Sunday Roundup

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.

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Comments

[rayo]

S.C. is a black minority state, if Obama could not win there(at what percentage doesn't matter), he would not win any other place. He had to win, the black voters came to his rescue. Don't tell me he won with a diverse coalition, that is the media spin. Clinton and Edwards split the White vote. He got twentty five pecent of the young white vote. like Wow! Iowa was an anomaly, and so is Sounth Carolina. Clinton and Obama have a tough road to travel in the next 11 months. She is more acceptable, and electable. Racism is still a very true part of our society, and South Carolina proved the point, black will support black, and white will support white. no spin, just true.

[mikekev58]

I was 12 when JFK was sworn in as President. He was my idol, in no small measure because he had broken the Catholic barrier. But JFK didn't just offer hope. He was part of what was then a new generation, "born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace." JFK was also a man of his time, a cold warrior. While he began what was to be years of arms negotiations with the Soviets, he was not naive. His charisma was not the beaming smile, the self-effacing humor, the oratory; his charisma was challenging his "fellow Americans" - not just young Americans - to ask themselves what they could do for their country. And - horrors! - even Baby Boomers responded in the years that followed.
I hope that Barack Obama, if he becomes President, can challenge every American to be worthy of JFK's legacy of action in the service of others.

[lovethesinner]

Hey Arriana! I think I may have found another hidden statistic that's sort of ironic. You wrote:

"Obama got 295,091 votes to Clinton's 141,128 (more than twice as many)"

Does this mean Obama got Bill's "two" for the price of Hillary's "one"?

Another odd statistic. Bill and Hillary's splitting the party in "two" was defeated by Obama's "one":

"... that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope; and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people in three simple words:

Yes. We. Can."

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/barack_obama/2008/01/yes_we_can.html

One more odd thing with numbers:

Obama's birthday is 8-4. 8+4=12

(okay, this is it, I promise)

John F. Kennedy was our 35th president. Obama may be our 44th president. 3+5=8. 4+4=8.

I think that "new math" they taught us in the sixties screwed me up for life.

Obama in '08

[Hilleluiah]

I'm a black woman who is supporting Senator Hillary Clinton. As much as I love how Senator Obama is representative of the type of black people I know to be the majority of our community and not the stereotype, he needs to give me substance and not beautifully delivered speeches. As a professional black woman, I'm not concerned about being someone's cheerleader and supporting a person because of my race or gender, even when I'm told that it's to my own detriment. We're concerned about the fact that we're raising our children alone; less likely to be married and caring for our families on a single-family income. We're worried about the cost of healthcare and daycare; educating ourselves and our children; feeding our families; paying our student loans; protecting our children from the violence on the streets; and deciding which bills are priority when our paychecks comes in. I'm 30 and concerned about planning for my retirement because unlike those who are living the perfect "American Dream," with a big house and family, I can't rely on the fact that I'll have someone there to support me in my old age. I have to support myself and I have to start making decisions that are in my best interest. So please forgive me if I choose to look at the issues, watch the debates, and for once not lead the parade only to be left on the sideline wondering when it's our turn to be cared for and supported.
After watching the debates, who is it that you believe has debated effectively and will pose the biggest challenge to the republicans in the general election? I implore black women to vote your conscience, because society and unfortunately our own men have already demonstrated what they think of us and how very little they value us.

[BardEric]

To all who believe that Hillary is nothing but a self serving power monger who only pretends to listen to the people consider this.She DOES listen when people arent spewing HATE at her.An example of how she fights for those with no voice: she has responded to all the emails(mine among them) begging her to challenge the ruling stripping both Michigan and Florida of thier respective Dem delegates to the convention. She responded to us and now says she intends now to challenge the rulings in both states. The national party took action against our states (rightly or wrongly so, it doesnt make any difference) and it is our respective general populations that are suffering.We are the ones who lost our voice because the national party wanted to spank our states for messing around with our primaries, because it messes with the national parties timelines and schedule..Dont kid yourselves, those high up in the parties in both states will be just fine, but the common Dem. voters in MI and FL have all been effectively gagged, while the repbulicans have been allowed to campaign in both of our states unfettered.VERY risky for the dems when the General Election comes along. I say AGAIN the Republicans would have been screaming BLOODY MURDER if thier positions had been reversed. Hillary has taken some hits for taking this stand,and many believe she thinks she needs those delegate votes to win, and maybe she does. But Mr Obama, and Mr Edwards could have stood up for our states' people too, and they chose not to do so for whatever reasons..Maybe they think they would not win a majority of delegates from either state, so it is a non-issue for them.

[Jazzylady26]

I wish someone would tell me why Obama scares me? Why he looks like four more years of the same and not four more years of change? Why does he look like the same old tired thing and nothing new at all? I wish I could feel what everyone else feels, and yet I can't. Why can't I see his shiny newness, his bright Lincoln pennyness, all the new and great things he will bring to the presidency? I can't see any of it, try as I might. All I really see is that he looks like a bushdog, as if he could easily be taken and had, as if he will continue the same old policies and bring nothing new to the table. His talk of Reagan, an iconic racist, and the repooplicans having the best ideas during the 90's? That's scary to me and signals a man with no new ideas, a man who looks like Thanksgiving dinner, which tastes excellent, but is gone an hour after you eat it, leaving nothing but the bones. My only hope is that if he is as bad as I think he will be it's four years and out. But four years of what?

