Clinton Says Obama's Support Among Working, White Americans Has Diminished

Friday May 9, 2008, 6:21 am
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Barack Obama's support among working, white Americans has diminished. Her fresh comments about race dogged her Thursday as she pressed on with her struggling candidacy.

Her voice raspy, her tone determined, the former first lady raced into a long West Virginia-to-the-West Coast campaign day, declaring she would move forward with her presidential effort and insisting anew that she, not Obama, would be the stronger Democratic candidate to face Republican John McCain in November.

In an interview with USA Today published Thursday, Clinton noted that the coalition of voters who have supported her in the Democratic nominating contest had eluded Obama and would pose problems for him in the general election.

"Senator Obama's support among working, hardworking Americans, white Americans, is weakening again ... there's a pattern here," Clinton was quoted as saying.

The Obama campaign did not respond to the remarks, which generated buzz in the liberal blogosphere.

Working-class whites overwhelmingly favour Clinton over Obama, and their view of the Illinois senator has grown increasingly negative since late last year, according to Associated Press-Yahoo News polling. In an AP-Yahoo survey a month ago, more than half - or 53 per cent - of whites who have not finished college had negative impressions of Obama, up a 12 points since November.

Data from exit polls also show that Obama's problem with working-class whites persists. About six in 10 of them voted for Clinton in primaries on Super Tuesday (Feb. 5) and earlier, and they have leaned toward her slightly more since then. On Tuesday, Clinton was supported by 65 per cent of whites who have not finished college in Indiana and 71 per cent of them in North Carolina.

With virtually no chance of catching Obama in the popular vote or among pledged delegates, Clinton and her strategists have pinned their hope on persuading superdelegates - elected officials and party activists - that she would be the stronger Democrat to run against McCain.
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gRhyq2Mv8uEh4bDRleUOH5qCU-_A

Friday May 9, 2008, 7:01 am
Noted. What I find interesting is Senator Barack Obama is the only candidate raised by working class whites from the Midwest. Here is part of an article written before Indiana and North Carolina:

Obama: "I Was Raised With Far Fewer Advantages" Than HRC & JM

INDIANAPOLIS -- The question Barack Obama must answer as he campaigns in Indiana, and to a lesser extent North Carolina where he is the favorite, is how he can overcome his weakness with working class and non-college educated voters. He addressed the issue Aril 25, 2008 in a press conference about gas prices.


When pressed about the challenge he faces with blue collar voters, the Illinois senator said he believes voters in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania may have preferred Clinton in the primary but would be more than likely" to vote for him in the general election against John McCain.

"I don't think that there's a huge difference between black working class, white working class, suburban, urban, rural,

I think people want to see the country make progress,

and so what I'm going to continue to do is to present those issues that effect people's bottom lines, the issues they're talking about around the kitchen table," he told reporters outside Joe's Junction gas station.

"I think that when they see what our plans are particularly in a general election compared to the approach that Sen McCain is taking, I'm confident that Americans are gonna want to move forward instead of having 4 more years of the same politics that got us into trouble in the first place."

He joked that he had on a ''pretty standard suit" when asked how he could fight the perception being put forth by his opponents that he was a "GQ"-style elitist, adding that he had four pairs of shoes and that he had just one suit when he met his wife.

He acknowledged he would need to focus in the next several weeks on educating voters about his background.

"I was raised with far fewer advantages than either of my two remaining opponents," he said.

Obama also spoke about his work as a community organizer and noted that he and his wife financed their educations through student loans.

"I was raised in a setting with my grandparents who grew up in small town Kansas where, you know, the dinner table would have been very familiar to anybody here in Indiana - a lot of pot roast and potatoes and Jell-O molds," he said. "And, you know, so on the one hand I don't want to go out of my way to sort of prove my street cred as a down to earth guy.

I'm gonna be fighting as hard as I can to make sure that you know, people understand why I got into this race in the first place, how I got to where I am today, and when they understand that, I think they'll recognize themselves and that my struggles are theirs and together we can change the country."

Senator Obama also addressed his background during interviews with Wolf Blitzer, CNN, and Brian Williams, NBC, yesterday.

