Barack Obamanates South Carolina

Barack Obama dominated the South Carolina primary on Saturday, drawing more than double the votes of his rivals. He won by a staggering 28 points -- the widest victory of any presidential candidate in either party this year.

The decisive win reflects both a resurgence of support for Obama, who trailed in state polls just last month, and some voters' rejection of the Clinton Campaign's recent spate of harsh and misleading attacks, which were widely condemned by party leaders. Voters who made their decision in the past three days, a period when President Clinton dominated media coverage by attacking Obama and stoking racial issues, broke for Obama by 30 points. Both campaigns also upset voters: 56 percent said Obama attacked Clinton unfairly, while 70 percent said Clinton's attacks were unfair, (according to exit polls).

In his victory speech, Obama promised to "fundamentally change the status quo in Washington," and called on the voters and other candidates to take the high road with him. "As contentious as this campaign may get, we have to remember that this is a contest for the Democratic nomination, and that all of us share an abiding desire to end the disastrous policies of the current administration," he said, in a respectful nod to Clinton and Edwards. He also pleaded with Americans to reject efforts to divide the nation by race or religion, and to rebuff tactics that use "religion as a wedge" or "patriotism as a bludgeon." The Clinton Campaign, however, shows no signs of backing down from its racial and character attacks on Obama.

An AP article after the victory reiterated the claim by Clinton strategists that Obama has been branded "the black candidate" – a supposedly negative development that "could hurt him" as the campaign continues. This "black candidate" strategy was advanced by a "top adviser" to Clinton in another article this weekend, concluding that recent attacks have "marginalize[d] Obama as 'The Black Candidate.'" And one more top adviser to Hillary, former President Bill Clinton, flatly claimed that Obama is "getting votes" because of his race, leaving Hillary with no chance to win South Carolina. The strategy turns on the unstated premise that Hillary will get votes for her race, too, and a lot more of them are available on Super Tuesday.

Pundits and writers were quick to conclude that the Clintons' strategy backfired on Saturday night. But it has not even been tested yet. The state with the largest black primary electorate was not the target -- it was the weapon. And the exit polls say "three-quarters of whites split their votes between the two white candidates." That means the Clintons could win by reproducing those numbers in states with different turnout demographics. It's the kind of divisive, cynical politics that could make one oppose Hillary Clinton -- even if you're not backing the "black candidate."

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Update: Blogger msladydeborah, a teacher in Columbus, Ohio who contributes to the blogs African American Opinion and From My Brown Eyed View, writes on Sunday that the public must "start swinging back at" the Clintons, regardless of whether people support Obama:

It is due time for black people to realize that the Clinton[s] are not pro-black people. They are demonstrating that by their actions. It is time that those of us who do not buy into their pseudo relationship ties to start exposing them on every turn. They have openly declared war on us because they want to win. Using racism to achieve that goal is not beneath them. They need to be exposed because the myth about their relationship is nothing less than a lie. There is no reason to help Hillary Clinton win a damn thing that will give them the opportunity to further insult us.

Comments (11)

1. Still dubious that She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed and Royal Consort can screw it up. SC was a gimme for Obama.

   What he needs is Edwards to drop out and HEARTILY endorse Obama.

   But even that might not help.

   Posted by Mask at 01/26/2008 @ 10:24pm

2. And one more top adviser to Hillary, former President Bill Clinton, flatly claimed that Obama is "getting votes" because of his race, leaving Hillary with no chance to win South Carolina.

   Blacks voted for Obama because they have their own mind just like any other voter and won't vote for some candidate just because their reverend or mayor was promised a favor by the Clintons.

   And if you look at the white vote, Obama beat all candidates for wites under 30 and college educated whites. He also tied Hillary for the white male vote. The only "white" category that Hillary beat Obama was with white women.

   CHANGE was favored by 54% of the voters, 24% for Empathy and Compassion, and only 18% for experience as the major reasons voters cited for their votes. Hillary's "experience theme" is simply not favored over a theme of change from the status quo.

   Like all of the Rovian strategies the Clintons have pursued, trying to portray Barack as the "Black candidate" after he has won in 95% white Iowa, a "close" second in 96% New Hampshire, and the rural districts in Nevada, which are all white, will fail to convince any voters, and will only get currency with those in the media that have similar doubts.

   Obama's rare ability to inspire a diverse and broad spectrum of the political electorate to live according to our highest ideals as Americans, puts Obama head and shoulders above any other candidate.

