COLUMBIA, S.C. — She shall overcome.
Ever since Hillary Clinton remarked that Martin Luther King Jr. needed
President Lyndon Johnson to realize his dream (a comment seen by
some as belittling the civil rights leader), race has become a
major factor in the Democratic nomination battle.
Clinton, whose husband benefited politically from his strong
ties to the black community, has seen her support among that
demographic group evaporate in early nominating contests. In
Nevada, Barack Obama captured 83 percent of the black vote, and in
Michigan, where Obama wasn’t even on the ballot, 68 percent of African Americans voted for
“uncommitted” over the former first lady.
These trends have forced her to virtually concede South Carolina
to Obama, where blacks make up roughly half of the Democratic
electorate, and she’ll likely be in trouble in other states with
large black populations.
These developments have prompted some commentators to speculate
that if Clinton takes down the first black presidential candidate
with a real chance of winning in a bitter, racial-tinged, primary
fight, it could damage her in the general election by depressing
black turnout.
But if there is widespread outrage in the black community over
Hillary Clinton’s remarks, it certainly wasn’t on display here in
South Carolina’s capital on Martin Luther King Day, where the three
Democratic presidential candidates spoke at a rally in front of the
statehouse.
To be clear, there’s no doubt that Obama is generating far more
enthusiasm than Clinton within the black community. On Monday
morning, those marching to the capitol building for the rally
gathered outside the Zion Baptist Church following a prayer
service, and a tent on the other side of Washinton Street was set
up to sell Obama t-shirts. One of them featured the images of both
Obama and MLK, with the words “Leaders” and Obama’s campaign
slogan, “Change You Can Believe In.”
At the rally itself, Obama took the stage to a rousing ovation
that lasted over a minute and included sustained chants of
“O-BAM-A.” By contrast, the polite reception Clinton received,
mostly from her section of supporters, was muted. She was able to
begin her speech within 10 seconds of her name being announced.
When Hillary first appeared on stage earlier in the rally, there
were scattered boos, and one audience member had attached a
homemade “No Clinton Dynasty” poster to an Obama sign. But it would
really be cherry-picking to say that this represented the general
sentiment of the audience.
REGARDLESS OF who they are supporting, the black voters I spoke to
before and after the rally had positive things to say about both
Clinton and Obama, and their comments reflected the change vs.
experience debate between the candidates more than any racial
controversy.
“I don’t have a problem with Hillary, but I just think that
since she’s been in politics so long, I don’t think she has a fresh
enough eye and she doesn’t have her hand on the pulse of America
right now,” said Renee Cruell, an Obama volunteer from Easley.
Columbia native Henry Noble, who lived in Chicago and worked on
the campaign of Harold Washington, the city’s first black mayor,
said it’s time for “new blood.”
“With Obama, at least you see some kind of hope,” Noble said.
“All of the rest of the candidates talk about doom and gloom, and
with him, it’s uplifting, and I think that’s what you need in
politics right now.”
But he dismissed talk that the Clintons were intentionally
running a racially-charged campaign. “That was blown out of
proportion,” he said. “I don’t think they’re racists or bigoted,
not at all.”
Roosevelt Lindler of Columbia told me he liked Obama, but is
supporting Clinton. “I don’t think he has enough experience right
now, but I do think his day will come,” he said. He added, “I’m
proud of him being in the race, he has inspired a lot of
people.”
Others were still undecided between the two leading candidates,
and admired them both.
“It would be a plus for our country if we could get both of them
in the White House,” said Earl Halls of Eutawville. “I like Clinton
because she knows more about the presidency because of her husband,
and Obama, I like him because he seems to have a good voice for
what needs to be done.”
If there is any residual animosity toward Hillary Clinton for
the way she has conducted her campaign against Obama, it is likely
to dissipate by the time November rolls around.
For one thing, should he lose in the primaries, Obama himself
would probably work hard to encourage black voters to turn out for
Clinton in the general election, because he wants to remain in the
party’s good graces so he can win the Democratic nomination in a
future election cycle.
Though Clinton and Obama got personal in Monday’s debate, at the
rally that morning, Obama was gracious. “I want to acknowledge my
outstanding competitors and my partners in the Democratic Party,”
he said of Clinton and John Edwards, demonstrating that he’s able
to suck up his problems with Hillary when the ceremony demands
it.
And ultimately, as the parade of speeches at the NAACP-sponsored
rally indicated, on key issues such as the Iraq War, education,
health care, and taxes, black voters line up much more closely with
the Democratic candidates, so they are likely to support whoever
the nominee is, as they have done traditionally.
If the mood here on Monday is any indication, reports of a race
war engulfing the Democratic Party were highly exaggerated.
