From the AP news wires today:
Booneville, Ky - “Senator Barack Obama often commands large crowds of young people, college graduates and women at speeches and campaign rallies. But the central front in his war for the White House with Senator John McCain remains hardscrabble Appalachian communities like Owsley County, Kentucky (population 4,858), where Senator McCain recently ended a campaign stop with a nightcap at a local bar. Senator John McCain also does well among the wealthiest 2% of Americans, as well as, with no encouragement of his own, that small number of white Americans who are publicly, avowedly racist.
Merle Black, a professor of politics at Emory University, says Senator Obama ‘may have real trouble with the votes of white racists’ who, Dr. Black notes, are not sympathetic to his candidacy.
Professor Vincent Hutchings, at the University of Michigan, agrees, saying, ‘There are some people who simply aren’t going to vote for Barack Obama this election - and for those voters, John McCain is their candidate.’
If Mr. Obama faces a challenge in narrowing Mr. McCain’s substantial advantages, the struggling economy offers the Democratic candidate a small hope for building his lead. The poorly-timed remarks of Mr. McCain’s adviser Phil Gramm, who resigned after he derided ‘a nation of whiners’ about the economy, have added to GOP fears about job losses and market worries on President Bush’s watch.
The national poll, done by Dobby House Selves Research, Inc., found that Senator Obama leads Senator McCain among registered voters 76% to 23% (margin of error +/- 5%). While Obama’s tenuous lead, one he has held for months, is statistically significant, what the poll really demonstrated was McCain’s ‘Solid 17%’ - the number of voters who, it seems, will vote for Senator John McCain no matter what he says, what positions he reverses himself on, or even whether or not he is totally wrong on the issues they care most about.
‘It’s impressive,’ said John McCain’s Chief Advisor Charlie Black, ‘John McCain attracts this core of loyal voters who are ready to go to battle for him in the general election, come heck or high water.’ When asked whether Senator Obama could overcome this ‘Solid 17%’ core of McCain voters Charlie Black sounded skeptical. He pointed out that it was still very early in the election cycle, and the Republican nominee would likely at least double his ‘Solid 17%’ of voters in November.
Comments 8
What a crock! There are NO bars in Owsley County AND McCain has never been here!
Posted 22 Jul 2008 at 3:49 am ¶DEAR READERS-
I WANT TO RESPOND TO THE STATEMENT OF “WHITE RACISTS ” WHO WILL NOT VOTE FOR OBAMA. IN THE STORY WRITTEN ABOVE. I FEEL THE WRITER, IN RESPECT, IS INCORRECT ON THIS ONE. I WILL EXPLAIN WHY THIS IS SO.
THE SOUTH IS ,YES, CONSERVATIVE WORKING DEMOCRATS AND NOT G.O.P. AS PEOPLE THINK. DOSE THIS MAKE THEM ‘RACISTS? ” NO, THEY WATCH OUT FOR THEIR OWN BEST INTERESTS. THE POCETBOOK. MANY ARE BLUE COLLAR. PUNCH A CLOCK. ARE LORD FEARING.
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF THE LAST 1950′S EARLY 1960′S LOST THE CORE OF VALUES THAT WORKING PEOPLE WANTED TO VOTE DEMOCRAT WITH ADLI STEVENSON AND JOHN KENNEDY.
THEY LOST OUT ALMOST AS A WHOLE DURING THE EARLY 1970′S AS THE CONSERVATIVE WING BROKE AWAY. NOW COMING BACK STRONG AS BLUE DOGS OR REAGAN DEMOCRATS IN 1994-95.
THE PARTY DAYS OF PRES. FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT AND GETTING PEOPLE BACK TO WORK DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND WORLD WAR II HAS VANISHED.
FOR EXAMPLE, INSTEAD OF PEOPLE BEING OF SELF RELIANCE OF OUR GRAND PARENT’S DAY, THE GOVERNMENT IS NOW HANDING OUT NOT HELPING UP THOSES IN NEED. PEOPLE HAVE BECOME DEPENDENT ON THE GOVERNMENT FULL TIME.
THE IDEAS ALSO OF NO GOD, PRO- ABORTION, GAY MARRIAGES, AND NO GUNS TURNED THE SOUTH TOWARD VOTING FOR THE REPUBLICANS AS DEMOCRATS!
