Some Thoughts on the Nomination of Barack Obama

Just a few minutes ago the Dem Convention went through their faux roll call vote and formally nominated Barack Obama as their presidential candidate. Without question it was an historic moment in United States history. Juan Williams on Fox spoke quite emotionally about what this meant to him and his family who never would have thought something like this was possible, and the network showed us lots of pictures of African-American delegates crying as the nomination was finalized.

But, as historic a day as this may be, and as far as America may have come in terms of racial relations, if we now vote for or against Obama based on his skin color, we counteract any gains we might have made as a nation which claims to embrace the idea that "all men are created equal".

Tomorrow is the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech in which he famously said the following:

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Of course, he wasn't just talking about his children, but about all people, and if we are truly to reach his ideal, we must not allow history or skin color to determine our vote. We must judge the candidates by the content of their character.

Barack Obama may be an historic figure, but he is a deeply flawed candidate. His relationships to people like William Ayres, Tony Rezko and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright should raise caution flags. His inexperience, with less than four years in the Senate and no executive experience in or out of government should be another warning. His leftist politics which would damage our standard of living and make our country less safe in a dangerous world should stop any thinking voter from electing him. His words are pretty, but I worry about the intellect that accompanies them.

Right now most Democrats are too enamored at the historical reality to look at the reality of Obama's character. Some have already come to their senses as information about Obama has been released, and hopefully others will realize the tremendous risks involved with an Obama presidency. Will it be enough to stop history short of the White House?

I hope so.