Friday May 9, 2008, 9:02 am
I am pretty tired of Senator Clinton and I all for her in the beginning of this terrible tug of war..thank you for this article Peggy I will send to my friends and family.

Friday May 9, 2008, 11:28 am
Clinton: But whites like me!

“I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on,” she said in an interview with USA TODAY. As evidence, Clinton cited an Associated Press article “that found how Sen. Obama’s support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me.”
“There’s a pattern emerging here,” she said.

How is that not race-baiting?

This is why Clinton needs to drop out now. When the Democratic candidate starts race baiting, the Democrats have a real problem. It’s going to be bad enough with taking this $hit from the Republicans, we don’t need to take it from someone in our own party. And, she is poisoning the well with this kind of talk. When she is finally dragged from the room kicking and screaming, her supporters are going to go with her.

Friday May 9, 2008, 8:43 pm
I'm hard working. I'm white. I don't have a college education, but when it comes to picking the right person for president I'm just as smart as the college grad. You have to understand I live in the state where Obama's U.S. side of his family lives. They are also hard working, white and most of them do not have a college education but they are 100% in support of him. I would like to know where she is getting these numbers.

Friday May 9, 2008, 11:25 pm
Agreed Ralph, she fabricates them from thin air(or better her spin masters do)

Saturday May 10, 2008, 5:56 am
Hillary Clinton was just pointing out that when it comes to the working class voters Obama does not do well. She stated white working class because the media has cited polls which showed that Obama does not do well with the white working class but does well with the black working class. The fact is that the reason why there is a difference is because most blacks regardless of their income are voting for Obama because he is black. They have also been fed propaganda to make them angry against the Clintons. On the other hand most of the white working class are not supporting Hillary because she is white and he is black. Why doesn't anybody complain when it is stated over and over again that Hillary will have trouble getting the black vote in November if she is the official candidate for the Democrats? Why doesn't anybody ask why 92% of the black voters are voting for Obama? Are they racists? It seems to me that Obama and his supporters are using the race card. Obama is a divider not an uniter.
Some of you have mentioned that he came from a middle class background - well obviously that did not help him understand the plight of those who are struggling financially today. He laughed at Hillary's proposal for a suspension of the gasoline tax. He said that they could save about 30 cents a day which would come out to $2.10 for the week. Well that could help them buy another pound of chopped meat for their family or they can save that money for the 3 months and it could help them buy clothes or shoes for their children when they return to school. He is an elitist.

Saturday May 10, 2008, 6:34 am
Esther, since we are not in the DNC group, I can speak freely and openly. You my fellow American are speaking very ignorant. I know many blac people who are voting for Hillary, not for Obama, not all blac people are voting for Obama cause he is blac, that is a very biased statement to be making from one such as a anti-Obama pro-Hillary supporter. 92% of Afrian Americans are voting for Obama, just cause hes blac? I do not think that the 92% of which you speak of is the right number. Where did you get them numbers cause the blac people I know and speak to on a daily basis are split just about 50/50.
The gas tax, was a propaganda move by Hillary,(jumping on the republican bandwagon) she wants to make the country think she is of some kind heroine, our valiant savior. The gas tax doesn't help those whom I know, AT ALL, it would only help her people, her kind. Obama went against it cause he knew this. 2.10 cents a week for one month is 8.40. What clothes is being bought for that, what food is able to be bought with that, not a full meal for my family and many others I know. 2.10 cents wont even get you a pound of ground beef in my city. So again you as far as the gas tax are speaking only as a Pro-Hillary supporter.
Funny as soon as a white person puts down the WHOLE Blac American ethnic group and they in return shout unfairness, we as Blac Americans are pulling the race card.
She said white voters in my state over and over and over again and she is still working on them statements and Obama is the wrong choice, Obama is playing the race card.... What a crock of shit, a joke, the same game white people have been playing since 1776. Remember all men created equal, accept that was only for all white men, women and blac people weren't included in that and we are reminded of that daily in this country and Hillary is only eating out of the white mans hands, just how they want her to.

Saturday May 10, 2008, 8:21 am
$hrillary is trying another attack by her mad dogs

Clinton Supporters Send Last-Ditch Obama Attack Emails To Supers

Saturday May 10, 2008, 8:21 am
We Hardly Know You Anymore

Add Joe Conason to the list of those dismayed by the direction of Hillary's campaign.

