Obama is a highly problematic candidate for the Democrats. On paper, he runs to the left of almost everyone on almost everything, and yet his rhetoric seems to be all about bipartisanship, and the Republi-cons ain't buyin' what he's sellin'. You can't reach out across the isle if the other guy thinks you are going to put him in a headlock and try to drag him over to your side. Thought Dubya was divisive? How is the tone in Washington gonna change if the right-wing ideologues running the show just get swapped out for left-wing ideologues?
The Democratic primary voters seemingly do not care about this because Obama is the candidate that makes you feel good about yourself. He is like a Hollywood idea of a black president. He isn’t Jesse Jackson, who was so deeply identified with identity politics that his very blackness became an issue. Obama transcends colour, and yet allows white voters to say to themselves “look at me, I’m voting for a black guy! I’m so progressive”. Deep down I think that if Obama was white, he would be dismissed by the electorate as quickly and comprehensively as other charismatic flash-in-the-pans like Edwards and Howard Dean. I think Liberal Blogmeister Cherniak is telling the truth when he writes the following:
Just like JFK actually won more votes because the media kept asking whether Americans would elect a Catholic, I believe that all this talk about whether Mr. Obama can win "white votes" has become a strength. It is almost like a challenge to white people to vote for him just to prove that they are willing to vote for him. He's a young, attractive, charismatic guy, so why not?
That would line up with what we saw on Super-duper Tuesday: Obama got the black and upper middle class white vote (i.e. people who love the idea of a black president). Hillary won low income whites, women, and latinos –all people who pragmatically ask "Which democrat is going to manage the economy and deliver concrete results for me and my loved ones?". Even some Republicans who loathe McCain have said they would vote for Hillary if it comes to that, because they recognize Obama for what he is, an empty suit.
For a great summary of the Campaign thusfar, read Hanson's article
Domacrats Want to Lose, Republicans Don't Want to Win
