When you’re trying to draw employment lessons from this year’s presidential campaign, it’s hard to keep up.  There’s just too much going on.  But don’t worry.  It’ll get worse before it gets better.

The latest attempted lesson comes from the recent flap over Geraldine Ferraro’s alleged gaffe when she said that the reason Senator Obama is where he is at this point is because he’s black.  (For more, click here.)  The former congresswoman and vice presidential candidate might as well have said Obama is a sexual predator.  Ferraro has been maligned in the media, and the candidate she supported, Senator Clinton, denounced Ferraro’s comments.  Ferraro resigned whatever position she had in the Clinton campaign.  I guess she’s now just a bitter old white woman.

Senator Obama, proclaimed by some supporters as the post-race candidate for president (which I think means that we’re finally beyond or will be beyond, if Obama is elected, race making any difference in the U.S.) took offense at Ferraro’s remarks.  There’s a lot more to him than race.  Because he’s black, he’s had to overcome a lot more than other candidates.  Can’t we just keep race out of this campaign?

In a word, no.  We can’t because neither Obama nor Clinton will allow it.  President Clinton, the first black president according to Toni Morrison, was called on the carpet by Obama and his supporters for referring to a fairy tale that Obama was involved in.  Immediately, Obama and his supporters claimed that what Clinton was saying was that a black man who thought he could be president was indeed part of a fairy tale.  That’s not what Clinton said at all.  He was criticizing Obama for trying to draw too much of a distinction between Obama’s position on the Iraq War and Senator Cinton’s position.  So much for a post-race presidency.

As long as 80%+ (sometimes 90%+) African-Americans vote for Obama, race will be an issue and evidence that there will be nothing post-race about an Obama presidency. As long as there is that kind of dichotomy in the African-American vote, Geraldine Ferraro or anyone else can honestly say that Senator Obama wouldn’t be where he is if he weren’t black.   Every time that there is a Ferraro-like moment and Obama plays the race card, he underscores that fact.

And Senator Clinton, the wife of the first black president, decides she must distance herself from her long-time friend  and fellow female.  I suppose she made that decision because she doesn’t want anyone saying that she’s where she is because she’s a woman–because she’s a former first lady–because she’s Bill Clinton’s wife.  Well, let me say it.  She wouldn’t be where she is if it weren’t for those facts.  If she doesn’t know that, she’s delusional.

We’re all where we are because of many things.  Luck.  Intelligence.  Charisma.  Hard work.  Courage.  Persistance.  The help of friends.  Family support.  Race.  Gender.  That’s an incomplete list, but we can talk about anything on any list except gender and especially race.  As a white man, I don’t believe that I can fully understand or appreciate race discrimination or gender discrimination.  However, I believe it exists, and I believe it’s unhealthy for our society–it’s wrong. 

So, like many Americans, I long for a post-race, post-gender, post-because-you’re-not-like-me society.  I long for what’s talked about over and over again this year:  change.  But we’re nowhere close to post-anything.  We’re nowhere close to change.  If we’re not careful, we’re about to enter a period of vicious hate-baiting:  based on race, gender, and, oh yeah, age.  We’ve got an old man running for the presidency this year.  As noted in a post I did yesterday, he and his age are fair game–at least, so far.

What does this have to do with the workplace?  It has everything to do with the workplace.  All employees, regardless of race, gender or age, know this is a historic election–or should be–because of who’s running for president this time.  Black employees see the chance of knowing that every promotion lost, every write-up received is not based on race.  Female employees see the chance of knowing that there’s no longer a glass ceiling, that there’s no longer a good ole boy circle they can’t penetrate.  White male employees (even old ones) see the chance of realizing that black and female hires and promotions have nothing to do with a quota, that blacks and females are needed in the workplace not just for the sake of diversity but for the sake of a vibrant, profitable business.   

But if the people running for president continue to act like people have always acted, people in the workplace will follow suit.  If the candidates  believe that this is a point where we can change, then they need to act like it.  Let people speak their minds.  Engage in difficult conversations.  Talk about subjects heretofore taboo.  Those who seek the highest office in the land this year have been provided the chance to lead change, not talk about it.   They’re just about to blow it.

As to Geraldine Ferraro, another Geraldine, Geraldine Jones, the memorable character created by the often risk-taking, change-making Flip Wilson, has a line for her to use the next time a reporter asks an asinine question:  “What you see is what you get!”