The Clinton campaign has never looked as hard into the future -- or the past -- as it did last night. Hillary had already left South Carolina for Tennessee, and Bill was giving a semi-concession speech from Missouri, looking forward to the millions of people who will be voting on Super Tuesday -- since the hundreds of thousands in South Carolina didn't exactly go the way the Clintons had hoped. And he desperately tried to spin Obama's triumph away by telling reporters that Jesse Jackson won South Carolina twice, in 1984 and 1988. But however hard the Clintons are trying to look forward to our Super Tuesday future or drag us into the Jesse Jackson past, there are some stunning numbers in the present they have to deal with: Obama got 295,091 votes to Clinton's 141,128 (more than twice as many). He got more votes than John McCain and Mike Huckabee
combined (279,723). He won 78% of the black vote, 25% of the white vote, and 52% of the non-black vote under 30. And he was more than a little responsible for the fact that Democratic turnout was twice that of 2004 (532,000 to 280,000). These numbers are pretty hard to run away from.
Follow Arianna Huffington on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ariannahuff
Although born into privilege, she has worked hard for her own achievements. She has an understanding of the workings of government AND of the severe social and economic disparities we once again face. Not all people born into privilege are self-focused, self-indulgent clods. Caroline Kennedy's record establishes who she is, and what she is working to achieve. Don't dismiss her simply because she comes from wealth. There's more to her (and to Ted Kennedy, for that matter) than what the National Enquirer sees!
So her public life at this time is an open book.
So what do we know about Obama?
How'd he get his house?
Why did he endorse Todd Stroger?
Will he continue to vote "present" on questions about Tony Rezko and his dealings with him.
Now that he's gaining in popularity, Obama scrutiny is not going to go away. It's his turn to answer some "tough" questions.
What is really making my blood boil is the constant demand for Hillary to prove herself. What more need she prove? And, here we have Barak Obama, a junior senator,( who by the way I don't find to be the immense orator some give him credit for being), and he is ready to go, yup he has proven himself to match the exact voice intonations of Martin Luther King. Don't misunderstand me, I like him, as a senator, who has a lot to learn. Here is what I think. Barak Obama as president would not be a change. To say that it would, is kinda' injecting race in a way that says black men are different than white men. How much of a change is that? Yet another man, some guy, for president.???And ,, as I watch people bash her every chance they get and then some,,,I can't help but feel It's just the same old game,, girls versus boys!!! I think they're terrified of her. I have to listen to Chris Matthews and his dip$&^% daisy duke sidekick say that Hillary is weak and she is letting her husband fight her battles. I am nauseated by it. I would like to remind the African American women that black men were allowed to vote years before any women could.(in law). I would ask them to consider before they vote for Obama because he is black, that they, and I, are alot more like than, they and him! If we really want change how will we get it by electing another man? Don't fall for that ruse, give a woman a chance.
I will visit Obama's website; I will read the coverage on Hill "finding her voice", and I will ask:
Do their economics and values match up with mine? Will this person represent us well in the world?
The comments here were helpful. I was surprised that so much time was spent discussing race and gender, and I am grateful for those who did some fact checking.
I am 42, non-white and female. I am a registered Democrat with a bachelor's degree, and I was on the fence until I was copied on an email from my father, an academic with an international career of service on record, and a resident of Washington DC. He has made a strong endorsement:
"During the tenure of G. W. Bush/D. Cheney, I have seen America's image being tarnished almost beyond repair. I have seen our country becoming a country of lies, and deceits, without any accountability from those who have transgressed the laws of this great country, especially by Bush and Cheney. Another reason that I support Senator Obama is the fact that, unlike Bill and Hillary Clinton, he does not use any means or any tricks to reach his personal or political end. I think Senator Obama is a much-needed unifying force at this juncture of the history of our country, and a man of great talent and dignity, along with an impeccable moral and intellectual integrity."
Do I want 4 more years of Clinton? No. If I want to vote for change and stay loyal to my party, it's looking like Obama.
After living two years abroad, I am tired of being embarrassed by my country's leaders. I want a president with unimpeachable integrity, no baggage and a global view, sound economic policies and manners.
She sharpened pencils and made coffee during the Watergate hearings--we can't have those committee members nodding off can we?
She married a governor and president--I guess that takes skills. Lots of people would like to do that. If she wrote a "how-to" book, she might even be invited to Oprah's book club. She can always claim that behind the scenes, she did the work of a chief executive--Bill's secret liaisons tended to take up a lot of his time. Sorry Chelsea, the Kennedys are not available.
Oh yes, Hillary's a senator--Monica should be first on her holiday card list. How's that senate thing working out? For starters, she voted to authorize the use of military force against Iraq, even after it was clear that Bush lied a mere 935 times. To this day, she has not come clean and admitted to a huge mistake that cost the lives of 4,000 U.S., 650,000 Iraqis and $1 trillion. I'd be a convert once I see Chelsea standing guard duty outside the Green Zone.
(4) OK, nobody's perfect, right? As an encore, Hillary voted for the Patriot Act without ever reading it. But not to worry, it only dismantled our Bill of Rights but it could happen to anyone.
(5) Hillary voted to reauthorize the Patriot Act making its provisions permanent. "Fool me once . . . you can't fool me again" or something like that. She also voted for the Military Commissions Act which ended Habeas Corpus and granted immunity to the Bush Administration.
Can you see a pattern here? Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Hillary is too brilliant a person to consistently wind up on the wrong side of policy decisions. Maybe her agenda is at odds with the direction that this country needs to go.
Bill Clinton is politically savvy but is now a loose cannon. Could Bill subconsciously be sabotaging Hillary's campaign because he does not want the competition. After all, what monarch wants to share power?
i just would like the race card and the sex card to not be played as much and base their campaigns on the facts. hillary's and obama's platform are almost similar it's funny...
i would rather see these two team up and be done with this whole thing!!! haha
folk hero who has the ability to charm a certain segment of our population. Does he have presidential qualities or the ability to run our country? Sorry, but I don't see any substance.
With everyone, including the Republicans, claiming to be an agent of change in the primary elections, how do the Democrats make their case as the party of change in the general election if Hillary Clinton (Bush/Clinton/Bush/Clinton) wins the nomination? They can't!