Liberal> Mark Shields> Virginians Wake Up Call For Obama

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Virginians' Wake-Up Call for Obama!

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. — As his delegate lead over New York Sen. Hillary Clinton expands with every news cycle, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama remains the overwhelming favorite to win the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. But Obama and his legions of zealous supporters would be well-advised to keep the champagne on ice and uncorked.

Why? Because he faces a far more formidable challenge than the long slog to the nomination. Independent voters do not know really know Obama, and often what they do know about him is either negative or inaccurate — or both. That was the unmistakable message from a focus group of 12 independent voters conducted here the night before Clinton won the West Virginia primary.

Asked what "one or two things you remember about the (entire) 2008 campaign so far, " Bob James, 51, the general manager of a restaurant; Monique Tyler, 40, an insurance analyst; Melinda Denisenko, 39, a receptionist; Danny Tawney, 41, an operations manager; William Mawyer, 72, a retired insurance man; Nola Miller, 30, a University of Virginia employee; and adult literacy teacher Dorita Wood, 65, all gave an identical answer: the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., Obama's now-former pastor, whose widely circulated sermons have been branded by critics as racially isolating and anti-American.

Democratic pollster Peter Hart, who conducts these focus groups for the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, concluded after listening to the two-hour session: "While Barack Obama's supporters are shouting, 'Yes, we can,' there is another group of independent voters who have not been part of the (primary) process who are asking, 'Who are you?'"

It is true that none of the Charlottesville dozen had voted in Virginia's presidential primary, but in this respect, they are far more representative of the majority of, perhaps, 130 million voters who will choose the president in November's general election.

Up to now, Clinton and Obama, between them in all the hotly covered primaries, have accumulated only 32 million votes.

When asked by Hart what kind of boss Obama would be, 24-year-old student Josh Williams responded, "He'd be like passive-aggressive — he would not confront you, but he would report you or write you up."

The most positive assessment came from 26-year-old realtor and military veteran, Patrick Shemorry: "I think he would be very motivating over his section. ... I think that he would do well and keep the morale high."

Even after the extensive discussion of the Church of Christ's Wright and the front-runner's relationship with him, seven of the participants, when asked, said they believed that Obama was a Muslim. More than a few in the Charlottesville group expressed their doubts that Obama — because of his Ivy League and "elitist" background — could understand or identify with the difficult economic realities they, themselves, confront. Melinda Denisenko said Obama must first prove that he does not hate America and reach out to the "non-arugula-eating crowd."

Even with all the reservations, Obama and Republican John McCain still divide the room. These voters are overwhelmingly disgusted with the status quo and seek real change. McCain gets high marks for his military service, but for the Arizonan — and virtually all Republicans in 2008 — George W. Bush ("worthless," "warmonger," "scary") is an 800-pound albatross.

Obviously, Obama cannot afford to wait until the Denver convention on Labor Day to introduce himself to the voters. There is both less information and more misinformation about him than about any presidential nominee in memory. His task is as urgent as it is clear: to assure and prove to voters that he is an American (there are doubts), that he loves and honors his country as much as they do, and that he and his family have shared many of their experiences and also share many of their values.

After an evening in Charlottesville, the conclusion is inescapable: Obama, today, is too Starbucks in a Dunkin' Donut world.

To find out more about Mark Shields and read his past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.

Comments

4 Comments | Post Comment

Welcome, everyone who thinks we've gotten beyond racism, to deja vu all over again. I have come to detest the words "racism" and "racist" almost as much as what they describe because they serve so many times as door closers on objective conversation. But it's hard to escape resorting to these words here.

How many people just can't bring themselves to vote for a black man for president, even if racially he is every bit as much Caucasion as he is African? A lot. A whole lot.

People are searching for all kinds of excuses to avoid confronting that: He's an elitist and can't relate to humble folks of modest origin, even though he comes from poorer means than any of the other candidates, and probably more so than most of the whites offended by his "elite" status. His speech is just too perfect, so he just has to be about words and nothing else. (Before he came upon the scene the common complaint I heard from many who would count themselves among the white and bitter was "Why don't they learn to speak real English like everyone else so we can at least understand what they are saying"?) He's too untried and naive, yet if for everyone else the Democratic nomination process and indeed the entire election cycle this time around don't stand for the proposition that the more experience you have the more tarnished you are, then my mother's a full blooded Martian.