Saturday May 10, 2008, 8:33 am
Botyfitiger, I tried to submit a response to what you posted over a half hour ago and for some reason it still has not posted. In any event I want to add that I don't understand what you mean when you say it is the same game that white people have been playing since 1776. We did have a civil war and many white people fought on the side of the north and that freed the slaves. Then finally in the 20th Century the Congress passed laws that gave civil rights to the blacks that they should have had years before. It was mostly white people who elected those members of Congress. I also know that in N.Y. where I was raised, we had natural integration. I learned that blacks just as whites are all different. In the 1960s I wrote an opinion piece in my children's PTA newsletter honoring Martin Luther King. I think that all people should follow his teachings and we should not judge a person by the color of his or her skin.
I will try to submit this comment and in case it posts but the first response that I tried to submit still doesn't post, I will repeat that I got the fact that 92% of the blacks voted for Obama from the media. They said that was what the exit polls have shown in most of the primary elections.
I also will repeat that where I live in Indiana we can buy a pound of chopped ground round or chuck for about $1.99. I also will repeat that if you don't shop in the more expensive stores you can purchase some clothes or shoes for the $30 you would save if there was a suspension of the gasoline tax for 3 months.
I would also repeat that the black community has been told that Hillary is responsible for the stories about Rev. Wright with the goal of making them angry at her. The fact is that Hannity of Fox news did an interview with Rev. Wright in March 2007. The Republicans were already aware of Rev. Wright's views concerning the U.S. and white people in general. Hillary was not the one to divulge the story about Rev. Wright's statements and opinions. In addition Obama's supporters have also branded Bill Clinton as a racist because he stated that Jesse Jackson had won primary elections in South Carolina in the past. Bill Clinton was just responding to the pundits who were carrying on about the fact that a black man (Obama) could win a primary election in South Carolina. Obama's supporters have done everything they can to make blacks angry at the Clintons .I recently spoke with my former black neighbor and I know it has worked.

Saturday May 10, 2008, 8:54 am
So Blue Bunting, Hillary supporters should not give their reasons why they think that Hillary would be the better candidate? It seems it was okay when Hillary was bashed over just about everything. I even heard the Obama supporters using the fact that they should vote for Obama because Hillary has too much baggage so Obama had a better chance of winning in November. So now the voters should not consider the baggage that Obama has. In addition the Obama supporters have said that she uses dirty politics. Meanwhile the Obama supporters have been misleading people into thinking that Hillary had no other plans to deal with the problem of the high cost of oil but to give them a temporary suspension of the gasoline tax. Hillary has made it clear that she has very specific ideas on how to handle that problem In addition she is the only one of the 3 main candidates who has said that there should be an investigation into whether there was a deliberate manipulation of the price of oil similar to what was done with Enron which caused the price of electricity to skyrocket in California. After all an executive of Exxon said that if the price of oil was being determined by supply and demand the price of a barrel of oil should be $50 to $55. So why does Obama and his supporters mislead people into thinking that her proposal to temporarily suspend the gasoline tax is her only idea of how to handle the problem ?
In addition Obama and his supporters have been carrying on that the bad economy, bad job market, high cost of gasoline, deficit spending has been going on for 20 years and so it is time for a change. The fact is that we had a great economy, an enormous number of good jobs were created , the price of a gallon of gasoline was !.00 during the Clinton administration. The Clinton administration also finally got rid of the deficit after decades of deficit spending. So isn't Obama and his supporters playing dirty politics?

Saturday May 10, 2008, 9:02 am
Esther, you can't fight "a movement" and this is a BIG MOVEMENT of youth in our country; it's time to pass the torch to a new generation; $hrillary and McCian's generation has messed up our country to the point where we're all headed off a cliff; are you willing to jump after Hillary?

If so, do so. But not me; I'll vote, along with my daughter and her friends, yes, we'll be VOTING FOR CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN instead of the same old, same old ...

