Will Obama become the next McGovern, Dukakis or Kerry?
Indianapolis, Ia.,_ For many months the stars were in alignment with Illinois Senator Barack Obama.
His fire caught on across the country, JFK comparisons and the upbeat message of hope without angry overtones. He bested front runner Hillary Clinton in contest after contest. The race seemed ever so close to being the one that brought America its first African American president.
But then race itself took hold in a number of white American ways. Bill Clinton started it off and his pastor Jerimiah Wright may be just the excuse white America needed to dismiss the half black upstart politician. Obama has done his best to remain poised. The one snafu of his own making was the “bitter” voters comment in Pennsylvania. But since the Wright stuff was aired he has been losing ground, especially among white working class voters, who have a penchant for finding “good reasons” to take bad actions as in their last presidential selection.
Barack Obama may still win North Carolina on Tuesday and perhaps even limp across his party’s finish line with the nomination. But let it be known that his candidacy has been wounded and the incoming has hit its mark. However, due to the protracted Democratic race and the introduction of race as an issue that has found its way into the fray, John McCain has gone from an also ran to even money to win in November.
It remains to be seen whether Obama will finally close the deal on the nomination and beyond that whether he, or should Hillary Clinton miraculously come back to take the party’s title, can put the party together in time to avoid the Democratic Party’s curse of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Latinos need to take copious notes of how this works because the first time one of their own makes it to the final two similar tactics and pitfalls will be waiting.
