After choosing Palin as his running mate, McCain's campaign has gained significant momentum. The most recent polls put him at about neck-and-neck with Obama in the 2008 presidential race. It has been speculated that McCain chose Palin as his running mate to gain the female supporters of the former democratic party candidate Hilary Clinton. This raises the question: do people identify with one canidate versus another based on gender? How about based on ethnicity, race, or religion?
In Reservation Blues, ethnicity plays a big role in determining how the members of Coyote Springs identify with others around them and how others reacts towards the members of Coyote Springs. One of the reasons Thomas is so drawn to Chess is because she is a fellow Native American. Chess and Checkers dislike Betty and Veronica because they are white women. Checkers grows fond of Father Arnold though their sharing in the Catholic faith. People have a tendency to identify with people of their own race, religion, gender, and ethnicity due to the commonalities they share.
With this generalization in mind, are certain people supporting Palin just because she is a woman? McCain because he is a white male? Obama because he is an African-American Christian? In my opinion, people should not support on candidate over other based solely on their race, religion, gender, or ethnicity. Each candidate should be viewed based on their political stances on the present concerning issues.
I found these articles to be relevant to this topic:
McCain Gains Momentum in New Poll
Obama's 'My Muslim Faith' Gaffe Fuels New Round of Rumor-Busting
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Great post -- especially your questions about what makes people identify with a particular candidate. I also like the articles. The Obama article additionally brings up an interesting issue that needs to be considered when we attribute quotes/comments to someone -- the issue of context (we'll explore this more with "Huck Finn" later this semester). Given the context of the interview, did Obama really MEAN he was Muslim? Or, given the context, did he mean something else?
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