Letters to the Editor
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Name Recognition
I like the argument that Clinton won Latinos and Asian-Americans because she has better "name recognition." Why don't you just come out and say it: those people are basically foreigners who are too stupid to learn enough English to discover Obama.
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another point
Glad to see you expose that know-nothing serial plagarist Barnacle for what he is. He is wrong almost as often as Dick Morris.
Also glad to see you make the point that nobody else has, that the people who decided the last day, went for Hillary. Maybe there are limits to Obamamania.
Obama has made this a very close race, and he is definitely amazing and a talent. We saw the Obamamania building with the California rally. But will it fizzle? Will it last?
I cannot predict the future, but I would not be surprised if it will fizzle.
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age and non-white cultures
I said this earlier but it got buried and I wonder what others think: in the discussion about race and non-white cultures--I'm not sure about Latino culture but I lived in Asia for two years and I think that Clinton's age (and yes, experience) helps Clinton with Asian voters--at least those with some traditional values. Particularly (just like with all races) older voters.
Why is no one mentioning this? There is also possibly the fact that in white American culture--especially the mainstream media, Clinton's age is used against her (I don't just mean her literal age which is obviously not that high--but the fact that she is somewhat older than Obama and much older in the media spotlight--kind of like Britney Spears is "old" by media spotlight standards). If this is the case, I hope that this is mentioned and the Democratic Party doesn't get divided by false accusations of "racism" where there is really only cultural values that differ from mainstream American values in ways that might benefit Clinton with part of the population--while possibly hurting her with the young, hip crowd across the board.
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One Fact, One Opinion
You state: "I stated a fact: Obama lost California, despite his own multiracial heritage, because he didn't run a campaign that was up to the challenge of winning a majority of Democrats in this racially complex state." The first part of the sentence is a fact - Obama lost California. The rest of the sentence is an opinion, a theory, a belief. It is not a fact. Treating your opinion as a fact is what causes Obama supporters (like me) to question your objectivity and your analysis. It would be easier to swallow what you are saying if you would just tell the truth: you have an opinion - something that we all have plenty of.
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I'm with you
Joan, you're a breath of fresh air on Salon and in the media in general. I don't get the Obama thing, either--it looks like a cult to me. Hillary is far more ready to run the White House than he is, and after all the Clintons did to put this country back on track in the 90s, they deserve our gratitude and another chance to do it again.
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Media adoration may hurt Obama, but
the adoration of Hillary's fans is definently damaging her. I have never in my life seen such a bunch of vindictive, self-righteous, single-minded, seek-and-destroy partisans in my life. Whenever any threat arises against Her Holiness, the Hillary nuns ATTACK! And the attack is merciless, and quite often just obviously unfair and hypocritical. They have pilloried Barack for a few votes in the Illinois Senate, while ignoring Hillary's votes to authorize the Iraq war. They have pilloried Barack for his contributors, while ignoring the Hillary contributors like Chu now in jail. The Hillary supporters have castigated Barack for his supporters' dubious connections, while ignoring Mark Penn's shilling for Blackwater.
I want to be able to vote for the Democratic nominee. The Hillary forces need to train their guns on Republicans, not fellow Democrats. They need to fight fairly, not badly.
Many many persons have already been driven from considering Hillary by the deranged fans she has attracted.
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If Obama wants to win the Latino vote...
... the best thing he could do is to educate himself enough to be able to at least address them in Spanish. (If he doesn't win this time, I am sure he will be fluent in Spanish by next time around.)
It is all very well claiming that Hilaria appeals to Hispanics-- especially las mujeres who know the problems of a husband with a roving eye--but I am not sure that she even speaks Spanish either.
Right now Obama does not have a lot of name recognition and his name does not easily translate into Spanish. Hence many Hispanics refer to him as "el moreno" (the darkie).
In Spanish cultures, unfortunately, darkness is associated with lower social class, so even if white men are standing shoulder to shoulder with Obama in solidarity against Rule Hilaria, I suspect that Hispanics will have a tendency to vote for the lighter color.
Hilaria's name also suggest cheerfulness in Spanish, which is no disadvantage.
At least if Hillary loses the election, she will probably make out OK marketing the Hilaria brand of colognes and cosmetics to Hispanic women with wandering husbands. Bill, of course, will be marketing his own brand for hombres--Philandro.
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@ dataguyz
What favors do you think you are doing Obama by use of terms like "Hillary nuns attack?"
Is this some sort of coded language? A sort of wolf howl (or should I say dog whistle?) to people to whom you think it will appeal? To whom do you think it will appeal?
Why nun? Why not whores, cunts, bitches, witches, hags, crones, etc.? Don't you think "nuns" is a little tame for your purposes, or do you think the absolutely worse thing that you can call a woman is celibate? Implying that she is not attractive enough to be fucked?
Just trying to understand your own unique personality. :D
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Amerigo
your post made me laugh. Philandro.
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For Fair and Balanced, Tune to FOX NEWS??
Thank you, Joan. Your observations are right on.
After switching back and forth all evening on Tuesday from MSNBC to CNN, I began to despair of finding any kind of balanced coverage that was free of transparent Obama rooting. I finally found it - on Fox News! In comparison to the Olberman/Matthews hysteria, the coverage of the Demo race on Fox had almost a clinical and academic tone. I kept the dial tuned to Fox until way past midnight and never saw the coverage get as maddeningly biased as the other networks. What a surprise!
I have leaned towards supporting Hillary throughout the campaign and have admired Obama also. The raucous cheerleading and nasty, self-righteous attitude of many Obama supporters, combined with his Obama's own cool arrogance and focus on showmanship finally confirmed my vote for Hillary. I am convinced she will be a more effective president and (the wisdom of pundits notwithstanding) will run a successful race against the Republicans. The ability to win Democratic primaries in states like South Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia will mean nothing at all in the general election - those states are not winnable, period. Getting North Dakota or Kansas to go blue will not get the job done either.