Jonathan Alter: Obama shows resilience in nearly clinching the nomination

[babylonsister]

Taking a Punch

Obama shows resilience in nearly clinching the nomination
May 7, 2008 | Updated: 1:28 a.m. ET May 7, 2008


Barack Obama not only nearly clinched the Democratic nomination Tuesday night. He also answered a big question about the fall campaign. The glass jaw that Hillary Clinton and John McCain thought they saw turned out to be an illusion. In the jingle of the old Timex watch ads, he took a licking and kept on ticking.

Oh what a difference a week makes. April 28 was only last week but it feels like six months ago. That was the day Obama got hit by a one-two punch. First, his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, dominated the airwaves with his offensive rant. The same day brought news that Hillary had decided to join McCain in calling for a summer gas tax holiday, sure to be popular with voters angry about high costs at the pump.

For the first time since February, Clinton seemed to have a real shot at the nomination. Still reeling from his big loss in Pennsylvania, Obama was battered by charges of elitism and disconnected from a big chunk of the Democratic Party. From bad bowling to "bitter" to arugula-eater to disciple of an America-hater, he seemed to be floundering.

May 6 looked ominous. With African-Americans making up only nine percent of Indiana Democratic voters, Obama was in deep trouble there, behind in the polls and slipping. North Carolina was also headed in the wrong direction, with some surveys showing only a five-point Obama lead. In most earlier primaries, including those he won, Obama slipped further on the last weekend. Even his closest aides thought Indiana and North Carolina would be no different.

Last week, not a soul in politics would have predicted that Obama would win North Carolina by 14 points and virtually tie in Indiana. But through a combination of luck and smarts, the campaign ended on the theme that Obama ran on: Old politics vs. new politics.

more...

http://www.newsweek.com/id/135832

[babylonsister]

1. OK, since no one is responding, may I just say, I love to hear

Morning Joe eating his damned words. Now, what's he gonna do, prop up ole man McCain? That too will be comical! :woohoo: The rethugs are DOOMED, I tell ya! :woohoo:

[wellstone dem]

2. I have morning joe on again for the first time in days. :-)

[babylonsister]

7. It's pretty funny; the fat lady is screeching, but they're

skating around that fact. And you were smart; I've been listening to his jaundiced opinion for far too long.

[phrigndumass]

3. Old politics vs. new politics ... that's the message

It's finally sinking in with the voting populace.

Thanks for posting this, babylonsister. Good read!

K/R

:hi:

[Pavlovs DiOgie]

4. K&R!

Alter hit the nail on the head. This has been the theme against Obama since the beginning - here is a guy with a nice message and isn't it cute that he wants to be an honest politician that doesn't buy into the politics of old. Yet he endured. It is Clinton's failure to have seen him as weak - perhaps if she really had paid attention she would have run a campaign that was about fighting to win instead of thinking she was the queen waiting to be crowned by the Clinton name.

But I'm glad it's working out this way. This long, drawn-out campaign especially with the last 2 weeks have shown everyone that Obama can take a punch and isn't going to lie down for swiftboating. He is going to easily take the win in November. McCain has got to be shitting in his pants this morning, as are the rest of the republicans who were banking on a Clinton win to unite and mobilize their party.

[lolamio]

5. Great article! Thanks for posting it.

[H2O Man]

6. Very good!

Nominated!

[babylonsister]

8. Hi, friend!

Did you watch last night? It was a thing of beauty! It took m$nbc FOREVER to call IN.

And they're now announcing Clinton lent herself an additional 6.?M$ last month. She's a hurting for certain.

[H2O Man]

13. Hello!

Yes, I watched it right through the night.

I think that things are moving quickly behind the scenes today.

[wildeyed]

9. Yes!

:)

[democrattotheend]

10. Last Monday I came this close to giving up

I got demoralized after Pennsylvania, and after Reverend Wright reemerged it felt like Obama's support was irreversibly collapsing and it felt like Dean 2004 all over again. I came really close to giving up, deciding that this country just wasn't ready and that even if Obama led in delegates, Clinton could clearly demonstrate buyer's remorse and the superdelegates would and should take that into consideration. It felt like the sky was falling and it was so hard to stay motivated to keep volunteering and donating and even to keep hoping. I thought last night was going to be a Clinton blowout in Indiana and Obama would be lucky to eek out a win in North Carolina. I braced myself for the worst, and I admit that I doubted Obama's ability to bounce back the way Clinton has so many times. But he did it, and I am so proud of him and proud to have been a part of it. I am proud that I did not give up after Pennsylvania, that I went to Raleigh the weekend after Pennsylvania and helped spread the word about early voting and talk to undecided voters. I'm proud of all of the resiliant supporters who kept going despite the rough patch, and I am proud of the American people for rejecting the media circus forcasting his demise and touting the meme that he is unelectable. I am proud that hope won out over fear last night, and I dare to hope again that hope may win out over fear in November.

Now that it looks like Obama will be the nominee, I am both thrilled and terrified. Thrilled because I believe in Obama and his message and because we fought so hard for it, but terrified because now the ball is in our court and we as Obama supporters have an obligation to the party and to our country to do everything we possibly can to help him win the general. It's not going to be easy, and we are going to need all hands on deck in order to have a chance. Obama is going to lose some votes simply because of the color of his skin and we need to accept that, and we need to work doubly hard to register African Americans and students to help make up for it. We need to work hard to assuage people's fears about his relative inexperience and to dispel all the crazy rumors about him being a Muslim and the anti-Christ that are circulating on the Internet. It is not going to be easy, and we need to brace ourselves for a long and bumpy ride and commit right now to doing everything we can to make our dream a reality in November.

[babylonsister]

11. I never gave up hope. This man is worthy of all of our support; the

option, to me, wasn't worth thinking about. Instead of being demoralized, I just got angry at the m$m and their spin, especially about Wright.
He will lose the vote of people who can't fathom a black man in office, but so what. There are so many of us who hunger for change, for what he's offering.
Don't get me wrong, I'm positive he'll do things I totally disagree with, but this will be a fresh start I'm yearning for.
As for McCain, he doesn't have a prayer. The DNC's ad RE: Iraq, 100 years, etc., was/is devastating. The man has not been through any kind of critical vetting yet; I think he's doomed. War, economy, Weathervane McCain's 'stand' on issues is going to be an issue; he lost his way long ago and has been pandering for years. That won't be too hard to prove. First thing that comes to mind is the GI Bill. I predict he'll suffer for not throwing his support towards that.

Keep the faith!

[Coexist]

12. 1,000,000 phone calls in about a week helped!

and many of those were to request volunteers to gotv - and that was a smashing success!

[TragedyandHope]

14. Last night was an historic moment.

We will remember forever.

[NoFederales]

15. K&R

NoFederales