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Jessica
Johnson |
A recent national survey by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies revealed African-American voters have a strong preference for Hillary Clinton despite the impressive run that Barack Obama is making toward gaining the Democratic presidential nomination. David Bositis, the senior research associate who administered the survey, attributes Clinton's 83 percent approval rating largely to black women, who comprise more than 50 percent of the African-American electorate. The Illinois senator was not far behind the former first lady - with a 74.4 percent approval rating - which has prompted Bositis to assert that black voters are only considering the Democrats' top two contenders.
For black women, Clinton and Obama represent significant presidential choices they've never had before in terms of gender and race, and the candidate for whom the majority of black women choose to cast their votes will have a significant impact on the primaries in Southern states. Thus, it was very strategic for Oprah Winfrey to stump for Obama in South Carolina and Maya Angelou to be featured in a radio ad that ran in the state calling Clinton "my girl."
Oprah is indeed a tremendous campaign asset for Obama, but the talk show queen faces a monumental task in helping him overcome the roughly 9 percent difference the Joint Center reported that separates him from Clinton. Oprah could put a dent in those numbers on the campaign trail if she articulated in more detail why she believes Clinton is a Washington insider, which would require more than attacking Clinton for voting for the war in Iraq. However, Obama still faces a tough challenge in not being viewed as a Democrat reinventing old solutions for economic and social uplift.
Peter Ferrara, senior policy advisor for Social Security and Medicare at the Institute for Policy Innovation, has argued that Obama's plan to combat urban poverty lacks ingenuity because of the billions we are already spending on programs like Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and public housing. Obama wants to spend an additional $6 billion on poverty initiatives that would include the implementation of youth development programs in 20 cities and more financial support for single fathers raising children.
The growing numbers of the black underclass and the overall increase of Americans living in poverty do warrant consideration of proposals for more funding. Yet, Obama will have a hard time selling his platform to voters when questions arise about how he plans to pay for it. He has said money saved from ending the war in Iraq would finance his agenda, but we all know that troop pullout is going to take considerable time.
As Obama continues to chase Clinton in the primaries, other obstacles he faces are Clinton's endorsements from battle-tested civil rights veterans like Georgia Congressman John Lewis. On the political front, Lewis' words carry more weight than Oprah's, and Lewis believes Clinton's political resume best suits her for the oval office.
Another soldier of the '60s movement, Andrew Young, has argued that Obama's youth is a liability, claiming that 2016 would be the ideal year for Obama to run. The apprehension that many Southern blacks have regarding Obama's nationwide appeal presents an additional complication. Bositis maintains this is due to the difficulty blacks have had winning statewide elections in the South, reservations that are completely understandable considering we have had only one black Southern governor since Reconstruction.
While the quantitative data reported so far gives Clinton a slight edge among African-Americans, I would not write Obama off for second place just yet. There is still time to gain ground, especially with the disapproval many blacks have expressed regarding the comments ex-Clinton advisor Bill Shaheen made concerning Obama's drug use as an adolescent.
Also, statewide Mason-Dixon polls for MSNBC and McClatchy Newspapers released this month show the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries too close to call. According to these surveys, Obama only trails Clinton by two percentage points in Iowa and three percentage points in New Hampshire. If Obama could pull off a huge upset in either of these states, that would send a powerful message to blacks, primarily those in the South, who have chosen Clinton simply for the means of playing it safe.
And you can count on Obama doing everything he can to get black folk out of their comfort zones and not settle for politics as usual in 2008.
• Johnson, a 1987 graduate of Clarke Central High School, is a correspondent for the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch and an adjunct professor at Columbus State Community College. She holds a Ph.D. in cultural studies from Ohio State University.
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