Second thoughts
A report from Salon from a Democrat, calling into question the electability of Senator Obama, until recently an article of faith among Democrats versus Senator Clinton:
the unnerving truth for the erstwhile party of Jefferson may be that Appalachia, for all its legend and lore, is not that different politically from the rest of the small-town and rural parts of the country where 60 million of us live. And that could mean trouble for the fall.
The primary in West Virginia, a very rural state, was a blowout. Clinton won it by 41 percent, and she won all 55 counties. Similarly, in rural Ohio she beat Obama by 33 percent. In Pennsylvania, a much more metropolitan state, she won 56 of the state’s 63 counties, including Allegheny, Appalachia’s most populous county, where Pittsburgh is located. Her margins in the rural Appalachian counties of western Pennsylvania were West Virginia-size.
Still, when you look at the earlier aggregate rural vote on Super Tuesday, the preference for Clinton is clearly not confined to Appalachia. Combining the results from 22 diverse states in the Northeast, South, Midwest and West on Feb. 5, Clinton beat Obama 55 percent to 38 percent among rural voters, according to an analysis in DailyYonder.com, the news Web site of the organization I head, the Center for Rural Strategies. Those aren’t West Virginia margins, but they aren’t close. They shine a light on a vulnerability that Democrats have shared through the last several election cycles.
The reality is that when Democratic candidates run competitively in rural America, they win national elections. And when they get creamed in rural America, they lose.
Tuesday Senator Clinton beat Senator Obama by 35 points, 65-30 in Kentucky. Well see whether the historic pattern holds in November.
May 22nd, 2008 at 6:47 am
And don’t blame it all on racism…Obama is a slick, fast talking politician in the worst sense of the word, and his inexperience, associations with far left radicals and race-baiting preachers will hopefully be the kiss of death for his presidential ambitions. He’s not ready for prime time, folks.