World

Obama inspires hope in a Black Republican

by backyardbeacon | January 5, 2008 at 11:52 pm

1274 views | 30 Recommendations | 6 comments

By A.M. McReynolds, Backyard Beacon

“I would’ve voted for Alan Keyes if he had some sense,” Christopher Bush, 51, of San Jose, CA said.

The former Navy man never thought he would’ve given up on the Democratic party.
“When you’re young and you see people like John Kennedy, you think
that’s truly what the good side of white America is all about…. Then
reality sets in when you grow up and start seeing the bad things.”

Bush’s parents sent him to Alabama for schooling:
“to get a cultural view of what life is really like,” he said. “Being
in the South, I remember Jim Crow.”

“But when I’m looking at Mr. Obama, I’m looking at somebody who can bring a real change. He’s causing the country to gravitate towards something new … and it has nothing to do with his color.”

“This individual can change some place in the
Midwest,” Bush said. So why are African-Americans even questioning
Obama’s electability?

“He is qualified.”

What does Iowa mean to you?

“Iowa just shows how far the world has come,” Bush’s first cousin, Nathaniel Brown, said of Sen. Barack Obama’s victory Thursday.

On any given Saturday, political banter might not be the norm — mid-remodel of a home bathroom, but Obama won in 95 percent white Iowa.

After growing up during the Watts Riots in Los Angeles, Brown believes “we’re in a history-making position — where a black man is in serious contention for being president.”

Brown, an Oakland-based contractor, is a vocal
advocate for Obama – even in the presence of Bush, a registered
Republican for the last 15 years.

Quoting Oprah, Brown said, “people have got to look at Obama as the man and not his nationality or race.”