Obama seems to be falling behind. Is the USA not ready for a black POTUS?

[Harper_is_Bush]

I've heard that he wasn't working the campaign trail as effectively as others, which may be the case.

I don't know.

My impression, as a Canadian who gets a lot of US news (as all Canadians do) and watches US politics here and elsewhere on the web, is that he is doomed because of his skin color.

They (and by "they" I mean the motivated & nameless providers of public dialogue) talk a lot about if he's "black enough". I think "they" do that with the intent of harming the Senator. Understand that as you will.

[zulchzulu]

1. Obama is leading in some polls in Iowa

It's still about three months away from the first votes.

Is America ready for a black President? Is America ready for a successful golfing star? Same answer. Yes.

[ElizabethDC]

4. It's just one poll that he's ahead in, isn't it? n/t

[zulchzulu]

9. It's also three months away...

In politics, a month is infinity.

[ElizabethDC]

11. I agree. But you said "some polls" and I was just wondering if there were some I hadn't seen.

Regardless, they're all very close, so it probably doesn't matter that much.

[yurbud]

2. if Obama stands or falls with progressives, it won't be because of race. general election is...

something else.

I think it would symbolically be good to have a black president, and I prefer Obama to Hillary.

I do try to be objective in comparing him to Edwards, and of course both fall short of the honesty and integrity of Dennis Kucinich.

Obama does need to do more than be black and not Hillary, and he has shown signs of that. I'm waiting to see more.

[Harper_is_Bush]

10. I'm not referring to "progressives".

I don't think polling companies are targetting progressives, since theey have no way of identifying them even if they wanted to (which they don't)

[yurbud]

16. moderate democrats are largely a fiction created by the DLC

[Fuzz]

3. Honestly, I don't think most of America is.

Although, I have been leaning towards him as of late.

[ElizabethDC]

5. I don't think he's falling behind because of his skin color

I think that his race isn't going to be a major factor in the primary, at least not as much as it would be in the general.

[Yupster]

23. I don't think he's falling behind because he's he

I think Hillary is moving ahead because she has run a very good campaign and has locked up the best brains, moneymen, campaign organizers and Bill Clinton for her very effective campaign.

I don't think it matters much who else is losing or why.

The important point is Hillary is winning.

[TheUniverse]

42. I dont get this.

Who votes for the candidate with the most money and best campaign organization. I always vote for the candidate I think is the best, which is why I am voting for Dennis Kucinich.

[Rosemary2205]

6. I think "Nuke Pakistan" hurt him.

Yes, I know he never said that, but it was portrayed that way and IMHO that turned more than a few off.

[bluestateguy]

7. Obama would be a bad nominee because he is not up for a fight with the Republicans

In short, all of his conciliatory drivel and "unity" talk will be no match in a general election against the Republican Smear Machine and whatever the 2008 version of the Swiftboaters there is to come. I worry that he will not fight back against the vicious attacks that are sure to come his way, as will be the case with any nominee. He has never been tested with a heavyweight challenger for a race any higher than state senate (though he did lose a congressional Democratic primary). Nor has he ever been through the rigors of a general election campaign at the national level. Bottom line: while he's smart, has good ideas and might make for a fine president someday, his campaign skills tell me that he is not yet ready for prime time.

[Harper_is_Bush]

Ah, the "he's not ready" point. Has some merit. He's very young.

In 2016, he'd be looking better in that regard.

So maybe that's part of it also.

[JMDEM]

32. Agree completely

I don't think being black is his problem, even though he's only half black.

(I mean, if someone is half black, you might as well call them white as black, right? At what point does someone become "white"? When they are 3/4 white? 7/8 white? This INSINUATES that black blood is somehow polluting, although I'm sure anyone who's life has been saved by a blood transfusion from an African American would sure disagree with that. For many years in Georgia, if you had as little as 1/32 black blood in you, you were REQUIRED to register your race as "negro". Can you imagine??? Geez... this race thing...)

Rather I think it is because he is green. And I mean green in terms of experience, not in terms of environmental positions.

Not only is he green, he LOOKS like a little kid! I swear he'd do a lot better if he looked grizzled -- maybe a flattened nose from a punch as a kid, maybe some more wrinkles or some grey hair. Unfortunately I think this affects voters more than the race issue. Do you want a cute little kid as our guy in a showdown with some other nuclear power?

Like it or not, a lot of voters vote viscerally, and vote on the alpha male principle -- "who will protect our tribe the best?"

Yes, I think he would do far better 4 or 8 years down the road. Plus then, if he stands with courage in the Senate, a lot more people would be willing to cast him as the alpha male.

[cadmium]

36. You may be right. I am supporting Obama, but

this is my only reservation. I would love to see Obama team up with my other favorite Chris Dodd -- who has decades of experience in all realms of public service.

[mwb970]

37. Dodd is always very impressive.

Unfortunately, we have so many great candidates on our side that some of the best end up in the "second tier" because the media is not interested.

Meanwhile, the Republicans have so many terrible candidates that there really is no "first tier" on their side. Unless you include "none of the above".

[derby378]

8. I think voters figured that one Democratic candidate from Chicago is enough

Hillary's from Chicago, same as Obama.

[defendandprotect]

12. We're ready for it -- but the Swiftboating machinery is still in place and there are

continuing efforts to renew racism --

an a lot of really stupid people who believe in racism ---

I'd be concerned that Obama's candidacy could be harmed by it still -----

[Hekate]

13. I think the answer is yes, but not only do we have a powerful field of Dem candidates...

...in which Obama is the new kid on the block, but sadly enough we also still have a residue of haters and nuts out there, and they are physically dangerous.

Americans as a whole are ready I believe, and Barack Obama looks awfully presidential to me. Whether 2008 is the year he wins, I don't know. I see him more as VP this time around. He's young and has time on his side.

Hekate

[journalist3072]

14. Well, I am African-American, and I don't support Sen. Obama

I don't believe he's ready for prime time. I don't believe he is ready to assume the office on high noon, January 20, 2009.

And I'm insulted by people like radio personality Tom Joyner, who basically keep telling me that since I am African-American, I need to vote for Obama.

No, I need to vote for the person who I believe best represents my interests and values, whoever that candidate might be.

Now, on to your larger question about whether Obama's campaigned is "doomed" because of his race.

I think the answer to that is NO.

You have to remember that Barack Obama is the first VIABLE African-American presidential candidate. Jesse Jackson ran for President, of course. And so did Carol Mosley-Braun. And then on the Republican side, you have Alan Keyes running again.

But Barack Obama is the first African-American with a real chance of winning the White House. I don't support his candidacy, but I think his standing in the polls and his fundraising indicates that his race is NOT an issue in this campaign.

So no, I don't think Obama's candidacy is doomed because of his race.

If he is not successful in his campaign, I believe it will be because of other factors.

[DURHAM D]

21. Your comments remind me -

This past Thursday night I ran into a friend (African American) at my neighborhood pub. She was with three other women and one guy. They were discussing the upcoming election and my friend wanted me to join their conversation. The women were trying to convince the guy that Obama was too "green" and not ready yet. They all like Obama but want him to be VP for now and run in eight years when they felt he would be ready.

But what really had them going was Tom Joyner. I mean - the women were really wound up and angry at Tom, and men in general, for putting pressure on them to vote for Obama.

I just listened as they expressed their opinions and finally asked who they were supporting. All of the women said "Hillary of course". And then my friend (who is 28) said about this election - I am a woman first and black second and added "I can make my own decisions - I don't need any dude to tell me what to do".

I asked my friend about her extended family and who they were supporting - she said they split 50/50 between Hillary and Obama.

I think the pressure is having a reverse effect.

[journalist3072]

27. Yep...Tom Joyner is really turning me off lately

Recently, he had Michelle Obama on his radio show, and he asked her "What is up with Black women?" As an African-American woman, I was offended by that question "What is up with Black women." It suggests that there is something wrong with a Black woman who doesn't support Barack Obama's quest for the presidency.

Also, Tom had Rep. Kendrid Meek on (he has endorsed and is supporting Sen. Clinton). The very first thing Tom Joyner says to Rep. Meek is "There's a perfectly good Black man running for President. Why aren't you supporting Sen. Obama?"

Tom seems to be wanting us as African-Americans to vote en bloc or en masse for Obama, and I think that kind of group think is dangerous.

[DURHAM D]

34. Dangerous and politically stupid if he wants to help Obama.

Do you think Obama will ask him to knock it off?

How did Michelle respond?

[journalist3072]

38. I doubt Obama will ask him to knock it off.......he knows that Tom Joyner has a huge audience.

Michelle basically went on to say that people know who Hillary is, and there is a certain comfort with the familiar...and so they have to get to know who Barack is.

But I was just very offened by Tom's question, as if to suggest that there is something wrong with me (and any other Black woman out there) who doesn't support Obama's campaign.

Not only that...but I've noticed something else about Tom. He never gets into a substantive policy debate with Obama. Anytime he has had Barack or Michelle Obama on his show, it's all light-hearted talk, for the most part. He asks how their kids are doing, he asks Michelle what's it like still trying to get the kids ready for school while trying to help her husband's campaign; he may talk a little sports or something with Barack. Never anything of any true substance.

But yet, he was grilling Sen. Clinton on her health care plan. Apparently he thought she was going to offer free health care to those who don't have it now...because when he had her on his show recently, he said "This isn't like your old health care plan...this isn't free health care" or something like that. Sen. Clinton went really in depth with him regarding her health care plan. I noticed that right away: that he forced Sen. Clinton into an indepth discussion of her health care plan (which is fine) but he doesn't require that of Barack or Michelle Obama.

