Polarization

I've had a hard time trying to put my finger on exactly what troubles me about the parties and candidates in this year's elections. I think I've finally figured it out.

The candidates for the Democrats are creating polarization of different groups of society. Obama will tell you that he's not just a black man running for president, but, it is what it is. I'm sure he expects to recieve the lion's share of the black vote and hopes to garner enough support elsewhere to receive his party's nomination and then go on to win the presidency with solid support from the coalition of democrats he constructs. That's what bothers me; the ASSUMPTION that he need not reach out to black voters or speak to their concerns. They will vote for him because they share the same tone of melanin. Hillary is slimy to be sure, but she makes the same assumption about female voters; they will vote for her just because she happens to be female. I don't like the politics of division; I prefer to think that what's good for one American will be just as good for another. Now, I know the Dems like to trot out their rhetoric about "tax cuts for the rich" about now because not many people ARE rich and everyone loves to hate on rich guys (As I've said before, I LIKE rich guys! I never got a job from a poor guy! Without people with means who are willing to risk that capital by investing in America's economy, we'd all be in an unemployment line), but that's where the similarity ends. Here's the problem. The candidates the Dems trot out there ARE different so they'll be perceived to have different and original solutions to our common problems whether that is the reality or not. People vote today based on 10 second soundbites and do little or nothing to really find out about the candidates and what they have to offer.

If either Hillary or Obama get elected, I'm afraid the divisions they create may be too much to overcome for the common good. - Dan