Did anyone doubt that he "could not"?
What interests me the most about Barack Obama is that, he is the first, viable, real African-American candidate that is competing and strongly, at that. For us to think that he can not deliver the African-American vote is crazy thinking, to be blunt. His mere presence has already had affect in the African-American communities and they are already registering for the primaries to come.
When he first entered the national scene, many did not know him, at all. But over the months, they have gotten to know him and his family. Where he came from, what his story is, his challenges, his ties to his community, his church, and his devotion to his family. See, in the Black Community THAT IS IMPORTANT. Not what school you went to, how much money you make, all the tangibles that are not important. For, us, it is who you are. What is your character? Are you stong? What do you believe? Those are the main questions that the African-American community want to know.
So, will he turn out the Black Vote? I thought, you KNEW.
Obama has already given us a peek at how he is going to go after the south. OH MY GOD!!! THE SOUTH!!! HOW DARE HE!!! IT CAN NOT BE DONE!!! Well, if you don't try, then you will never acheive it.
The south has upward to almost 40% in African-American potential voters. If Obama is the nominee:
"I guarantee you African-American turnout, if I'm the nominee, goes up 30 percent around the country, minimum," Obama said. "Young people's percentage of the vote goes up 25-30 percent. So we're in a position to put states in play that haven't been in play since LBJ."
This is true. He will put southern states in play, Georgia, Alabama, Missisisspi. Sounds ridiculous. Well, not so fast. We, Democrats, have given up on these states and have just maintained the northeast and midwest. We have had hard time in the rocky mountain states, south and the southwest. So, we always end up scrambling the same states, and loosing. We do need to expand and bring more states on the table. This coincides along with Howard Dean's concept of the 50 State Strategy. I don't know about you, but it would be exciting to compete in the south. Why not? If you have a viable, crossover candidate that appeals across the board? Why not?
And don't think Democrats are not thinking about who can win. They are:
Obama's comment came in response to former New Hampshire state Rep. Carol Moore, who told him the candidate to get her vote will be the one she feels has the best chance of winning in the general election because she's so scared another Republican will replace President Bush. She asked Obama what made him think he could win. Another voter later told Obama because of his lack of experience, "by any stretch of the imagination, it would be a leap of faith to vote for you."
Obama often rejects the politics of "who's up, who's down," but he showed he was following the polls. He said he fares best among independent voters, that he has lower negative ratings than his Democratic rivals and is leading Republicans Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson in head-to-head matchups.
And he is serious about the south:
Obama noted that in Mississippi, blacks make up more than a third of the state's population, but make up a smaller share of the electorate.
"If we just got African-Americans in Mississippi to vote their percentage of the population, Mississippi is suddenly a Democratic state," Obama said. He said Georgia would also turn Democratic and South Carolina would be in play.
And he is right, if he beats Clinton, no more asking if he is "tough enough", "experienced enough":
Obama said his biggest weakness in the general election would be the same as in the primary where Hillary Rodham Clinton is his chief opponent — overcoming the perception that he hasn't been on the national stage long enough and isn't tough enough to win.
"Let me tell you, if I beat the Clintons, folks aren't going to ask whether I'm tough enough," Obama said to laughter from the crowd.
Obama said he has "no doubt that there will be attempts to dirty me up," but he is determined to respond quickly to attacks if he wins the nomination.
"I'm in a very strong position now," Obama said. "I will be in a very strong position after I win the nomination. I mean, let's face it, if I win the nomination, it's pretty big news."
We know there are skeptics out there. And you should be. But if Barack Obama is the Democratic Nominee, to think or believe that the Black Vote will not "Barack the Vote", you are really trippin'.
Update [2007-8-21 15:25:8 by icebergslim]: 2000 Census on African American Voting
"The increase in voter participation by African Americans was most notable in the South, where the rate grew by 4 percentage points to 39 percent," said Avalaura Gaither, co-author of Voting and Registration in the Election of November 1998, P20-523. "About 40 percent of the 9 million African American voters lived in the South."
Youth Voting
Interesting read on partisian voter turnout
Good Read on Taking the Black Vote for Granted