Cal Thompson, 1st period - Obama Proclaims Those Who Don't Support Hillary Don't Support Him

This article explains Barrack Obama's recent statement that not voting for Hillary Clinton in the upcoming election is a personal insult to him and to progress. The Obamas have been avidly supporting Hillary Clinton's campaign, and their efforts have been focused towards recruiting young racial minority voters. Many of these targeted voters are unwilling to support the Clintons after Bill Clinton's decisions as president, due to his lengthening the sentence for nonviolent crimes concerning possession of drugs. The article provides accounts from compelled voters and critics of Obama's statement alike, concluding with one person's claim that it is unfair to shove blame onto a young minority group for low voter turnout.

I do not like this form of persuasion that Obama has employed. Instead of simply urging people not to vote for Trump, a blatantly prejudiced figure, he essentially proclaims that by not voting for Hillary Clinton people are directly posing a personal insult to him. This is a fear tactic. One cannot partially support him, but is only with or against him. Obama subtly conditions those who are swayed by this ploy to view those who do not directly support Hillary Clinton as the enemy. It is an instance of an "us and them" mentality. I can only hope that in the next election, during which I will be able to vote, one of two things happens: a reasonable third-party candidate gains traction, or a major party candidate runs whom I can actually support (hopefully not one who has gone back on previous statements countless times, will say anything for support, opposed gay rights until supporting them was in fashion, and has global economic influence and the ability to slip away from almost any sort of legal repercussion). Hillary Clinton may currently appear to be a better choice than Donald Trump, but if he were manipulating other major political figures into supporting him, he would almost certainly let us know in the form of a loud, garish boast (there is currently no concrete evidence that Hillary Clinton is involved with doing this, but I am not willing to give her total benefit of doubt). Essentially, the current election is a hot mess. Obama's statement relates to England granting the East India Tea Company a monopoly on tea sales in the colonies. Obama is shoving Hillary Clinton upon his supporters, and telling them that not supporting her is a form of treason to what he stands for.

Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/19/us/politics/obama-trump-clinton.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&_r=0