   Posted by Metteyya at 01/26/2008 @ 10:36pm

3. Posted by JOMAMMA 01/26/2008 @ 10:36pm

   I live in California. I gurantee you he will win California. I have not met one person who WANTS Hillary to win. I haven't seen anyone with vote Hillary stickers. I see all vote Obama and sparse amount of vote Edwards. I gurantee you he will win here.

   Posted by Cccomfo1 at 01/26/2008 @ 11:13pm

4. The obvious question now becomes, when will the Clinton campaign succumb to the inevitable and pull out? And to whom will her few remaining supporters turn?

   Pull out now, HilBill, and save the Party any more of your race-baiting and mudslinging. But that would of course require you to put others' interests ahead of your own, and we know that has never been a Clinton strong suit. I predict she will have to have her nose rubbed in it a few more times, with ever-escalating dirty politics and cheap shots from Mark Penn, before she finally faces the truth: the time for that kind of politics is over!

   Posted by sjduskin at 01/26/2008 @ 11:38pm

5. or rather...waxing...lol...

   Posted by ibbleblibble at 01/27/2008 @ 12:24am

6. I guess the prospect of having a real AMERICAN PRESIDENT does SCARE some of the Repugnantcans and Me D uH Pundits out there. But as history has shown us, those who aspire to defeatism politics will have their defeat. And it is the people of common values that will always triumph. Not Only Did He Win The Primary, But HE GOT ENDORSED By The Child Of One Of AMERICA's GREATEST PRESIDENTS. Camelot of the U.S.A. The KENNEDYS ( CAROLINE KENNEDY ) The symbol of what made America great ( ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU, BUT ASK WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY ). Its Powerful and to the POINT.

   Posted by mrolddog at 01/27/2008 @ 02:45am

7. I guess the prospect of having a real AMERICAN PRESIDENT does SCARE some of the Repugnantcans and Me D uH Pundits out there. But as history has shown us, those who aspire to defeatism politics will have their defeat. And it is the people of common values that will always triumph. Not Only Did He Win The Primary, But HE GOT ENDORSED By The Child Of One Of AMERICA'S GREATEST PRESIDENTS. Camelot of the U.S.A. The KENNEDYS ( CAROLINE KENNEDY ) The symbol of what made America great ( ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO FOR YOU, BUT ASK WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY ). Its Powerful and to the POINT.

   Posted by mrolddog at 01/27/2008 @ 02:53am

8. Although I appreciate your exuberance with Barack Obama's decisive 28 point win over Mrs. Clinton, I think it important to point out that this is not the greatest margin of victory thus far this primary season - by 9 points.

   Mitt Romeny scored 51% vs. Ron Paul's 14% and Senator McCain's 13% in Nevada. By my math, that computes to a 37% drubbing - by far the greatest margin of victory by any candidate in either party - if I may borrow from your own text. And that was in a field of seven candidates - making it a truly remarkable accomplishment.

   Obama does not require any fake hyperbole. It just dilutes the significance of what he accomplished. Please get your facts straight in the future. It makes me wonder when else you have misled.

   Posted by Truzak at 01/27/2008 @ 11:18am

9. Posted by ARI MELBER at 01/26/2008 @ 10:14pm

   "The state with the largest black primary electorate was not the target -- it was the weapon."

   I agree, the Hillary machine will use this as a wake-up call to get out the white vote. You see, blacks are supposed vote for the Democratic candidate, not be the Democratic candidate.

   It is clear that the Clintons are injecting race into the primary process. "He hasn't done the necessary ‘spade' work". Come on.

   Posted by Downtown at 01/27/2008 @ 1:06pm

10. Posted by MROLDDOG 01/27/2008 @ 02:45am

    Will you be as thrilled with the Kennedy endorsement when Ted Kennedy comes out for Hillary?

    Posted by Downtown at 01/27/2008 @ 1:13pm

11. For those who think voting for Hillary is a two-for-one Presidency, and that Bill is the "first Black President"let me refresh your memory about what a Clinton presidency did for the poor. Bill Clinton's domestic agenda did not bring us universal health care and his focus on eliminating the budget deficit meant he did little for the poor and working people in America. The Clinton administration actually attacked the disproportionately non-white poor in numerous interrelated ways. Clinton signed a punitive welfare reform bill that ended the federal government's guarantee of financial help to impoverished families with dependent children. He also scored points with conservatives by taking welfare benefits away from legal as well as illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, Clinton increased economic insecurity in poor and working-class American communities by signing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA destroyed tens of thousands of American industrial jobs by tearing down long-established regulatory barriers to the movement of corporate capital and commodities across the US-Mexican border.

    Posted by TishiJo at 01/27/2008 @ 6:09pm