The Literary Divide/Dr. Paul Barrows
It's official!
It’s official! Sen. Barack Obama has now made history as the first African American Democratic nominee for President of the United States. After
winning the primary in Montana and gaining the support of a growing number of Super Delegates, Sen. Obama gained sufficient number of votes to win
the Democratic nomination from Sen. Hillary Clinton. Obama’s supporters celebrated in massive numbers all over the nation. Of all of his supporters,
those who were the most proud and who relished in his monumental achievement were African Americans. Headlines across the nation, and indeed the
world, celebrated the fact that an African American was poised to become the first Black President of the United States.
As for Sen. Clinton, she initially refused to concede, threatening to take the nomination all the way to the Democratic Convention for a floor fight that
would have caused much harm to the Democratic effort to take back the presidency. In a teleconference call to some of her key supporters, Sen.
Clinton, acknowledging that the race was now over, made it known that because she had won the approximate 18 million votes amassed during the
Primaries, she was somehow obligated to be appointed to the Vice Presidential slot by Sen. Barack Obama. Throughout the week, many of her
supporters, led by Bob Johnson of BET, demanded that she be appointed to the Vice Presidential slot. The tide began to turn, however, after many of
her supporters, including Charlie Rangel and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, urged her to end her campaign and support Obama.
On Saturday, at a speech to her supporters in Washington, D.C., Sen. Clinton gave a monumental speech where she thanked her supporters and
called for the suspension of her campaign to allow for efforts to pay-off the approximate $30 million in debt. Most importantly, Sen. Clinton recognized
the hard-fought victory that Obama had won. She was magnanimous in saying that she would give her full support to Sen. Obama and she urged all of
her supporters to do the same. Clinton had to begin the process of proving to the nation and her loyal supporters that her commitment to end the race
and support her erstwhile rival was true and sincere. This was no doubt probably the most difficult speech that Sen. Clinton had to deliver and she did
a good job. Earlier in the week, Sen. Clinton disavowed any notion that she was demanding that the Vice Presidency be given to her. In her speech on
Saturday, there was no discussion, either directly or by implication, that she was demanding or interested in the Vice Presidency. She also did not rule it
out either.
As Sen. Obama moves to put the Primary season behind him, key issues remain. What, if anything will he do to assist Senator Clinton in paying-off
the huge amount of debt that she has amassed? What will he offer Sen. Clinton to keep her motivated and working energetically to get her supporters
enthusiastic about supporting his campaign against McCain — the Vice Presidency, a seat on the Supreme Court or a Cabinet Secretariat? If Obama
offers Clinton the Vice Presidency, will he be perceived as caving-in to Hillary and her supporters? Will anything short of the Vice Presidency be
insufficient to motivate those in support for her to vote for Obama? What is to be done with former President Bill Clinton? While he was a boost to Sen.
Clinton, in many other critical ways his efforts served as a distraction at best while in other ways serving to actually undermine her campaign. Sen.
Obama has to figure out how to use Pres. Clinton in a very narrow, focused and strategic way. If used properly, Bill Clinton has much to offer in terms of
rallying the base and fund-raising that will assist Obama in his efforts to defeat Sen. John McCain.
The campaign for the Presidency is now into its final phase. Sen. McCain and the Republican National Committee have had much time to plot the
strategy for their campaign. McCain has called for 10 town-hall meetings before both parties have their Conventions. He is doing so as a means to get
free publicity given the paucity of funds that he will have relative to the huge war chest that Sen. Obama has amassed. While the Obama campaign has
expressed an initial interest in the town hall venue, they have also made it clear that 10 town hall meetings is much too many. The Obama campaign
has also indicated that they will hold to their commitment to three debates after the Conventions going up to the election in November. Sen. Obama
must brace himself and prepare to endure all of the vicious attacks that he will get from McCain, the RNC, Rush Limbaugh and all of the other right wing
pundits on FOX News. Painting a picture of McCain as representing four more years of the Bush Administration is a wise strategy. McCain, cognizant of
the fact that the popularity of the Bush Administration is at an all-time low for any Presidency, has begun his spin control efforts to try to distance himself
from Bush. In doing so, he risks the possibility of alienating a Republican base that is already unsure about their support for him. The real battle for all of
the marbles has begun. Stay tuned …
winning the primary in Montana and gaining the support of a growing number of Super Delegates, Sen. Obama gained sufficient number of votes to win
the Democratic nomination from Sen. Hillary Clinton. Obama’s supporters celebrated in massive numbers all over the nation. Of all of his supporters,
those who were the most proud and who relished in his monumental achievement were African Americans. Headlines across the nation, and indeed the
world, celebrated the fact that an African American was poised to become the first Black President of the United States.
