Press Register (continued from blog)

(continued from blog post) For Paden, one of the most important changes he hopes for has nothing to do with race. Working in education, Paden believes that some of the biggest changes should come in the educational system. Not a fan of No Child Left Behind, the 2001 federal legislation that ushered in new standards of accountability for schools nationwide, Paden thinks educational policy needs to be rethought in a way that keeps teachers from teaching to the test or from leaving for higher paying jobs.

“The first step” he said, “is that we need more federal funding, but that’s just a first step. Hopefully with more investment will come more investors to the community. It’s these investors, these leaders with funding and these teachers with better pay that can really make a difference.”

For Salena Moore, 18, Obama is the most appealing candidate partially due to his identity, and partially due to his proposed policy.

“I’m voting for Barack because he understands where we come from, having come from the same place himself,” she said. “[Senator John] McCain understands people like him better than he does people like us, so his tax plans will help the rich, not the people that need it the most. I’m trying to save my money, and I want to vote for someone who will look out for me in the next 4 years, someone who will help with my education and help me get healthcare.”

In addition to healthcare and education, many African-Americans said they believed Obama would end the United States’ involvement in the war and help alleviate skyrocketing gas prices.

“We’ve got to have something different. We can’t have this war going on forever, said Chris Wallace, 18. “If it weren’t for Bush, we would have no business over there, and McCain will probably keep us there forever. But my number one reason for voting for Obama? Gas. I got my car right there with two flat tires and an empty tank. I’m voting so I can use that car again.”

While Obama is clearly the candidate most likely to end American involvement in Iraq, whether or not he is the best candidate to lower gas prices is debatable.  Both candidates have similar stances on many energy saving policies, from boosting alternative energy technology, to pressing for more fuel efficiency and implementing caps on carbon emissions, to lessening the effects of global warming. Where they differ is on offshore drilling and the temporary respite from the 18.4 cents per gallon tax, both of which McCain supports and Obama does not. Either way, most experts agree that there is little the United States can do to significantly reduce gas prices in the immediate future.

Where Obama seems to be a clear choice for the African-American youths I spoke with, the young white community is less certain who they will vote for. Still, many leaned toward McCain.

“I don’t think any of the candidates left are worth anything,” said Jay Moore, 25 who was initially a Hillary Clinton supporter but said he will now probably vote for McCain. “You’ve got one guy who is just trying to please everybody and another guy who is a guy always blowing his mouth about the war … You can’t trust a guy who fills up 100,000 person rallies, and you can’t trust a guy who wants to keep us in war forever.”

For some whites in the area, the decision seems to come down to how the two candidates discuss the war. On the one hand, there’s Obama who plans to remove all combat brigades in Iraq within 16 months, while McCain calls for a sustained involvement.

Jesse Scheider, 18, said he was undecided but leaning toward McCain. “The war is going to be a big part of my decision, and I’m not sure exactly who has the best plan so far. Obama seems to want to just get out of there, and McCain seems happy to be there forever. Well, I don’t want to get right out, but I also don’t want to be there forever. Some young whites say they like his plan on the war better like, Nate Prisock, 19, who said: “I am voting for McCain because I’m in the national guard, and since he was a POW in Vietnam, he will take care of us better than Obama will.” Others don’t like his policy on the war, but are afraid of Obama raising taxes.

For some, however, it is about identity politics, whether or not it’s a true identity. A number of people, for example, felt that Obama’s religious views were at odds with their own, thinking that the candidate was Muslim, when he is in fact a “committed Christian” in his own words.

“I don’t have anything against other people,” an 18 year old who wished only to be referred to as Peyton said. “but he’s a Muslim, and I’m a Christian, and I just can’t vote for a Muslim.”

 “A lot of white folks could use a reality check around here,” said one white street musician out in front of the Delta Blues Museum. “There are a lot of racist people in this town, and it’s just unwarranted hatred.”