Hateful people fear Obama

By Merlene Davis
HERALD-LEADER COLUMNIST

By the time November 2008 rolls around, I'll probably be so sick of hearing about how one man or woman can straighten out this country I'll turn a deaf ear to it all.
But for now, I'm so truly fascinated by the 2008 race for president and the folks who crawl out from behind baseboards to e-mail or call me every time Sen. Barack Obama speaks or gets any air time.
When Obama formed an exploratory committee, a prerequisite for running for president, Obama's critics converged on me like roaches.
"Did you know his middle name is Hussein?"
"He is a Muslim! We can't have Muslims running this country!"
And my favorite: "Once a Muslim, always a Muslim!"
How weak can Christianity, the faith Obama professes, be?
Obama either has a lot of pests scared to death that he, as a Democrat, might succeed in his bid to be president, or these are just the vermin who are terrified they may have to say "Hail to the Chief" to a black man.
And just last week, when Obama announced his candidacy, one man wrote to make sure I would mention that Obama was comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln, a Republican.
Evidently a Democrat shouldn't identify with a Republican. This country's political system might collapse.
And then comes Australian Prime Minister John Howard. He said it was irresponsible of Obama to say he'd bring the troops home from Iraq by March 2008, a promise the senator made over the weekend.
"If I were running al-Qaida in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008, and pray, as many times as possible, for a victory not only for Obama, but also for the Democrats," Howard said.
He is an ally of President Bush and is running behind in Australian polls to his opposition's Labor Party.
Obama said if the Australian prime minister thinks America's presence in Iraq was that important, he needs to send 20,000 more Australians over there to fight the war.
"Otherwise," Obama said, "it's just a bunch of empty rhetoric."
Obama has promised a different kind of politics if he were to be elected president. I think the difference is evident now. Who else would tell the leader of a friendly country to put his troops where his mouth is?
I'm not naive. I know the roaches are scrambling now to find something in Obama's background that could be his downfall. I expect that.
And I don't really believe he will be elected president in 2008.
The election is a long way away and might be as mind-numbing as in previous years. But, just maybe, when it comes to 18 months of the usual guarded words of aging white males who want to lead America, watching the campaigns of a female, Sen. Hillary Clinton; a Hispanic, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson; and Obama might keep my attention.
I'm always hoping for someone to vote for rather than someone to vote against.