Clinton Woos Black Vote, Targets Obama

[DeepModem Mom]

The Politico: Clinton Woos Black Vote, Targets Obama
By: Ben Smith
January 22, 2007

....Far from conceding African-American support to the most credible candidate ever of African descent, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., the Clintons are pushing aggressively for the help of their longtime allies in the black business, political and entertainment elite. Clinton's supporters say she intends to make the Illinois senator fight for every black endorsement and every black vote. It's a strategy that pushes Obama to decide just how black he can afford to be: Will he pitch himself to African-American voters as the black candidate, or hew to the post-racial line that's helped make him sensationally popular with white Democrats?

"He's not built to be the black candidate," said a Clinton adviser, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "I don't think he wants to play to the Jesse Jackson wing of the party, and I'm not convinced that he wins them overwhelmingly either. His youth and inexperience play against him in that world -- he's the young whippersnapper who didn't pay his dues."...

***

Clinton, for her part, appears to have inherited her husband's deep African-American support. Toni Morrison called him the "first black president," and it was the unflinching support of many black Democrats, perhaps more than anything else, that carried him through impeachment. And despite the deafening buzz about Obama's candidacy, Sen. Clinton has held her own in the polls.

In an ABC News/Washington Post poll taken in mid-January, Clinton received 53 percent of African-Americans' support; Obama received 27 percent. The poll also found 85 percent of blacks view Clinton favorably, while 12 percent view her unfavorably. Only 59 percent of African-Americans said they had a favorable opinion of Obama, to 19 percent with an unfavorable opinion.

"Obama doesn't have Hillary or Bill Clinton's track record in our community," said Weldon Latham, a Washington lawyer and fund-raiser close to the Clintons. "I'm looking to hear what Mr. Obama has to say about how he's going to make this country better for African-Americans, other than the obvious benefit of him being a role model."...

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0107/2402.html

[Taverner]

1. Not surprising - Hilary was the one who let out the "Madrasa" rumor

No doubt she's working with Rove

[obnoxiousdrunk]

2. Link please...

[Taverner]

4. Here:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/22/obama.madrassa/index.html

"Insight Magazine, which is owned by the same company as The Washington Times, reported on its Web site last week that associates of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York, had unearthed information the Illinois Democrat and likely presidential candidate attended a Muslim religious school known for teaching the most fundamentalist form of Islam.

[rinsd]

6. First off you cut off the first part of that quote

Which is "Insight Magazine, which is owned by the same company as The Washington Times, reported on its Web site last week that"

So you know the rumor is false but you believe the Moonies when it comes to where they say they got the info?

C'mon Taverner

[Taverner]

7. changed

Draw your own conclusions

Washington Times is owned by the Moonies

However, it does not sound so improbable...

[Lerkfish]

14. probability and facts are miles apart.

yeah, I think Clinton will lose if she is the nominee, but I also think accusing her camp of stuff they apparently didn't do is needless and harmful.

[rinsd]

20. Or its a two for one hit piece

Brings up the candidates' perceived(as by the RW) negatives.

For Obama, it works because of his "funny sounding" last name. See the Osama oops I meant Obama files.

For Clinton, its works to reinforce the meme that she is a cold & slimy political creature.

So let me get this straight, a known RW propaganda outfit puts out an obvious lie yet you believe who the same outfit says they got the lie?

[jobycom]

11. Yeah, no doubt, because the Moonies wouldn't lie to help the Republicans, would they?

I mean, starting such a rumor would turn the two leading contenders against each other and make both look bad, thus helping the Republicans, but the Moonies are far too respectable to do that.

Geeze, any old excuse to Swiftboat Hillary, eh?

[blm]

12. In fairness to Hillary, I doubt she did this. Moonies WOULD however lie and claim

she did to attack two Dems with one false story. This tactic is a favorite of the RW lie machine.

That is why I asked Dems for years to set up organizations designed to fight the lie machine, because it would never be directed at just one Dem.

[SaveElmer]

16. How many times does this Bullshit story have to be debunked...

Before the Hillary haters here stop quoting it!!!

[journalist3072]

17. I hope you meant to put a sarcasm icon in your post.

[blm]

3. In fairness to Obama, he wasn't in the position to do something about CIA drugrunning

and IranContra dealings that resulted in tons of cheap cocaine and crack being DUMPED in black communities all over the country, and when the story broke in 1996, Obama wasn't the one siding with and covering up for Poppy Bush and labeling as a fantasist the Pulitzer Prize winning reporter who uncovered the truth.

BET has a documentary about this, you can see clips at their website - American Gangster. Too bad so many haven't put two and two together and realized who was president in 1996 and who protected Poppy Bush over telling the truth about the deliberate targetting of the black community.

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/American-Gangster.html

[Lerkfish]

5. the headline is interesting: get black votes by attacking a black man.

doesn't anyone else see the irony?

[Nedsdag]

9. That's the Clinton strategy for you.

It's also something Obama should use against her. Hopefully his people are reading this.

[wtmusic]

10. Read the article -- headline is bullshit. nt

[Lerkfish]

13. right, and also its an apparent rovian strategy to drive a wedge between

clinton and obama camps.

CNN debunked this already.

I was just commenting on the headline itself.

[Nedsdag]

18. Debunk what?

She's going after top African American leaders. What didn't you see?

She wants Obama to play the race card a la Sharpton so she can go after his white support.

[Lerkfish]

19. sorry, my bad, I was referring to the false madrassah (sp?) story

[jobycom]

15. That whole article is crafted to create a controversy.

Read the content of the article, not just the headline. Hillary already has strong approval and support from the black community. The article is about her fundraising and campaign strategy to keep that support, not about her attacking Obama. Obama will try to win white votes--does that mean he's targeting Hillary, or that he's doing something untoward towards her?

[rinsd]

21. He will be going after the women's vote as well.

He's obviously a misogynistic bastard for doing so!

:sarcasm:

[wtmusic]

8. Misleading title

Nowhere in the article does Hillary "target" Obama--all quotes from dubious sources, or those unrelated directly to her campaign.