election 2008 from the eyes of an ebony mom

Yesterday we heard Hillary Clinton say she is the candidate that appeals to working class whites. She went on to say that Sen. Obama has had difficulty connecting with this group, and the Democrats can not win without them.  House Majority Whip, South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn,  made a couple of very important points relating to her statement. “(A)If Clinton believes Obama will do poorly with white voters in November, based on how he has done in the primaries, does that mean she believes she will only get 8% of the black vote in November, based on what she is doing now? (B)He also said any perceived backroom deal had better not take the nomination away from Obama because that would devestate young people and blacks.” Both of these groups have been energized during this primary season. At this point Clyburn is an uncommitted superdelegate but he does say he is proud of what Sen. Obama has achieved. He said members of his family are very involved in the Obama campaign. He went on to say “I’m not going to sit down and watch anybody marginalize my grandson’s dreams and aspirations. And I’m not going to see anybody go out and just absolutely nullify the energy and time my daughter put into Barack Obama’s race.” The reality is it will take ebony and ivory voters to unite for the Democrats to prevail in the fall. Sen. Clinton’s attempts to pit the races against each other smacks of old school politics and this is the season for change, and Sen. Obama represents the change America wants and needs.