Super Duper Tuesday

I’m a young, black woman who lives in New York. So, what do the polls say about who I will vote for? Well, I’m black, so that means I’m voting for the Democrats. I’m a woman, so I must be going for Clinton. I’m black, so I must be going for Obama – then again, I heard that black folks love the Clintons. I live in New York, so I must be going for New York State Senator Clinton. I’m young, so I must be going for Obama. Hmmm. Good thing I’m not relying on the polls to tell me who I should be voting for.

All these predictions about whether white folks will vote for Obama or how black women will “confront” our “conflicting” allegiances (I’m so annoyed and insulted by that simplistic question) or who Hispanics will vote for…it’s all meaningless. Never in the history of U.S. presidential elections has it been a given that a black person or a woman would be a serious contender in the general election. Polls are basically useless. When it comes down to participating in this historic election, nobody knows how people will actually vote. And who knows, maybe people will actually vote for the candidate they feel will do the best job as opposed to voting strictly on how close the candidate’s demographic traits match their own. Not to mention the record setting wave of new voters coming out of the woodworks, keeping professional pollsters on edge.

Over 20 states are holding primaries and caucuses for Super Tuesday, so there’s a good chance you’ll be at the polls. I hope you vote for whoever you think will lead this country in a positive direction and not worry about who is “unelectable” according to some egghead’s opinion stated as fact.

Who am I voting for? Obama! Beyond just being the candidate that I think best represents positive change and creative energy, I think he has a sturdy moral compass along with solid (but evolving) policy initiatives that would concretely improve this country. Education, Iraq, healthcare…these are all issues that are important to me and Obama has some real ideas about how to address these issues. Check out his Blueprint for Change to learn more. I truly believe that Obama would make a good president. No, he doesn’t have “35 years of experience” (word?), but he has done the kind of grassroots background that I can appreciate and his policy initiatives are thoughtful and thought provoking.

Generally speaking, I wouldn’t trust most politicians farther than I could throw them, but I do think that in a democracy, you have to do the best you can and put people in office who will work the hardest to do what is right. The nature of a democracy means that nobody works in a vacuum. We call it a dictatorship when a president wields unfettered, unchecked power. Seeing as how this is (supposed to be) a democracy, at some point, the person you put in office will be at the mercy of another politician or government agency to get something done and there will be a little quid quo pro of sorts. You want the person whose hands will get a little dusty, but not filthy, dirty, poop farm scummy.

So, go ahead and pull that lever or press that button and get your dusty ass candidate on the ballot in November!