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In our day-to-day lives we are constantly reminded of the evils of racism and sexism, yet come election day, those qualities are suddenly celebrated - if your a liberal, of course.
ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C. --- As a black woman, Jeanettea Bryan had been waiting eight years to cast a presidential vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton, until the rhetoric in the Democratic primary got rough and racial.
Whoever was to blame for the nasty tone of the South Carolina race in its final days, it caused her to question her loyalties.
"Before they started getting into the ugly stuff, I really wanted Hillary to win," Ms. Bryan, 45, said. "I prayed about it, and I decided I was going to back Obama."
Barack Obama's supporters chanted "Race doesn't matter" at a Columbia rally Saturday after his victory. But black voters in the first primary state where they counted in large numbers said the chance to send a black man to the White House mattered greatly.
Though blacks overwhelmingly favored Mr. Obama, the exit poll showed he got only about 25 percent of the white vote. The split raises fresh questions about whether he can win in states outside the South, despite his victory in overwhelmingly white Iowa.
In South Carolina, black voters who had been leaning toward Mrs. Clinton turned against her after the mudslinging with Mr. Obama became more personal.
"African-American leaders took umbrage with the Clintons, who otherwise are seen as supporters of the African-American community, for what they saw as slights and insults" aimed at Mr. Obama, said Todd Shaw, a political science professor at the University of South Carolina who specializes in racial politics.
An exit poll showed eight in 10 black voters backed Mr. Obama. They made up 55 percent of voters Saturday in South Carolina.
Mr. Shaw said the lack of white support for Mr. Obama in South Carolina might not carry over to states outside the South. But it's hard to tell, because Mr. Obama is America's first serious black contender for the presidency.
Looking ahead to the Super Tuesday primaries Feb. 5, Emory University political science professor Merle Black said Mr. Obama's strength among black voters should carry over to Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.
KENNEDYS GET BEHIND OBAMA
MACON, Ga. --- Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts will endorse Senate colleague Barack Obama for president, party officials said Sunday.
The endorsement will be announced today in Washington, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak for the record. An official close to the senator said the announcement will be made at an Obama campaign rally at American University, where he will be joined by Mr. Kennedy and his niece, Caroline Kennedy, who also has endorsed Mr. Obama.
In an editorial in The New York Times, she said Mr. Obama could inspire Americans the way her father, President Kennedy, did.
-- Associated Press
AFTER LOSS, CLINTON PUSHES FORWARD
A day after her landslide loss in South Carolina, an unbowed Hillary Clinton told McClatchy Newspapers on Sunday that she did not see Barack Obama as a political phenomenon: "We've had five elections," she said. "We've each won two, and I won Michigan."
Meanwhile, Mrs. Clinton said she was going to Florida to assure Democrats that "their voices are heard" and to underscore her commitment to seeing the state's delegation seated at the national convention. Though the Democratic candidates largely have heeded the national party's request that they not campaign publicly in Florida, she said it's time to pay attention to voters there.
-- From wire reports
Comments
In our day-to-day lives we are constantly reminded of the evils of racism and sexism, yet come election day, those qualities are suddenly celebrated - if your a liberal, of course.
Allowing race to affect your decision making is racism. It is OK to say I voted Obama because he's black, but not OK to vote against him for the same reason. Both are opposite ends of the same spectrum, and the same applies to gender. Either way it's discrimination.
Discrimination.. I know enough about it.. I will vote for the best candidate that I think might do a good job.. actually an exceptional job.. regardless of what gender or color. For all I care an allien can come and run for president.. if that allien can get the job done.. then it will get my vote..
The political races this year could divide this country worse than any other time in the history-civil war not withstanding, of the United States. Many vote just because they have a chance to put a black man into the White House. They do not look at the man and his opinions. They do not seem to remember he was sworn into office with his hand on the Koran. We are at war with the Muslim who by the way are seeking to slaughter any American they happen to find and here we are thinking about electing one to the highest office in the land. Oh Please this is not right. Just because he is black many are forgetting or choose to block out his religious orientation. I, for one, do not believe he is Christian just because he says he is. Racism is rampant in this country. For many many years it opressed the black but now it opresses the white. There needs to be a cease fire, so to speak, and vote for whomever will fight the hardest to put this country back on its feet.
Lies!Lies!lies!
Christian, if the man says he's christian, he's christian. Your name is christian and you don't seem to be. What do YOU think his religious orientation is? You seem to have all the answers this bright morning. Racism is not rampant in this country, YOU ARE!!!