[bigdarryl]

28. If Hillary's last name wasn't Clinton her running would be a total joke just like...

G W Bush got into office because of his daddy. if his name was G W Johnson he wouldn't have been in the running for president

[journalist3072]

33. Utter and complete bullsh*t and you know it

The facts speak for themselves----she is a highly intelligent, accomplished woman in her own right.

She wasn't asked to come here to DC to serve in the impeachment proceedings againt Richard Nixon, because of her relationship wit Bill Clinton.

She didn't get to work for Marian Wright Edelman at the Children's Defense Fund, because of Bill Clinton.

She didn't become a US Senator b/c of him.

She brings her own record of accomplishment to the table.

In fact, she had friends who tried to discourage her from going to Arkansas and marrying him, and Hillary has said that in the end, she simply followed her heart.

[illinoisprogressive]

15. I don't trust any polls with info about Mark Penn and Co.,

In other words, Obama is doing just fine. You cannot trust the polls at all from info about Hillary's advisor and what it is saying.

[MonkeyFunk]

18. The polls that are published

are not internal Clinton campaign polls. How silly.

[ElizabethDC]

19. IP, I think you misunderstand what kind of polling Mark Penn does

he does private, internal polling for use inside the campaign. He has nothing to do (as far as I know) with the various polling organizations that publish their results publicly.

[frazzled]

17. Strange question ...

Edwards is certainly sliding (way down in New Hampshire, behind in his home state of North Carolina even)--but do you ask if the USA is ready for a white southern POTUS? Of course not.

Bill Richardson has certainly been "ineffective" on the capaign trail ... with tons of gaffes ... but do you ask if the USA is ready for a POTUS of Hispanic heritage?

Finally, the premise of your question is at odds with what I've heard lately. The editor of the Des Moines Register was on tv the other day and said that Obama by far was running the best campaign organization in Iowa, and that Clinton had better step it up a notch to match him. The NH political expert (a woman) who was also on said the same was true in her state. So it does not seem quite true that he is not working the campaign trail as effectively as "others."

If he were, he would not be ahead of Edwards, Richardson, Biden, Kucinich, and the others. Clinton alone seems to have the mo at this point in time.

I just find these perpectives bizarre.

[Roxy66]

20. Hey "Harper"...what does your name mean?

I grew up in Harper Oregon....just curious :)

[Canuckistanian]

26. Our Prime Minister is Stephen Harper

A Conservative who loves him some Shrub.

[WinkyDink]

22. These 2 items are not necessarily related, you know. I don't think Obama is at ALL prepared.

[superkia]

24. He doesnt get as much advertisement from the MSM as the chosen one.

As long as he gets his message out, he will be fine.

[emilyg]

25. Harper - Happy Thanksgiving.

[Harper_is_Bush]

39. Thank you! n/t

[dpbrown]

29. I'ts not about being black - Colin Powell could have been President

Obama is Hillary's straw dog.

[bigdarryl]

30. Falling behind have you seen his crowds in NY there were 24,000 people

[Hoof Hearted]

31. It's not his skin color, he just needs more time.

He'll get it right, I have no doubt of that.

[cadmium]

35. I think Obama needs to do more talke shows

Theyy are free advertising and hosts would love to have him on. In 2004 the Kerry/Edwards advisors wanted them off talk shows and I think that was a big mistake. Like Kerry and Edwards Obama is pretty good when he is being himself on something like Matthews, Stephanopolous or on radio.

[ljm2002]

40. From where I sit...

...it has nothing to do with his skin color. He is smart, good looking, and sincere; however, that is not enough to coast to victory and never was. Especially not now.

He loses support of the progressive base when he talks about making nice with the other side -- I absolutely, positively do not want someone who talks as though that is even possible or desirable anymore.

And he can't out-Hillary Hillary; she is the consummate corporate candidate. Also, if the argument is about experience, everyone knows that she was a player in the Clinton White House, even if her attempt at health care reform was a fiasco -- specifics don't matter; we know that her time in the White House counts as experience even if not officially so.

Now there may be some residual racism going on, it is certainly always an element in US politics. But I honestly do not think that is the main thing going on in his candidacy right now. Should he get the nomination, however, it will become a huge element -- those Osama/Obama plays on his name, not to mention the Hussein middle name -- those will be drilled into us in a barrage of explicit messages as well as innuendos and planted "jokes" on news and entertainment shows. Guaranteed.

My impression is that he is trying to run a high-minded campaign based on ideals, and that is not what anyone wants right now and -- again IMO -- it is not what we need either. We cannot fight the fascists with ideals, it is a losing strategy. Not that you give up your ideals, but you have got to recognize what your opponents are and how to fight them.

[KittyWampus]

41. In what universe is Obama "falling behind"?