Racism in the Presidential Election - Essay Example

Racism in the Presidential Election The United s politics always have a race factor because of the mixedrace population. With the greatest population being the whites, black candidates have suffered in the ballot. Most white candidates have confidence in their white voters and consider this as an advantage over their black counter parts. For a black candidate to survive in the race, they must have policies that can win the white vote. There has been a racist alignment of votes among the parties with most blacks voting for the Democratic Party candidate in large numbers.

However, the 2008 presidential elections brought a different picture of the political scenario.The presidential elections won by a black candidate despite the low numbers of black voters portray a changing scenario. Although racism affected the campaigns greatly, it is apparent that most Americans rose against their racial barriers and looked beyond their prejudices in search of a better America. Other analysts charged that Obama’s race gave a reason for preference by the voter (Denton 7). During the campaigns, Obama supporters faced insults and segregation.

However, Obama took a critical step in encouraging young people across all races to register as voters. The young voters are rather liberal and racism does not blur their decision-making. The young people realize that the American population despite its racial differences can live in unity. Therefore, young voters formed the bulk of voters for a black candidate.The older white voters, who believe in the new America without racism, fall into the racism trap unconsciously. The racial prejudice presents itself without their will.

This prompts them to vote unconsciously for a white leader when faced with a 50-50 situation. This implies the last traces of racism in the older generation. The other racist group is the outright conservatives who let their racial prejudices define their actions. In an era where Americans want to build a unified nation no longer divided by race, it is clear that the conservatives should be more analytical of the political scenario. In a population consisting of white Americans, black Americans, Latinos, and Asians, the white Americans consider themselves more American.

In their expression of racist traits, they questioned whether Obama was American enough to be the next president before the general election (Denton 2). An analysis of the bureau data on election statistics, Obama lost most of the white votes but won a great percentage of the black votes. Political analysts termed the elections as divisive across the different races. It is apparent that Obama and his supporters must have worked harder to win the votes any white vote compared to if he was a white candidate.

For a black to raise above all the racial barriers on the way and rise to presidency was unthinkable to many analysts (Denton 3).Probably the situation will change as times change. However, rising opposition to any affirmative action targeting the minority groups is on the rise. There are challenges resulting from racism factors that need addressing. In office is the first black president in the republic. It is possible that a second one will face less resistance from the conservatives. In all fairness, the conservatives should drop their racist attitude.

Elimination of the racist barriers will probably change the scenario. Currently, racism still has negative impacts on the presidential elections. Whether racism is direct or indirect, it affects the political trends of the republic. It is everyone’s hope that some day the republic will triumph over the racial prejudices and stand united.BibliographyDenton, Robert. Studies of Identity in the 2008 Presidential Campaign. Maryland: Lexington Books, 2010. Print.