Do You Think Black South Carolina Voters Were Waiting for a Strong Obama Showing?

[DrFunkenstein]

I remember being unpleasantly surprised by the amount of support Hillary Clinton was getting as the Senator from New York/Wife of First "Black" President Bill Clinton, but I have to wonder how much people were holding their breath to see if Obama had some real viability.

Now that Obama has taken Iowa by a sizeable margin and will at least put in a strong showing in New Hampshire, will the significant African-American population of the Southern state turn to Obama after his win in the lily-white Mid-West?

I know people are supposed to vote after doing intensive studies of the various policy differences among the candidates, but let's just assume that at least some of the people will be swayed by Obama's background working with low-income black neighborhoods in Chicago and a civil rights lawyer instead of a cushy job at the Supreme Court.

[HeraldSquare212]

1. Obama said he thought they were waiting to see if he was viable nt

[K Gardner]

2. Clinton Campaign Loses Front Runner Mantle in SC...

By Jim Davenport
FLORENCE, S.C. (AP) --

The sense of inevitability that once surrounded Hillary Rodham Clinton's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination has lessened in this early voting state since challenger Barack Obama swept to a convincing win earlier this month in Iowa's caucus.

The argument that the New York senator is the only candidate that can win against Republicans doesn't carry as much weight as it did before Iowa, said state Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg and a superdelegate to the Democratic Party.
<snip>

"The Obama campaign has outrun and outsmarted the Clinton campaign," said Waring Howe, a Charleston lawyer and member of the state party's executive committee. He said Obama's campaign has used technology to keep voters engaged and create momentum while the Clinton campaign has been more steeped in traditional efforts, including lining up endorsements from black ministers and legislators.

"The Clintons have got themselves to blame when they look in the mirror," said Howe, also a superdelegate to his party's convention. Howe says he has narrowed his choices to two, but wouldn't say which two.

http://www.scnow.com/midatlantic/scp/news.apx.-content-articles-BTW-2008-01-06-0001.html

[DrFunkenstein]

5. Thanks For The Scoop!

And thanks Connie Corleone for the personal side.

I've had these suspicions, but it seems like they were well-founded. I hope so.

Oops. I said the H word.

[K Gardner]

6. Well, at least you didn't say the "C" word :-)

[Connie_Corleone]

3. I can't speak for South Carolina, but my aunt is now for Obama.

She was a Hillary supporter at first (only because of Bill), but when Obama won Iowa, she changed her tune about him real quick.

She said that she didn't think a black man could win in a predominantly white state. Now that he has, she's all for him now.

[Pirate Smile]

4. I think they needed proof that white voters would vote for him. I think

that is perfectly reasonable of them to need to see it to believe it. Obama actually benefits from having a couple of very white states go first.