Debate Media Unfair to McCain

After the Presidential Debate last night, I expected the media to be talking about the way that John McCain knocked it out of the park.  You can imagine my surprise when the media instead seemed to dwell on a gesture made by Maverick and totally misinterpret it.

What anybody with any knowledge of history would know is that Barack Obama is not the first black person from Chicago to come down to Mississippi.  In August of 1955, a 14 year old black boy named Emmett Till went down to stay with an uncle in Money, Mississippi.  A week later he was murdered.  His crime was staring at a white storekeeper and whistling at her.  At that time in the South, black people were not permitted to look a white person in the eye and risked a beating or worse if they did.

Last night John McCain attempted to use the debate as an opportunity to offer his apologies to black people who lived in the era before the Civil Rights movement.  He did this by humbling himself and not looking at Obama in the eye.  I was choked up when I saw a great man like John McCain nearly prostrating himself to make a point about his belief in inclusion an equality.  This is a man who doesn’t see color.  His nominating convention was the most diverse Republican convention ever with 36 (Wow!) of the 2380 delegates being people of color.

Uninformed people saw a Republican candidate who wouldn’t make eye contact because of the supposedly false attack ads he’s launched against Obama or because of a hatred of the man.  I saw a brave war hero who took his chance on a grand stage to make ammends for the horrible lynchings of the pre-civil rights era.

Diversity is the Key Word for New GOP

The McCain daughters remain close despite their different races.

Is it any wonder that McCain went with a girl for his VP?  The new Republican party is an inclusive big tent party that welcomes conservative evangelicals regardless of their national origin.  The diversity could be seen in the audience at the convention last night:

9:11 More black people in the video–Nice!

9:29 Another black person in the crowd.

9:40 A man with a beard, appeared to be Hispanic.

9:48 Yet another black person.  She was napping though.  Never mind, same woman I saw before.

9:54 Potential minority…Actually looks like an Italian woman on the closeup.  Cute though.

10:01 Asian of some type

10:04 Happy black person in crowd.  Definitely a night of inclusion

Wow, what a magic night?  This new face of Republicanism is going to catch wildfire.  However, these new attitudes extend to the candidates.  How awesome was it to have Bristol’s babydaddy in the crowd?  The McCain’s have a daughter they adopted from Bangladesh who they treat just like a member of the family.

Even the political tactics have changed.  Tucker Eskew who trashed McCain in the South Carolina primary in 2000 is now advising Sarah Palin, but despite claiming that McCain had a black baby, he’s remained silent on Barack Obama who has two.