Rev. Run

Here we are on the eve of the Indiana and North Carolina primary and all I am hearing is Hillary's momentum, Reverend Wright, blue collar voters, flag pins, pandering and a divided party. As you may have noticed these issues have nothing to do with real issues such as health care, the war, education, or the weakened economy. Over the past couple of weeks I have had the pleasure of speaking with several different groups in the DC Maryland region from high school students in DC, to academics at John Hopkins University, and a group of Ministers from Prince Georges County, Maryland.   The funny thing about all those groups is that they all feel the media is way off base during this campaign season.  This is the biggest example that I can remember of the media being more focused on the solaces and not the pertinent issues during an election.  So since that's what the media wants to discuss I will give you my take on there topics of interest. 
 
Hillary's momentum is one of the big topics on MSNBC right now and if she wins Indiana and North Carolina that would be six contest in a row. (my prediction is Obama win NC and she barely wins Indiana) Wow, six in a row!!!  Now that is MOMENTUM!!!  But let's look at this a little closer.  Her streak began when she won Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, but she did not win the delegate count in Texas and let's not forget that Obama won twelve contests in a row; I count Vermont as the 12th state.  But now her momentum is so overwhelming, or at least that is what Chris Matthews and Mr. Buchanan would want you to believe, that Clinton's argument for the super delegates is better than losing a generation of voters since the super delegates would have to overturn the virtually insurmountable lead Obama gained during his twelve state streak.  Of course they also said the best candidate for President was a "Whaspy type candidate".   You decide..
 
Rev. Wright has been on TV more than Britney Spears lately!  See Fox News (Hannity & Combs). The pastors that I spoke with have some sympathy for him, but there is also a feeling that he needs to show some self restraint in his quest to defend his name. If he doesn't do so I think you will see some black leaders (churches) put some distance between them and Rev Wright, simply because the  supporters of Obama in the black churches are not going to allow him to derail that best chance for this country to have an opportunity to elect an African American to the highest office in the land.  So Rev Run!!!  Rev Run away!!!
 
Blue collar voters haven't gotten this much attention since Reagan.  See CNN.  I happen to think all voters are important, but that's just me.  While blue collar voters are important it is unfair to think that if Obama wins the nomination that he will not win New York, California, or Penn, which President Bush did not win either time.  And for the record it is going to be challenging for any Democrat to win Ohio, Florida, Michigan, or Missouri.   And hopefully Democrats have learned from Gore in 2000 and Kerry in 2004 that Democrats must expand the map to win.  With Obama I feel Wisconsin is in play, along Virginia, Colorado, and possibly a Southern state like Mississippi.   While blue collar voters are important it is a fact that Hillary CANNOT WIN without the African American vote. 
 
   
This takes me into flag pins and pandering. See Fox, MSNBC, and CNN. I have one question about flag pins......When the hell did flag pins start defining patriotism?  Okay two questions.......When did the Republicans get this monopoly on patriotism?  Ronald Reagan did not wear a flag pin.  John F. Kennedy did not wear a flag pin. So any Dems or Rep that thinks this is a story I ask you all to look at the pillars of your party and ask yourself is this an issue.   The biggest current issue of pandering is this gas tax deal which will never happen in Washington!! Neither Congress nor the President will even consider this initiative this year. 
 
I will close with the divided Democratic Party and the fact is true, the party is in trouble.  Whoever wins the Dem nomination will have to work extremely hard to convince their voters to vote for the other candidate in order to have a chance to win in November.  If they split NC and Indiana Obama will need 38% of the delegates left and Clinton will need 66%.   The party may be split, but even if they are able to bring the party together it is going to be very challenging for either of them to win in November because they are both damaged candidates due to this long primary process. 
 
That's all I have today, but stay tuned next week for more Penny Politics where your two cents counts!
 
By the way check out the web sites <http://www.thepennyinstitute.org/> www.thepennyinstitute.org <http://www.thepennyinstitute.org> and <http://www.pennypac.com/> www.pennypac.com <http://www.pennypac.com> .  Also, stay tuned for information on the Thurgood Marshall Forum on Social Justice on the campus of University of Maryland.