Obama and the older woman voter - there's nothing to fear

To respond to a reader’s concern about whether Obama can appeal to disenfranchised older voters or Clinton supporters, and who notes that many older women want something safe, I offer several points in response.

First, it depends on the definition of “safe.” There is nothing inherently dangerous or wildly radical about either Obama or his policy positions. In fact, many of Obama’s policy positions are similar to HRC’s and John Edwards’. That’s not because HRC’s or Edwards’ policy proposals were trail-blazers (although each has been in particular arenas) but more because all three politicians’ policy ideas reflect the results of the progressive re-evaluation that has been going on over the past eight years. Obama gives eloquent voice to that consensus, and adds his own understanding of the deep power of empathy, the pragmatics of community organization, and the need to treat people with compassion and respect.

As for Obama’s personality, one need only read his books or give a more extensive listen to his speeches and discussions to see that he is a thoughtful, compassionate and deep thinker; someone who is genuinely interested in helping the country and its people to move to better times.

As for the whole claim of inexperience, as I stated in an earlier post, Obama has been an elected official for longer than HRC, and was a community organizer (and thus knee deep in local politics and the needs and concerns of the people) before then. And he is 46 years old. That may not yet qualify for AARP, but its no spring chicken we’re talking about here either.

More importantly, Obama has been thinking and studying issues of law, politics and international relations his whole adult life. He got his bachelors from Columbia in Political Science, with an emphasis in international relations. He graduated from Harvard Law School, magna com laude. He has read the theory and watched and been a part of the practice of politics and the law for over twenty years. The man is imminently qualified.

If the concern is with Obama’s ethnicity, well that’s a red herring. There is nothing more irrelevant to a person’s character than the color of their skin. I grew up in Oakland, California, and was surrounded from a very early age with people of all colors, stripes and hues. And I will tell you know, as a barometer for how people will act, for whether they are true to their word or are capable of compassion or empathy or strength or ingenuity, skin color is completely and utterly useless. It is truly meaningless.

Now if the concern is that he lived outside the country for three years between the ages of seven and ten, or that his step-father was a non-practicing muslim, or whatever, well, what I say is that you have to look at the man himself, at his words, his thoughts (which he extensively recorded in two books), and judge him from that stuff, not from peripheral stuff. Who among us has any say in who our parents are, or where they move the family while we are children?

Those who say he is either out of touch or doesn’t care about the average Joe are just wrong. Again, his books and his speeches lay bare his concern and desire to improve the lot of all Americans. And toward that end, he has shown a willingness and desire to seek outside advice and alternative views before deciding on a course of action. I see nothing to fear from an Obama presidency. I see everything to gain.