Another night, another sweep. News reports show Sen. Obama winning Virginia by 27 points, DC by 52 points, and Maryland (at this early hour) by 38 points.
Most heartening are headlines like “Obama stealing Clinton’s base” and “Independent voters break for Obama and against McCain.” This really is a campaign that people from all walks of life can support. And they are — from every age group, every racial heritage, every gender, every demographic. The Democratic tent has never been so big.
In December 2006, we took aim at the ridiculous “Is America ready for a black president?” meme. We called the question “a complete and utter cop-out…just a way to pass the buck and speculate without the danger of having to draw a conclusion.” For our part, we concluded that “America will demonstrate the state of its readiness soon enough.”
Fourteen months later, America is doing precisely that.
If you’re reading this in any of the 22 states holding Democratic primaries and caucuses tomorrow, I hope you just got back from voting for Sen. Obama. Or you’re about to head out and vote for Sen. Obama. Or you’re emailing your 10 neighbors to let them know that you will pick them up in 5 minutes so they can vote for Sen. Obama.
Glad to hear it! This is a huge day, the Halley’s Comet of electoral politics. What better way to kick off the general election campaign of the most transformative candidate in modern history?
And while you’re waiting for the polls to open, enjoy this video, created by supporters totally unaffiliated with the campaign:
Polls closed at 7pm, and at 7:01 every network called the South Carolina primary for Sen. Obama. With 51% reporting, he has twice as many votes as Sen. Clinton, and 7 pledged delegates to her 1.
More impressive is the exit poll information, which shows him winning handily in nearly every demographic: Men, Women, African Americans, every age cohort between 18 and 64, White voters age 18-29, and churchgoers.
What’s more, of voters who said that former President Bill Clinton’s campaigning played an important role in their decision, most by far voted for Sen. Obama. Looks like sending a former head of state into the muck of disingenuous politicking has its price.
Anyone think we’ll be seeing less of the Pit Bill in the weeks ahead? Judging from these polls, I’m inclined to hope not.
We’ve refrained from saying much about Sen. Clinton on this site. In theory at least, it doesn’t make much sense to go after other Democrats, when the ultimate goal is taking back the White House from wrong-headed Republicanism. Additionally, negative remarks about other Democrats don’t jibe especially well with the overall theme of the Obama movement, which is rooted in optimism and unity.
But if we’ve learned anything from the last two presidential races, it’s that you let pointed attacks go unanswered at your own peril, no matter from what quarter they come. Some things demand redress, and the Clinton campaign’s recent behavior falls into that category.
Make no mistake, Sen. Clinton has pulled out the long knives, and she is coming for Sen. Obama. Behind in South Carolina, she sees him coming into Feb. 5, with its 22 primaries, riding a surge of momentum and holding a lead in the delegate count, and her desperation is palpable.
It’s the only explanation: her desperation pushed her into awkwardly attacking Sen. Obama’s reasonable statements about Ronald Reagan’s transformational presidency (not good transformational, mind you). It compelled her husband to exchange his robes of established statesmanship for the tawdry garb of political debasement, with all the distortions and trickery that go with it. Her desperation even drove her to invoke the debunked and toothless Rezko smear during Monday’s debate.
I don’t think it will work. Sen. Obama was not always concise in his rejection of her smears last night, but he had plenty of powerful moments that put her desperation squarely in the spotlight. Here’s a personal favorite:
If Sen. Obama’s campaign is about anything, it’s about having faith in people’s desire to move past the politics of desperation. In South Carolina, where The State just endorsed Obama for President, it’s looking like that faith is well-placed. Fighting the good fight up to and through February 5th is the only way to prove it for sure.
“I think over the last couple days you’ve seen a tone on the Democratic side in the campaign that I think is unfortunate,” he stated. “I may disagree with Senator Clinton or Senator Edwards on how to get there, but we share the same goals. We’re all Democrats.” He praised Edwards and Clinton as “patriots” who have the best interest of the country at heart, but urged all campaigns to “focus on the work that needs to get done” during this important time in our history. “I don’t want the campaign at this stage to degenerate into so much tit for tat back and forth that we lose sight of why we are all doing this,” he said.
As some of you have noticed, it’s been nearly two weeks since the last Obamarama post. For a blog that’s been updated at least once and sometimes as much as five times a day over the past six months, that’s certainly an anomaly. So what gives?
A few things. I’ve generally tried to keep the personal out of the political here, so let’s just say they involve a new dog, a career change, and not nearly the kind of free time I need to keep the information on the site as timely and engaging as it needs to be.
A lot has changed in in Sen. Obama’s political career since this blog launched in December 2006, too. The most significant is that he is now a presidential candidate — the primary hope of this blog and indeed it’s raison d’ etre. Once that happened, finding information and analysis about the junior senator from Illinois became a lot easier for blog readers, and keeping the posts cutting edge became much more of a challenge.
Still, Obamarama has tried to bring you something unique among political blogs: good-natured, insightful, sometimes humorous takes on the news and happenings of Sen. Obama’s historic campaign. While still providing regular updates on polls, breaking news and the occasional liveblog, the site tried to distinguish itself by providing reports with some flavor and zest — posts like FOX News Takes Comedic Swing at Obama, Misses and Hell Hath No Fury Like Mike Allen Scorned, not to mention the entire Expose the Hate series. Hopefully that’s been successful, and enjoyable.
For the time being I’ll be suspending posts on the site, with the hope of returning when I have the time and ability to give readers more of what you’ve come to expect here — information that will entertain and engage you as you keep tabs on the most groundbreaking and inspirational political ascendancy of our time.
Thanks for your forbearance — and thank you most of all for checking the site, for your many comments and emails, and for your enduring interest in a campaign that is changing the country for the better every day. Stay involved!
-JHC
P.S. In the spirit of Absurd Obama Video Sunday, which I think pretty much embodies the essence of this blog, I leave you with this soon-to-be classic video about a girl with a very special crush on a very special statesman:
This was definitely one of the most exhilarating exchanges of the Democratic debate last night. Sen. Obama’s overall performance has been hailed by many in the media, but this was by far his most succinct and powerful rebuttal:
A taste: “So your girlfriend rolls a fatty / Wants the mayor of Manhatty / But Rudy, he ain’t fit to ride in my Caddy / My Democratties don’t — want — jack — unless you vote — Ba-rack.”
And now, the absurd glory that is “Baby Vote Barack”:
