I realize that this post is coming 3 days late, and I said that I would have it done by yesterday afternoon, but various things delayed me. Apologies. Well, you certainly didn't hear it here first but Hillary Clinton shellacked Barack Obama in West Virginia. Anyone surprised? I sure wasn't. Anyways, for a nice wrap up of the results and the media's coverage of the results, check out this hilarious bit from John Stewart and the folks at the Daily Show. I have to admit, that I've said a lot of very intolerant things about West Virginia and West Virginians in recent days to many a friend and hospitable ear. However, upon introspection, I really don't regret calling the three women highlighted in that video "inbred rednecks", "savages", or "retarded squirrels." Now, I'm sure these women are a small minority in their state, but I see no reason why they shouldn't be lined up on the street and summarily executed anyway. The fact that such ignorance and hatred can persist in 2008 in a state that (contrary to what the first woman said) has historically been largely absent of racial conflict. As the indespensible Josh Marshall points out over at Talking Points Memo, West Virginia is 95% WHITE!!! I can't believe that the 5% racial minority in West Virginia is so assertive that it can actually cause that much racial conflict. Racism is never justified. However, I can understand why racism persists in the deep south and in many urban areas in the north. There actually is racial conflict. The population of minorities and whites in these areas are of a roughly equal proportion that allows for real tension and open conflict. In other words, the racism is rooted in sociological causes as oppossed to any entrenched cultural elements. That's just not the case in West Virginia, the demographics just aren't there. So either the racism that exists (the pervasiveness of that racism being unknown) is culturally based or West Virgina is truly some sort of anthropological phenomena that we really need to have someone study immediately.
OK. Now I realize this is an exceedingly long post, but it's gonna get even longer because I still have two more areas of interest I would like to cover. First off, I linked to the analysis of the West Virgina results by Josh Marshall before (here it is again), but there is also another great analysis by diarist DHinMI over at the Daily Kos. Before I continue, I should note that I discovered both of these posts via Ezra Klein, whom you really should be reading everyday, if you haven't been, begin doing so. NOW! Both of these posts point out that Barack Obama really doesn't have much of a white working class problem as Chris Matthews, Norah O'Donnell and the rest of MSM would have you believe. His real problem is with Appalachian voters. Look at the states Obama struggled in: Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Now West Virginia is Appalachia, but Appalachia also stretches through southeast Ohio, parts of Virginia, and central Pennsylvania. It turns out these are the areas where Obama performed the worst. Obama has done quite well among working class whites in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Indiana, and countless others. Now as to why this is? The jury is still out. The CW in the blogosphere, which I believe myself, seems to be that Appalacian voters are more impoverished, more uneducated, and more cut off from the outside world than pretty much any other voting demographic in the United States. Read the posts, and draw your own conclusions.
Finally, I was elated that John Edwards finally endorsed Barack Obama. I wish this would've come a few months ago, but considering that all Obama needs are a few more knockout punches to dispatch Hillary Clinton, the Edwards endorsement certainly counts as such a punch. Therefore, perhaps Edwards' support comes at just as needy a time. Also, it was classy of Obama to make the announcement in Michigan, considering all the electoral drama encompassing the state in recent weeks. Props to the Obama campaign for a savy political move. An Al Gore endorsement would be ideal right about now, and Obama has indicated that the two converse regularly, but we will just have to wait and see on that front. OK, I'm done. For real!
Photo courtesy of Flickr user dsmyre May 14, 2008
