Today, Bloomberg News reports that Barack Obama’s speech on race may not have struck a chord with white voters in Indiana, who vote on May 6. This underlines the difficulty he will face as a nominee–can he fully assuage the fears of white voters in states like Indiana and Alabama of his association with his pastor Jeremiah Wright? The Illinois Senator has argued that he can make states like Alabama competitive as the Democratic nominee but if the trend in Indiana holds in other states, which I believe is the case, he may not be as competitive as he claims. In my original response to Obama’s speech, I wrote that its main shortcoming was his inability to reach out to other voting demographics–the ones Hillary Clinton always wins.
Also today, Quinnipiac released a new poll showing that Senator Clinton’s lead when against John MicCain in a general election in swing states like Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania is far greater than Obama’s:
Florida: Clinton 44 percent versus McCain 42 percent; McCain beats Obama 46 - 37 percent;
Ohio: Clinton beats McCain 48 - 39 percent; Obama gets 43 percent to McCain’s 42 percent;
Pennsylvania: Clinton tops McCain 48 - 40 percent; Obama leads McCain 43 - 39 percent.
This emphasizes two points. One, should Clinton not win the nomination, she should be put on the ticket as vice-president to prevent John McCain from winning. Two, Obama is still showing that he has yet to expand his voting base, especially in Florida where it has been several months since it held its primary.
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