Americans must forget who they are when voting

Until a few years ago, many in Washington believed that Colin Powell would be the only black man with some chance of becoming President of the US.

Here was a man with an impressive resume, having served as Chief of Staff, National Security Advisor and Secretary of State, and with powerful friends that included the Bush clan. More importantly, perhaps, Powell had built his image as a moderate politician with a nonpartisan approach to issues.

A conservative on social issues, he was closer to social-democratic positions on the role of the state in helping the less fortunate members of society.

Powell was attractive for yet another reason: as a native of Jamaica, he did not share the bitterness of black Americans about a land that had used their ancestors as slaves. Powell understood the painful memories of black Americans but did not have a chip on his shoulder.

Despite those advantages, Powell never reached even the starting line of the race for the presidency. Since the 1960s, the Republican Party has become increasingly identified with the white majority, while minorities - the blacks, the Latinos, the Jews, the Asians, the Arabs, and the native Americans - have massively rallied to the Democrats. As things turned out, although Powell did not become president someone like him did. Barack Obama, like Powell, is an outsider. His father was a Kenyan Muslim who spent just a few years in the U.S. and certainly did not share the "memory of slavery" that so embittered black Americans.

Like Powell, Obama owed his ascent to education and merit rather than family wealth and influence. Like Powell, Obama does not appear threatening. One could vote for him and feel good about one's freedom from racism.

Remarkable

Having said all that, the truth is that Obama owes his victory to his remarkable success in creating a coalition of minorities big enough to give him almost 53 per cent of the votes.

An analysis of the voting patterns shows that the minorities turned out in unprecedented numbers, and overwhelmingly voted for Obama. Blacks who account for 12 per cent of the population claimed almost 15 per cent of those who voted this year, and 96 per cent of them went for Obama. Latinos provided Obama with a further 8 per cent of his votes.

Obama also won almost all the votes of Arab-Americans and Asian-Americans. Less than half of Obama's votes came from the white majority.

For the first time, the minorities had succeeded in electing a president against the wishes of the white Anglo-Saxon protestant majority.

Powell endorsed Obama just days before polling day. Powell's support strengthened Obama's image as a non-threatening black man: the whites could vote for him without fearing that he would use his power to extract revenge. In an interesting interview broadcast by CNN last Sunday, Powell said he had supported Obama "because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America."

The former secretary of state pointed out another important feature of this year's landmark elections in the U.S.. The voters had not rejected conservatism of the kind that traditional Republicans offered.

So, what was the real message of this election?

Powell's answer, as provided in his CNN interview deserves close attention. Powell believes that the US is no longer the country of white Anglo-Saxon Protestants. "In another 20 years, the majority in this country will be the minority," Powell said.

Virtually every state from California to Florida is likely to witness a dramatic change in its ethnic composition by the time Americans prepare for the presidential election of 2028. The U.S. of America will become the first democracy in history in which no single ethnic group is a majority.

To be sure, there have been empires in which no ethnic group had a majority: the Roman, Persian, Macedonian, Islamic, British and Russian empires come to mind.

However, in those empires the dominant ethnic group would not allow the minorities to band together and dominate the government. Today, there are a number of smaller states, including in the Gulf, in which no ethnic group has a majority. However, in those states citizenship is reserved for the dominant ethnic minority.

Powell's message is clear: from now on Americans will have to learn to vote based on what they could do together.

Amir Taheri is an Iranian writer based in Europe.

What I like most about Amir Taheri's comment is his objectiveness and pragmatic approach towards political analysis. I feel obliged, as a Middle Easterner, to suggest my Western friends to read Taheri's comments as they are at the antipodes of the censorship machine found in the West when it comes to Middle East issues.
Sami Zaher
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: December 24, 2008, 10:57