Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Obama Swings Swing States

As expected with a 50% black Democratic voter turnout, Senator Obama took the Mississippi primary with ease and padded his significant pledged delegate lead over Senator Clinton. But the real story is that the only states Senator Clinton is winning are those with traditional Democratic machines still in place, like Pennsylvania which will vote next month and where she holds approximately a 10 point lead in polls. Superdelegates, think about that. Do you want a candidate in the general election that will loose to McCain in so-called "purple" states? These states are ones where Obama has won (Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, Virginia, Washington and Colorado) and is beating McCain in those opinion polls. Obama has won more delegates than Clinton in Texas, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Nebraska of all places. Admittedly not all of these contests were open to independents or Republican voters, but nevertheless the results are indicative of his much broader voter appeal. In the general election non-Democratic voters will be more likely to vote against Hillary Clinton than against Barack Obama. One proposition is undisputed now-- a Democrat cannot win the White House only carrying the coasts. Senator Obama is appealing to voters in the Midwest, West, and South, regions in which the Democrats must score a few victories to keep John W. McBush out of power. It is time to dialogue with Ms. Hillary before the attacks get too shrill.