Saturday May 10, 2008, 9:07 am
as citizens of a racist society
with a long & deeply rooted history of racism
who are we trying to fool by denying or being "shocked"
that voters vote in line with race as a consideration

who among us is so blind as not to see this
as the core under the veil of the
"change vs experience" argument

when a candidate wins an election because of their race
the loser is not simply their opponent
but the voters themselves
and ultimately - the world

Saturday May 10, 2008, 9:10 am
Watercarrier ... everyone is capable of change, one just has to decide to CHANGE ... "Be the change you wish to see in the world" -- Ghandi

So, instead of race baiting and looking at people as if they are "other" ... one need only decide to change one's mind, change one's outlook, change one's focus ... let's not teach our children WAR any more; we can focus on teaching them diplomacy; will you teach your children, your grandchildren to build Weapons of Mass Destruction or satellites, solar panels, wind farms?

Saturday May 10, 2008, 9:28 am
Esther, please read a history book written after 1985, cause it will say and teach you that what you say as being giving credit to white America for 100 years after slavery, is not the way it went down. The civil War WAS NOT OVER SLAVERY! It was over propertiy in the disguise of it being fought for slavery. Please read the book called WRONG ON RACE.

African Americans being given any real equality is a bunch of malarkey. Blacs today have just as many blockages as they did 50 years ago, it is just done a bit more of the sneak tip now. Hight % rates, forced though being denied places to live, to stay in the ghettos, being eye balled and labled as thuggs every where they go.. Yes the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was so good for them.
I don't know where or what blac community you speak of. I live in and am very much involved in my towns community and I differ with your saying that the communities are being told that Hillary is the reason about Mr. Wright. Anyone who has an OUNCE of intelligence knows Barack brought him on to him-self, not Hillary. Again making people look foolish trying to make Hillary look better. THAT is part of the game White America plays on the minorities of this country. Dumb them down, just like Hillary is trying to do.
Do you listen to everything the media says? Cause man that is really wacko. Saying cause the news said it, it must be true. I being very much involved in my community, that holds a majority of blac, asian and latino citizens in this area, they are split, just about 50/50, so it is in my understanding though living, talking to and knowing those who vote, in my very large city, that your news is wrong.

I do know tho. It was Hillary's campaign that said if Obama was voted as the US president, we would get Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton in the white house also, but that isn't even mentioned. And oh Hillary was so respectful and right by saying the only reason Blacs in America were given any civil rights, they should have had since birth, was cause of Linden B Johnson, taking any and all credit away from Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, the dead salves and all others who fought for equality of blacs in this country.
Yes Obama is playing the race card, yep, I know, he is a closet case Muslim also, I know, and Hillary is this countries best bet for us getting out of war, even though she has made threats to bomb Iran if they need to be, and wont even think about compromising with people WE as A COUNTRY label as terrorist. And Barack saying he would do the right thing by speaking to them, letting them know some of us do look at them as humans who have rights to their views, ones we may not agree with, but the ones they have rights to, is the wrong choice cause OH MY GOODNESS, peace may just come out of it.
Yes Barack Obama is the worlds biggest lier and Hillary is an angel.

Saturday May 10, 2008, 11:01 am
Botyfitiger, I don't know which of your statements to respond to first.
I guess I will start by letting you know that I live in a condominium in Southern Indiana that consists of townhouses that are connected to each other. My neighborhood is naturally integrated. Until recently I had a black neighbor on my right and a black neighbor on my left. The black woman to my right just recently moved to a brand new house with a two car garage.She also has a nice car and broadband internet connection. In other words she is not doing badly. Neither are my other black neighbors. I also went to a Junior High School that was naturally integrated (we all lived within walking distance of the school) back in the 1950s. I got to know all kinds of people over the years. I have known some blacks who were college graduates and some whites who were not. I also know some whites who are struggling financially today. I recall when I told my former black neighbor that when I was a child I never had a toy or a doll and most of my clothes were hand me downs because I was the youngest of 5 children, she was very surprised. My point is that all whites are not privileged and some blacks have come a long way. Apparently you don't live in an area in which there are many or any whites and so you don't know that all whites don't have it made and all whites are not prejudiced. I don't listen to everything the media says. I know that they often don't tell us the truth. In the case of exit polls, I cannot do my own exit polling and so I cannot know if they are telling the truth. I do know that the media has been bashing Hillary continuously. They distort a lot of what she says and they also criticize her for making racist remarks etc. I felt that it was working against her when I spoke to my former black neighbor just before the primary election in Indiana. She was very angry at Hillary just as you seem to be. You bring up the fact that she gave credit to Lyndon Johnson for the civil rights act. Hillary was not taking credit away from Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, etc. She was trying to point out that it is important for people to vote. I was an admirer of Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks but they could not get anything accomplished unless the right people were elected and had the power to actually do something. Martin Luther King deserved credit because he brought attention to the plight of the blacks in the South. He also knew how to reach out to whites on that issue. That helped with getting whites to vote for the right people and letting them know that we were in agreement that something had to be done about this disgrace. All Hillary was saying is that voting is important because if the government was still being run by a President and a Congress who didn't want the blacks to have civil rights no matter what Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks did, it never would have happened.

