I voted for McCain, but I like Obama and think he, like McCain, is a man of good character...?

The flaw in your logic that he is a black man and can also be the best person for the job. Its big of you to complement his character, but many of us believe he is going to be a great leader regardless of his race.

Well, I voted for him because I agree with him more about policy, especially health care, but I've noticed some of the same stuff.

I would argue that the ability to give a good speech that energizes people is a useful quality to have in a president. The charisma that helped get him elected may help him get people to cooperate and behave in ways that are good for the country as a whole over the next 4 years. That's nothing to sneeze at.

When it comes to race...yeah, I think maybe it did help him more than it hurt him, especially with black voters. But we'll never know that for sure what the overall effect was; maybe he lost a lot of votes he might otherwise have had because of secretly or subconsciously racist white voters and it all balanced out. Before the election, people were mostly saying it's not about race, but now that it's over they are saying how great it is to have a black man finally elected president. And I guess it's nice to see that somebody besides a white man can get chosen to lead this country. In the future elections, I suspect it won't be such a big deal, because it won't be such a dramatic first.

Anyway, let's just hope he knows what he's doing.

I disagree. He didn't win by so much actually. I voted for him but it still seems like the country is split with Republicans and Democrats. It may have helped a little bit to get more people to go out and vote but there were also people who didn't vote for McCain only because of Sarah Palin.

I voted for Obama only because I am a Democrat. I'm sick accusing people of voting for him only because of his color.

If he was white, I still would have voted for him. Since I have been able to vote, I voted for Clinton twice, Gore, Kerry, and now Obama.

If Obama was a Republican, there would be no way I could have voted for him. I think that's the same for most people who voted for him.

Gore had more popular votes in 2000 and he was white and Clinton won two elections and he was white. That's why I just think that it's ridiculous to for some people to say the only reason he won is because he is black.

I didn't vote for him because he is black and for the record Palin is a white woman with little experience and people still voted for her, so your point about if he were white and inexperienced he wouldn't get on the ballot doesn't really hold up. Anyway, whilst I think some people may have voted for him because he is black you cannot say that everyone did, and you may as well say that people only voted for McCain because he was a POW or because he opposes abortion. These are not string reasons to support a candidate and the majority of people do look past these and look at policies. Personally, I am a strong environmentalist and McCain has NO policies regarding the environment. And whilst Obama is a fantastic orator he also has one other talent up his sleeve and that is charisma, he has the ability to unite and inspire, whilst McCain is fair he lacks that quality and I think people were inspired to vote for Obama because of his charisma

Do I believe it played a role, yes, but some people forget some of the other things. That from things I hear people talking about in school, that people did not vote for McCain (even though Republican) because they saw Palin as an airhead that made women look stupid. Its human nature to see things as black and white, men and women, Hispanic vote and southern white vote, middle class and upper class. When all the media puts out to us is all these terms, the grouping of everyone, we get programmed to think that’s what it all is and in turn the perception of all this becomes the majority idea. I voted for president –elect Obama and did that for reasons that I liked his policies and for me the average ‘middle-class”, “white guy”, and “military vote” am proud to have casted my unspoken but relevant vote.

I disagree...

The question is, would Barack Obama have RISEN to prominence if here were white? Not would he have been elected. The difference is that because he was black, AND had all the positive characteristics that you mentioned, he was perceived as unique, and given a venue to promote himself. THEN because he was savvy enough to use that venue as a platform to run for president, he became a force to be reckoned with, and of course he chose to use that venue to win the presidency.

The question to really ask, if he was white, would he have been given the venue, would he have stood out?

I would have to say yes. There are many young white men and women who have the same attributes that Obama has, but they do not use their God-given talents to do what Obama did. They instead choose a different path, and therefore remain in a successful obscurity. Obama could have chosen that path as well, he was in a perfect position to do so, young, big law firm and a college professor. He could have risen in the ranks of any Fortune 500 company, been making well into the happy six or seven figure salary, and remained in his own successful obscurity.

That is the issue, how do we, as a Nation of People, seeking young bright, intelligent leadership with new ideas and great charisma, bring those individuals (black, white, asian, or latino) into positions of political leadership?

disagree. Lets not forget that besides Obama being black, he is also a democrat. Republicans don't rule the world, and at one time people voted for a president based on affiliation and policies, I still believe that is the case. The matter of it being a race issue I think is none. If another Black man runs for president but can't make his speeches persuasive, has horrible policies no one is going to vote for him just because he is Black. People think that this man will do a great job in office and I am not going to doubt that. Let's just wait until January for us to say that he is going to mess this country up, I think everyone will find he will do wonders, and that's not because he is Black.

I think he would have still been elected if he was completely white. Obama to me has proved in the last two years that he is very bright, and has what it takes to be a successful president. The new generation has spoken and we want someone we can trust and believe in. I have plenty of respect for Mccain, but i don't agree with his polices. I don't feel that they represent the new america. I don't feel we need old polices that make the american people feel as if they can't trust their government.

I believe this country was ready to a dramatic change for whom we choice to represent and lead us in a time of our worse ecomonic crisis since the Great Depression. No other president has had a worse situation to step into office then FDR did. I believe, that yes many blacks did vote for him for the reason alone that he is black. That is not true for all however, 95% of blacks voted for him, however %62 (?) of whites voted for him, those being under the age of 40. So yes for once, young citizens of this country, black and white came out to look at this issues in this country and want someone in office, who understands them and will work for the issues that are in hand. Not since Kennedy was there a President that people could connect with and truly love. Now we need someone if office who has new and unpolluted vision for our country. I think age played a bigger role then color. Its time to bury to race issue. We also redemmed ourselves in the international market. Cowboy is out on January 20th!

I truly, totally agree with you. There is still Racism in the States. it's an in grain thing for some senseless people. Well, Racism to me is not a Black & White thing. Racism is evrywhere, all over the world. When it comes to Mr. Obama, he represents the world & the opressed. We all support him in Canada. You guys should be proud for making the right decision after making the same old mistakes for 8 years!!!

I very much disagree. As you say, he's a great orator. And he's an incredible politician, able to avoid most of the traps that are set for politicians today. I remember the first time I saw him on TV a few years back -- I literally sat up in my chair and said "Wow." That's how good he is.

I'd say race weakened him, on balance -- after all, 9% of the public says they won't vote for a black guy, no matter what. He had to be twice as good as a white guy. As someone put it, how would people have reacted if his daughter had gotten pregnant out of wedlock like Palin's? With Palin, it was "Wow, yeah, it's hard being parents today, stuff happens." With Obama, it would have been "Look, more black kids getting knocked up."