From Hank in NY:

Sent: Monday, June 30, 2008 8:04 AM
To: 'oped@washpost.com'
Subject: To The Editor

“RAGE” – (Race, Age, Gender, Ethnicity)

The 2008 primary campaigns proved without a doubt that America has miles to go before regaining the high moral ground and respect with which we once led the rest of the world. Endless polls declared that American voters were ready to elect a seventy-two year old white male, an African American or a white woman. What transpired were ugly race card, misogynistic and ageist campaigns with players like Bill Clinton, Jeremiah Wright and the candidates themselves becoming embroiled about what they said, what they meant and what they really wanted to say.

What scares me the most as a devout supporter of Barack Obama is the fact that most people who are polled and asked if they would vote for an African American respond with a resounding “yes!” because they don’t want anyone to think they are racist. When they get in the privacy of the voting booth however, it may become quite a different story. There is no telling how many people fall into this category, or how many would actually vote for a man John McCain’s age with a history of serious medical problems.

We will perhaps never know how many white men would have actually voted for Hillary Clinton, but it is safe to say that in a Clinton McCain race many of the men who supported Clinton in the primaries would back McCain in the general election. It is truly amazing that the three main candidates for President in 2008 brought to light the chasms still infecting American politics. The next President will have a major mess to clean up after the Bush years, but we can hope that either Senator McCain or Senator Obama will seek to unite our country and restore brotherhood, acceptance and compassion for all peoples of all races.

By:

Henry A. Lowenstein