Allen Carter
Voting is traditionally supposed to be the vehicle for change. It seems like more than ever now is the time, as for the first time ever both a black candidate and a female candidate have a very good shot at becoming a “first” in terms of the presidency of the United States.When listening to either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton, they’ll swear in their speeches that they are the person to bring about change. On the surface, it seems like people are listening because statistically more people are coming out and voting, but are they really voting for change?I argue that rather than voting for change, people, especially Californians, are voting for familiarity. According to MSNBC’s Super Tuesday exit polls in California, women chose Clinton (59 percent of Californian women voted for Clinton), while blacks overwhelmingly cast votes for Obama (78 percent).Meanwhile, throughout most other demographic divisions, the split is nearly 50-50 between the two democratic candidates.I think most people believe that a candidate they can identify with, whether it is because of race or gender or any other difference, is more trustworthy.A vote based on familiarity isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I, myself, am a black male and to no surprise, I support Barack Obama.The good thing is that minorities and young people are going out and voting. After talking to several students at Pierce College, I found that most people side with me in supporting Obama (who also happens to be the younger candidate).But remember, no matter how much you identify with a candidate, they’re still politicians-so it truly is a long shot to think that voting for Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton is going to change the way politics are done in Washington.Oh, and did I mention that there are Republican candidates, too?
