RICHMOND, Va. — L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia, who made history as the nation's first elected black governor, is preparing to campaign aggressively for Barack Obama, and predicted in an interview that the charismatic young candidate could shatter the Republican Party's virtual lock on the South.
"He's not race-less," Wilder said of Obama, "but the skin color is of no moment. I don't think he would be an easy target for the Republicans."
The unstinting embrace by Wilder, now the mayor of Richmond, could be important in Virginia and other southern states, where his reputation still looms large and the African-American vote could prove decisive in the Democratic nominating contest.
In a 90-minute interview, Wilder also denounced African-American activists who question whether Obama is "black enough" in his style or agenda, a criticism Wilder said comes simply because Obama does not share their interest in "the pimping of race."
He was also notably cool toward Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton. He said that Clinton's explanations of her 2002 vote authorizing the Iraq war make no sense and that her polarizing personality makes her less electable than Obama in Virginia and similar moderate states.
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Wilder recalled that in his statewide races, some "were accusing me of not spending enough time in the black community, not recognizing that 85 percent of the vote was not in that community.
"Where was that criticism coming from?" he asked. "Some of the African-American community. They ultimately were supportive. But they were questioning the strategy."
Wilder flashed annoyance when he recalled conversations with people who say Obama "is a nice man — he's got a lot to learn."
"That's a put-down," Wilder said firmly. "What has he got to learn?"
Part of Wilder's sense of fraternity with Obama comes from the success the latter is achieving independent of the African-American establishment, with its high-profile representatives who are self-appointed but receive great deference.
"Certain black leaders would believe that you have to go through their prism: 'If I lay my hand on you, you're OK,' " Wilder said with a chuckle. "So many people have made a living off of the pimping of race. I told him when he runs, one of his big problems he would have is with the African-American leadership, as such. He didn't question it. He said, 'I think I know what you mean.' "
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On Clinton:
He also made plain he finds her record on Iraq lame, and said he expects many Democrats will feel likewise.
"Let's not kid ourselves: The Iraq war is going to be a part of this election," he added. "It's not going to go away. . I would press her a little more. I would say to her, 'You don't sound like John Kerry. But you're saying you didn't vote for what George Bush did, but you voted to give him the authority. That's parsing it.' I would press the issue of: Do you regret it? She's never been straightforward about that."
Clinton's explanation that she and others thought Iraq had weapons of mass destruction does not cut it, he said. "I have a lot of problems with that vote. Forget the weapons of mass destruction — let's put those on the side. But was Iraq at all involved with 9/11? No! No evidence of it, no place...Why attack Iraq now, when the enemy that attacked us needs to be ferreted out, found, sought, punished?"
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0807/5518.html
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