A friend in need
“This week we learned the limit of a dream in American politics. At Barack Obama’s darkest hour, not one prominent ally came forward to support him. Everyone abandoned Everyman,” Wall Street Journal columnist Daniel Henninger writes.
“No prominent black clergyman came forth to make even the simple point that Jeremiah Wright’s notion of the ’black church’ is but one point on a spectrum of faith. Rev. Wright, now written off as a virtual nut case, got more support from black clergymen than did Obama,” Mr. Henninger says.
“Barack Obama was bleeding by Monday and needed cover. Where, when he could have used them, were Obama’s oh-so-famous endorsers: Jesse Jackson, Ted Kennedy, Oprah, John Kerry, Chris Dodd, Patrick Leahy, Tom Daschle, Amy Klobuchar, Claire McCaskill, Jay Rockefeller, John Lewis, Toni Morrison, Roger Wilkins, Eric Holder, Robert Reich, Ted Sorenson, Alice Walker, David Wilhelm, Cornel West, Clifford Alexander, Donald McHenry, Patricia Wald, Newton Minow?
“Where were all the big-city mayors who went over to the Obama camp: Chicago’s Richard Daley, Cleveland’s Frank Jackson, Atlanta’s Shirley Franklin, Washington’s Adrian Fenty, Newark’s Cory Booker, Baltimore’s Sheila Dixon?
“It isn’t hard for big names to get on talk TV to make a point. Any major op-ed page would have stopped the presses to print a statement of support from Ted Kennedy or such for the senator. None appeared. Call it profiles in gopher-holing.”
GOP’s good news
With the Republicans facing a tough political environment this year, it’s news when someone reports that the party’s prospects are improving somewhere. In this case, it’s the governorships.
“Republican prospects in the races for governor have actually improved over the last three months, in contrast to the party’s expected losses in the House and Senate,” Nathan L. Gonzales writes in the Rothenberg Political Report.
In Missouri, unpopular Gov. Matt Blunt’s decision not to seek a second term has “boosted the Republicans’ chances” of holding on to the seat which is now rated a toss-up. In Indiana, Gov. Mitch Daniels “has improved his standing slightly, and he is now a narrow favorite for re-election.”
Democrats now hold 28 governorships to the Republican Party’s 22, but only four of the 11 races this year are “at risk at this point,” Mr. Gonzales says.
Republicans are targeting Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire and another Democratic seat that is open in North Carolina.
“Instead of a Democratic gain of a governorship or two (our winter 2007 forecast), the most likely outcome is either no net change or a Democratic gain of a single seat,” Mr. Gonzales forecasts.
Still possible
“One of the debates around our office these last two days has been whether it’s still possible, as a practical matter, for Hillary to win. Or, more precisely, whether it’s possible for the superdelegates to override the pledged delegates without provoking the kind of backlash that would doom Hillary,” the New Republic’s Noam Scheiber writes in a blog at www.tnr.com.
“My own feeling is that it is possible. The most likely place you’d find the backlash is obviously among black voters, who’ve been supporting Obama by a nearly 9-to-1 margin of late. But I don’t think the African-American backlash would necessarily be overwhelming, for two reasons,” Mr. Scheiber said.
“First, the main source of the superdelegates’ concerns — Jeremiah Wright — has nothing to do with the Clinton campaign. It’s not the result of some dirty campaign trick. For that matter, the Clintons have almost entirely steered clear of it. In political terms, it’s the equivalent of a meteor coming down and hitting your opponent. (Though whether it’s struck Baa’s pinky toe or his head is still an open question.) I don’t see how it sows everlasting resentment against Hillary just because she happens to benefit.
“Second, and more importantly, I think African American Democrats are probably just as pessimistic as white Democrats, if not more so, about the general-election fallout from the Wright fiasco. Remember that prior to Iowa, Obama’s numbers among African Americans were pretty pedestrian. One of the reasons was their skepticism that white voters would embrace a black candidate. That obviously dissolved amid all the primary victories Obama piled up. But Wright has brought some of these concerns back to the surface. …
“It would obviously be a little traumatic, party cohesion-wise, for the superdelegates to reverse the pledged delegates. And I still think it’s unlikely to happen. But if it does, and if Wright ends up being the reason, I don’t see a massive revolt brewing.”
A best-seller
Rep. Ron Paul, the Republican presidential candidate from Texas who is a favorite of libertarians, now boasts the No. 1 best-selling book at Amazon.com.
“The Revolution: A Manifesto,” released earlier this month, even tops Oprah”s latest Book Club selection, reports CNN associate political editor Rebecca Sinderbrand.
“Despite a media blackout, this septuagenarian physician-turned-congressman sparked a movement that has attracted a legion of young, dedicated, enthusiastic supporters … a phenomenon that has amazed veteran political observers and made more than one political rival envious,” says the book”s product description, adding: “Candidates across America are already running as ’Ron Paul Republicans.” ”
Forget it
Northwestern University has withdrawn its offer of an honorary degree to the former pastor of Democrat Barack Obama.
A university official says the school had offered the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. an honorary doctorate of sacred theology.
But Alan K. Cubbage, vice president for university relations, now says the offer has been rescinded because of the controversy surrounding Mr. Wright. He also says the school wants “to ensure that the celebratory character of commencement [won’t] be affected,” the Associated Press reports.
• Greg Pierce can be reached at 202/636-3285 or gpierce@washingtontimes.com.
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