In 1928, New York Governor Al Smith might have been elected President except for one issue: he was Catholic.
Smith, the Democratic nominee for president against Republican Herbert Hoover, was deemed unacceptable by many in part because he wasn’t a white, male Protestant.
Thirty-two years later, John F. Kennedy overcame the same prejudice and became the first non-Protestant President, and 40 years later, Joe Lieberman became the first Jew to appear on a major party’s ticket – and won the popular vote.
A step back was taken in 2004 when the Democratic primary played host to John Kerry, John Edwards and Howard Dean all of whom would blend nicely into a police line up of former U.S. Presidents. Since 2008’s Presidential candidates include a number of barrier breakers, we are gearing up for a very historic election; one which Smith and Kennedy would have never imagined.
But if there is any doubt remaining that the American electorate is not progressive enough to elect someone who is either non-white, non-Protestant or non-male, that doubt may very well be erased in 2008.
Whether the winning candidate of 2008 will be the first woman in Hillary Clinton, the first black man in Barack Obama, the first Italian in Rudy Giuliani, the first Mormon in Mitt Romney or the first Hispanic in Bill Richardson, is yet to be determined; but the odds are pretty good.
In a FOX News poll, Clinton led the field of possible candidates with 43 percent; Obama finished second with 15 percent. That means, at this point, 58 percent surveyed will either elect the first woman or first black man to be the parties nominee in 2008.
On the Republican side of that poll, Giuliani led McCain, 34 percent to 22 percent. These numbers combined with an electorate ready for change, sets up a first of some kind in the next 23 months.
This is not 1928, this is 2008. Eighty years after Smith’s setback, voters are not as naive as they were during a period that saw through the Great Depression.
A tremendous amount of enthusiasm will be invested into our government; enthusiasm that has been eroded by years of corruption, personal agendas and political setbacks. Enthusiasm that was promising during the Kennedy era, and enthusiasm that came back last month when Nancy Pelosi became the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Over the next two years, a lot of noise will be made about these candidates’ oddities.
But my question is, how much will be made about their uniqueness? We should brace ourselves with a smile as the Oval Office may change dramatically on Jan. 20, 2009.
Editor’s note: It has been pointed out in the comment section that John Kerry was also a Catholic presidential candidate in 2004
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