Whether it's Hillary or Obama, the nominee will have some fence-mending to do with certain voters

[bluestateguy]

People need to stop saying that one or the other candidates "can't" win in November because he/she won't get the support of (insert aggrieved group's name). Regardless of who takes this nomination, he or she will have improve their appeal to certain voter constituencies. How well he or she does that, will tell us how electable they are. But please don't say at this premature date that they "can't" do it.

If the nominee is Obama, he will need to improve his performance with working-class white voters. Sometimes, as in the case of the Wisconsin primary, there are signs that he is on the way to doing this, but Hillary is clearly the favorite among these voters in the vast majority of states. He will also have to improve his standing with Hispanic voters, whose voters will be essential if we are to win Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico, and if we are to avoid Republican upsets in New Jersey and California. He could also stand to improve his standing with Jewish voters.

Hillary Clinton as the nominee will have to rebuild her political support from black voters, which evaporated in the South Carolina primary and has been with Obama ever since. The Clintons are not racists, but they did anger a lot of black voters, and they will have to be carefully courted again if Hillary is to win November. Then there are young people, who will be upset if Obama loses, and will have to be convinced that Hillary Clinton is worth voting for. Let's remember that John Kerry was not especially exciting to younger voters, but he won them 54%-45% in 2004. So, it can be done.

Clinton needs Obama's voters and Obama needs Clinton's voters if we are to have a Democratic president in 2009, and I do hope that we all agree that that is superior to having Bush Buttboy Republican Hack John McCain for four years.

[Liberal Veteran]

1. Yeah, but the make-up sex is gonna be great!

:D

[greguganus]

2. Pokes out mind's eye for thinking of Hillary. n/t

[Yael]

3. I suggest that they start NOW by not endorsing McCain over each other

To whom it may apply and all that...

[Cha]

4. Obama hasn't insulted any of

hilary's voters but hilary has been quite insulting ..in fact, she insulted whole states of Democrats. I'm in New York so she hasn't insulted us since 2002 when she turned her back on us and went with bushits on the Iraqi War Resolution without reading the 90 page NIE report.