Reply #51: Again, I'm not saying he shouldn't run. [View All]

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

Quite the contrary, I hope he has an important contribution to make to the debate. And I also wouldn't frown upon him being a VP candidate. If he were white, he'd still be too young and inexperienced for the job - the very same comment I used for John Edwards. I can only hope Obama would add more to the ticket as a VP candidate than Edwards did (which isn't a difficult expectation, given Edwards did nothing). In actuality, I think he might be a very strong VP candidate - I think we need someone from the midwest or west to tap into that area of the country. I also think it would be a fantastic stepping stone - this country does like to take steps with such large changes. Having a black VP first would truly open the doors without asking all that much from voters, and it would provide some much needed experience from Barack himself. However, I would not put him on the same ticket as Hillary Clinton under any circumstances - that is far too much change to expect voters to accept (note: I will NOT back Hillary Clinton in the primaries no matter who runs against her).

Still, Obama is black and that is, currently, something negative on a national scale. I'm not going to currently pledge or deny my support for him in the primaries - it will depend on whom else enters the race. But I don't think he'll be viable in the general election. I'm sorry we disagree on that, but I don't think the country is ready, and the stakes are far too high in this instance to throw caution to the wind. I still say we need another decade or two.

One last note - I haven't seen a single person suggest that he absolutely should not run for office. While many may not choose to support him, I haven't seen anyone indicating it would be horrific if he threw his hat into the ring.