The Voice - Student Newspaper

Agism, racism, and sexism in play for election

The unprecedented 2008 presidential campaign showcased a woman, an African American and a 72 year old man. The pundits and politicos cannot remember a more sensational race. Along with this situation came some unwelcome company: the offenses of ageism, sexism and racism, mainly from the media.

Hillary Clinton, wife of former President Bill Clinton, ran an unsuccessful bid for the

White House. Some have said that gender bias snuck into the campaign and possibly cost her votes.

"Hillary Clinton: Stop Running for President and Make Me a Sandwich" is one nutty group; however, some well known bastions of journalism also jumped in. A Washington Post article dated July 20, 2007, noted, "There was cleavage on display Wednesday afternoon on C-SPAN2. It belonged to Sen. Hillary Clinton. … There wasn't an unseemly amount of cleavage showing, but there it was. Undeniable."

Who would comment on someone's attire in such a manner?

Republican nominee Sen. John McCain is a vigorous 72 years old; yet he is the oldest person ever to run for the presidency. At first, attacks about his age were lighthearted banter mainly from the late night comedians. "Late Show" Host David Letterman said, "John McCain looks like the guy whose head you can barely see over the steering wheel." Lately, however, criticisms are coming from more serious corners.

According to conservative commenter George Will, "The question is who in this crisis looked more presidential, calm and un-flustered? It wasn't John McCain who, as usual, substituting vehemence for coherence, said 'let's fire somebody.' And picked one of the most experienced and conservative people in the administration, Chris Cox, and for no apparent reason... It was un-presidential behavior by a presidential candidate."

Saying that McCain is not coherent but is flustered at his age can be code words for senility. Age, it appears, has become fair game.

In the matter of Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama, it is hard to find blatant attacks about race from his opponents or the media. It would be political suicide to do so.

The spot where racism raises its ugly head is not on the campaign trail but in the hearts and minds of America.

According to a Wall Street Journal survey of 2,227 adults, one-third of white Democrats hold negative views of blacks (with a 2 percent margin of error). The poll suggests that the number of voters who may not vote for Obama because of the color of his skin is larger than the margin, about 2.5 percent that decided the 2004 race between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. Racism could cost him the election.

We may never know if sexism lost Hillary Clinton the nomination nor can we be sure agism may be a reason if McCain does not win.

However, if Barack loses, many will say that it was racism, that America is just not ready to accept a black man as president.