A Sociologists Perspective on the 2008 Presidential Election

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Since the first president, George Washington, took office on April 30, 1789, there have been forty-two different men chosen by the citizens of our country to lead and govern us as a nation (The White House). Though all of these men have had differences, one common ground they have all shared is their color, they have all been white. But, the 2008 presidential election forever changed our nation’s highest office, when for the first time in our country’s history, a man of color, African-American Barack Obama, was elected President of the United States. This historical induction has made the 2008 presidential election one of the most important in our nation’s history not only in terms of its racial significance, but also for many other implications it has had, and will have. This election has touched on multiple sociological issues ranging from gender, with vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, to the state and direction of our current economy (the “recession” crises), to other such sociological issues as religion, class, and even national security. From a sociological perspective, 2008 presidential election poses many questions, with one of those questions being “How would some of the founding fathers of Sociology, such as Marx, Weber, or Durkheim, evaluate the 2008 U.S. Presidential election?” I believe all three of these men would have much to say about this election, both the end result of it, Obama’s historical win, as well as the presidential race itself. Though all three of these men have long passed, through their texts and teachings, I hope to give voice to these men, and give the analysis and insight they would have given, if they would have lived to experience this election themselves. Had the great Karl Marx lived long enough to experience the 2008 presidential election, I believe he would have voted for Barack Obama, and would have viewed this

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