2008 Woodie Awards
"Is America 'ready' for a minority president?"
The politics of a common question
Allie Diffendal
Issue date: 12/5/07 Section: Opinion
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On Nov. 14, four Vanderbilt professors offered themselves as panelists to debate one question: Is America ready for a minority president? While the panelists provided interesting insight to Americans' receptiveness to a diverse field of candidates, the panel's topic/question, which has been appearing frequently throughout the media during the past year, is inherently problematic.
According to the panelists, this question must be asked in order to address racial prejudice; the fact that it remains a pertinent question reveals a continuing racial dilemma. As African American and diaspora studies Professor Tiffany Patterson asserts, "The reason we have to ask the question in 2007 … is that race still matters in the United States."
The answer to this question, they noted, appears ambiguous. Polls prove unreliable in discerning whether or not a "yes" could be a response to this debate-inspiring question. From George Wallace's outright racist slander in his 1960s campaign to the implicitly racist anti-Harold Ford attack ads of 2006, racism in campaigning has evolved. Awareness of socially acceptable responses to pollsters have become much more prevalent, resulting in polls that indicate an astounding majority of acceptant voters. But when they visit the ballot box, these voters may not be as accepting of minority candidates as they seem to indicate in polls. A seemingly minority-friendly electorate may not, in fact, be so "ready" as they seem.
This election marks the first time several major candidates represent groups typically under-represented in the political arena. This fact has led us to wonder whether our next president could break the mold of our traditionally white, Christian male leaders. Thus, major news networks, college panels, blog sites and even essay contests have delved into the question enthusiastically.
Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" has begun a new series mocking such a question entitled "Is America Ready for a… [insert minority group] President?" The three episodes so far touch upon the possibility of a Mormon, an African-American and a woman in the White House. In the Mormon clip the correspondent imagines a frightful scenario: Iran creates a nuclear weapon. President Ahmadinejad "threatens to turn U.S. cities into ash unless your president drinks a can of Mountain Dew." With any other president, the crisis would easily be diffused, but not if our commander in chief was a Mormon. That faith has a prohibition on caffeine!" The African-American president bit further satirized the question of a minority president. The real question, the correspondent asserted, is: "Once we as a nation go black, will we ever go back?" The bit ended with a voice over: "They still call it the White House, but that's a temporary condition too. Can you dig it?"
According to the panelists, this question must be asked in order to address racial prejudice; the fact that it remains a pertinent question reveals a continuing racial dilemma. As African American and diaspora studies Professor Tiffany Patterson asserts, "The reason we have to ask the question in 2007 … is that race still matters in the United States."
The answer to this question, they noted, appears ambiguous. Polls prove unreliable in discerning whether or not a "yes" could be a response to this debate-inspiring question. From George Wallace's outright racist slander in his 1960s campaign to the implicitly racist anti-Harold Ford attack ads of 2006, racism in campaigning has evolved. Awareness of socially acceptable responses to pollsters have become much more prevalent, resulting in polls that indicate an astounding majority of acceptant voters. But when they visit the ballot box, these voters may not be as accepting of minority candidates as they seem to indicate in polls. A seemingly minority-friendly electorate may not, in fact, be so "ready" as they seem.
This election marks the first time several major candidates represent groups typically under-represented in the political arena. This fact has led us to wonder whether our next president could break the mold of our traditionally white, Christian male leaders. Thus, major news networks, college panels, blog sites and even essay contests have delved into the question enthusiastically.
Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" has begun a new series mocking such a question entitled "Is America Ready for a… [insert minority group] President?" The three episodes so far touch upon the possibility of a Mormon, an African-American and a woman in the White House. In the Mormon clip the correspondent imagines a frightful scenario: Iran creates a nuclear weapon. President Ahmadinejad "threatens to turn U.S. cities into ash unless your president drinks a can of Mountain Dew." With any other president, the crisis would easily be diffused, but not if our commander in chief was a Mormon. That faith has a prohibition on caffeine!" The African-American president bit further satirized the question of a minority president. The real question, the correspondent asserted, is: "Once we as a nation go black, will we ever go back?" The bit ended with a voice over: "They still call it the White House, but that's a temporary condition too. Can you dig it?"
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