I think many people felt that race was a much smaller issue in America than it is often made to be, and that the nation is not racist in nature. There is still a too much racism out there on both sides of the aisle and among all races, but the country has moved way beyond the problems of the past. We have had African Americans at the top levels of the government, entertainment, business, and sports, and we all cheered them on. A great number of Americans were born well after the civil rights movement of the 60s and cannot even begin to fathom how our society could have conducted itself in that manner.

I wish the candidate that inspired the country this week had a different set of beliefs, but aside from that, it is a very important positive step in our history.

we took a huge step toward putting race behind us by focusing on race?

I’m not following you, Radley.

Have you never looked in a rear-view mirror?

What he means is, the race of the next black present won’t be given a second thought.

I’m reminded of Halle Berry’s self-serving Oscar acceptance speech from several years back. She gushed about how the award represented a truly important milestone in the history of cinema, how the industry had finally acquired the courage to break down an enormous barrier.

However, I don’t believe the award was presented to a race. It was awarded to a performance given by an individual actress during the right year against the right competition. I feel the same applies to Obama’s win. America would have done this years ago if the right candidate (who happened to be black) had come along…

Apologies if anyone else posted this, but …

we took a huge step toward putting race behind us by focusing on race?

I’m not following you, Radley.

Some of us are proud of what happened last night, some of us are ashamed. Either way, things are far from ideal. Like so many other commentators above, I can’t get excited about a huge step forward in race relations when it is offset by a huge step back in individual liberty.

Before Obama is anything, he is a politician. All politicans look the same on the inside. They are souless, twisted and evil. Why would anyone be excited about the first african american tyrant or the first female tyrant or the first gay tyrant?

Be as cynical as you want: Barack Obama is living proof of the American dream. If a biracial, single parent kid from Hawaii can be President, then so can you.

I believe I am on the same page as Radley here and can’t believe the warped perspective many of you are bringing to this simple post!

Nobody is claiming that racism is behind us (that is obvious by these postings)! But to say that there is nothing in an Obama win to be proud of with regards to the progress made in the area of race and discrimination is just simply asinine. And the reason being given that “because we’re mentioning race” there is nothing to be proud of because we’re obviously “not past it”….

C’MON! So we couldn’t be proud of desegregation because we were mentioning race? Couldn’t be proud of women gaining the right to vote because we mentioned that it was women?

I think it is those of you that get upset reading about the first black president and claim that it’s wrong because we’re labeling him as “black” have a race issue that needs analyzed! But hey, we didn’t comment on GWB being WHITE and making a big deal of it… of course not, because he was the FORTY-SECOND white man IN A ROW!

FIRSTS of their kind ARE SIGNIFICANT in that THEY ARE FIRSTS OF THEIR KIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why do some of you want to refuse to acknowledge that just because it is the first BLACK…yes, GET USED TO THE IDEA… BLACK PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!?!!

Want racism behind you? Then look at people as people, not skin colors or ethnicity.

Now the Republicans can demand an end to affirmative action and talks of reparations. Obviously, with the overwhelming election of a black president — the playing field has finally been proved to be level.

OK people, there is nothing to see here, lets just move along.

TJ

“How did this happen? We voted for the Democrats! WE VOTED FOR THE DEMOCRATS!”

To which thousands of minority voters reply:

“So did we.”

Gotta love that first black president!

I believe Obama won because he’s running against the weakest incumbent/opponent he could’ve hoped for, he’s a very good speaker, he’s good looking, and democrats think he’s the ghost of Kennedy.

Too many uneducated voters out there being guided to the polls by ACORN, rock stars, etc to have me believe they were voting for his policies.

The only policy many people seem to know is his policy of ‘change’.

Regardless of his race, he was clearly a better candidate than McCain and he deserved to win based on that, not his race.

Congratulations to Barack and I wish him the best of luck on a successful presidency,

Jesus. Older blacks have seen dogs and water hoses turned on civil rights protesters. They’ve lived through segregation, beatings, bombings, lynchings, and a justice system perpetually weighted against them.

Yup, and now those of us that believe in individualism get to have our doors kicked in by Federally funded thugs because we don’t fit his idea for a “better society”. I’m placing my order for my AR-15 this week. Let them try that retroactive gun ban.

I find it amazing that you can’t even grant them the moment, here. To let them enjoy the sight of a black American president, when a generation ago, many blacks couldn’t even cast a vote without fear of violent retaliation.

And what about the reports of the Black Panthers keeping whites from voting eh?

We’ve not moved beyond race.

And I say this as a pure blood capitalist, I don’t care about white, black, yellow, red, or any other “color” associated ethnicity, I care about green. I care about wealth.

That’s a non-sequitur and you know it. It’s not within my power to grant or not grant anyone any moment. If they choose to revel in the fact that the president is black, so be it.

I think they would be better off reveling in the facts that, unlike their parents (or maybe grandparents), they can vote, own property, go to the mall, sit at any table they damn well please, and go wherever they want without the vile specter of state-sponsored racism lording over them.

lets put some less serious spin on it; when the red sox won the world series in 2004, it didn’t put the curse-of-the-bambino behind them; the win was always talked about it in context of the curse.

it wasn’t until they won again in 2007 that the win became common place and therefore not worth talking about.

lets leave it for what it is. there is no collective guilt to assuage.
and at least he won it without affirmative action