Posted on 08/31/2008 3:55:23 AM PDT by billorites
BARACK OBAMA has the problem from hell.
The very voters he needs to win this election, the white working class that has been descending into post-industrial post-prosperity for a couple of decades and the past eight years in particular, are angry. American finance and corporations have abandoned them for cheaper climes, and they blame the elites of both parties for their woes. Obama's challenge is to become a tribune for some of that anger without looking like an angry black man.
One of the keenest students of these all-important swing voters is Stan Greenberg, Bill Clinton's pollster in 1992 and the acknowledged authority on Michigan's Macomb County, a white working-class suburb of Detroit. In the mid-'80s, Greenberg began polling and doing focus groups in Macomb, a bastion of autoworkers that had delivered huge majorities for John Kennedy in 1960 -- and for Ronald Reagan in 1984. He found that Macomb residents believed the Democratic Party was interested in helping only African Americans, including their neighbors in Detroit, whom they regarded with fear and loathing. Greenberg helped Clinton reorient the Democratic message to be more class-based, a key element in Clinton's '92 victory. Op-Ed Logo Click for Editorials & Op-Eds
With Barack Obama heading the Democratic ticket and plainly having trouble with working-class whites, Greenberg returned to Macomb in July for a new generation of polling and focus groups. Their economic anxiety has skyrocketed -- understandably enough, with the auto industry in shambles and not much coming along to take its place. Indeed, their No. 1 concern in Greenberg's survey (undertaken for the Democracy Corps) is the offshoring of jobs, with rising gas, food and health-care costs running a close second. Their ideal presidential candidate, Greenberg says, would be an "outsider, middle-class" senator who expresses their anger at their betrayal by America's economic and political elites.
And he wouldn't be black, either.
In Greenberg's survey of Macomb, Obama is trailing John McCain by 7 percentage points, which in fact means that he's doing better at this point of the campaign than John Kerry and Al Gore were doing four and eight years ago. But perhaps the most striking finding is the high level of support for Ralph Nader, who plainly offers some Macombers -- at least, before they have to actually vote -- an outlet for their anger, and a third way between McCain's standard-issue Republicanism and Obama's blackness.
The union leaders are painfully aware of the challenge they face in persuading their white members to vote for Obama. To that end, the leaders of all the major unions came together at a rally at the Denver Convention Center to unveil the most massive and sophisticated electoral campaign that labor has ever waged. In aggregate, it looks as though the unions will spend $300 million to $400 million by November on the campaign.
Obama will have to figure out a way to be Greenberg's outsider, middle-class senator; to show that he is in touch with workers' indignation at being abandoned -- without coming off as too indignant himself.
This is hardly Obama's only challenge, but it's a crucial one. He surely needs to talk about his work organizing on behalf of displaced steelworkers in Chicago. And in case the depth of Obama's challenge isn't clear yet, Greenberg has one more factoid: The second choice of the Nader voters in his survey is John McCain. Something for Barack Obama to think about.
Of course this is satire!
If you haven't contributed yet, don't delay: McCainPalinDOTcom
Oh, my! And here comes Governor Palin, and her husband is a member of the steel workers union. They seem like any other middle-class family (except for the moose stew).
That must really pee-ohh the Union bosses, what with their 300-400 million dollar propaganda program now in jeopardy, don’t you think?
This should be interesting since Todd and Sarah Palin are union workers: steelworkers union. Sarah Palin can walk the talk. Obama spouts “just words” as he works to fool voters.
“The second choice of the Nader voters in his survey is John McCain.”
Weird.
Something tells me the Democrats don’t think Michigan will be that difficult.
$500,000 of Swift Boat Truth wiped out $50 million of Soros lies in 2004. I predict that one All-American family from Alaska will wipe out hundreds of millions of union lies.
I thought it was an article on Jr’s momma ?
Correction:
I thought it was an article about Jr’s daddy’s baby momma.
“The very voters he needs to win this election, the white working class”
Well shucks and golly gee, it’s nearly September and it’s suddenly dawned on someone that Mr. Obama *needs* the votes of those bitter, racist, gun-toten’, Bible-clinging, people that he’s repeatedly *personally* insulted? ;)
oops!
That was the moment that Obama crossed over from being "above and beyond race" to being revealed as "just another socialist radical race-baiter".
This was where the alienation of the white vote began. His refusal to denounce Wright only dug the hole he was in deeper.
Then came a series of demeaning comments on white culture. His caustic dismissal of small town residents, "typical white people" and other belittling commentary made him appear more and more to be an elitist snob.
In response to the growing view of Obama as a complete and total fraud, he has done nothing to support the message of "Hope and Unity" his campaign constantly promotes. His efforts seem to only further divide constituencies against each other and mostly against him.
At this point, Obama seems to be sustained only by the support of a Soros-controlled media conspiracy. I can't seem to find anyone else who really openly supports the guy.
I don't see the trend improving any in the near future, either. We saw the trending towards the McCain campaign prior to the DNC convention. McCain's recent masterstroke of including Palin on the ticket has had the effect of consolidating both his conservative base along with alienated democrats who aren't inspired by a faltering Obama campaign. We'll know if a few days if that move has completely snuffed out any potential convention bump the Obama camp was expecting.
If the current situation isn't handled competently by the Obama camp soon, I think all indications point to a massive electoral blowout of humiliating proportions come November.
Here's to hoping!
Anyway, had to rant. Cheers!
You don't know any black people? About 30% of our office is black and they're all onboard.
Interestingly, several white people in my immediate work group who had been intending to vote against McCain, as of Friday were considering voting against Obama.
BTW, I just noticed it was you I was posting to - I'm not stalking, I think there's just not many of us up this early.
There are some of here in Macomb who would never vote for a Rat. The notion that the Rats only care about the blacks in Detroit is funny. Sure they care, they care about exploiting them, because they set themselves up to be exploited.
Except Barry is more of an elitist snob wannabe. Real elitist snobs only tolerate him because they think they have something to gain if he is in the White House. IOW’s the Democrat Party.
LOL! Cheers and bless your heart!
I mean to respond to this but I was laughing and forgot.
Yes, I have a really good friend that I found out was black recently. I know that sounds strange but in SoFlo, there's so many Latinos and half my friends are so mixed racially and culturally I just think "Latino". When he made the comment during a conversation a few months back stating "being a black guy" I almost commented "When did that happen?" - LOL! I never really thought about it, he's just pal.
Anyways, he's a genius and he's not committed yet politically. He simply states he doesn't want to pay more taxes, period.
Thank you, kindly!
I’m both disgusted and encouraged by the fact that so many black people intend to vote for Obama.
Disgusted because skin color appears to be all they care about. It’s not like he’s actually shared the black American experience - he grew up overseas, and in the most multiracial state. But he’s sorta-black: he looks like he’d fail the old paper-bag test. He has, and apparently needs, no other qualifications.
Encouraged because, since apparently it IS, all we have to do to sweep the black vote is run a black Republican, and they’re a lot thicker on the ground than some people think, and OURS will actually have some qualifications. What’s Michael Steele up to these days?
Not that Detroit’s mayor has anything to do with the loathing of white Michiganders.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.