The Three-Fifthers of the Democratic Party

The Media's Three-Fifth's Compromise - Rikyrah @ Jack and Jill Politics

Spencer Ackerman's blog pointed me to this commentary on the Clinton camp's spin of the South Carolina primary. It really is quite good (despite the grammar nazi in my kicking in from time to time, though I'm no saint myself) and makes several astute points about what the Clinton spin entails, particularly if the Clinton's keep pushing it. That Sen. Clinton not only lost by a 2 to 1 margin but barely made second place herself was a considerable hit to her campaign. She compounded the wound by not giving a concession speech and then claiming that South Carolina didn't matter because of the larger black electorate in the state. As Rikyrah notes, the Clintons are essentially saying that black voters don't matter because of course they would vote for a black man over a white woman. Not only is that insulting to the blacks of South Carolina, it's insulting to blacks all across the U.S. While the Clintons can certainly count on the establishment leaders in the black communities, the more they push this kind of spin the more they will see black voters rally around Sen. Obama. It's not a wise course of action, but how can they back themselves out of a corner of their own making?