Christian134 what makes you think that all of the Presidents before Obama were truly Christians. You said in your last sentence, vote for whomever will fight the hardest, how do you know Obama is not the one?? Also, do we still have the right to use religion as a factor for anything, have you forgot about all of the problems with displaying the Ten Commandments in certain places..We as blacks have always complained about being held back by the white man, now that we have a chance to move forward with a black man that's qualified to be in the white house, too many of us are still fulfilling the good ole boy role!!
Oh please if anyone says anything against the black man we are declared as racist. How do you know for a fact that I am not black or am christian-what because my name is Christian?- a little ludicrous but if you must know I am Christian:) You are doing the very same thing you say I am doing, accusing without facts. When someone is sworn in on the Koran instead of the Christian Bible-while this country is at war with radical Muslims- what do you think people should believe?
Not being a sexist or racist in this race is impossible according to the parameters set over the past thirty years. If you vote for or against Hillary, you're a sexist and if you vote for or against Obama you're a racist. I guess this levels the playing field at last.
Christian, Obama's not the one sworn in on the Koran - that was the fellow in Michigan. Can't remember if he's a Senator or Representative, but he was the first one, it was a big issue in the news. Maybe you should get your facts straight before you go blasting off on someone.
Poor christian still believes in these internet hoaxes. Get educated, but I have a feeling you would rather believe the lie than the truth. Obama won the upper level socieoeconomic vote, which is more telling than race. He is very exciting and his victory speech was inspirational. He's very hard not to like, and I am a Hillary supporter, who is coming close to jumping ship.
what i want to know is, what are the qualifications of each of the candidates. what have they done that qualifies them to be president? what are there plans? all we hear is about race and gender. i think this election is being taken so far off track and not even close to being realistic. we are at a time when we need the most qualified person and i've seen nothing that gives specifics about all these changes they want to make. we need to be informed voters and know more about the content and plans of these politicians.
Kieth Elison is the representative who swore in on the Koran, not Obama.
chistian, get your facts straight. Obama DID NOT get sworn into the US Senate with a koran. The only Democratic House member is Keith Ellison of Minnesota. He was sworn in on the koran.
Numbers from the voters are to some extent distorted. Lots of our neighbors from across the river went to the polls two days ago (including many Republicans) and voted against Hillary and Bill Clinton. This will change in November when many will vote for their Republican candidate. If Obama is still on the ticket, then the numbers of Democrat voters will tell a more accurate story.
Great post DANI.
Idiots, these folks just can't help themselves.
My bad on the swearing in -hey wow I am wrong but am not getting ugly or throwing a fit:) Obama is still muslim. Just keep reading although how do any of us know for sure who is right or wrong?
Obama is not ready to be President...he will be slaughtered by the seasoned politicians in Washington.
C134 You are still wrong, go back and try again
Again, christian, you're peddling BS. Senator Obama is NOT a muslim, nor has ever been. You can go to snopes.com or factcheck.org to get the facts.
you are the worst kind, peddling lies you know are false and hoping that someone out there won't check for the truth.
if he is muslim it doesn't mean he is one of the radical Islamic nuts killing innocent people.
He still is :) So you can have your resources on the net but others can't have there own. Who is to say yours are right while mine are wrong? Your getting a little testy...
christian u are wrong!! he attends a baptist church in chicago. i know this for a fact because the former preacher of tabernacle baptist church in augusta, rev otis moss, is an associate pastor at his church. he was a member long before he annouced he was running for president...educate yourself.
you bet I'm getting a little testy. All credible sources state that Senator Obama is NOT a muslim. We're all onto your game of throwing out the crap and seeing if any of it will stick.
Aside from the fact that Obama is not ready....don't you think he is just a little "too" good to be true?? A bit too smarmy for me.
Patricia's comment at 6:53 a.m. is right on again as usual. It would seem the only way to demonstrate you are not sexist or racist is to vote Republican!
Gonna have to agree with Dani that the poll numbers were what they were because of Republican votes to keep Hillary from gaining the nomination but it should be poited out that the same thing in reverse is all that keeps the McCain candidacy alive. His support with real Republicans is VERY slim. And yes Patricia was on the money too..the most poliically correct vote in this election may be for some 3rd party nut job who wants to legalize everything except capitalism.
karma - you see "smarmy,I see inspirational, intelligent and personable. Not ready? Obama is a constitutional lawyer (Lord knows we need to take back our constitution), was a community organizer, spent 8 years in the Illinois State Senate and was elected as US Senator for Illinois in 2004. I'd say he's more than ready to lead this nation.
Fairly civil discusson so far...lets see how long ths holds.
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