Obama certain of his appeal to black voters

[DeepModem Mom]

Chicago Tribune: Obama certain of his appeal to black voters
By Christi Parsons
Washington Bureau
Published January 25, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Barack Obama said Thursday that he's not worried about how he will fare with fellow African Americans should he launch a bid for the presidency, as he is expected to do in February.

"If you look at my black vote in my U.S. Senate race or my approval ratings back in Illinois," Obama (D-Ill.) said, "I feel pretty confident that, once folks know who I am, we'll do just fine."

The remarks came as some detractors have been quietly asking whether Obama, a biracial Harvard-educated lawyer, will prove "black enough" to black voters in a national election. The son of a white American mother and a black Kenyan father, Obama represented a mostly black district in the Illinois state Senate and won with a healthy African American vote when he ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004.

The remarks came after a meeting with Rev. Al Sharpton, the African American activist and one-time presidential candidate from New York, in which the two talked about civil rights concerns and other issues they'd like to see debated in the 2008 campaign.

Demonstrating his flair for drawing a media crowd, Sharpton circulated a schedule of Democratic presidential hopefuls he planned to visit on Capitol Hill early in the day, with the guaranteed media draw, Obama, last on the list....

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070125blacks,1,6259129.story

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. This is getting ridiculous

Honestly! Did Al Sharpton have the "black vote" tied up when he ran? How about Carol Mosely-Braun? She should have had both the women's AND the blacks' votes!

[BigBadJohnny]

2. About Barack, from a fellow Chicagoan

We in Chicago consider ourselves world leaders in matters racial. We practice "Racial Bindness", which means, by a simple mindset, when meetng someone, or speaking to someone of another race, or creed, we don't see that race or creed, but merely assume he is exactly as we are. It's simple,,and it works.

OBama has charisma, but is young and inexperienced. He may have trouble when voters become aware of his middle name (Heussein), and his Muslim background. He is indeed half Muslim.

Obama also has some ties with a Chicago area syndicate figure, although reporters who have cross-examined him and scrutinized him, have detrmined his innocence of impropriety.

Also he may tend to take votes from the front-runner, Hillary Clinton.

http://www.xomba.com/barack_would_place_a_cap_on_american_troops_in_iraq_by_bigbadjohnny

[newyawker99]

4. Hi BigBadJohnny!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Alhena]

6. There's no such thing as "half Muslim"

Obama is 100% Christian- he doesn't attend church half the time and a mosque the other half.

[MrRobotsHolyOrders]

8. Oh fer fucks sake

Barack Obama isn't "half muslim" because his dad was a (non-practicing) member of the Islamic faith.

I'm not "half Lutheran" because my mom was, either.

[athena]

9. Your friend may be from Chicago, but that doesn't mean s/he knows what s/he is talking about.

Obama is not "young and inexperienced." If he wins in 2008, he will be older than both JFK and Bill Clinton were when they took office. He will also have had more experience than Lincoln did when he became president. (There may be other examples, but I don't have the energy to do the research right now.)

Obama does not have a "Muslim background." His father, whom he only met once in his life, was an atheist from Kenya, and his mother was a non-practicing Protestant from Kansas. Obama is half black, but there is no such thing as "half Muslim".

I doubt that people will care much about Obama's name. It's hard to believe that people who would normally vote liberal would vote against someone just because his middle name is the same as the last name of a dictator.

What exactly is so bad about Obama taking votes from Clinton? If he earns those votes, does he not deserve them? Clinton does not own the votes.

Your friend sounds like s/he is more than a little anti-Obama. I also find his claim that Chicagoans are somehow color blind to be rather arrogant and over-the-top.

[snowbear]

11. Big Bad Johnny, are you for real ?

You said....

....."Also he may tend to take votes from the front-runner, Hillary Clinton."

.........................

There are more than 100 thousand people who have registered here at one time or another... and I'll bet you can count the "Hillary Supporters" (as their first choice) on one hand.

Of course.. if you tally in the Freeper > count .. you may be able to count her support on both hands, and several of your toes.

You must buy into the MSM polls?

[azurnoir]

3. There is also this

Sunday there was an article in Salon that pointed out Mr Obama was Black but not an American Black. There is a divide between American and African Blacks in this country, some African Blacks feel they are superior being that they are financially better off and more racially pure

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/01/22/obama/


edited to insert link

[BluegrassDem]

5. I heard about a poll that only 40% of blacks ever heard of Obama

While Hillary gets 100% name recognition! I think that's why Hillary's polling better among blacks right now. But once Obama starts campaigning and running commercials, you'll start seeing black support shoot up for him.

[MrRobotsHolyOrders]

7. Thank you

There seems to be this idea both here and in the media that just because he's black, the whole black community knows exactly who he is, and exactly what he stands for.

Chris Dodd's poll numbers suck, is it because white people just don't like him?

[beaconess]

14. The whole black community DOES know about Obama

We all got to know him during our secret black people meetings.

[AtomicKitten]

10. KO had polling yesterday

that indicated 60% of the black community behind HRC currently, only 20% behind Barack. Why? Name recognition. Obama has yet to explode onto the national scene. I have every confidence voters will find him a most attractive candidate and viable alternative to HRC.

Gobama.

[PresidentObama]

12. True. But people know HRC.

A lot of Americans may remember Obama from the 2004 Democratic Convention, and may have seen 10-30 seconds of commentary about him on MSNBC, but America doesn't know much if anything about Obama.

America knows HRC. For better or worse.

The question is if Obama can use the advantage (or disadvantage also--if you look at the flipside) of people not knowing him to define himself and not let the media do it for him as they try and paint this picture for the American people who he is. The media has defined HRC, both as Senator and as First Lady. They haven't had the chance to do that with Obama. Can he define himself? I hope so!

Thats his best counter to name recognition, and he should use that charisma and incredible life story and try and connect with average Americans that don't know him or haven't heard of him.

[AtomicKitten]

13. That's what I said ...

Why? Name recognition. Obama has yet to explode onto the national scene.

Ergo, we agree. :)