Black voters, mainly women, are not so certain they will vote Democratic after watching last week’s first and only vice presidential debate between Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., and Republican Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at Washington University in St. Lou
Black voters, mainly women, are not so certain they will vote Democratic after watching last week’s first and only vice presidential debate between Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., and Republican Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at Washington University in St. Louis.
“Before the debate I was sure I would vote Democratic, but now I am not so sure,” said Stacee Hawkins, 34, a legal secretary at a Chicago law firm. “There’s been a lot said about Sarah Palin, but I thought she held her on and left a positive impression on America.”
The ‘Year of the Woman’ is how other Black female voters described the upcoming presidential election.
“We did not get Hilliary Clinton, but now we have Sarah Palin and that will do for me,” said Barbara Rogers, 51, a high school chemistry teacher. “I was so impressed with Gov. Palin’s answers and thorough knowledge about the topics raised at the debate.”
During the debate, Palin described herself as a hockey mom and Black suburban, soccer moms said they identified immediately with her.
“I am a domestic housewife who lives in (south suburban) Country Club Hills so I know what she was talking about when she said she is a mom first and a governor second,” said Melinda Davis, 49. “I get so tired of seeing all these men talk about what’s best for women. It’s nice to finally see an educated woman speak up for us women.”
But not all women support Gov. Palin.
“I don’t care what she said, she still is not qualified to be vice president,” said Shaun Washington, 45, a certified public accountant. “Personally, I thought she came off looking like a dummy because she avoided questions raised like why Sen. John McCain voted to deregulate some many industries like broadcasting.”
Washington added that Biden did a good job representing Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama, and Palin looked like a younger version of McCain.
Topics discussed at the debate included the foreclosure crisis, the federal government bailing out Wall Street, taxes and the war.
Most voters concurred that the top issue at hand is not Wall Street but the housing meltdown.
“I could care less about billion dollar corporations losing money and CEOs worried about their stock value falling. What’s important to me and most Americans is the housing market,” said Rick Carter, 53, a self-employed auto mechanic. “Families are homeless because they lost their homes and the government should be focused on that as its top, domestic priority right now.”
President George W. Bush last week signed legislation that will allow Wall Street to receive a multibillion dollar bailout from the U.S. Treasury Department.
“Hell, the government could have gave that money to lenders so they could reset mortgages, but that’s not what Congress did,” said Robert Johnson, 40, a barber and hairstylist. “I don’t recall hearing Palin talk about what efforts Sen. McCain put forth to steer some of that Wall Street bailout money to homeowners. That tells me he did nothing but stand by and watch the middle-class continue to suffer.”
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