http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2007/01/17/ready_set/
GLOBE EDITORIAL
Ready, set...
January 17, 2007
BARACK OBAMA made no history yesterday. Other African-Americans have run for president -- Jesse Jackson in 1984 and 1988; Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm in 1972. And if Hillary Clinton runs, she will be on a trail blazed by other women -- Chisholm, and Senator Margaret Chase Smith in 1964.
Yet magazine covers and an endless parade of commentators are obsessed with identity politics. "Is America Ready?" blares the Newsweek headline.
Perhaps the reason for this level of attention is that Obama and Clinton seem better positioned to win the presidency than any of these predecessors. Still, commentary on the race or gender of a candidate is not what will interest most voters in the end.
...
Is America ready? Surely, the nation is ready for a leader who knows that America's place in a shrinking world is pre eminent but not all-powerful, who understands that unilateralism is bankrupt, who would protect Americans' rights rather than maximizing his own, who demands integrity, who will move toward energy independence without stripping the land of its natural treasure, who believes in -- and can deliver -- economic opportunity for all.
This year and next, voters across America can expect a watershed campaign likely to be among the most dramatic in recent times. The great majority will rightly focus, we believe, not on whether they are "ready" to support a black candidate, or a woman candidate, but on which of the candidates has a vision of where the nation should be going, and the strength to lead in that direction.
Given the description the Globe gives here, I certainly hope that they realize that here, in MA, we have probably the one who can do this the best: Senator Kerry.
So, I will finish the Globe editorial for them :
run, John, run!!!