RF23 - Of Historic Measures....Why so quiet?

Last night, history was made. Barack Obama became the first black man to win an primary elections for the presidency of the United States. And contrary to popular opinion and the opinion by author Toni Morrison, Bill Clinton did not pull of that feat. Not Jesse, not Al and not Alan Keyes. Barack Hussein Obama did that by beating John Edwards (38% to 30%) and Hillary Clinton (38% - 29%).

Now lets discuss where this feat happened. It happened in clorox bleach white Iowa, where the population of this liberal state is 98% white. Oh there's a negro or four there, cause I know three of them. Two were friends in the military and one is a brother of a friend of mine. Correction, lets make that 5 negros, former boxer and champion Michal Nunn is from Iowa. So we know there are black folk there, but for them to make a blip on the caucus radar for Obama was needed and compounded with more votes from that 98% white population.

What happened? Why did he win? and what happened to Hillary?

Easy questions, and here are the answers in a nutshell:

What happened?: Obama beat Edwards and Clinton by a nice size margin. 8 and 9 points in a race where it was projected that it was going to be neck and neck, is a big opening victory for Obama.

Why did he win?: Obama appealed to younger voters and voters feeling that he represented a "change."

What happened to Hillary?: Voters and especially women, are not attracted to Hillary the person and therefore can't separate the person and the candidate. She's not likeable and she is comes off fake. You don't have to look no further than her interview on MSNBC, where she basically melted down when questioned about her experience, after her campaign staff is questioning Obama about his experience. Iowa democratic voters weren't moved.


Now, let me get this out, when I first laid eyes on Barack Obama, I saw something in him and he does represent a change, a different direction, a new road for the United States. Unfortunately, I can't ride with either. Which brings me to this, I will take it personal and be offended to the maximum if someone who is black and not black assumes that since I or other black voters are black are going to automatically vote for Obama. They're wrong and if you're one of those people who are so enamored with the fact that he has the chance to do something in this country that ain't never been done before by a black person of any gender. And you vote for him because he's black and to hell with the issues. You ought to be embarrassed. It cheapens his feat, to learn that he won the black vote because, he's black. It also disenfranchises whites who voted for him because of the issues or they have connected to his message. It's not right and trust me, I want to see in my lifetime a black man or woman become president. I know it can be done, because Colin Powell was asked or rumored to run, Condelezza Rice was rumored or asked to do it, so don't tell me the country is not ready for a black to be president.

Now, I made my contribution and given my take on this historic event.

Boston Globe: How they (Huckabee/Obama) did it:

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/04/breaking_down_how_huckabee_obama_did_it/?page=1