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In reporting the Barack Obama victory in
the Democratic caucuses in Iowa political pundits, including those
for the candidates themselves, have missed what is possibly one of
the most significant events of the day.
It is not necessarily their fault for
missing an unprecedented event as they are focused strictly on the
candidates and voter demographics. On the surface this seems
sufficient as demographics represent people. But that is similar to
saying a fever represents illness. Although it is true that
demographics represent people, they miss the reality that people
represent cultures. If they were looking at cultures also
demographics they would have seen an absolutely amazing story.
They did pick up on the fact that Iowa has
a heavily white population. According to the United States Census
Bureau, only Vermont and West Virginia are whiter than Iowa. This
is important in analyzing the results, but fall short of diagnosing
a fever.
Historical perspective
African-Americans historically have been
rated higher in polls than on the actual ballot casting. The
difference between the two, polling and balloting, is that the
pollster knows the identity of the respondent. Balloting is
anonymous.
The simple fact shows people want others
to think they are inclusive. By publicly stating they are for a
minority candidate they feel good about themselves. Once in the
voting booth, the anonymity allows for personal prejudices to take
over.
The stunning aspect of the Iowa results is
the caucus process causes someone to publicly declare their vote.
It removes the curtain of the voting booth that cloaked the
personal bias of the voter.
White Iowans publicly declared their
desire for an African-American in the White House. They stood
before their friends and neighbors, people they work with, and
white folk they had never met to say the African-American Obama was
their candidate for the presidency.
Never before has this happened. Iowa was a
reversal of the norm. Obama actually received a larger percentage
than pre-caucus polling had indicated -- and he did it with white
voters.
The future
It will be interesting to see how Obama
does in the states where secret ballots are used. Regardless of
whether or not he ultimately gets the Democratic combination, or
the privilege of moving into the White House next January, he will
always be the one who broke a very significant cultural barrier --
whites publicly saying the time has arrived for an African-American
President.
About the Author
Rick Weaver is the president of MBC
Global, a cultural training and education organization near
Detroit, Michigan. It is a popular speaker, author, and trainer.
His recent book, Life's Leadership Lessons, looks at how
individuals can turn the people, events, and things along their
lives pathways to improve their leadership ability.
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