For the past few days I’ve been listening to the pundits discuss Obama’s speech and whether or not his speech connected with the average white working man or woman in the United States.
And if the pundits are to be believed Obama’s speech failed to or resonated very little with the average middle class woman or man and based on some recent polling Obama is slipping in the polls against Hillary and John McCain among democrats nationwide.
This fact is not surprising. With all the negative attention and flak Obama has received in regards to his pastor’s comments and his association with the pastor, Obama who was already lacking support in that demographic has sustained even more damage.
However, I believe that Obama can sway more working class white democrats to his side if he changes the way in which he is trying to connect with them.
At the moment Obama is hoping that his message and his delivery of that message will sway these voters and I’m sure his campaign staff, more knowledgeable people than myself, have already microtargeted this group however their strategies clearly aren’t working.
Obama may secure the nomination without significant support from these specific democrats but he cannot win the general election without them!
When discussing the American working class, I’m reminded of a passage from the book One Nation After All by Alan Wolfe in which he states;
“From a middle class point of view, the ideal society would be one in which everyone-immigrants, minorities, the poor-would uphold middle-class values so that someday they might obtain middle-class incomes..that’s another way of saying that their solution to class inequality is to insist on moral equality..”
And I must agree that this is what I have found to be the case as well.
Most white working class Americans want to believe that ultimately life is fair, you might get some bad breaks here and there but in the end if you work hard enough, follow the law, have faith in God and take pride in your country, family and community you will be a success.
They don’t believe most people are deserving of handouts or charity in large part due to their immigrant backgrounds which in many cases has taught them to suck up their problems and issues and just deal with them.
Unfortunately this is where the disconnect between Obama and his message to the white working class is occurring.
Obama’s values are not translating into their world instead what is translating is a perception that he’s receiving undeserving adulation. Many would probably claim that they don’t even know what he stands for and not his stance on the issues but what he stands for as a MAN and this in many ways is contributing to Clintons’ success among them.
Clinton has had the luxury of time to convey who she is and what she represents and her husband’s legacy doesn’t hurt either. Obama unfortunately has neither but I believe that if Obama talked about his life, his struggles, his demons,this would resonate more with working class whites more so than anything else he may have to offer, at this point in time.
If I were an Obama strategist (I’m hoping to get a call anyday now…lol) I would advise him to talk more about himself and and what he has been through when he’s in Pennsylvania and other predominantly white working class states because these voters are crucial to winning in November.
Undeservedly so, this week, millions of America started to question whether or not Obama shares one of their core values-patriotism.
However if voters and in particular white middle class voters perceive, long term that Obama does not share their core values (patriotism, faith in god, freedom just to name the critical three) he will be soundly defeated come November.
He cannot allow this to happen.
So in the end he must rely on who he is as a man to convince those who are skeptical of him of his policies and the direction in which he wants to take the nation.
That is what I believe will ultimately sway these voters to support and follow him.
So Rev.Jesse Jackson wants to rip Barack’s b#$%s off…
And apparently these comments will be aired tonight exclusively on FOX News since Jackson made the comments while conducting an interview at FOX News.
Jackson made the disparaging comments about Obama in response to a question about recent Obama speeches on morality.
I have no doubt that Rev. Jackson supports Obama ‘on the surface’ at least but if your friends say such things about you who needs enemies right? LOL
Now I cannot or would I seek to disrespect Rev.Jackson’s service or contributions to the African American community in the past. However, that’s just it he’s a past, black leader. He is to be honest no longer relevant.
What Rev. Jesse Jackson or Rev. Al Shaprton for that matter thinks about Obama is off little consequence in my world and I would argue in the worlds of many, young professional black people. Their views and opinions on race are somewhat antiquated and I would even argue the views of a lot of older Americans black or white as it pertains to race are also in that vein as well.
For far too long, the African American community and the national media in general have relied on a handful of black leaders to discuss the issues and problems affecting the he black community not recognizing that the community is as diverse as the American population and that there is no longer a need to solicit specific black opinion on so called ‘black matters’.
In the past we did need leaders like the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton but they are no longer necessary and if an Obama candidacy has proven anything at all, it has proved that the fights have changed and that the African American community is not in need of black leadership but leadership in general as is the entire United States.
Obama has sought to define himself as a leader and that to me is true racial progress.
It may be upsetting to some black leaders but if they truly have craved racial progress and truly want to see Blacks in America progress they must stop harping on the fact that Obama does not talk about black issues at every turn or that any criticism of a specific segment of the black population is off limits for a black politician.
Instead they should fully embrace the fact that solutions to the problems facing many black Americans does not lie in the search for or embrace of a new black messiah or a handful of black political leaders and that Obama’s candidacy and future presidency will mean more to race relations than almost anything that has occurred in the last fifty years!
True solutions can only be reached if we recognise that the problems facing black Americans require solutions and discussions with all Americans and that we CANNOT AND MUST not re-fight old fights but focus our energy and attention on new ones.
3 comments | tags: african americans, baby boomers, Barack Obama, black community, black issues, black leaders, black people, black presidency, democrats, disparaging comments, first black president, FOX news, jesse jackson, jesse jackson aplogizes, liberal, media, older Americans, problems, professionals, race matters, religion, rev al sharpton, solutions, speech, the 60s, the black church, the fights and issues of the 60s | posted in current news analysis, Election '08, Politics, Race, Social issues