As a Clinton supporter I was satisfied with the finish in Iowa, honestly I thought she would lose by double digits and be at around 23%, so I’m okay. However, if you listen to the media, she just lost the election. The hatred they feel for Hillary and the love for Obama really came through last night.
Before I go on, let me congratulate Obama and his supporters on the victory. Independents and Republicans really came through for you in a big way. Good luck in NH. Now back to the media.
So the narrative now is a "black man can win in white America." Every time I heard that I just sighed. First of all, the victory came in a state where this is probably the first time they heard an African-American speak as well as Obama, so no matter what he said, they were amazed. Secondly, Iowa has never been a state where racial tensions have been a serious problem. Therefore, there is no underlining mistrust or hatred of African-Americans, compared to many other states. Thirdly, it was in the Democratic Caucus, not the General Election. If you listen to the media, you would think Obama will be in the White House on Monday. I had to keep reminding myself it was just one state. Also the media makes it seem as if Iowa white Democrats are a bunch of racists. "Earth shattering" that they voted for an African-American? WTF? White Democrats have voted for African-Americans in the past...haven’t they? I know Iowa is rural...but damn.
The one comment that made me just turn off the television; is when one political pundit made the comment that Obama is proving to "little black boys that they can be anything they want to, if they work really, really hard." Are you kidding me? Obama winning one state in the presidential nominating process did all that? Of course it didn’t. My advice to the liberal media is to quit showing your ignorance and lack of understanding of the black community. There are thousands of successful black men for young black boys to admire and replicate. The media is not needed to appoint the model they should follow.
Why is the media so obsessed with this 1st African-American president issue? The media is more concerned with having an African-American president, than the African-American community itself. The old white guy Chris Matthews (and you can see his health is failing him, God Bless Him) sounds almost guilty because there has never been one. Relax. African-Americans view it like this: If there is a black President...great!! If there isn’t, I still have my bills to pay tomorrow. In other words life goes on. Blacks have stopped voting for someone because they are black long time ago. Well, at least the majority of blacks. Obama is doing his best to leave race of his campaign, so why can’t the media? It gives credence to people like Shelby Steele and Clarence Thomas when they talk about "white guilt."
Additional thought. So what does Hillary do now? I have read she will attack, go negative, blah, blah, blah...She just needs to run her campaign like she has over the past few days, which is defining why she should be President. I do agree that she needs to drop the 35 years of experience bit, but she needs to have a solid debate. No dumb negative attacks by her or her surrogates. No Mitt Romney’s. Now that Obama is the frontrunner, he should get a little more scrutiny. And finally he will layout specifics, which according to him will appeal to Democrats, Independents and Republicans. Should be fun. The rhetoric and speeches are nice, but in General Election they don’t mean squat. The danger with a movement momentum candidate, is that if there is a setback, like Tuesday in NH for instance....then some of the luster starts to fade. I figured Hillary would lose in Iowa, she will win in NH and SC is too close to call. After that it is Democrats only, and she will be strong. And remember Iowa is just one state with a goofy election process. Let’s not give Obama the nomination yet.
PS.
John Edwards. I wish in my heart of hearts that you had "our" US Senate seat you could be returning to like Dodd and Biden, but you do not. So hang on until SC, if you don’t finish at least 2nd there....then consider dropping out.