Make Up Your Mind

On the Daily Show recently, Senior Black Correspondent Larry Wilmore discusses Barack Obama's candidacy & whether he's black enough (or too black) to win.

Wilmore’s #1 Quote: “For every three black votes you get, you scare away five white votes. It’s true. Do the math. The black support is really only worth about three-fifths as much as white support.”

But whichever way Obama goes, it all may be for naught, because Hillary may snag the "black vote" anyway. What?? you may ask.

In his American Debate blog, Dick Polman talks about the hidden weapon in her campaign, The "honorary soul brother" calls in his markers -- Bill Clinton. As Polman observes:

No other pol in the Democratic party can match his clout in the black community (author Toni Morrison once said that Bill was America’s “first black president”), and that fact is crucial to understanding why Hillary Clinton will be strongly competitive in the primaries that follow Iowa and New Hampshire. . . .

Obama, on paper at least, can sink roots in the black community by appealing to racial pride (while seeking, of course, to avoid the broader perception that he is merely a “black candidate”). And reports indicate that Obama was trying to recruit those aforementioned South Carolina black leaders. But, in the end, Darrell Jackson (an influential pastor, public relations man, and state senator) and Robert Ford (another state senator) went with the Clintons. Here’s the key reason:

In their world, Obama is a newcomer who hasn’t paid his dues…whereas the Clintons are demigods who have been building relationships with the black community since Bill’s initial bid 15 years ago. Which helps to explain why a January ABC-Washington Post poll found that Hillary Clinton tops Obama among African Americans nationwide by 53 to 27 percent.

Polman details why Clinton generates such enthusiasm & loyalty in the black community, so much so that he can garner support for his wife with a bit of his personal touch. Interesting indeed.

(Video via The Largest Minority)

Tags: Daily Show, Larry Wilmore, Barack Obama, Commentary, Video