Obama Could Carry the South

[Bullet1987]

Of the many reasons why Obama is the smarter choice in the General Election (Republican crossover appeal, Indie love, unity message)...something people haven't really looked at is how dramatic of an effect Obama can have in the South. Maybe it's because Obama isn't viewed as a "Southern candidate" so things like this get overlooked. It would be the first time a Black man was ever nominated by a major political party in American history. Now, Black people do vote in the South already, but never in large enough numbers to swing Southern states for the Dems. Nobody has ever really rallied their support, it was always the usual pandering. Going to a Black church, talking about the Civil Rights Movement and MLK in front of a mostly Black crowd, etc. Obama would rally the Black vote in ways never seen before I believe. Almost all Southern states would come into play...

(As of 2005)
Louisiana: 33.5% African-American
South Carolina: 30% African-American
Georgia: 30% African-American
Mississippi: 37% African-American

Those are 4 states that would come into play with Obama as our nominee. Even though some may look at the percentages and not think it's a whole lot. Remember, many of those folks don't vote. What was that people talk about about turning red states purple? In Georgia, Bush only beat Kerry by 548,000 votes. That may seem like a lot, but when you do the math and compare the percentage of AA's against the votes needed to beat Bush...it's clear it could have easily been done. There's over 2 million Black people that live in Georgia...and that isn't even considered a close state from 2004. Same thing goes for the other states too when you do the math. Remember, Bush didn't wipe the floor with Kerry...he barely beat him even after the swiftboating ads and everything else.

The South would be ripe for the picking...but only if Obama gets the nomination.