Letters to the Editor
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Local race, national import
This contest in Mississippi was far more important in its national implications than the primary vote in West Virginia Tuesday. By sliming the Democratic candidate with association with Sen. Obama, the Miss. GOP thought they had a sure-fire way to retain this seat. They hoped that Obama was sufficiently anathema to the "hard working" white voters of Mississippi that the mere mention of his name linked with the Dem candidate would guarantee a Repub victory. They even sent in VP Cheney to seal the deal.
Instead the GOP smear tactics backfired magnificently. A coalition of aroused black voters and wised-up white Democrats handed the Republicans a sound defeat. The message is clear: attacks on Barack Obama will inspire Democratic voters and depress the GOP vote, even in the Old South. This looks good for the fall campaign.