FINALLY, THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAS TO GET BACK TO THE ROOTS OF PARTY VALUES! PRO-LIFE. PRO-GUNS, AND PRO -GOD. THEN,AND ONLY THEN, WILL WE AS DEMOCRATS MOVE FORWARD NOT BACKWARDS!
-WITH RESPECT,
ROBERT JONES
Posted 23 Jul 2008 at 9:44 pm ¶A CITIZEN WHO IS A DEMOCRAT AND OH YES, WHITE.
“Catch up”? With a big lead like that? I don’t think the Emory prof should have made that comment about race.
Posted 25 Jul 2008 at 2:54 pm ¶……….watch this so called lead evaporate. watch the south go for mc’cain. obama is ticking people off. even in jest, you don’t make fun of people. this is in poor taste.
Posted 27 Jul 2008 at 1:07 am ¶Hi All,
Forgive my late response - it’s been an incredibly busy summer. This was, as one of the categories states, a satire, or as Susan put it “a crock” - and deliberately so. The point was even when Obama deserves a decent story he often doesn’t get one - while McCain often has the press bending over backwards to accommodate his mistakes, gaffes, and even lies. Since I published this the same has been documented in a straight way by a number of articles - see Steve Chapman’s summary of a recent study, this unbelievably embarrassing example from CBS News (to think they canned Dan Rather and this has no fallout), and others like this one on oil drilling (and see Archpundit).
The satirical premise was even if Obama was over 50 points ahead of McCain the press would still position it that Obama needed to ‘catch up’ with McCain. As far as the “racist” part goes - I was trying to be totally absurd - would any publicly self-described racist (in this case anti-African-American) support Obama? Ditto on absurdity with McCain’s ‘Solid 17%’. While the post’s categories included “satire,” sorry if I caught you unaware.
Posted 06 Aug 2008 at 10:55 pm ¶What such polls cannot predict is the turnout. If the voter turnout is low (indicating little enthusiasm) and diehard Republicans vote as they usually vote, McCain wins. On the other hand, an effective grass roots operation which Obama has mastered seems to indicate that if he can mobilize a lot of voters–he wins.
Posted 21 Aug 2008 at 8:26 am ¶YOUR COMMENTS ARE SO FAR-FETCHED AND STUPID BUT IT DOES NOT SURPRISE ME AS THIS IS WHAT THE LIBERALS ARE ALL ABOUT….STUPIDITY.
FOR THOSE VOTING FOR OBAMA, PRAY BEFORE YOU CAST YOUR BALLOT. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO HE REALLY IS!
Posted 28 Sep 2008 at 8:43 pm ¶FORGOT TO MENTION IN MY PREVIOUS E-MAIL, IF OBAMA AND HIS CAMPAIGN PEOPLE CONTINUE TO LIE, CHEAT, CLAW AND DO ANYTHING IT TAKES TO GET TO THE WHITE HOUSE…. I’M AFRAID IT WILL ALL BE TAKEN CARE AND PUT INTO PERSPECTIVE BY A “HIGHER SOURCE;” A “SOURCE” OBAMA DOES NOT BELIEVE IN. HE BELIEVE IN HIS RADICAL FRIENDS (AND I’M AFRAID SOME TERRORISTS). HAVE YOU SEEN THE PHOTO OF HIM AND MICHELLE WITH EDWARD SAID, AT A 1998 ARAB COMMUNITY DINNER IN CHICAGO? HAVE YOU CHECKED AS TO HIS 2 ROOMATES WHILE IN COLLEGE? BOTH FROM PAKISTAN AND NOW PART OF HIS CAMPAIGN. REZKO, WHO IS NOW IN JAIL, FROM SYRIA AND MAYBE YOU SHOULD CHECK ON HIS CURRENT CHIEF ADVISOR FROM IRAN. GOOD LUCK IN VOTING FOR OBAMA. CHECK OUT MC CAIN’S FRIENDS…NO RADICALS…JUST AMERICANS WHO TRULY LOVE THIS COUNTRY AND WILL DIE FOR THIS COUNTRY.
Posted 28 Sep 2008 at 8:55 pm ¶Post a Comment