Minority Candidates

Does being a minority affect your chances of wining?
This is an interesting topic because we have several candidates who are minorities running for the 2008 election. Barack Obama is African American, Hillary Clinton is a woman, and Mitt Romney is a morman.
To begin with, I think it is important for people to realize how great it is that these people have the right to be running.
I believe that minority will have an affect on the candidates. Although this is my opinion, I wish it were not true.
There are two main reasons why I believe that people will tend to not vote minorities.
First, racism is a powerful idea that many Americans hold close to. You might think that many people are past racism, but this is just in the case of some situations. However, concerning the presidential election, most people will not vote for somebody who is a minority they do not agree with. I know that I get “nervous” when somebody who is in charge of me is different than me. For example, I would feel uncomfortable to have a Catholic Male who has completely different views on life than me as a principal.
Second, although it may seem odd, most people will not vote for the candidate who shares a minority with them. I believe this because in case of something bad happening because of the president, the minority might get accused too. For example, if Mitt Romney was to make a bad decision people would began to stereotype the Mormons. Although this should not happen, it is extremely possible to do so. Just because one Mormon made a bad decision, does not mean that all Mormons would make that decision. Even more, a white Christian male could have made that same decision that Mitt Romney had made.

A recent article, found in Glamour Magazine, included an interview with Michelle Obama, Baracks wife. One of the questions was asking Michelle if she felt that her husband’s candidacy would be affected because of their race. She answered unsure of what will happen, but she said whatever happens they are prepared.
After reading this, I realized how great of an answer she gave. It sounded very professional. I thought that it was smart that she was not going to presuppose that her husband will lose just because he is black.

As am I, the media is very interested in this topic. Many TV show hosts are making funny (to some people) jokes about their minorities. To sum everything up, here is a quote to think about.


"Mitt Romney may run for president. Some wonder if a Mormon could be elected president……..



I think he'd make a fine president. He'd be standing up there with his 18 first ladies." --Jay Leno