times, last time you crash it you don't eject because you're "not good at it", get caught by the enemy, release dozens of propaganda transmissions for the enemy, then upon being released from captivity, lie about the fact that your "torture" wounds are really from your idiotic plane crash, then you're a WAR HERO?!"

        • Posted By: AskPlus @ 09/29/2008 2:22:42 PM

          Also forgotten is if you're going to witch hunter for advice and counsel, while being anointed the next coming who will save the world by "infiltrating" politics, then you're qualified to run the country..

      • Posted By: wtfcherry @ 09/29/2008 2:13:59 PM

        Hey friend, you hit the nail on the head....Don't forget, McCain graduated 894 out of 900 from the Naval Academy but he's so smart......Besides being a POW, his military credentials are being streched....and Bush, his friend did not do his full military duty in Alabama.....Palin's husband his henpecked....

  • Posted By: johnni5 @ 09/29/2008 2:22:15 PM

    "But since this is his first time voting, he has no idea what it feels like to lose, and he's not sure what he's going to feel. "

    Experienced voters know what it's like to lose. It's heartbreaking, especially when you are certain your candidate was, by far, the better candidate. The 2004 election taught us that most Republicans will vote for their candidate no matter how much of a failure and embarrassment he is. That is partisan politics. That doesn't make all Republicans racists because they don't support Obama. Are their ignorant racists out there? Absolutely, and those who are independents may very well tip this election, but there are still many millions of white Americans who are not racist who strongly support Obama. It is my fervent hope that Obama will win and be one of the best presidents America has ever had and racists will have to eat their bigoted words. Although I'm not African American, I will be heartbroken if Obama loses. I can only imagine how desolate I would feel if I were African American. However, rioting if Obama loses will seriously hurt minority political candidates' chances in the future. That would not sit well with many voters, White and African American, and I think would greatly disappoint Obama. it would surely kill any plans he might want to make for the 2012 election.

  • Posted By: Jaspermoon @ 09/29/2008 1:22:16 PM

    It makes me sad to think that Afican-Americans are turning out in masse for Obama, when he has no experience and has shady connections to corrupt politicians, and the debocle at Fannie and Freddie that lead to the crisis in the housing market.

    Did they ever think stop to think what would happen if he wins, with no experience, and then screws up as bad or worse than Bush?

    Shouldn't he spend a few more years getting a resume together that at least has him taking a stance on something besides the war in Iraq?

    bama better make damn sure if he's elected he doesn't do anything to tarnish the legacy of the first African-American President or who knows how long it will be before there will be another chance.

    • Posted By: AskPlus @ 09/29/2008 2:19:23 PM

      I don't think you've ever made a comment that has made any sense. If you read just a little you'd understand where you are wrong - which is everywhere. So, you either don't read very much and are making decision based on nothing, or you do read and can't decipher the content of the articles. Either way, you're wrong.

  • Posted By: NaeDay @ 09/29/2008 2:05:44 PM

    I resent this article. I am a African American women and as I do ALL things; I base it on what is best for me, my family and my community. If your goal was to separate people based on race, then your article suceeded but if it was to speak for me, you did not. We are a lot more intelligent then what we are given credit for. I have and will continue to vote based on the knowledge I have at the time. Each time, I have casted my vote in any election, the color of their skin was not a concern. It will be sad if Senator Obama looses based only on the color of his skin.

  • Posted By: vampirollorente @ 09/29/2008 2:04:56 PM

    Sometimes I see Obama an I can't avoid to think about Mexico's presidential candidate López Obrador; he created also a lot of hope in his campaign, he also made people feel that th change was near and lots of people went out in the streets to vote for the first time...
    I'm afraid Obama can suffer the same faith as mr. Lopez Obrador suffered; a massive electoral fraud that ended with every hope we had In México about a real change,

  • Posted By: ChuckGoodman @ 09/29/2008 12:34:20 PM

    Barack is not the great black hope. He was raised by a white mother and a white grandmother. He is from a culture of white and does not have a clue what it means to be one of the wonderful black people who have struggled with the prejudices present in this Country. Now, let us look at his qualifications to be President?????????????????????Not!

    • Posted By: wtfcherry @ 09/29/2008 2:01:45 PM

      how ignorant of you.....as if growing up on welfare, food stamps aren't signs of struggles.......you probably don't even know the qualifications to become the president.....

    • Posted By: Alvy @ 09/29/2008 12:41:01 PM

      Stop pretending you're something that you are not dummy. Well, I guess you can't pretend to be stupid.

  • Posted By: wtfcherry @ 09/29/2008 1:54:23 PM

    Jaspermoon,

    What makes me sad is to hear an ignorant comment like this. We (Americans) but in particular blacks have been voting for whites for years and to me it seems to be white politicians like Bush/McCain who have gotten us in the mess we're in right now, and these problems didn't start when Barack came on the national scene. People like you are just upset because Black and feel he does not have a right to be there....as if being Black is taboo......Well, he has every right to be there whether you like it or not......This is not Jim Crow and nobody has time to play politics...Well, maybe McCain.......It's obvious with his VP. Yes, many Blacks are supporting Barack but if you notice most people showing up at his rallies are whites...Did you not see the convention in Colarado......if you had any sense, y ou would be at the rallies too.......You probably look more ignorant than you sound....

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