Think about it

I have received the following email from two friends of mine:

Think about it

What if things were switched around? Think about it. Would the country's collective point of view be different? Could racism be the culprit???? [this most certainly must be a rhetorical question!]

What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, following the debate, including a three month-old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?

What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?

What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his college graduating class?

What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?

What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married?

What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?

What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?

What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five?

(The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)

What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?

What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?

What if Obama was the one who was known to publicly display a serious anger management problem?

What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?

You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected a reality, if the tables were turned, do you really believe the election? numbers would be as close as? they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative characteristics in another when there is a color difference.

And, think of this - the candidates' educational backgrounds:

Barack Obama:
Columbia University - B. A. Political Science with a Specialization in
International Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J. D.) Magna Cum Laude

Joseph Biden:
University of Delaware - B. A. in History and B. A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J. D.)

John McCain:United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899

Sarah Palin: Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B. A. in Journalism

Education isn't everything, but this is about the two highest offices in
the land as well as our standing in the world.

You make the call.

Yes, let's think about it if the tables were turned:

• Obama would be a black war hero and McCain would be just another white lawyer-turned-politician with a thin resume who four years ago was a state senator. The election would already be over.

• McCain would be the guy who attended a crazy church run by a racist pastor. This pastor also married McCain and helped inspire one of his books. The election would already be over.

• McCain would be the candidate who was friends with a guy who founded an organization that bombed the Pentagon and Capitol -- and then never apologized for it. The election would already be over.

Also, the part about McCain crashing seven planes is a complete fabrication.

McCain didn't crash seven planes. He crashed one that was his fault. And one of the planes that he "crashed" was because he was freakin' SHOT DOWN OVER VIETNAM.

This actually is a quite interesting thought exercise if you turn the tables. But I'm not sure it comes out the way the authors intended.