Letters to the Editor
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racism, it's in West Virginia, it's everywhere
You know, I really think it's a mistake that Obama is gonna be the next nominee. His supporters are intellectuals and college students, and those are the two groups that know next to nothing about real racisim. The republican surrogates are just getting started rolling out the real racist stuff. I think it's gonna be an uphill battle for him to win the election. I don't consider myself racist, but I'll admit I get a little weird in the gut thinking about a black guy in the White House, and then I use my head and realize it's my southern upbringing that I have to fight against - but I think there are a lot more people out there that will reflexively vote against him. I just don't believe that America is ready to elect a black president, and I don't think it's all about Obama personally - I think the big deal in the fall will be every other prominent black politician that are going to be portrayed as having a step up over any white person to get the President's attention. It's like his pastor is just the tip of the iceberg. Comments other black politicians, pastors, etc., are gonna get highlighted and stuck to Obama. I think people are going to react the way they did at the end of the OJ trial. I think whites are going to see blacks cheering Obama as the man who can do no wrong, and they are going to reminded of the people that cheered in the streets when OJ was obviously guilty - yet blindly supported. I think the democrats that have pushed him to be the nominee might just sink us in the general election. The democratic party might be progressive, but the majority of the country is not, and I think McCain will run away with independant voters who might have gone to Clinton.
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Buh-bye...
At long last, Her Imperial Majesty's ill starred campaign has ceased to matter and will now sink-- slowly, but surely and irrevocably-- into history's dustbin. Better luck next time.
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Here is an Interesting Map of where Clinton has one 65% of the vote plus
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/5/13/122819/705
I think it is telling about the demographics that she is getting and where they are.
Why she is ahead so much in WV and KY makes perfect sense.
I'll be watching the popular vote, that's really the only metric Clinton has to make her case to supers.
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Clinton!?!
Clinton Who?
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math for morons
WV has 28 delegates. Let's say Queenie wins 20, Obama 8. Net gain 12. She lost 4 super delegates today. Net gain 8. Oregon, with four times as many delegates, votes a week from now. He leads by about 12. He'll more than erase her big victory in Inbred Acres, and that's not counting the super delegate erosion in the ensuing six days. She's done. It's over.
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koijn1
You may be right that groups in America may not be "ready" for a black president.
But that's no reason not to run the race. Lots of folks were "uncomfortable" with blacks sitting anywhere but in the back of the bus. Or drinking from the same water fountain or attending the same schools. Or living next door to them.
See as a nation, we have moments where we evolve.
I think you are witnessing one of those moments in time.
I'm an "intellectual" black woman. But I am very familiar with the contingent of folks who are not comfortable. Most are not raging racists but rather have not had much exposure. My own college roommate freshman year was white and had never seen a real black person in her life (18 years) before me.
Who knows if the country is ready? We'll find out won't we? But its no reason to shrink.
We are facing the challenge of joining a world community. In many parts of the world, many people are brown and black. In Europe, they've matured enough to get over the skin color thing. Here in the US we are still making an issue of it. How will be we able to function in the world if we cannot grow past this idiocy?
So I commend you for recognizing your feelings and its OK to feel unsure about whether the country is ready for it. But challenge yourself. And those around you.
And if Obama loses this race, maybe its because he's black. Maybe not. But we'll all know a whole lot more about where we are as a country and as individuals.
Cheer up: While there are many people who 'aren't comfortable" there are many more from whom its foreign to judge based on skin color. Our Youth population, by an large has benefited from exposure to various groups, even in small towns. Many older people and former hippies (baby boomers) have been waiting for this moment since the 70's. Many people who USED to ahve racist attitude have since been exposed to other groups at work and in schools and in church - things are as segregated as they were 50 years ago - and they too have evolved in their thinking. So while there may be a contingent of people who are not "comfortable" - don't worry, their numbers are shrinking. We are a nation on the cusp of joining the rest of the 'civilized' world in our thinking about this and many other things.
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Technology-challenged at Salon?
Alex Koppelman: " Given the way the campaign structured the polling data it cites in that section, it would be a difficult, time-consuming task to code that half so it would be legible here"
Hey Salon! There's this thing called a PDF. Check it out sometime.
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Can't wait...
For the Obama-lovin press to pester Clinton to repudiate AND denounce AND reject the voters who say they are voting for her because they could never vote for a black person. Mmm, gonna be sweet!! [/snark off]
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@kiojn1
kiojn: "You know, I really think it's a mistake that Obama is gonna be the next nominee. His supporters are intellectuals and college students, and those are the two groups that know next to nothing about real racisim."
(1) It's a myth that Obama's supporters are just those two groups. Those two groups don't explain his lead in popular vote and delegates. Why do you perpetuate this myth?
(2) If racism against Obama is a problem, then please explain how sexism against Clinton would not be a problem. I admit that there will be some racists who won't vote for Obama. I think he'll win anyway.
kiojn: "The republican surrogates are just getting started rolling out the real racist stuff. I think it's gonna be an uphill battle for him to win the election."
"Uphill battle" -- well no shit, Sherlock. It's already an uphill battle, and look at him go. The Republican surrogates who use racism as a tactic can kiss his black ass. They'll be the ones who make themselves look small and stupid, and all their racism will backfire on them when Obama wins and people realize what those people were about.
kiojn: "I don't consider myself racist, but I'll admit I get a little weird in the gut thinking about a black guy in the White House..."
You don't consider yourself racist, and yet you admit to this? Maybe you need to look a little more deeply into your own feelings, there. Why do you get "weird in the gut," and what does that even mean? Weird in the gut? How so? Please explain.
kiojn: "...and then I use my head and realize it's my southern upbringing that I have to fight against"
So the stereotype about Southern racists is true, is that what you're saying? What does the South have to do with being a racist? It's funny you say that because Obama has won many Southern states, but lost in places like Ohio. This fits my own personal experience, as I have seen much worse racism in Ohio (much more overt) than I've seen in the South (though I've seen plenty there too). I have lived in both.
kiojn: "...but I think there are a lot more people out there that will reflexively vote against him. I just don't believe that America is ready to elect a black president..."
How do you define "ready"? What does this even mean, "America is not ready"? Please explain your thinking here. What would it take to be "ready"? After all, the only thing different about Obama is that his skin is a little darker in color than other people. Would America be more ready if everybody got a tan? Also, please explain how America is more ready to elect a female president.
kiojn: "...and I don't think it's all about Obama personally - I think the big deal in the fall will be every other prominent black politician that are going to be portrayed as having a step up over any white person to get the President's attention."
Oh give me a break.
kiojn: "I think whites are going to see blacks cheering Obama as the man who can do no wrong, and they are going to reminded of the people that cheered in the streets when OJ was obviously guilty - yet blindly supported."
Uh, are you sure you aren't describing YOURSELF here, and not nebulous "whites" whom "you think" will feel that way? It sounds like you're describing YOURSELF.
kiojn: "I think the democrats that have pushed him to be the nominee might just sink us in the general election."
You sure "think" a lot of things... It sounds like you don't really want to take responsibility for the shallowness of your own thought process.
kiojn: "The democratic party might be progressive, but the majority of the country is not, and I think McCain will run away with independant voters who might have gone to Clinton."
If the U.S. isn't ready for something different after 8 years of Bush and his friends taking the country down the toilet, then every single U.S. citizen needs to personally have his ass kicked.