CNN Shocked Black Men Not Voting Obama

Three black men were interviewed on CNN. Apparently these men won't be voting for Barack Obama. They must not want to vote for a man because he's black. I suppose that is their perogative and it's mine as well.

I've had difficulty with this election. I wasn't sure who I'd vote for. Obama has some postive things going for him in this election. Especially a sunny disposition and charisma that draws people to him.

For me that's not enough. There just has to be more to the man than the fact that he looks good and he sounds good. Of course there's a lot more to Obama than the fact that he's a man of color.

I prefer calling him that because personally and he admits this he isn't defined by the Black community. He may have been of the community that is he's active in the community especially as a community organizer. Still his ancestry will not connect him to most Blacks. He's more African than any black person you might see in the streets wearing African clothes and probably wouldn't know the difference between Ghana and Nigeria on a map. Or even the difference between Ethiopia and South Africa. Just compare different nations on the continent and you'd get the idea.

Any case I will not vote for Obama because I want to see a black President. I wanted to vote for the best man for the job. I don't think Obama is the best man but honestly neither is John McCain. I base this somewhat on my worldview. Yeah I can be described as somewhat conservative on some issues, especially taxes and I would like a more limited government. In fact, in that vein, I prefer to call myself a "classical liberal".

Obama isn't going to offer that. His tax plan is too good to be true. In fact I saw an article today about how that threshold for who he's tax and not tax it seems to change. In addition it's something that's been said for years. Plenty of politicians on the left especially want to get those rich people to pay their fair share although there might not be much agreement on what that fair share should be.

This election might be an illustration of the same tired rhetoric that we've heard for who knows how long. Obama might be a new face on the scene, but he's not saying anything much different than anybody else. Honestly neither is McCain.

It's great to know about tax cuts and that he'll be tough on America's enemies (especially terrorist) but he's not offering anything incredibly radical. Some might allege that Obama will offer full-blown socialism while McCain might choose baby steps towards socialism. Whatever is said neither candidate has honestly floated my boat.

There are some issues that need fixing in this great nation. Does anyone have faith that the current crop will be able to fix them? I'm not sure I do, but they must be fixed. Of course there isn't a right or wrong way to solve problems, but I know what I'd like to see.

That being said I wonder if I should either dread or look forward to this election. The future is here! Can't be scared because the events will proceed anyway. We didn't know what would happen with Bush in 2000 or after 9/11, but we survived.

America can survive an Obama presidency as easily as we'll survive a McCain's. All the same I'm not too thrilled at the prospects of either, yeah I voted but I wasn't excited. I was more excited about a constitutional convention in Illinois.

I can only hope that during the next four years a new generation of leadership will come into American politics at whatever level they are able with the idea that they can break from the past and then bring in new and fresh ideas. Right now it is needed more than ever. What has worked during the 20th century or even this first decade of the 21st isn't entirely ideal.

Perhaps Obama will spawn some new leaders. Perhaps McCain will do the same. I want to look right at those people who supported Ron Paul the truly breakout candidate of the 2008 election. Although Ron Paul didn't make it in this campaign to even be close to contention he had a decent following and I sincerely hope someone out there will be willing to take his place. Besides he's no spring chicken unfortunately.

My last words on this subject is bring on this undiscovered country. Perhaps something good will come out of this afterall!