[geriak]

Did anyone really think that Hillary was going to win SC? Of course not - The large black turnout was as a woman on C-Span this morning on Morning Journal said "You have to understand that all african americans stand behind there kind - just like they did with OJ." So to be surprised about this is amazing. I am not sure if Hillary would pick Obama as a running mate and I am not sure that this country would elect two new things a woman and an african american. We'll see.

[MR]

This assessment is so silly its almost hard to know where to start but suffice to say that blacks made up the majority of voters in SC - 55% of all voters in the SC primary were black and 80% of them voted for Obama and if you dont think that was based on race and that African American voters somehow have a monopoy on wisdom then I have some swamp land in Florida to sell you.

What happened in SC will never replicate itself anywhere else since blacks make up about 12% of the population but made up 55% of all voters in the SC primary.If Obama has to rely on race to win its not gonna happen and so far, outside of SC his support has had nothing to do with race. But it was in fact the Obama campaign that sleazily injected race into the campaign taking a page out of the Republican sleazy politics playbook and it worked. But, as the saying goes, those who live by the sword die by the sword and if whites start to resent Obama's use of race in SC the backlash against it will be inevitable. His campaign could be over feb 5 if Clinton takes 15 or 16 of the 20 primaries and I think there is an excellent chance she could take more. In any event there is really nothing to be learned from SC. It was predicatable since this was the state that twice gave Jesse Jackson primary victories in Presidential races and what happened there, even in other states Obama might win, just wont happen the way it did in SC regardless of how the press or Obama supporter want to spin it.

[THISTLE]

Jesse Jackson did win in South Carolina - twice,
President Clinton is telling the TRUTH.
When the Clinton campaign ran commercials in
South Carolina showing Obama on tape, using
his words, why are the Clinton's attacked for
showing Obama in his own words? This wasn't
Obama's evil twin brother, this was he, saying
what he claims he didn't say. When Senator
Clinton wins it is almost ignored, when
Obama wins in the same state Jackson did, it's
like the Second coming. The unfairness to the
Clinton's and the non-stop attacks on them
are outrageous.

[Count1]

Sen. Clinton will have a very tough, possibly insuperable hurdle ahead of her, should she earn the nomination. Frank Rich had an interesting column in today's New York Times. The basic thrust is that the Republicans are saving the heavy artillery until (and if) she becomes the nominee. If Sen. Clinton does win the presidency, it will, yet again, be another 51%-49% kind of affair; she won't really have a legitimate mandate. The country cannot afford continually to undergo more "us" versus "them" styles of politics. Sen. Obama is the best way out of this two-decade long impasse. I hope Democratic primary voters think carefully about the future as they consider whom to vote for. One needs to look beyond the primaries and the "horse-race" style coverage they inspire and think about how the Democrats can not only win in November, but also win with conviction and legitimacy.

[wmbear]

THANKS, ARIANA. THAT'S REASSURING...

Pundits were saying it was just the black vote but it looks like a lot more than that -- the youth vote as well, for one thing. It's also good to note that Obama seems to make people WANT to get out and vote. That's huge.

Obama is actually my second choice behind Edwards, whom I plan to vote for in my state's primary, unless it looks like a really close race between the Clintons (I say this deliberately) and Obama. Then I may very well vote for Obama. (Pope Teddy hath spoken.)

[jrterrier]

Folks, identity politics is not a bad word. How do you think JFK eked out a victory over Nixon? Every (ok almost every) Irish Catholic voted for him (and probably a few dead ones in Chicago but that was then, when Dems knew how to win elections).

You think lots of Italian-Americans aren't voting for Giuliani. Or Mormons for Romney? It makes sense to have pride in one of your own when they have reached the pinnacle of success.

[Triangulate]

In states where Obama's numbers are currently lower than Clinton's, look for his very rapid ascent in the coming week. Clinton's campaign will blame Obama's rise on everyone but themselves. At the end of the day when they look into the rearview mirror that was South Carolina, they will only see themselves...their relevance fading into a distant memory.

[AnninCA]

I agree. The numbers tell the story.

For me?

It's a relief.

I'm not about to vote against myself.

I'm white.

I'm female.

I'm over 50.

So, that's that.

[MyThought]

How sad to see a woman having to pay for her husbands misdeeds - you people haven't progressed at all. She's been attacked and attacked and attacked and is still standing and I find that admirable.

Funny, Jack Kennedy said the First Lady she most admired was Hillary Clinton.

Funny again, is everyone is listening to who Ted and Caroline Kennedy are supporting - you can't bring back daddy and bro AND talk about scandal - Kennedy's on a pedestal with all the scandal with them? This is a joke isn't it?

Funny too, the Americans want to get their good name and reputation back internationally - well guess what folks - a poll was taken in many, many countries and Hillary Clinton wins big time and even the Tories (Conservatives) in the U.K. would like to see Hillary in - they feel she can bridge the gap between liberals and conservatives.

A Clinton in the WH would bring an immediate liking of the US again.

Wake up for heavens sake.