Sepia Presidential Strategy

Many columnists aware of the relentless movement of the calendar and the current pre-convention status of the two Presidential contenders are starting to ask the only significant question of concern in the upcoming American election. There are many major issues facing America, most created by sheer visionary neglect by the current Presidential administration, but as far as the election is concerned RACE triumphs them all. The burning question is not whether America is ready for an African American President; the actual gut question is America ready for THIS African American man, Senator Barack Obama, to be its leader! America is standing on the threshold of the greatest decision it will ever make in the course of its 370 year history. The question of race engenders another question, namely, how do you effectively campaign for the highest political office with a serious ever-present racial handicap in the minds of voters? We will look at this below the fold.

The simple reason that there are no data demographics concerning the effects of racism in American politics is that there has been no institutional necessity for such metrics. With the event of the Obama campaign, much has been written about the so-called Bradley Effect or Wilder Effect or Dinkins Effect take your choice. The theory ascribed to this phenomenon states that in elections where one of the two final competing candidates is an African-American it is not possible to get reliable polling data from white voters due to the racial sensitivity of the white voters. Therefore under these conditions, the candidate preference data obtained from pre-voting polling and exit polling of white voters generally will automatically be compromised by the sensitivity of these voters to the possibility of being stigmatized as a racist if their answer indicates a preference for the white candidate. In the minds of many of these voters is the popular conception that racists always vote against the black candidate. So, as the argument goes, most of these voters lie about for whom they cast their ballot, most responding to any query that they voted for the black candidate, while in the booth they actually voted for the white candidate.

The so-called Bradley Effect has no credibility in politics as it is actually a physiological proposition that has never been validated in any nationally recognized statistical trial. Further any such test designed for statistical evaluation should never be administered by African-American personnel, as the race of the tester would likely introduce another significant variable into the data results.

A properly designed test would be composed of highly subtle and weighted questions that would not arouse the respondent’s sensitivity to any possible direct confrontation with racial matters on the test. Those questions demonstrating the highest internal validity could be used in the future as polling questions seeking to determine the voter’s individual profile relative to their perspective concerning race and politics. As one would imagine, it will take a significant sum of money to design and validate such a statistical test, which is perhaps the reason that it does not exist.

Absent the presence of a suitable tool to develop accurate demographics to identify those white voters that would support a candidate regardless of race, what would be a suitable strategy to reach these voters/ Complicating this possible task is the fact that racial sensitivity is not confined to just white voters. Racial sensitivity is present in all racial groups.

One strategy could be termed the “shotgun technique”. Understanding that racially insensitive voters can be found within national groups, each of which primarily focuses on a specific special interest, e.g., gun owners, sectarian religious groups, environmentalists, unions, etc, it therefore becomes critical for the Sepia candidate to personally deliver his message to these groups. This process is somewhat similar to threshing grain, wherein you start with a large bundle of picked plants with the hope of extracting a modest amount of good kernels. If one’s threshing process is successful in creating a sizable number of modest piles scattered about; that in conjunction with a base that remains firm and secure defines a great strategy for political victory.


The second benefit of the shotgun technique for the Sepia candidate is that it prevents the media controlling opposition from “defining” the candidate in the voter’s minds via massive nationwide coordinated propaganda campaigns. As Mohammed Ali boasted years ago to sportscaster Howard Cosell before one of his biggest professional fights that he would; “Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee!” This tactic in the world of boxing requires the fighter to use quick smooth well choreographed movements in the ring to befuddle his opponent with his footwork. The fighter would then use this opportunity to hit his confused opponent with fast accurate heavy punches that would have long lasting numbing effects on the opponent’s body, similar to a bee sting. This technique is equally applicable in politics, especially when your opponent is old and normally slow of foot.

In a nationwide Presidential campaign the task for each candidate is to introduce himself to as many of the 101 million voters as possible. Years ago television was considered the main medium to accomplish this goal. However, time has worn thin the novelty of this particular outlet. The times and experiences of troubled Americans call for a closer relationship to the candidates. Americans are slowly learning that the value of the candidate lies not in his personal charisma, but in the real solid expertise of the potential staff people the candidate can attract to his administration. It is in the hearts and minds of such people that worthy visions of a glorious American future will be born. The value of such a President is that he is able to assemble such a group for the tasks facing his administration, and he is able to efficiently delegate responsibility to the appropriate people to get the job done.


However, due to the fact that America’s Presidential leadership has been totally blind, without vision for the nation’s future, for the past 8 years the “ship of state” is in need of a plethora of repairs. The general laundry list of items needing critical attention runs more than 5 single spaced pages and we have all seen or heard portions of it in politician’s speeches. The current situation can be compared to a track and field relay race. In this analogy the American team has been headed by George W Bush, who decided to walk around the track while the teams from the other competing nations continuously lapped him around the track. The next runner (President) for the American team upon finally receiving the baton from the plodding Bush will have run his best time to even keep America in the competition. Fixing America will require the best minds available in America and I believe that Barack Obama is the only candidate that will be able to attract and build a talented visionary team critical to the future of America in the 21st century. This is the stark choice that American voters must make this fall.

It would literally be impossible to purge America of her ingrained racism, and in this regard, the threshold of this historic Presidential election is no different from any other momentous time in American history. However, I merely ask that the American people reach out with a firm grasp and secure a handful of refreshing honesty. I ask that for the occasion of this election, you change your state of perception from the traditional close minded racially sensitive viewpoint to a perception that exercises tolerance, wisdom in judgment, and a sincere concern about the problems currently facing America.

The judgmental failures of a confirmed racist are similar to the judgmental failures of a drunkard. Once sober, the drunkard cannot have a single drink, because from there he will continue to imbibe until he once again reaches his drunken state. Likewise, a confirmed racist is never satisfied with the denigration of just one subject. He or she must go on and on with escalating verbal violence heaped upon anyone within the racist’s purview who may be different in either skin color or physical form. *Pax America*