Next, you “experts” assume that just because viable, credible black candidates end up winning overwhelming majorities of black votes that polls currently showing Hillary Clinton leading Obama among African Americans are somehow important.
Wrong again.
In Illinois, at least, large numbers of black voters tend to take their time making up their minds. In political parlance, they ”break late.”
Ten months before the March 2004 U.S. Senate primary (about where we are now before the Iowa caucuses), Obama’s own polls showed him winning just 34 percent of the black vote. About a month before the primary, African-American voters began ”breaking” in large numbers to his candidacy. As they began focusing on the campaign, black voters saw he was viable, liked his message and a significant percentage finally realized he was African American. He ended up winning just about all their votes.
This same pattern has been repeated time and time again during the past 25 years here. Harold Washington didn’t start off his campaign with the majority of black support against a white female with a huge war chest and the powers of patronage and incumbency, but he certainly ended that way.
Like Byrne, Hillary Clinton is almost universally known and has a strong record of backing issues important to many Democratic African-American voters. Obama is far less known. It’s perfectly natural that, right now, many black voters are siding with Clinton. But, if Obama’s candidacy remains viable through early next year, I’d bet that the vast majority of African-American voters will end up with him.
To recap, because I know you’re all very busy: Black leadership endorsements of white candidates over black opponents are not necessarily important because they don’t automatically translate into black votes; and black voters take their time deciding whether to vote for a fellow African American, but if that candidate looks like a potential winner, they usually end up voting for him or her.
I hope this helps.
And I mean this as a compliment to Rich, none of this is new and anyone who knows the first thing about African-American voting patterns understands the above. The amazing thing is that Rich had to write it.
Hence, your national press corps is filled with morons. Seriously, the national press works on nothing except gossip and conventional wisdom that has no historical basis. It would be malpractice in most fields.
Thanks.
I’ve always tried to ignore those idiots whenever I could, but Obama’s campaign is forcing me to take another look. I’m completely appalled at their idiocy.
I thought about awarding it the Daily Dolt, but I was afraid people would think I was calling you the Daily Dolt.
Preach it, brothers…
At least the weathermen don’t usually cover politics… Then again they’re usually more accurate than the bobbleheads.
I saw this first hand in 2003 and 2004. Local African American leaders were not interested in him at first. There were the same rumblings about if he was “black enough”. But once they had a couple of occassions to hear him speak and meet him in person they backed him 100%. I expect the same to happen here. In my opinion what will be more important for the nomination will be the ability to get Independents and soft Rs to pull a Democratic ballot. This is why I think his appeal to young people (i.e. 15,000 in Austin the other day) will be a critical factor.