The Clinton backfire effect
Caroline Kennedy has endorsed Barack Obama for president and, in an even more significant development, Ted Kennedy will follow suit today.
This, from today's New York Times:
Both the Clintons and their allies had pressed Mr. Kennedy for weeks to remain neutral in the Democratic race, but Mr. Kennedy had become increasingly disenchanted with the tone of the Clinton campaign, aides said. He and former President Bill Clinton had a heated telephone exchange earlier this month over what Mr. Kennedy considered misleading statements by Mr. Clinton about Mr. Obama, as well as his injection of race into the campaign.
Mr. Kennedy called Mr. Clinton Sunday to tell him of his decision.
The endorsement, which followed a public appeal on Mr. Obama's behalf by Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, was a blow to the Clinton campaign and pits leading members of the nation’s most prominent Democratic families against one another.
Mr. Kennedy, a major figure in party politics for more than 40 years, intends to campaign aggressively for Mr. Obama, beginning with an appearance and rally with him in Washington on Monday. He will be introduced by Ms. Kennedy.
Click here to read the whole article.
The Clintons tried to take the Democratic Party to a familiar place -- preaching the politics of equality while not practicing it when push came to shove.
Hence, Bill Clinton's not-so-subtle attempts to "remind" voters, time and again, that Barack Obama is a black man. Every knows Obama is black, of course, but Clinton wanted to makes the distinction a more prominent issue -- to make Obama The Black Candidate rather than a candidate who happened to be black.
It didn't work and may mark a turning point in the campaign.
Significantly, Obama polled well among African American and white voters in South Carolina.
Only weeks ago, he was trailing Hillary Clinton among voters in both demographics.
Meanwhile, I'm reading the book Shelby Steele's book, "A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited About Barack Obama and Why He Can't Win."
More on that later ...
Comments (2)
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I would not go out on a limb to bet on which candidate will ultimately win the Democratic nomination, Barrack Obama or Hillary Clinton.
That'd be like betting money on who's going to win between Duke and Carolina next week in Chapel Hill--you'd be much safer just waiting to run your mouth after the game's over and your team has won.
But increasingly, between these two, I'm pulling for Obama. He could turn out ultimately to be a disappointment, and he might not ultimately win the presidency, but recent events remind me why any enthusiasm I might have long ago had for the Clintons is gone. (I don't feel guilty about having once been enthusiastic about Bill Clinton. I've at least been open-minded about shedding that enthusiasm; there are actually individuals out there still clinging to their enthusiasm for George W. Bush. That's possibly sadder than individuals who remain committed to the Clintons.)
On the Democratic side, I hope Obama ends up being our choice. If Obama does win, it'll be interesting to see whether any Republican nominee will act out in such ugly desperation as Hillary Clinton and her husband have. The Clintons might prove difficult to beat at such competition.
Posted on January 28, 2008 6:07 PM
I wonder out loud how much affect a endorsement has? The NY Times endorsed John McCain because he has their values (None) open boarders, high taxes. How do you think this sits with conservatives? If you want to met most of the NR endorsed people you must visit a federal prison! Just last week Doug Clark did a sneaky endorsement of Richard Moore you know the guy that rearranged the Parton Theatre contract, and used it to secure $30,000 in campaign money. The part I liked best Mr. Clark stated you can not trust republicans to stop corruption in Raleigh! I guess Mr. Clark has yet to realize the democrats have been in charge for a 100 years.
As one I would vote for Obama over any republican except Mitt, this man has made a pay roll. If McCain should win ( will not happen) I bet his first act is to give amnesty to ILLEGALS and open the boarders wide open.
Posted on January 29, 2008 8:19 AM