Letters to the Editor
David Schlaefer
Published Letters: 33 Editor's Choice: 3
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Great Article
[Read the article: The witch ain't dead, and Chris Matthews is a ding-dong]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I agree, there was something about the zeal with which so many pundits were anticipating Clinton's demise that was unnerving. I'm not a big Lou Dobbs fan, but it was rather fun to watch him, in turn, gleefully rip into various assembled talking heads (I think Jeffrey Toobin was one) who had been lambasting Hillary only hours before about this very dynamic. And they were rather speechless and at a loss to respond, for the most part.
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Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
[Read the article: Will whites vote for Barack Obama? ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]America is well past the point where a black candidate cannot become president simply because he or she is black. There was a strong movement within the Republican party for a Colin Powell candidacy in 2000, and I doubt, had he indeed run, that his race would have been a negative factor. A year ago, there was buzz in the Republican ranks about Condaleeza Rice. While there are no doubt still Americans that would never, under any circumstances, vote for a black presidential candidate, their numbers are probably small, they probably aren't as likely to vote or be politically active as others, and they are probably concentrated in a few states that--no disrespect intended--don't really matter that much as far as the electoral map is concerned.
Having said that, there is a danger of a self-fulfilling prophecy with respect to Obama. White Americans may not care if Obama is black as long as he credibly represents all Americans. However, if the focus on race and identity politics that is starting to shape the Democratic primary campaign recasts him not as a candidate that happens to be black, but as the BLACK candidate-- a man who, as president, will focus primarily on racial and identity politics-- then he will have a huge problem, and many whites (and doubtless Hispanics and Asians too) will become more skeptical.
Such concern isn't hard to understand. It's akin to concern over a Republican like Huckabee or Romney interjecting his religious faith into his presidency to such an extent that he fails to represent the country as a whole and becomes the "evangelical" or "Mormon" president.
If Democratic infighting leads to the perception that Obama will be the "minority" president, he's done for. Ironically, the noise that some of his supporters in the black activist community are making in response to perceived slights from the Clintons is what could lead to this very dynamic playing out.
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If he can't take it now....
[Read the article: Bill Clinton looks backward]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If Obama can't handle the Clinton's hardball campaign now, he would fold anyway under the assault he would face from the Republicans in the fall. This is part of the "electability" factor that Obama supporters hate to hear about, but is indeed a reality. Bill Clinton is the only Democratic President in the last 28 years because he gets it and plays the same way the big boys on the Republican side play. Hillary may or may not win in November (if she is indeed the Dem candidate), but if she loses, it won't be because she's another Mondale, Kerry, Gore or Dukakis that couldn't handle the heat in the end (especially Dukakis and Kerry).
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Obama's Uphill Struggle
[Read the article: Did Hillary Clinton really win in Florida?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It does seem fairly absurd that states like Michigan and Florida--with large populations and tremendous economic and cultural importance--matter less in the Democratic primaries than small fry like Iowa, New Hamphsire, and even South Carolina.
Senator Obama has a larger problem than whether Florida's delegates will count, however. He's still trailing badly in the upcoming big contests in New York, New Jersey, California, etc. If he loses all of those-- and of today, he would-- the race is over.
Despite the spin that the media put on South Carolina, the real story there was the racial polarization of the Democratic vote and the increasing peception of Obama--rightfully or wrongfully--as an "identity politics" candidate chiefly interested in and supported by minority voters. 80% of blacks supported Obama. Over 75% of whites supported someone else. That's not good for our country, and its not good for Obama's chances from here on out.
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Count Me In
[Read the article: Mao to Kissinger: Take our wives. Please!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Um...I'll take a couple of Chinese women if no one else wants them....