Senator Obama and the Black Vote

I am not especially versed in politics. I do not pretend to be. I have worked as a poll officer for the past several elections, and will continue to do so. I figure, if I really do not care one way or another, at least I can serve those who do. Having said that, I do have to admit being concerned about a phrase I have noticed being thrown around. That phrase is "Black Vote".

"Black Vote" can be best described as the phenomenon of black people tending to vote in unison for one person, usually for emotional reasons. The reason could be that that person is also black, or that there is something about that person that touches the heart of black people as a whole. Being a black person myself, I have to admit to not quite understanding the "Black Vote". I do not really understand why I should vote for anyone based on nothing but my race, or pandering to people of my race.

I had a conversation the other evening about Senator Obama and the assumption that he has the "Black Vote". Both I and the other person are black and while we had to admit to being acutely aware of and curious about the Senator, neither of us was wed to voting for him, as we were not done looking into the all of the possibilities.

Am I alone in my desire to weigh all candidates regardless of race, or sex? Call me naïve, but I certainly hope not! Before I vote for "mah brotha", "my sister", or anyone else for that matter, I need to know where they stand on education, foreign policy, degree of government involvement into the lives of private citizens, and even a bit about his or her own personal sincerity and morality. I need to hear what they say they are going to do, and I need to decide for myself if I think I can believe them. At that point, I may vote for whom I believe is the strongest. If I cannot make up my mind, I will not vote at all... again.