Gender or race: White men voters face tough choices in S.C.

I am quite frustrated by the two-dimensional analysis of whether black women will vote their race or gender, so here’s my editing of a CNN news story, with my changes in red. Enjoy.

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (unCNN) — At Billy Bob’s Bar in Charleston, the only thing louder than the music is the chorus of political opinions.On this day, owner Billy Bob Jackson is outnumbered. He is the only one supporting Sen. Barack Obama over Sen. Hillary Clinton in South Carolina’s Democratic primary Saturday.“For me, Hillary, yes, she was a wife of a president, but she was not a president, so she doesn’t earn credit for more experience than Obama. To me they’re equal,” Jackson says.

Customer Curtis Singleton retorts, “When you apply for a job, they ask you, do you have experience? They hire you based on experience. Obama’s been in office how long?”

Bartender Shane Jones says, “I just feel like it’s not his time. I don’t think he’s ready.” Watch men say what’s important to them »While three say they’re undecided, the rest of the men in the bar say they plan to vote for Clinton.Analysts say white men this year never have been more engaged in a political campaign or held such power in determining the Democratic nominee.

Recent polls show white men are expected to make about a quarter of all Democratic voters in South Carolina’s primary in five days.

For these men, a unique, and most unexpected dilemma, presents itself: Should they vote their race, or should they vote their gender?

No other voting bloc in the country faces this choice.

Democratic analyst Jeremy Greene says, “We’ve all come to take for granted that there is a white person in the White House, that there is going to be a man in the White House. I don’t think we imagined we would be having to decide one or the other.”

Greene says men, including himself, face pressure to vote their race. In the White-American community, there is a perception that race trumps gender, he says.

Obama supporters are seen as sellouts, Greene and others say.

Waiter Sean Horlback, who is undecided, says, “It’s not like I’m selling out, not that I’m not keeping it real ’cause I am, but keeping it real is actually the best candidate for the job.”

Jackson, the Obama supporter, says he doesn’t care what others think. “They don’t pay my bills. And they’re not attached to my belly. Nobody is attached to my belly but me. They don’t feed me, clothe me. I don’t care what they think. … He’s a man, I’m a man.”

Jackson met Obama at a Boy Scouts of America dinner in November. A picture of them together is boldly displayed in his bar.

A half a dozen pictures of bar employees with Oprah Winfrey also are on what Jackson calls her “Wall of Fame.”

She visited the shop last fall to drum up votes for Obama.

Bars are a target for the campaigns — across the state they have turned into caucuses of sorts. They’re where men gather and gossip.

Among them is Tony Clyde Dawson: “I make the decision because with Obama, he is so inexperienced so much that if he was to become president, I think he would get nothing done because he is so inexperienced,” he says. “With Clinton, she’s experienced. I think she can get things done.”

For many here, the decision may come down to experience versus the ability to unify the country the country.

Greene says, “White men are really politically savvy, and the question of the ability to unify is weighing heavy on their mind. Maybe race does trump gender as they’re looking at this decision, but I think they also put a very high premium on the ability to unify, and that in itself is the real dilemma they are facing.”

Clinton supporter Jones reminds the others that “we can’t focus on what Oprah does for us”
“We can thank her for that. She’s not running for President,” she says. “We need to focus on him and what he can do to make our country better.”

While race and gender play a role, most men here say they plan to vote based on the issues.
They rank health care, education and the economy in order of importance.

Men say the candidates’ spouses likely also will be part of the decision.

Some white men say they consider Bill Clinton a “rock star.” They say they are impressed with his strength and like the idea of a strong white man in the White House if Hillary were to go all the way.

Oprah also connects with white men. They say she’s committed to hard work and the American dream.

And of course, there is the “Bill Clinton” factor. The popular former president is supporting his wife and has campaigned for her in the state.

Greene says that Bill Clinton “opened up the door for white men to take a closer look at her. He said, ‘This is my candidate, this is who I’m backing,’ and I think that made a lot of white men say, “We’ve watched Oprah for several decades, and we think we should take a look at this lady, maybe we should see what she is about.”’

Support for Obama among men has been growing, while Clinton is gaining among White-Americans, the results in last week’s Nevada caucuses show.
How will it go this time around?

Greene says he believes that “white men will stick with Obama.”

“I think they are going to take a very long look at his potential to unify, fighting for men’s rights, and that’s going to play well with them,” he says.

Bar owner Jackson doesn’t hide what having a man president would mean to him. “If he becomes president, then the country is in good hands, right?” he asks.

If only both candidates were on the same ticket, then men here say that the decision would be a no-brainer.

“Maybe Obama’s a great vice president for Hillary,” Singleton suggests.
Either way, whether it’s a woman or a black man, everyone in this salon says they agree it’d be a sad day for America.

The original CNN story can be found at http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/21/blackwomen.voters/index.html