US Politics / Robert Rouse / 01 February 2008 /

Robert Rouse gives us his take on the current situation in the presidential primaries from across the pond

Many of the pundits are predicting that Hillary Clinton will be the beneficiary of the vacuum created by John Edward's sudden departure. They believe that the "white" voters who went for Edwards will go for Clinton - especially in the South.

I do have a problem with the way race and stereotypes have been pounced on by the so-called 21st Century media. What I'm hearing from the pundits is that most "white" voters would never elect a black man and that "whites" in the south are especially bigoted. I'm not sure I buy that, but hey, they are the one's making money prognosticating politics.

I am sorry to see Edwards go. I like John Edwards - hell, I was actually voting for him in 2004 since I was never a John Kerry fan. I liked his populist message and had it not been for the circus like atmosphere of the "woman and the black", I believe I would have been an Edwards supporter. However, the pragmatist in me knew that Edward's campaign was doomed from the beginning. I hope both Clinton and Obama take Edward's anti-poverty goal to heart and make it one of the top issues of the campaign.

With it looking more and more like the Republican nominee will be John McCain, the Democrats stand a good chance of getting caught with their pants down again - and I feel as if Hillary Clinton will lose this race if she is the nominee.

What we need right now is Obama - someone who has proven that he can pull independents, moderates and even Republicans votes. His message of hope is resonating with everyone but the staunch Democrats and the staunch Republicans. I'm hoping the Kennedy endorsements didn't come too late. I'm hoping John Edwards decides to endorse Obama before Super Tuesday. I don't see Edwards endorsing Clinton, especially after joining with Obama on a message of change - and let's face it folks, Clinton does NOT represent change.

I also believe both Obama and Clinton need to start ratcheting up Iraq as an issue. With McCain saying he believes we need to stay in Iraq for another Hundred years, that might end up being more of an issue than anything other than the economy.

Robert Rouse an American and active Democrat. He is co-author of the Obama-08 blog.

Visit the new Betfair Politics Zone launched for Super Tuesday: https://politics.betfair.com

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

:

:

:

?

: