Delta Force
Obama hits Mississippi as experience debate rages.
Mississippi goes to the polls Tuesday to decide the fate of 33 delegates to the Democratic National Convention—an important bloc in the tightly contested battle for the party's presidential mantle heading into the fall. But you wouldn't know it down here on the ground in the Delta.
Barack Obama has the state to himself; Hillary Clinton's campaign seems to have written Mississippi off, leaving only daughter Chelsea behind to try to turn out the vote. According to the two most recent polls, Clinton trails Obama by between 6 and 17 points—despite the long-standing ties of former Arkansas governor Bill Clinton to the region.
Obama basked in his lead over breakfast at Buck's restaurant in Greenville, accompanied by a few dozen local pols, while more than 100 cheering supporters gathered outside. An old salad bar had been repurposed as a place to plant fliers; Obama campaign literature nestled next to a Xeroxed advertisement for "A Head of Time," a local beauty salon offering men's haircuts for $10 and up.
The restaurant's owner, S. B. Buck ("My mother gave me initials, I was such a bad boy") said Obama was inspiring voters by reaching out to young people. "Young people fall through the cracks and haven't been participating in politics," he said. "Young people are eventually going to control everything in America, and you can't leave them out."
Buck spoke warmly about President Clinton but felt another Clinton term in the White House under Hillary wouldn't work. "[Bill] was the first black president we ever had," he said. "Bill has been there. He knows what needs to be done and will take over behind the scenes. I think one time for a First Family is enough, even for the Bushes. That's my opinion."
Obama seems to agree. In the run-up to the vote, he and his aides have been questioning Clinton's oft-repeated claim that she has extensive national security experience—the claim at the core of her "3 a.m." phone ad, which featured prominently in the days before Ohio and Texas voted on March 4.
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Member Comments
Posted By: ports @ 03/22/2008 9:28:56 AM
Comment: It is interesting that the state of Michigan and Florida should not be counted when Obama was the only one to campaign in BOTH states. His idea not to put his name on the ballot in Michigan was his own but he did run ads there. All a political ploy. The caucuses which did count were a mess. I attended one and the way that the votes were counted was ridiculous. We put up our hands and one person did a count!!!!! It was even a close count but they called it Obama win. How can that be considered appropriate? There was no one there to "keep them honest" as they say. We don't even know what credentials or political affiliations the person had who counted the votes. It was a sham!! If the democratic party can condone that mess then why would they disenfranchise the people of Michigan and Florida who had a well run voting process that was fair to all and slightly more fair to Obama in Florida since he was the ONLY democratic candidate who broke
the rules and campaigned there. That should have been a deal breaker alone and I don't understand why Hillary Clinton is not crying "foul" for being cheated there. Oh, that's right, no one can do that to Obama without him making it into a racist issue even though half the country is voting for the "protected one".
I would also like to mention at this time that in the last few days, all of the newworks have been featuring Obama regarding the passports violations even though all three candidates have had the same passport iolation. The only person they talked to about this was Obama. He got plenty of air time to help him try to wash away the Rev. Wright affiliation. Nevertheless, it won't wash, he did what he did and it is too big a problem for him to get rid of. Hillary Clinton has been very nice about not mentioning it which you Obama people have not taken notice of but the rest of the democrats and unfortunately, republicans have and while she is thinking about the party, the Republicans will "sink" him if he gets the democratic nod.
Posted By: ports @ 03/21/2008 8:53:07 PM
Comment: Being on the board of a company even if it is not a popular company, can be useful when the person helps others and this story from powin is an excellent example of that. It also goes to show that HIllary Clinton is a person of the people and for the people. I commend her on this generous action.
Posted By: powin @ 03/20/2008 2:23:35 PM
Comment: Dear CJ, not by osmosis . . . Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is well-known among world leaders and she has been a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, an organization for scholars dedicated to producing and disseminating ideas so that policymakers in the United States and other countries can better understand world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other governments. As an avid reader of this prestigious panoply of policy making, one can attest that Foreign Affairs covers nearly every aspect of present geopolitical problem-solving. She is no ingénue when it comes to world affairs.