Oh Me Of Little Faith

I was wrong. For the first time in my lifetime, I was wrong about the outcome of a presidential election. But my error in political accuracy stemmed not from the issues, the economy or even the qualifications of either candidates. I just didn't believe that Americans, particularly White Americans, would elect a Black man.

That wasn't just based on cynicism. Nor was it based on the age-old beliefs of the older Black community. It was based on race and what I perceived to be reality. An article in the Associated Press, written weeks before the election, suggested that there were still voters who would refuse to vote for Obama, simply because of his race. And if that was the case, Obama would lose at least 6 points in his lead over Senator John McCain. Which means the election would be a statistical dead heat. And McCain would likely emerge as the victor.

But that didn't happen. Obama cut a swath through several battleground states like Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio. He even created new battleground states that traditionally leaned Republican like Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina and Virginia.

Regardless of your political affiliation, Obama's historic win has proved what many never believed: that a Black man could become President of the United States. And that White people would vote for him.

It feels good to be wrong.