Obama Headlining Key Dem Dinner In Virginia; Edwards Scores Key Endorsement
Obamamania's next stop: Virginia. Barack Obama is set to headline the Virginia Democratic Party's annual high-profile Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Richmond next month, The Virginian-Pilot reports. Obama last traveled to Virginia in the fall to campaign with Senator James Webb in Richmond, where he received standing ovations alongside Webb and former governor Mark Warner. The speaking gig at the dinner, which is seen as a showcase for rising national figures, is a coup for Obama because Virginia's Dem primary has in the past come relatively early, meaning it traditionally takes place before a candidate has the race sewn up.
Meanwhile, John Edwards has picked up a key endorsement. North Carolina's Herald Sun reports that Edwards has scored the backing of Kate Michelman, a top abortion rights activist who was President of NARAL-Pro Choice America for nearly two decades. Michelman will help Edwards with outreach to women. Though Hillary Clinton could become the first female President, Michelman decided to back Edwards because of his commitment to women's rights and poverty issues, she said.
Comments (7)
Edwards is staking out a decidedly left-of-center position here with this endorsement. NARAL is anathema to the anti-abortion voters who may find themselves in the center on other issues. This hurts Edwards in the South, which he is going to have to win to get the nomination. However, Hillary is deeply unpopular in the South, so this is a boost for Obama -- as long as he plays the abortion issue carefully. Abortion is the most divisive social issue since slavery in this country, and it's played a key role in the past Democratic collapse in the South.
January 6, 2007 4:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sadly, there is one major problem for Obama in the South -- he has the wrong color of skin. He'll be a non-starter there.
January 7, 2007 12:51 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's a moldy stereotype. A black candidate can win in the South -- but he would have to run a straight centrist campaign. Harold Ford ran a tight Senate race in TN (one of the reddest states) and he didn't do that with the black vote alone. He ran on trad'l values -- wasn't afraid to talk about religion and supported many "conservative" positions.
January 7, 2007 10:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
AUTHOR: pacc
EMAIL:
IP:
URL:
DATE: 01/07/2007 08:49:00 PM
AUTHOR: pacc
DATE: 01/07/2007 08:49:00 PM
January 7, 2007 8:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ford's so-called traditional values took the form of blatant homphobia, vulgar heterosexist fetishism, and anti-immigrant sentiments. And there was little ol' opportunistic Obama rushing down to Tennessee (on the heels of his own discomfort with gay marriage statements). For those of us "white" liberals who worked and voted for Jesse Jackson during his pioneering run for President - because of Jackson's policy statements and platform of support for the average American - Ford and Obama are little more than a minstrel show.
January 7, 2007 8:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't stoop to racism just b/c of your policy differences with African-American candidates. I don't know if you know anything about minstrel shows, but that's clearly a racist barb that you are throwing out there, and it's wrong to do so.
January 8, 2007 11:57 AM | Reply | Permalink
Obama will do well in the Democratic primaries in the South, and if he wins the nomination, his inclusive rhetoric will pick up a lot of swing state votes in the general election. No Dem nominee is going to win the reddest southern states.
January 8, 2007 12:00 PM | Reply | Permalink