I and other Obama supporters should have known better.
First, we got all fired up over his Iowa surprise win. Then we got ecstatic over his 11 state victories in a row. Then we rationalized that his loss in Texas really got him more delegates so it wasn't a big deal.
But each time we had reason to hope that this time it would be different, that this time the American people were moving past race, ready to finally put the nail in the Clinton political coffin, and really ready to change the way politics is done in this country, we got shot down by the old tactics, the slash and burn campiagns of past years, the pathology of the Clintons, and the lingering racism of far too many voters.
We should have known that, no matter how different and ecxiting our candidate was, no matter how reminiscent of JFK or RFK, no matter how brilliant and seemingly post-racial, it was never going to be easy for him to secure the nomination. And no matter how many times we try to convince ourselves that he still can, that there are enough good and decent people who will not vote against him because he is black, we inevitably come up against three realities: Far too many older women - women who were there when feminism first began - want to see a female president before they die; far too many white voters still will not vote for a (1/2) black candidate, no matter how brilliant or post racial; and the narcissism and power madness of the Clintons will stop at nothing to destroy Obama.
After Pennsylvania, much of the press seems to be rooting for her and gunning for Obama and exit polls from Pennsylvania show just how powerful a factor race still is. The very fact that a sizable number of her supporters say they will vote for McCain if she is not the nominee is really all you need to know about how much of a factor race plays in elections in this country.
If these were loyal democrats who simply preferred Clinton to Obama, but found themselves faced with an Obama victory in the primaries, they would either vote for Obama, or simply sit out in November, especially since there is so little difference between their two policies. But because so many are willing to vote for someone with a completely different political philosophy which amounts to a continuation of Bush policy, there can be only one reason they would move from Clinton to McCain. They will only vote for the white candidate.
Unlike Clinton voters who say they will not vote for Obama, the far fewer Obama voters who say they will not vote for Clinton, do so mainly because they are appalled by her tactics, many of them subtle appeals to the racism of her supporters. She has so violated the trust they once had in her and her husband, so much trust that they thought of him as the "first black president," that it would be morally wrong - in their minds - to support this tactical but subtle racism on the part of the Clinton campaign.
While we never thought it would be easy to nominate and elect Obama, we underestimated the amount of racism still lingering in the nation. And we certainly weren't prepard for it to be used by the Clintons.
Barack can still win the nomination, but it becomes harder and harder as she attacks him with subtle racial digs, lies and distorts her ability to win, and as the MSM piles on and repeats her propaganda. And should she wrest the nomination from him by her sleazy disgusting tactics, it will be a long time before a viable African American candidate comes forward again. The Clinton tactics, backed up the main stream media, have made it clear. No black candidate will be treated fairly because no black candidate will ever be allowed to win as long as they have anything to say about it.
The Clintons are phonies, with no hearts, and with political plasma running through their veins. Nothing else matters to them except winning. And if that means destroying the most decent and gifted (but black) politician to come along in decades, they will do it.
They will destroy the country rather than allow this young, bold and charismatic leader to win what they believe is rightfully theirs. They will never give up.
If Hillary Clinton succeeds in her ugly tactics to destroy her rival and steal the nomination, using Rovian reptilian tactics, I hope with all my heart that she loses, not just the presidential race, but the next senatorial race that she wages. I hope she never again wins any political office because she has burned so many bridges behind her. I hope she and her husband have finally destroyed their legacy, because what they are doing is immoral, unconscionable, and highly destructive. They even appear willing to destroy the Party to get what they want.
I return to my original realization. It was never going to be easy, in the land that at its founding approved of slavery, the land that fought a war over whether it would be allowed to continue, the land where even though slavery was outlawed, segration and Jim Crow remained, the land where racism lives in the hearts of many Americans, not just in the south, but apparently in Ohio and Pennsylvania. (And some call this a 'Christian country?")
It was never going to be easy, and Hillary and Bill Clinton's pathological narcissism has made it even more difficult, for Obama to be the first black president.
One thing is certain after this nominating process, perhaps the only comfort we can find should Obama lose the nomination: Bill Clinton will never, ever again be called "the nation's first black president." That nonsense is over.
