Obama Takes Lead In Gallup Tracking Poll, Blacks Abandon Clinton

From The Frontrunner
Following Race Speech, Richardson Endorsement, Obama Moves Ahead of Clinton
The New York Daily News (3/24, Bazinet, 729K) reports, "Following his speech on race and the surprise endorsement of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Barack Obama got a bump in a nationwide Gallup Poll and has squeaked ahead of Hillary Clinton. Obama topped Clinton, 48% to 45%, over the weekend, reversing a more than week-long dip that saw Clinton leading by a statistically significant 7 points, according to Gallup's daily tracking poll."

New NBC Poll Shows Blacks Abandon Clinton Due to Racist Campaign Tactics
An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll taken this month found that former President Bill Clinton, the so-called first black president, is falling out of favor with African-Americans.

More of the poll's respondents view him negatively (45 percent) than positively (42 percent). Compare this to his ratings just last year—a positive of 48 percent compared with a negative of 35 percent—and it's a pretty big deal.

Dawn Turner Trice from the Chiago Tribune writes, a lot of black people are furious at Sen. Hillary Clinton in part because of the actions or infractions of her surrogates. They're angry at Bill for the dust-up he created after the South Carolina contest comparing Sen. Barack Obama's win there to that of Rev. Jesse Jackson's when he ran for president. They're angry at Geraldine Ferraro for suggesting Obama is mostly an affirmative action candidate.

They blame the Clinton camp for circulating the picture of Obama in Somali garb, an attempt to incite anti-Muslim fears. Some even blame the Clintons for initiating the controversy over the inflammatory sermons made by Obama's former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Nevermind whether these last two examples are true.

What's striking for me is the number of black voters who tell me they could never bring themselves to vote for Hillary Clinton, even if by some miracle, she became the Democratic presidential nominee.

Some have said they would sit out the general election, and risk a win by Republican Sen. John McCain. And these are people for whom not voting is anathema.

Indeed Clinton has her share of detractors. But, until recently, not too many blacks were counted among them. In fact, until South Carolina, a lot of black people felt heartsick about having to choose between Clinton and Obama.

Now folks' hearts are hardened and the resentment is visceral. Blacks didn't expect the Clintons to play the race card. You could argue that the Clinton strategy is just politics. It's not personal. It's not really racial. But this year voters of all stripes are rejecting the same old, same old.

Black people in particular (and others too) are rejecting this brand of politics that plays on voters' worst fears. If Republicans use race-baiting (think: footage of Mexicans scaling border fences) to stir the base, who is shocked by it? But it is shocking coming from someone who always has been considered an ally.

For years, blacks appreciated Hillary Clinton's work at Yale, tutoring black law students; her work at the Children's Defense Fund; her efforts on behalf of public education and health care. The list goes on and, frankly, her civil rights roots may run deeper than Obama's.

But in just a few months, the Clintons may have squandered a lot of goodwill capital. Black voters expected a spirited debate between the Clinton and Obama camps. But on the issues. [MORE]