Courage Makes A Majority

I will try to keep this short and sweet.  I assert that Barack Obama is so much more electable that Hillary Clinton based on a few items.

First, as I outlined in my post a couple of days ago, the war in Iraq is a key issue.  If Hillary is our candidate, she is ineffective in trying to differentiate her position from the Republican candidate.  She voted for the war.  She can not criticize anyone on the issue.  Instead we will be treated to her painful 20 minute attempt to rationalize her vote, say why whe would do it differently if she knew then what she knew know, etc.  The Iraq War needs to be a key point in this election, and Hillary eliminates that possibility.

Second, polling shows just how divisive a figure she is.  Her negative rating is 51% and whopping 47% say the would cast a vote against her (saying that a primary driver of 1 of every 2 voters for the republican candidate would be to vote against Hilary).  Obama’s negatives are lower 45%, and even more importantly, his vote against percentage is only 36% or 11% lower than Hillary.  He is not the polarizing figure she is.

Third, he is a movement candidate, bring new voters to the process that haven’t been seen before.  Voters that will likely disappear if he is not at the top of the ticket.  Look at Iowa.  Almost 25% of the voters participating in the caucus were under 30.  1 in 4 voters!  Barack Obama took nearly 60% of that vote.  Young voter participation is doubling, in large part, to Obama’s appeal to that demographic.   In New Hampshire, nearly 20% of the voters were under 30 and again Obama took the majority of them.  Nevada: 13% of the vote. 60% for Obama. South Carolina: 15% of the vote.  65% for Obama.  These numbers are astounding and figure to tilt even more towards Obama as likely nominee John McCain is so far removed from the age group (he is over 70 years old), that increasing the participation of this demographic is GREAT news for the democrats.   Obama is the only candidate that brings these voters out.

Fourth, he’s a map changer.  Again look at South Carolina, a state that is normally not considered a target for the Democratic nominee.  Barack Obama garnered more votes (295,000) than the top 2 GOP candidates combined  (276,000).   Total Democratic turnout (530,000) was well above GOP turnout (430,000), putting this state in play for the election.  Turnout was equally impressive in Iowa and New Hampshire, both swing states for the election.  Race is not an issue as Obama won the whitest state in the union, Iowa (97% white).

Other states like Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Virginia, all normal locks for the GOP, come into play, and only into play if Obama is the nominee.  At the same time, democratic stalwarts like New York, California, Illinois, Massachussettes and New Jersey still stay firmly in the Dem’s column.  And while McCain is trying to appeal to social conservatives in the south, a key voting bloc that he struggles to attract.  Obama can go on the offensive in other key battleground states like Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania.  Again, all this doesn’t happen with Hillary as the candidate.

So there you have it, 4 solid reasons why Barack is more electable than Hillary come November.