With less than a year away, the race for the 2008 presidential campaign is heated on several levels.
No longer just a race of Democrat versus Republican, intra-party politics and divisions are pronounced, but the race for the Democratic presidential campaign is of an interest for another reason: two of the leading candidates for the party's nomination are both minorities, providing a realistic possibility that the next president of the United States is a woman or an African American.
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's attempt to win the race for the White House is not the first time for either a female or black candidate. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, an African American, ran for the Democratic nomination in 1984 and 1988, and Al Sharpton, another African American, also ran for that nomination in 2004. Neither were chosen as the party’s nominee.
Several women have also run for their party's nomination. In 1964, Margaret Chase Smith ran for the Republican nomination, and in 1984, Geraldine Ferrero was nominated for and won the nomination for Vice President. In 2007, the presence of Clinton and Obama raises the question of whether America is now ready for a minority president.
"When you talk about America, it's a question of whether you are talking about it as one monolithic part or broken down into its components," Larry Stern, Collin professor of sociology said. "Certainly, some American citizens are ready for a minority candidate, but whether the country as a whole with a 50.1 percent majority is ready, is yet to be seen."
Gabriella Delgadillo, a supporter of the Democratic Party, says that being half-Hispanic and a woman, she finds Obama and Clinton's candidacy empowering.
"I think it's great," she said. "I think more African American men should be running. And more women. Not just rich white guys. With Bush, he's the son of the former president, and we could have had someone different."
Though he admits the minority to minority vote is a factor, Stern doesn't think it will be the deciding factor.
"I'm not sure it'll be the type of thing were 80 percent of African Americans vote for the African American or 80 percent of women vote for a woman, that's just too extreme, and that's just saying that a person is what their race or gender is," he said. "There are many African Americans who are affluent and conservative socially and economically and might be looking for a republican candidate and why should race matter more than anything else, and there will be some women who will gravitate towards Hillary because she is a woman and some women who will avoid her because she might be too aggressive in her stances or too unlady-like."
According to Stern, wanting political climate change is a more compelling reason for voting for a particular candidate or party. Terrence Odom, a kinesology major and Democrat, agrees and feels now is the time.
"I think that people probably feel that it's time for a change, and I think the Republicans will probably stick to their ways," Odom said.
One of the main distinctions between Clinton and Obama is the amount of political experience for each. Having been a Senator and the First Lady, Clinton is given the advantage.
"Hillary Clinton has been involved in the politics and in the White House for a long time," Stern said. "That, perhaps, gives her a greater insight as to what's going on and she would come to the White House, should she win the nomination and the election, with a great deal of experience that she can draw upon that a lot of other candidates do not."
Although the Clinton camp has played up Obama's inexperience as a negative quality and has referred to him as "naive," Stern points out that this could work to Obama's advantage, once again citing the desire for a change, saying that Obama can be seen as a fresh-faced "outsiders" as opposed to the "insiders," which include Clinton, who have put the country in the state that it feels it needs a change.
The same experience may also be a hindrance to Clinton. Being the wife of former President Bill Clinton, some, like Odom say she will and shouldn't be linked to her husband's presidency, while others like Collin students Joe Hardrick and Jacob Hicks say that Clinton's being in the backseat of her husband's presidency gives her an inside look and advantage. Johnson says she'd rather vote for Obama, whom she says has "less dirty laundry as of now."
Professor Stern pointed out the nature of American campaigning and politics, saying that the focus is reduced to few issues and many personal and personality traits, and that America's youth should carefully find information and formulate their opinions about the next President.
"It's a cliche to say that the youth is the future of America or any particular country," Stern said. "But I hope that the pendulum is beginning to go back in that direction because all too often younger kids have not registered to vote because they have not taken much of an interest thinking there are no way to contribute, but remember that there are people who have given their life for the right to vote and stood in front of tanks such as in Tiananmen Square or in the Soviet Union."