Actually, the anti-Barack sentiment goes far beyond racism. His image conjures up just about every bogey man haunting the post 9/11 American psyche. He's the wrong race, his surname rhymes with you-know-who's first name, he just HAS to be a Muslim no matter what anyone says, his superb education is beyond the reach of that affirmative action slur that has tortured the Clarence Thomases of the world into smashing every mirror they can lay their hands on, he basically has made more out of his life with less to begin with than just about every one of us, and he has the gall to be able to coexist with folks who don't mince words when they talk about the sins of this country.

This is history in the making, folks. On New Year's Eve, December 31, 1999, I had not a clue how dramatic and utterly horrible events would turn along with the century. By finding hope in the highly improbable phenomenon Barack happens to be I may foolishly be looking for a way out of this ironclad nightmare that has so gripped the world, from the environment crashing down on us to the metastatic societal disease we have dubbed “terrorism”, but this is my new dream and I'm sticking to it.

Comment: #1
Posted by: Masako
Sat May 17, 2008 8:41 AM

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One correction, please. In Mr. Shields May 17th, 2008 column he states that Mr. Obama (and Rev. Jeremiah Wright) are part of the Church of Christ. They are not. They are part of the United Church of Christ, a very important distinction.
The United Church of Christ used to be more widely known as the Congregational Church. It is a very liberal denomination. The Church of Christ is much more conservative than the United Church of Christ.

Comment: #2
Posted by: Jeff Keith
Sat May 17, 2008 2:53 PM

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Re: Masako
Sir; There are plenty of people who will not vote for Mr. Obama because he is Black, and my guess is that few of will honestly admit that the reason they are not doing so is race, and that is pitiful because the most difficult problems to solve are those no one will admit exist. I think it is funny that we can look at that man and not see that he is white, and an american. We see the superficial and miss the ficial. Is he not one part White? Is he not American through and through? I welcome the opportunity to do something bad to a black person so that in not doing it I can contribute to the goodness of the world with a zero investment. I won't vote for Mr. Obama out of guilt. I won't vote for Mr. Obama because some of my best friends are Black. Come to think of it; I haven't got any friends. But I do have lots of fellow citizens, even some who are Black, and as worthy as myself, and perhaps even more intelligent. I can't kick any man trying to climb up the cliff of life in his teeth. I cannot deny to any an equal opportunity. I refuse to get caught in the miss communication that plagues this country -and our mixed up races. I will not talk past any, or you. America must be all things for all people. It must work for all who come here, and all who are born here. I don't care where you are from or what you look like. All people are entitled to equality, support, and justice. I know that it has become habitual in this land to vote against everything and everybody out of having nothing and nobody to vote for. I would hate to find myself ensnared in voting booth by the notion that I cannot see beyond appearances, and deliver justice with my vote, or worse yet, will deny justice with my vote, but I am afraid many in this country will find themselves caught there. It is worse by full measure for Mr. Bush. He must bear a cross for this whole nation. The point where the abscissa of lame duck crosses the ordinate of lame brain sits squarely on his back. Compared to that, win or lose, Mr. Obama is in tall cotton.

Comment: #3
Posted by: James A, Sweeney
Sun May 18, 2008 2:50 PM

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Re: saxunltd
The United Church of Christ is a hugely progressive and liberal denomination, yes. As well, the media would do well to check out the wide and diverse reactions to Rev. Dr. Wright in the Black Church. Having gone to a seminary that encouraged black church preaching and as a white European male, I cannot believe the amount to which the media has not gotten on the Cliniton case about the racial tenor of the Hillary campaign since well before Pennsylvania's primary. Bottom line: Race has been handled very well indeed by Senator Obama; very poorly by Senator Clinton.

Comment: #4
Posted by: Mike Beynon
Mon May 19, 2008 9:06 AM

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