As for Sen. Clinton, she initially refused to concede, threatening to take the nomination all the way to the Democratic Convention for a floor fight that
would have caused much harm to the Democratic effort to take back the presidency. In a teleconference call to some of her key supporters, Sen.
Clinton, acknowledging that the race was now over, made it known that because she had won the approximate 18 million votes amassed during the
Primaries, she was somehow obligated to be appointed to the Vice Presidential slot by Sen. Barack Obama. Throughout the week, many of her
supporters, led by Bob Johnson of BET, demanded that she be appointed to the Vice Presidential slot. The tide began to turn, however, after many of
her supporters, including Charlie Rangel and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, urged her to end her campaign and support Obama.
On Saturday, at a speech to her supporters in Washington, D.C., Sen. Clinton gave a monumental speech where she thanked her supporters and
called for the suspension of her campaign to allow for efforts to pay-off the approximate $30 million in debt. Most importantly, Sen. Clinton recognized
the hard-fought victory that Obama had won. She was magnanimous in saying that she would give her full support to Sen. Obama and she urged all of
her supporters to do the same. Clinton had to begin the process of proving to the nation and her loyal supporters that her commitment to end the race
and support her erstwhile rival was true and sincere. This was no doubt probably the most difficult speech that Sen. Clinton had to deliver and she did
a good job. Earlier in the week, Sen. Clinton disavowed any notion that she was demanding that the Vice Presidency be given to her. In her speech on
Saturday, there was no discussion, either directly or by implication, that she was demanding or interested in the Vice Presidency. She also did not rule it
out either.
As Sen. Obama moves to put the Primary season behind him, key issues remain. What, if anything will he do to assist Senator Clinton in paying-off
the huge amount of debt that she has amassed? What will he offer Sen. Clinton to keep her motivated and working energetically to get her supporters
enthusiastic about supporting his campaign against McCain — the Vice Presidency, a seat on the Supreme Court or a Cabinet Secretariat? If Obama
offers Clinton the Vice Presidency, will he be perceived as caving-in to Hillary and her supporters? Will anything short of the Vice Presidency be
insufficient to motivate those in support for her to vote for Obama? What is to be done with former President Bill Clinton? While he was a boost to Sen.
Clinton, in many other critical ways his efforts served as a distraction at best while in other ways serving to actually undermine her campaign. Sen.
Obama has to figure out how to use Pres. Clinton in a very narrow, focused and strategic way. If used properly, Bill Clinton has much to offer in terms of
rallying the base and fund-raising that will assist Obama in his efforts to defeat Sen. John McCain.
The campaign for the Presidency is now into its final phase. Sen. McCain and the Republican National Committee have had much time to plot the
strategy for their campaign. McCain has called for 10 town-hall meetings before both parties have their Conventions. He is doing so as a means to get
free publicity given the paucity of funds that he will have relative to the huge war chest that Sen. Obama has amassed. While the Obama campaign has
expressed an initial interest in the town hall venue, they have also made it clear that 10 town hall meetings is much too many. The Obama campaign
has also indicated that they will hold to their commitment to three debates after the Conventions going up to the election in November. Sen. Obama
must brace himself and prepare to endure all of the vicious attacks that he will get from McCain, the RNC, Rush Limbaugh and all of the other right wing
pundits on FOX News. Painting a picture of McCain as representing four more years of the Bush Administration is a wise strategy. McCain, cognizant of
the fact that the popularity of the Bush Administration is at an all-time low for any Presidency, has begun his spin control efforts to try to distance himself
from Bush. In doing so, he risks the possibility of alienating a Republican base that is already unsure about their support for him. The real battle for all of
the marbles has begun. Stay tuned …