by Charles Sumpter

Created on: November 25, 2008

What the McCain campaign is doing right now is quite disgusting. Race baiting? I mean come on John, we can do better than that. Is our campaign at such a low level that we have to exploit the fear and anxiety shared by so many Americans. Everyone wants to act as if race is not a factor in this election, but plain and simple it is. We have the first ever African American candidate with a name unfamiliar to many. Instead of a constant debate on solely the issues, McCain now wants to throw in the risk factor by asking such questions as, Whose the real Barack Obama? Well whose the real McCain? I don't know. As Obama said at the last debate, the straight talk express has lost a wheel!

Vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin of Alaska did alot to further the insightments. She created this image of what it was to be a real American. Like many Americans, I did not fit the mold of what Sarah Palin deemed "the real America". I wasn't a plummber and my name wasn't Joe. However, I have just as many values as anyone in Ohio or Montana. She played more divisive politics if anything and it served to the undermine the entire campaign. Leader of the republican party? I think not.

Having people in crowds scream out terrorist during campaign rallies is unacceptable, no matter what. To condone that type of outbursts is truly damaging to all that we have acquired thus far. Early in the campaign, McCain outly rejected anything that had to do with fear mongering, especially dealing with Obama's name and religion. However, it didn't stop him from allowing for someone to say Barack's middle name of "Hussein" aloud. It is quite obvious that the name invokes fear, muslim, terrorist for many, and that is just it. As CNNs Campbell Brown puts it, "lets cut through the bull". McCain, your time is almost up, please go out with some dignity. Do not undo all the hard work that has got us here thus far.

Now that the election is over and Barack Obama is the nation's president, I wonder about the harm done. People do not forget very easily and there is no telling what bottled up feelings people have since the election. We can only wait and see what will transpiring over the course of four years. It is important to note that while I do not believe John McCain wanted his rallies to go a certain way, he would not have denounced victory if he had won as a result of his racial tinged campaign rallies. It took him sometime to finally say to people that Obama is not this monster and foreigner that some people want to make him out to be. That took a bigger man in McCain, however, I feel that the damge has already been done. With McCain now back in the U.S. Senate. let see what the future may hold for him, a seat in the Obama cabinet perhaps? not quite.

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