Clinton: Not Exactly The Great White Hope, by Paul Jenkins

[DogPoundPup]

Were Hillary Clinton the great rural white savior that her campaign is depicting, she would have had this thing wrapped up in, say, Iowa, or a couple of weeks after that. Her inability to dispatch a presidential neophyte such as Barack Obama in a Democratic primary is precisely because, after alienating African-American voters beyond her comprehension, she wasn't able to convince white voters in places from Virginia to Idaho that she could be trusted to lead the country.

How did Obama, who easily won Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska, among many predominantly white states, suddenly become the black candidate who can't win white votes except for those of effete urbanites? Another successful Clinton spin tour-de-force, enabled by mainstream media's inability to conduct the most basic analysis, and its enjoyment at being bullied by the Clinton campaign into reporting the opposite of anything that is logical or true.

Ohio and Pennsylvania did not demonstrate her strength among white voters in general, but it did show that both states are rich in the demographics that make up Clinton's shrinking base. She found a way to exploit the anxieties of older white people in places that have been economically depressed and deeply segregated for decades. Every white person not voting for Obama isn't racist, but in Pennsylvania, for instance, at least three-quarters of Clinton's overall margin was provided by white voters who said that the candidates' race was important to them. Clinton found a chillingly receptive audience for her message of fear of Muslims, Japan (you know a candidate isn't targeting 30 year-olds when Pearl Harbor is central to their advertising), China, San Francisco, and black preachers, but ultimately it has proven a limited market, which should provide some comfort for Obama going into the fall.

Read more @ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-jenkins/clinton-not-exactly-the-g_b_98789.html

[sam sarrha]

1. editorials about Primaries should probably be posted in the G__ D_____ Primaries forum

[Diamonique]

2. k & r

[Tarheel_Dem]

3. k&r.....nt

:kick:

[genna]

4. To the Substance: Where will the Democrats be without Obama supporters?

If Clinton is not the great white hope, where does the focus of her campaign lead her?

The article speaks to who Clinton actually appeals and how Clinton has tried to reach them, but in so doing has negated the rest of Democratic base. I don't know the answer to my question: Who else in Democratic history has isolated one portion of the base and won?

I have read columnists who have argued against letting this fight go to Denver, but I haven't heard them talk in depth about what has happened when this gets out of hand.

Did the Southern Dixiecrats leave the Democratic party wholesale after the party decided that it would press for Civil Rights? Is this fissure the one that Clinton is playing to currently? If it is, how did the party leaders respond to the gap in the past?

Process question: I have read the DU comment above that says this editorial is in the wrong section. How does a poster know when an editorial should be placed in a different section? Election primaries trumps the editorial nature of the article?

[reddconsole]

5. No:

Large numbers of republicans have been voting for Barack Obama in the DEMOCRATIC primaries and caucuses from early on because they feel he would be a weaker opponent against John McCain. As much as 30% of Obama's primary and caucus votes are republicans trying to choose the weakest Democratic candidate for McCain to run against. These republicans have been gaming the caucuses where it is easier to vote cheat. This is why Obama has not been able to win the "big" states' primaries.

If Obama is the Democratic nominee for the national election in November he will be slaughtered because the republican vote cheating help will suddenly evaporate. All of this vote fraud and republican manipulation has made Obama falsely look like a much stronger candidate than he really is.

[genna]

6. How do pollsters track the reasons Republican voters cross over?

How do you know on self reported data?

[hokies4ever]

7. And around we go

try not to get too dizzy while spinning so much. Next you're going to tell me that Obama is intentionally sabotaging the Democratic Party because he plans on being a horrible President, forever tarnishing future Democratic presidential candidates. That's probably what Hillary's campaign was looking for when they were rummaging through Obama's kindergarten papers.