What if Barack Obama's name was Jake Williams?

It's clear to me that the results of current polling aren't determined by the candidates' actual policies (or lack thereof). Recently, in fact, it seems that the biggest factor deciding whether an individual leans left or right has to do with gender. Or exactly which pig is wearing the lipstick.

Why else would we be talking about the Sarah Surge? What does she add to the Republican ticket other than a female name? Obama's pick of Biden seems to make sense. Biden has experience in foreign policy, a common criticism of Obama's own candidacy. We know very little about Palin (which makes you wonder exactly what the Clinton-turned-Palin-supporters are thinking).

Yet, the naming of Palin as the Republican candidate for Vice President has tipped current polls in favor of the Red. But, when it comes down to the naming of the Vice Presidential candidate, what exactly should we be looking for? In my eyes there are two things: First, someone who will provide important advice to the President. Second, someone who will be a suitable replacement should some disaster prevail. Palin, as far as I can tell, provides neither.

This makes me believe that our next president will be determined by one thing alone: American's preconceptions of the candidates and how our sensationalist media can take advantage of those feelings.

I just finished reading Freakonomics (which has probably influenced some of my thinking). There is a chapter that talks about the effects of a person's name on his or her life and, specifically, whether a more predominantly “black” name might be a disadvantage. The findings are that a person's name doesn't directly have an effect on their life. What a name might have an effect on is in people's opinions of that person.

There is an example of “audit studies” that made an impression on me. As the book states of such studies, “if DeShawn Williams and Jake Williams sent identical resumes to the same employer, Jake Williams would be more likely to get a callback.” One possible reason is that “'DeShawn' may simply signal a disadvantaged background to an employer who believes that workers from such backgrounds are undependable.”

This is a scary prospect if those two resumes have the names Barack Obama and John McCain at the top of them. What does Barack's name, and his very well-known upbringing, really signify to the majority of Americans?

We are currently partaking in one of the biggest interviews of our lives, but from the other side of the table. The past eight years should be an example of how the outcome can have a profound effect on everyone. As in any interview, we need to learn to dissect the two candidates and make an educated decision, rising above the issues of gender and race.

If not, maybe Barack should just change his name.

Original Flickr image by DrumDog.

Comments

[Rebecca]

This is so true. There is much that goes into a decision that is not at all rational, for better or worse :)

[AustralianPete]

I always thought he should change his name to Barry O'Bama and for the Irish angel myself...

[Alaia]

Great post...and very interesting. As much as I can't stand the Tyra Banks show, she had an episode about names and stereotypes. The got all kinds of kids - black, white, latino, asian, and middle eastern. They presented their names, one by one, to a group of adults from various backgrounds. It was funny (and scary) to see the things people assumed about the "black" name. When they showed the panel who that name belonged to - it was little white girl with pigtails in her head or something. You should have seen the look on the adults faces....

[Dale Beermann]

Thanks for the comments everyone. I debated putting this post up. This isn't a politics blog. I've just been getting really frustrated lately with how easily our populace is swayed by things that shouldn't matter. Even worse, you're now considered sexist or racist when you do question someone's policies. We, as a nation, need to do a bit of re-prioritizing.