This blog explores the contemporary political and cultural trends from a distinct perspective
Why Clinton is losing support of a core democratic group
Published on May 7, 2008 By Bahu Virupaksha In Politics

The great writer and Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison wrote once that "White skin notwithstanding, Clinton is our first black president. Blacker than any actual person could ever be elected in our childrens' lifetime". With this kind of endorsement, it is hard to fathom the fact that his wife hasd dropped to single digits as far as Arican-American vote is concerned.

The real reason for this fall is not hard to find. The highly negative campaign she ran against Obama made many believe that she was attacking him personally not his policies. She crafted a campaign on the wrong assumption that Obama is a caucasian male, and this strategy backfired. The more Clinton attacked Obama the more his support among the core democratic constituency grew. It is now dangerous to even think of making Hillary Clinton a candidate as she has virtulally no support in the black community.

Her husband, Bill Clinton, at least kept up the myth of beibng concerned about black issues and at a personal level he did have great empathy for them. The Hillary camapign did not build up on the support of the Bill factor.

The second factor is the opposition to the Iraq war. Somewhere on the road to the Democratic party nomination Hillary Clinton discovered that the Iraq war is not popular and that too after endorsing the Bush War plan and having voted for the war. It apperars that her opposition to the Iraq war is not based on principle but on expediency.

The third factor is the public perception that Hillary Clinton is just too deep into Washington politics to even make a token gesture of independence from the lobbyists and special-interest groups. In her entire life she has not been on the side of the opposition, she has always been an insider. Therefore it is difficult for anyone to believe that she stands for change.

Beyond all this lies the charisma that Barack Obama exudes and the shrill rhetoric of Hillary Clinton only shows up her warts and no matter the spin of the media she will always be seen as an insider teying to make the world believe that she is a born rebel.


Comments
on May 18, 2008

When I wrote this piece I had not read Ms Toni Morrison's interview in Time where she was asked to comment on just this line on Clinton being the first black president. She clarified her position and went on to add that she was attracted towards Obama due to his WISDOM. I say amen to that.