South Carolina (D) post-mortem
January 29th 2008 03:26
Wow. In case you haven't heard, Barack Obama blew away Hillary Clinton and John Edwards in the South Carolina primary. Late polls showed Obama ahead by 8 or 10 percentage points. When all was said and done, though, Obama won by 28 points -- more than doubling Hillary's second-place total.
According to exit polling, Obama won with men and with women. He won every age group except for those 65 and over. He won votes from all black voters (by age category) and from non-black voters 18-29 years old. He won all the voters by education category and he won in all measurable income categories. The only glaring categories he didn't win were some of the categories involving non-black or white voters. Still, he did wind up with 24% support from white voters. Late pre-primary polls showed him getting only 10% of the support from white voters, so 24% was a pretty good showing. Due to the high % of black voters, though, he thoroughly dominated when all the votes were counted.
In terms of takeaways, I think Obama's overwhelming victory is a HUGE statement to Hillary Clinton. The Clintons (especially Bill) have been blatantly playing identity politics -- especially with regard to race. As a result, they are alienating many of their fellow Democrats. Hillary has tried to write it off to Bill's commitment and passion. However, even Clinton's own advisors are now telling Bill to tone it down. Will the Clinton campaign move Bill to a less combative role? Or will they just let Bill be Bill? Only time will tell.
Up next: Florida.
According to exit polling, Obama won with men and with women. He won every age group except for those 65 and over. He won votes from all black voters (by age category) and from non-black voters 18-29 years old. He won all the voters by education category and he won in all measurable income categories. The only glaring categories he didn't win were some of the categories involving non-black or white voters. Still, he did wind up with 24% support from white voters. Late pre-primary polls showed him getting only 10% of the support from white voters, so 24% was a pretty good showing. Due to the high % of black voters, though, he thoroughly dominated when all the votes were counted.
In terms of takeaways, I think Obama's overwhelming victory is a HUGE statement to Hillary Clinton. The Clintons (especially Bill) have been blatantly playing identity politics -- especially with regard to race. As a result, they are alienating many of their fellow Democrats. Hillary has tried to write it off to Bill's commitment and passion. However, even Clinton's own advisors are now telling Bill to tone it down. Will the Clinton campaign move Bill to a less combative role? Or will they just let Bill be Bill? Only time will tell.
Up next: Florida.
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Comment by S.L. Bradish
Comment by PopulistConservative
Angry Electorate
I wouldn't shed a tear if the Dem race goes down to the wire. Let them spend their tens of millions of dollars railing against each other. The nastier it gets, the better it looks for the GOP.
I just can't imagine Obama and Hillary teaming up -- especially if Hillary wins. Bill's presence will scare off a lot of potential VP candidates. And I really think Obama is fed up with her. I also doubt Hillary would take a VP slot on an Obama ticket. She'd be nearly 70 when he finished up with eight years in office. Accepting a VP role now would pretty much be the end of her significance to the party. Besides, her ego is too big to take a subordinate role to Obama.