Nairobi Star (Nairobi)
Maina Kiai
30 September 2008
column
There are many areas that need improvement in the US political system but the presidential debates are unique, good and provide citizens a chance to see how knowledgeable and ready the candidates are, side by side. I was in Mississippi for the first debate, held at the University of Mississippi that is better known as “Ole Miss.”
The university itself is historic and was a bastion of racial segregation until James Meredith, escorted by about 300 National Guard officers (part of the military), enrolled in 1962 just one year after Barack Obama was born. Today the university is mixed and has even erected a monument to James Meredith, acknowledging its ugly history, rather than burying it, as we are so good at in Kenya. (Remember the promise to turn Nyayo House Torture Chambers into a Museum of Shame in 2003 that was stifled by the Office of the President because they were not interested in reminding Kenyans of the struggles for change that many of those in power had not been involved in—except for some as part of the problem—but were reaping the benefits of the struggle? Or was it because they were perhaps interested in repeating some of Moi’s excesses and did not reminders of just how disastrous Moi had been for Kenya?)
By now, many of us have heard something about the debate so I will not belabor the event. Suffice it to say that there was no knockout punch from either candidate, both did better than expected in the circumstances, and crucially, the debate highlighted the massive differences in policy and approach that each one would institute as President. And the clarity of differences is good it will give voters stark choices. For Barack Obama, this should help with some of the voters who are comfortable with what he represents and stands for, but are uncomfortable with his race. The clearer the differences between the two, the better for Obama with die hard Hillary Clinton supporters who see more of her views in him, and undecided voters who want a change from Bush.
I was taken by how calm Obama was through it all. He took the punches and absorbed them keeping to his message. I noted how disciplined McCain was, to the extent that he simply ignored Obama’s corrections and clarifications and kept hammering what were clearly falsehoods. The two were a study of contrasts, with McCain clearly more aggressive, animated and short on substance while long on stories and anecdotes; Obama was long on substance but short on stories, anecdotes and visible emotion.
Now the key is whether America prefers the bullying aggressive type, who acts first then thinks—as they have had for the last 8 years in Bush--or they will choose the considered thoughtful gentlemanly type who will be slower with military might and who will not have the well known American “swagger.”
At least 6 times in the debate, Obama “agreed” with McCain. This could have been seen as a sort of deference to the older, more experienced McCain, and in fact the McCain campaign took out an advert using the agreement on Saturday. However, initial reactions from polls and focus groups show that people liked the “agreeable” side a lot. Obama showed that he is willing to agree with his opponents; and be the person to bridge this divided society. That he is “above partisan politics.” My overall assessment is that because this debate was focused on the strengths of McCain, the fact that Obama held his own—clearly with far less experience than McCain—as a very knowledgeable person, he has the edge from this debate.
Scenes from Mississippi:
I got to Ole Miss in Oxford Mississippi after flying into Memphis Tennessee (the city where Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968) and then catching a taxi for the hour and a bit drive to Ole Miss. My cab was a giant of a man called Kevin D. German, and by the time we got to Ole Miss, Kevin and I were firm friends. So much so that rather than turning back to earn money for the day he decided to stick it out with me and be a “part of the history” of this election. A solid Obama supporter, Kevin comes from a family that is highly political and informed and as a black man in Tennessee he assured me that he would not just vote and make sure his family and friends voted, but he would put his chain of 5 taxis to the service of anyone who needed a ride on November 4, 2008 to get to the polls.
Getting out the black vote is critical if Obama is to win and there is an energy and buzz in the black community that every last person must vote so that they can see the fulfillment, finally, of Martin Luther King’s dream of a country where people “…shall not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Most of the southern states—traditionally Republican—have a significant black population and Mississippi, for instance is 39 percent black. If that population votes, it together with the strong and youthful pro-Obama white vote in even in the South--may make this election easier than it looks now for Obama.
I wondered why the southern states do not reflect the significance of the black population in ideology, principles and representation. Rev. Kenneth Whalan of the Olivet Baptist Church in Memphis, who also made the journey to Ole Miss to be a part of history, said that much of this is due to a sense of frustration and apathy that things won’t change no matter what, and the deep scars that many blacks in the south still bear with segregation and repression still quite so recent for them. But he also said that the black church and black professionals had not done enough to work with the poor black vote on empowerment and responsibility issues and a lot needed to be done before October 3 when registration closed. There was also the legal problem where convicted felons are not allowed to vote even after serving their terms in jail. And with many of the people in jail in the US being disproportionately black this has taken off a sizeable number of people off the voters rolls.
The problem it appears is that drug laws in the US are harsher on poor people’s drugs of choice than for “rich people’s” drugs (Just as in Kenya, there appears to be two sets of laws: one for the rich, who either get away with it, as in Kenya, or in way lighter form. But this is a topic for another discussion….)
Mississippi is the buckle in the Bible belt: Very conservative and very insular. It is one of the states that made relations between the races illegal until about 30 years ago. And there are signs of significant McCain support here. I was impressed by how open people were with their candidate of choice and saw many groups of young people walking together yet in different camps. I was especially struck by a group where one person had a badge with the words “I am Anti-Obama” while next to her were 2 people with “I am anti-McCain” badges, but they didn’t fight, throw stones or act in any way but good friends. They did not abuse each other; nor throw stones; nor fight…
And I sighed as I thought of Kenya and how intolerant we are of those with different opinions that we don’t shake hands with them as they become “enemies” if they don’t have 150 percent sycophancy in them. How we use power to silence or intimidate those whose opinions we don’t like, and if that does not work then we send killer gangs at them…
Back to Ole Miss… The day was a Carnival with lots of fun, families out doing picnics and sports as we waited for the debate. There were bands and choirs on hand to keep people entertained, and food, and lots of kiosks providing all sorts of information. It was really a fun time with a lot of energy throughout the day. I managed to get Caroline Mutoko’s tape to record this time and captured a number of interviews! But now my problem is downloading them so I can email them to her to run on Kiss FM and Classic FM
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