The Catholic Card?

In 1960, John F. Kennedy went to Texas to give a speech that dealt with the fact that he was a Catholic American running for president of these United States. The last Catholic to make a run for the presidency at that time was Al Smith, in 1928. Herbert Hoover defeated Al Smith in that election that my father witnessed. He told me how it was filled with anti-Catholic propaganda and that the campaign got very ugly. So, 48 years ago JFK made a trip to Texas to try and answer, and at the same time confront people’s unspoken fear of having a Catholic president in the White House. JFK gave his speech and went on to win a very close presidential election in November, 1960. The myth that we could not have a Catholic American as president was put to rest. No one, that I can remember, said that John F. Kennedy was playing the “Catholic card” for going to Texas and giving a speech dealing with the issue of a Catholic president. In 1960, this issue was as yet to be put to rest.

Now 48 years later, an African American is running for president. And, like JFK in 1960, Barak Obama is not in the mold of previous American presidents. That he speaks about this fact openly and is then criticized by the Republican party is no accident. And, that it is said that he is playing the “race card”, is part of the Republican strategy to divert the electorate’s attention from the political/economic issues that this election should be about. Senator Obama is not playing the “race card”, in my opinion, any more than JFK was playing the “Catholic card” in 1960. Any attempt by Obama to make the electorate more comfortable with the idea of the United States having a black man as president is going to meet with opposition from the Republican party. Whether this opposition is considered racist, I will not venture to comment because I can not read what is in their minds. The Republicans will do everything in their powers to make John McCain the next president. The Republican party’s bottom line is to win, and they will do whatever it takes to win. As they say in sports, a win is a win, regardless of how ugly the win is. You can bet that the Republican party will pursue that game plan through the election.

The problem that I have with this strategy is that it is built on fear. The party of business, the party that understands marketing and thus understands what motivates people to buy products and services every day of the year, understands the role fear plays in motivating people to act. The TV journalists, being the talking heads that they are, can not think through this simple yet effective strategy and explain it to the American people. I guess I expect too much from TV journalists. In 1928, the Republican party appealed to the fear of the majority of non-Catholic Americans that if a Catholic was elected president then the Pope in Roman would ultimately be running the country. This kind of fear was enough to defeat Al Smith the Democratic candidate and the former Governor of the State of New York.

Today, it is a new fear. There is no question any more as to whether a black man can play quarterback or win a Super Bowl. Those myths have been put to rest. Today, America is faced with a new challenge, the challenge to put another myth and fear to rest. Can America have a black man as president? My answer is “why not?” The history of this country is a history of putting myths and fears to rest. That is how we built a country that almost everyone in the world wants to live in. But, the job or the process is never over. Our history is predicated on opening new frontiers. Electing a black man as president is just another frontier for us as Americans to cross.

This presidential election has a number of issues for the electorate to decide on. The challenge for the Democratic party is to get the electorate to vote on the issues and their economic self interest. If the Democrats can get the electorate to vote their pocket books, they will win. If the Republicans can get the electorate to vote their fear of a black man as our president, they will win. The last president, George W. Bush, has not set the bar very high for our next president. Coming from Texas and a former governor, President Bush hit the ground running and fell flat on his face. Ask yourself, are you better off now than you were 7 years ago? Few people can answer that in the affirmative. This nation faces some very serious economic challenges and it is going to take one outstanding quarterback to get the job done. I think our best shot in 2008 is a black man named Barak Obama.

Stay tuned.