I am just an observer in the Democratic primary fight but I have been watching with interest what is happening in the Democratic primary for a few reasons. The first reason is I knew there was going to be a strong fight between Clinton, Inc. and Obama . The second reason is because I wanted to see how the Democrat politicians would take part in the fight. The third reason is because I wanted to see how Black Democrats were going to respond to the actions of the Democrats.
As I wrote before, I knew it was going to get dirty once Clinton, Inc. felt as though they were falling behind, and it did. I count myself as one of the many who think Clinton, Inc. pulled the race card to get an advantage. I am also willing to state that the tactic worked for Clinton, Inc.:
Barack Obama leads Hillary Clinton a little more than a week before the South Carolina Democratic primary, as the state's large African-American population moves solidly behind him, according to a new McClatchy-MSNBC poll. The poll underscored a racial divide in the state over the showdown between an African-American man and a white woman. South Carolina is the first state with a large African-American population to vote in this year's Democratic campaign. The poll showed Obama, an Illinois senator, leading among African-Americans by a better than 2-1 ratio. Clinton, a New York senator, led among whites by 2-1. Overall, that translates to nearly a 10-point lead for Obama. "Voters are breaking along racial lines," said Brad Coker, the managing partner of Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, which conducted the survey. "Racial voting patterns are going to play a major role." A white man, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, was a distant third in the survey and didn't appear to be factor yet in his native-born state.
The poll showed more than half the likely vote coming from African-Americans - 54-43 percent - and a bigger female turnout than male, 59-41 percent. The poll's findings that 15 percent remain undecided - enough to swing the eventual vote - are noteworthy. Also, 1 in 5 who did support candidates said they still might change their minds. Edwards' supporters were more likely to change their minds. The results came after days of verbal warfare between Clinton and Obama supporters over her comments that it took President Lyndon Johnson to accomplish, with civil rights legislation, the dreams of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Obama supporters accused Clinton of besmirching King. The two blamed aides and overzealous supporters for the fracas during a debate earlier this week. In South Carolina, the poll showed this landscape among likely voters heading into the primary Jan. 26: - Obama, 40 percent.
- Clinton, 31 percent.
- Edwards, 13 percent.
- Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, 1 percent.
- Undecided, 15 percent.
I think the poll results show that Clinton, Inc. succeeded in making Obama a "Black politician." Clinton, Inc. pulled the race card, though not as strong as first done with Sistah Souljah, but it was pulled none the less, and they let the Obama supporter's response do the real "heavy work." I'm not saying Clinton, Inc. should not have been called on their trash, but the blow back against the backlash was predictable. However, the 15% that are undecided will tell the final tale.
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