Saturday May 10, 2008, 11:03 am
The Night the Old Politics Died
Often it's hard to spot true turning points. What looks important one day can fade into obscurity the next, and other times we overlook the event that really changes history. In this guest essay, Brent Budowsky argues that May 6 marked the end of the old negative politics. May 7, 2008

Saturday May 10, 2008, 11:29 am
All Hillary was saying is I AM WHITE so if you are white you need to vote for me. That is how I see it.
You living in an integrated town, high school means nothing to me. My white, very racist mother also went to integrated schools, yet she uses the N word as if that is what blac people should be called. She has used it so much that I will not allow my, now mixed race children, to be around her hateful nasty person.

You also stated to me.
_________________________________________________
Apparently you don't live in an area in which there are many or any whites and so you don't know that all whites don't have it made and all whites are not prejudiced
______________________________________________________________
Apparently you haven't read much of what I post. I live in a area of which is a pocket in a very large city. We are surrounded by whites and know we are not welcomed just 4 blocks from our homes. Also I am a mixed race woman, raised by her white family. My father also a mixed race man, and my African hertiage was denied to me, I was told lies about who my father really was. So in my view most of the white people I have come in contact with are prejudice and or are flat out racist!

So again I see Hillary just Miss Spoke, that should be her new ad for a commercial. I am Miss Spoken but make sure Obama is stuck to every word he says.
It is all water under the bridge now, and was such a good thing to have her husband being so disrepectful oopps I mean caring and understanding that he was falling asleep during Martin Luther King the 3rds speech at a service for his father. She said that the civil rights and Martin King Jr were false hopes. How is that twisted into miss speaking? Or not what she ment....

Saturday May 10, 2008, 12:33 pm
WOW Esther you and my mom sure would get along. Was she raped? I don't think one would be raped when they are married and willingly having sex with their husband. WOW what a nasty, ignorant, asinine thing to say.
I will not get any futher with you on my personal life. Have a great day tho.

Saturday May 10, 2008, 1:55 pm
Botyfitiger, once again you distort what I was stating. I meant that sarcastically because since it was obvious that she had a love affair (in this case within a marriage) how can she be a racist? What is the matter with you? You see racism in everything.

Sunday May 11, 2008, 9:12 am
I am sure all of you over at the DNC make Hillary, Ann Coulter and Brabra Walters so proud.

Sunday May 11, 2008, 10:58 am
Let’s see can we all agree that the majority of the voting body is working class whites? Yes, granted that these primaries have brought out a lot more minority voters (all minorities not just Black). With both sides, Pro Hillary and Obama agreeing with these facts, tell me why Obama is ahead with such a huge margin. Hillary has to win by significant double digits from here out to win. I think the "electability comment" is premature and childish.

Sunday May 11, 2008, 12:43 pm
Uncle Funkle, when the primary elections first began, most voters had not heard anything negative about Obama, but they had heard a lot of negative things about Hillary. They voted for Obama because of this. They thought that he had a better chance of winning against the Republicans because he had no baggage and she did. Now they have begun to hear negative things about him that they were not aware of. I wonder if all of those people who voted for him months ago would vote for him now. In addition many of the younger people have been told that we have had a bad economy, a bad job market, high gasoline prices, and deficits for the past 20 years and so it is time for a change. They are unaware that during the Clinton administration the economy was great, an enormous number of good jobs were created and the price of a gallon of gasoline was $1.00. The Clinton administration also finally got rid of the deficit and most people around the world liked and respected us. It actually would be a good thing to be able