A new radio ad from the Obama campaign hit the airwaves in Mississippi. The ad starts with Obama speaking on his Christian faith, in an obvious attempt to thwart the effects of the venomous email about Obama being a secret Muslim, that has been making the rounds. Unfortunately, those emails can be effective in a state where the electorate suffer from poverty and ignorance. Email is the last unregulated means of mass spreading of lies left available. No one wants regulation on email, but we must have common sense when reading these things or better yet just delete them. If it were really true it would be in the news, on the blogs, on CNN, or something.
The payload of the ad is delivered by our own former Governor and Obama endorser Ray Mabus. Mabus recalls the disappointing comments by Hillary in Iowa in relation to Mississippi and the fact that we have never had a female governor. In Iowa Hillary said,
"I was shocked when I learned Iowa and Mississippi have never elected a woman governor, senator or member of Congress," Clinton told the Des Moines Register in October. "There has got to be something at work here. How can Iowa be ranked with Mississippi? That's not the quality. That's not the communitarianism, that's not the openness I see in Iowa."
I remember when she said this, and thinking that it could come back to haunt her. Little did she know that her attempt to appease in Iowa by throwing Mississippi under the bus would matter. Iowa was the first state to hold a caucus or primary as you well know. We are like the 40th or so state to hold their primary or caucus. She disparaged Mississippi because she had no idea the nomination would still be in question when Mississippians cast our ballots. At that point in the election cycle, you can't say she was going to lose Mississippi anyway, since she was still polling very high with the AA community. It was not until his Iowa victory and strong showings in NH and Vermont, that he was able to wrest the AA vote from the Clinton's.
Obama's people need to pound this down here. From the Jefferson Jackson Hamer Dinner crown last night I can say there were a lot of white folks with Obama stickers, and hardly any black folks with Hillary stickers. This ad, if pounded, could be worth another slice out of her base for the Obama camp.
