Clinton loses black leaders to Obama charm offensive
There was a time when Hillary Clinton could have taken the support of New York state's black population for granted. That, thanks to Barack Obama, is all changing; and Hillary will now have to spend time and money shoring up her own doorstep as Obama makes headway into areas of the electorate that Hillary could once have regarded as sure bets for her.
And, as roughly one in five Democrats who vote in New York state are black, this presents Hillary with a considerable problem.
Obama himself has rather cleverly played down the issue of colour, whilst no doubt being highly aware of the areas in which it helps him.Signs that black elected officials in the state are drifting into the Obama camp come as his campaign continues to build momentum. In the first quarter of this year he matched Mrs Clinton in raising funds, while a new poll released on Monday showed him dead-even with her nationally for the first time.
Loyalty among black leaders in the state can be traced back to the high popularity of President Bill Clinton in the African American community, but the sudden rise of Mr Obama appears to be stirring a degree of ethnic pride and excitement that is straining those old assumptions.
"I would have supported Hillary if it were not for Barack Obama," Adam Clayton Powell IV of the state assembly told The New York Times. "He can identify with my African American community in a way that no other candidate can." Jeffrion Aubry, also an assemblyman, concurred: "His presence as a legitimate politician at a national level brings a certain pride. It makes you have to make a choice."
Senator Obama, meanwhile, told the National Action Network last week that he did not expect people to choose candidates only on ethnic lines. "I don't care whether they are white or black or they are male or female - if there is somebody who has been more on the forefront on behalf of the issues you care about and has more concrete accomplishments on behalf of the things you're concerned about, I'm happy to see you endorse them. But I am absolutely confident you will not find that," he said.The ability of Obama to draw votes from the African American community may also prove crucial to the campaign in other states like South Carolina, where the African American vote is likely to determine the outcome on election day.
So, he's matched her ability to raise money dollar for dollar, and now he's making inroads into communities that Hillary could once safely call her own. And he's doing all this at a time when a polls are showing him him dead-even with Hallary nationally for the first time since the campaign began.
The young Senator is taking some very big strides. I find myself smiling and wishing him well.
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