by Raymond Ibrahim<\/p>\n
Private Papers<\/em><\/p>\n W<\/span>hen all the political sophistry is said and done, there is no denying that the claim to fame of the Democratic Party\u2019s two superstar candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, is that the one is a woman, the other black and from something of an \u201cambiguous\u201d religious background (little wonder bland John Edwards stepped out, with the jocular yet true remark during January\u2019s CNN Democratic Debate that being white and male wasn\u2019t helping his cause).Clinton\u2019s and Obama\u2019s primary appeal, then, is that they are \u201cminorities\u201d \u2014 who, so the unspoken logic goes, must be in tune, domestically and internationally, with minorities everywhere, due to their own \u201cdiversity,\u201d and therefore must be open-minded and just. Yet, while diversity, multiculturalism, pluralism, et. al. are all well and good, is that all there is when choosing a president \u2014 when choosing a leader for our nation during these trying times?<\/p>\n Hillary can boast White House experience \u2014 eight years worth as First Lady, of being privy (except on a few occasions) to key presidential decisions being played out in the Oval Office. Still, it is very clear that Hillary\u2019s main appeal to democrats and liberals everywhere is, simply, that she is a woman. In that\u2014and that alone\u2014does she truly bring something new and unprecedented to the White House.<\/p>\n As for Barack (whose Arabic name, incidentally, means \u201cBlessing\u201d), it is difficult to pinpoint exactly where his merit or experience lies \u2014 aside from his reported \u201ccharisma\u201d which apparently manifested itself in the 2004 democratic convention. But presidents \u2014 whose ultimate worth manifests itself behind the scenes, where many uninspiring yet momentous and consequential decisions are made \u2014 need a bit more than charisma and platitudes of \u201cchange.\u201d That said, does anyone doubt that Obama would have been able to come out of nowhere to represent the Democratic Party if he wasn\u2019t black and with a \u201cdiverse\u201d religious identity\/heritage?<\/p>\n Not only is Obama black, but he was born to a Muslim father (and raised by a Muslim step-father), attending the infamous madrassas, which are now synonymous with Islamic indoctrination. Obama insists that he is Christian, and there certainly seems to be no reason to doubt him; however, it is clear that his Muslim background makes him appealing to those many liberals who worship at the altar of diversity and multiculturalism, and who believe his Muslim heritage will only help bring about some sort of miraculous, overnight rapprochement between the West and Islam.<\/p>\n It also bears mentioning that though Barack is now Christian, according to Islamic law, anyone born to a Muslim father is automatically considered Muslim (there are no rites or baptisms involved). According to sharia, then, Obama is an apostate, a crime punishable by death. (Thus Obama might want to think twice about holding an \u201cIslamic summit\u201d as he recently announced \u2014 which will undoubtedly be composed of many a sharia adhering Muslim.)<\/p>\n And so, according to both the open and subliminal messages of the Democratic Party, the three \u201cno-noes\u201d that every American must always eschew when making public\/political decisions \u2014 race, gender, and religion \u2014 are now the three \u201cyes-yeses\u201d that are supposed to make their candidates irresistible. Sure, Hillary and Obama themselves don\u2019t often go out of their ways to draw attention to their \u201cminority\u201d statuses; yet almost all of their supporters go to great lengths to stress Hillary\u2019s and Obama\u2019s \u201cotherness.\u201d Indeed, one can surmise that the perfect democratic presidential candidate would have been a combination of both Hillary and Barack \u2014 a black, female, Muslim, perhaps even veiled?\u00a0 Since that\u2019s not possible, the next best thing, a president and vice president combining all these attributes, may well follow the next Democratic Convention.<\/p>\n Let no one be deceived, however. Favoring a candidate primarily because they are female, or because they are ethnic or religious minorities is absolutely no different than disfavoring a presidential candidate simply because they are female, or because they are ethnic or religious minorities. Prejudice works both ways. We are supposed to choose presidents based on their merit and the good they can do for our country \u2014 not because they are men or women, black or white, Christian or Muslim. We cannot be a society constantly preaching that race, gender, and religion are immaterial in the public and political spheres \u2014 and then simultaneously turn around and use race, gender and religion to win political support, though from another angle.<\/p>\n Oprah Winfrey\u2019s unwavering support for Obama\u2019s presidential bid \u2014 primarily because he is black, as most political observers have noted \u2014 is absolutely no different than if a prominent white talk show host gave his unwavering support to a fellow white presidential candidate, for no other reason than their shared \u201cwhiteness.\u201d Both scenarios are equally racist. The grand irony, of course, is that, while democrats and liberals are constantly whining about the need to remove gender, race, and religion from all decisions, they are also the same ones exploiting these three issues in their bid for the presidency.<\/p>\n Whatever one may think of the Republican Party, it has at least not resorted to making race, religion, or gender paramount in its campaign. Mormon Mitt Romney, for instance, who seems to be out of the race, could not make his \u201cMormonness\u201d \u2014 his diverse \u201cotherness\u201d \u2014 makeup for other qualities. As for John McCain and Mike Huckabee, well, they are just plain old WASPS \u2014 like the majority of the inhabitants of this country. So they bring nothing exotic or \u201cgimmicky\u201d to the presidency, which, looked at another way, may well mean that they have something else \u2014 perhaps actual merit and experience? \u2014 to offer.<\/p>\n At any rate, the question every American should ponder is: If race, religion, and gender are aspects that have no bearing in our society and should always be overlooked, why are they the defining characteristics of the democratic candidates?<\/p>\n Raymond Ibrahim is the editor of the\u00a0Al-Qaeda Reader<\/i>, translations of religious texts and propaganda.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Merit takes second place to gender and religion by Raymond Ibrahim Private Papers When all the political sophistry is said and done, there is no denying that the claim to fame of the Democratic Party\u2019s two superstar candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, is that the one is a woman, the other black and from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[227,840],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-1oJ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2646,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/criticism-and-conciliation\/","url_meta":{"origin":5377,"position":0},"title":"Criticism and Conciliation","author":"victorhanson","date":"June 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim National Review Online Though he early indicated that this would be an honest, heart-to-heart talk \u2014 \"we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors\" and \"let me speak as clearly and plainly as I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Raymond Ibrahim"","block_context":{"text":"Raymond Ibrahim","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/our-contributors\/raymond-ibrahim\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6219,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/crucified-again-venn-institute-interviews-raymond-ibrahim\/","url_meta":{"origin":5377,"position":1},"title":"Crucified Again — Venn Institute Interviews Raymond Ibrahim","author":"victorhanson","date":"July 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Raymond Ibrahim [Note: The following interview was conducted by the\u00a0Venn Institute\u00a0with Raymond Ibrahim] Raymond Ibrahim is a widely published author, public speaker, and Middle East and Islam expert, and author most recently of\u00a0Crucified Again: Exposing Islam\u2019s New War on Christians. 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