Would Barack Obama be considered for the presidency if he was not black?

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Of course not, I'm sure others will argue otherwise.  It is incredibly racist that this man is considered for the job, they have plenty of fine people in office as long as him or have much more experience.  But it was the "in" thing to have a black guy

Obama is special, and if he still had the charisma, and had been elected to the Senate in 2004, and given that great keynote speech, then he would be considered.  If he were some boring, 46 year old random person named Bill Obama, then he would not be considered.

It isn't racism at all.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Of course not, I'm sure others will argue otherwise.  It is incredibly racist that this man is considered for the job, they have plenty of fine people in office as long as him or have much more experience.  But it was the "in" thing to have a black guy

Obama is special, and if he still had the charisma, and had been elected to the Senate in 2004, and given that great keynote speech, then he would be considered.  If he were some boring, 46 year old random person named Bill Obama, then he would not be considered.

It isn't racism at all.

Obama is "special" alright.  The man is using race as a veichle of influencing voters, he is near declaring a vote against him is racist.  He has taken Michael Steele campaigning to a nat'l level

He has done no such thing; it's some moronic Obama supporters who do that; Obama is a fantastic candidate.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Obama is "special" alright.  The man is using race as a veichle of influencing voters, he is near declaring a vote against him is racist.  He has taken Michael Steele campaigning to a nat'l level

He has done no such thing; it's some moronic Obama supporters who do that; Obama is a fantastic candidate.

The Dems had plenty of incredible options, winning options:
Al Gore, Brad Henry, Mark Warner, Evan Bayh, Tom Vilsack

But no, Dem elites pushed through the token candidate of their choice

None of them wanted to run.  They weren't pushed out; and Vilsack would have been a sh*tty candidate.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Other than being black, Obama has not accomplished anything or lead anyone.

EIC of Harvard Law Review.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Every President ever has been President primarily for some other reason than merit.  Sorry.

Does that make it any better?

That's your typical way to weasel your way out of any embarrasing confrontation?

The fact remains that very few presidents or presidential candidates are truly qualified for the job.

One must wonder why you choose to go after Obama. Especially considering the president that is currently in office.

The president in office had qualifications other than his father, he was the governor of one of the largest states for 6 years.  That is more qualification than a lot of presidents.  Other than being black, Obama has not accomplished anything or lead anyone.

bla bla bla

I'm sorry, maybe I should dumb this down a bit for you.  You are easily the worst debater this forum has ever seen.

No, you and gporter are tied for that title.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

I haven't tried to refute that statement.
I am questioning its relevance, however.  Obama was, in fact, born African-American, whether you like it or not. Every candidate has certain favorable traits that contribute to their success.   Try and argue politically, based on principles and ideas, and not with such garbage.

What am arguing is that Obama is considered ONLY on the basis of being black, and NOTHING to do with achievements.  How does that not have any relevance?  If Americans elect someone b/c they are black and not b/c they are qualified, that is disasterous

Obama is an incredible candidate, with charisma, intelligence, and good ideas for the future.  If that doesn't qualify him to be President, then nothing does.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

As long as he was still a young, smart, good looking Senator from Illinois who opposed the war in Iraq from the start, he would have had a shot.

Also, are you saying voters are racist for voting for him?  It's their right to vote for whoever they think would be best and nobody stopped other people with his experience level or more experience from running. I don't understand the point you are trying to make as far as that goes.

Maybe so, but having 95% of the African American vote doesn't hurt when you are running against the Clinton machine. In these southern states, he started with 40-60% of the vote in most cases. With a handicap like that, it's almost impossible for anyone to win. Race plays a huge part in this movement. Being anti-war has never been the be all end all issue in the past, and it wouldn't have been this year. If it was, then Dennis Kucinich should have done better. It's his speeches and his race that has allowed him to do as well as he's done. John Edwards is considered a good, inspiring speaker, yet he didn't make it anywhere. Without the black vote, Obama would've had no shot against Hillary.

True, but no Democrat can win without huge black margins.

Just a note on your comment, Al Sharpton did very poorly amongst black voters.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

As long as he was still a young, smart, good looking Senator from Illinois who opposed the war in Iraq from the start, he would have had a shot.

Also, are you saying voters are racist for voting for him?  It's their right to vote for whoever they think would be best and nobody stopped other people with his experience level or more experience from running. I don't understand the point you are trying to make as far as that goes.

Maybe so, but having 95% of the African American vote doesn't hurt when you are running against the Clinton machine. In these southern states, he started with 40-60% of the vote in most cases. With a handicap like that, it's almost impossible for anyone to win. Race plays a huge part in this movement. Being anti-war has never been the be all end all issue in the past, and it wouldn't have been this year. If it was, then Dennis Kucinich should have done better. It's his speeches and his race that has allowed him to do as well as he's done. John Edwards is considered a good, inspiring speaker, yet he didn't make it anywhere. Without the black vote, Obama would've had no shot against Hillary.

True, but no Democrat can win without huge black margins.

Just a note on your comment, Al Sharpton did very poorly amongst black voters.

And Obama would've too if he had lost Iowa. IIRC, Hillary was winning the black vote until Iowa. Blacks want to back a winner, and they knew Al Sharpton had no chance.

I thought he and HRC were nearly tied until the racial attacks started coming around the time of the SC primary.  Besides, he won handily in lilly-white Iowa.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

I'm so sick of people going OMG RACIST!!!! if you say that if Obama wasn't black, he wouldn't be where he is.  If he WASN'T black, he wouldn't be getting blacks by a 9-1 margin.  That's just a fact.

That is certainly true; although people who say Obama is only doing well because of race are just plain wrong.  He has charisma, and other qualities that help him do well.