Reay Jespersen

So Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States yesterday.
Also, he’s black.

There. I said it.

I just wanted to get that out of the way for anyone who wasn’t sure about it, or who felt that it was something that shouldn’t be mentioned, because… um… yeah, it really, really should. How could it possibly not be?

One of my wife’s co-workers mentioned that we shouldn’t bring up the fact that Obama’s black, because that makes it a race thing. My take on it? The man’s the first black President of the most powerful country in the world. It’s not being made a race thing, but you can hardly look past it.

Now, should Obama have won because he’s black? Of course not. No more than anyone’s race should have any effect on what they should or shouldn’t be able to achieve. He was, from what debates I saw (and of course the intangibles of what I felt), the better choice between the two candidates. I wouldn’t have voted for him on the basis of his being black any more than I would not have voted for McCain because he’s white. I’ll always go with the person who strikes me as the one whose platforms most closely match my own views on things, regardless of their colour or gender.

What I hope, but I fear isn’t the case, is that others did the same when it came time to vote a few months back. I’d like to think that Obama was voted in based on his stances on the country’s/global situation; that he was the best man for the job all around, and not that he’s a black man and “wouldn’t it be awesome to see a black man in office?”

In short, the race thing is something that people are very wary to bring up, understandably. But the first black man in history to run the United States? That deserves mentioning. When the first female U.S. President is voted in - and I assure you, it is a “when” not an “if” - that’ll be a big deal, as well.

When we get to the fourth black man to be voted in - or the sixth woman - it starts becoming less an issue. At that point, we should hopefully be more assured that the vote was based on best person for the job, not “oh, it would be so cool to see a [blank] in office!”

In any case, I sincerely hope that he can live up to the crush of weight and hopes that have been pinned on him by people around the world - also arguably undeserved, as well as owing to his colour. The man doesn’t just have a full plate, but a heaping one. I’d hope that anyone stepping into that position would be able to handle their situation, whatever their colour may be.