I have watched the t.v. pundits,read on blogs,newspapers etc

about the state of the 2008 primaries.While everyone does have

their preferences , and we all point out the double standards

held against our own candidates and in the next minute also hold

the same double standards against other candidates as well,

This is all in the spirit of the passion and excitement that the

prospects of a democrat being in the white house in 08

generates.The most important point to understand is that while

all the candidates all have their flaws and imperfections,we can

all argue as supporters of different candidates who has more or

less,they all share the core principle of being a democrat

which in my opinion can be summed up in a single phrase,

"I am my brother's keeper".,other specific democratic ideals

flow from this core belief.However in the last 5 - 6 years this

core belief and the ideals that flow from it has been overturned

by the Bush administration and his republican allies.Hence

there is a crisis of leadership in the country which has

shaken the foundation of the essence of what we believe to be

democratic principles our country was built on.We are

questioning who we are as a nation,we have lost our faith in

our leaders,there is great anxiety and uncertainty in the

course this administration has taken us.In 2008 we are looking

for someone to inspire us a nation and to guide us back to our

ideals as a nation that will be seen as a beacon of hope,peace

,properity and

justice.This brings us to the fundamental question of who the

best candidate among the 3 top candidates will be.Every

election is about change and the 08 one can't be more important

to us,both Obama,Clinton,Edwards are all change candidates in

their own way in the democratic party primaries,hence I want to

examine the type of change each candidate brings the table

Obama :

He is the true meaning of change in the simplest of terms.He is

a Fresh face.Hasn't been part of the washington establishment

for long.He is inspiring a new generation of voters into action

and giving hope to a lot of disillusioned African Americans who

have not been participating in election and politics due to

disenchantment with the process.He is challenging the very idea

of the preconceived notion of what it is to be an AA in some

quarters and his candidacy is breaking down racial

barriers,uniting all races and demand a change from the

status quo.His impact on the political process has been

compared to John F. Kennedy or even Bill Clinton.He can raise

loads of money because of the excitement he is generating esp.

among young voters.

Question : Will the dem primary voters turn over the keys to a

fresh face with his type of resume in this consequential

times,with everything going on in the world.Will they overlook

the potential benefits of his candidacy.Is the general public

ready to vote for someone with a short resume in light of the

disastrous last 6 years or an AA candidate a la Harold Ford.

Clinton :

 Hard to make a case she is a change candidate since she has

been in the thick of political battles for decades now.The most

viable

argument of change She can make is Change to competence and

Leadership.However She also serves as an inspiration to many

women and can inspire millions of women who haven't

participated in the electoral process to step forward and do

it.She also provides a feeling of steadyness and ability to

govern in this complex world we live in both in Dem primary

and the genral public,indeed this is her bigget asset as shown

in the polls .She can

also rally hispanics,AA's and women into a powerful political

force. She is perceived as an effective campaigner that will

take it to the republicans.Her theme of competence and

leadershp,as well as women rallying to her in the dem primary

is keeping her ahead in the polls now.

Question : Is the dem primary voters ready to move on from the

clinton years? Will the yearnings for a new face prevail over

that of perceived "ready" leadership? Will the arguments that a

Clinton candidacy rally the republicans and is unelectable

prevail? What about questions of her marriage and Favourability?

Edwards:

 The most passionate of all 3 candidates.His theme of two

america's cannot be more relevant today in light of Katrina.

He is seizing on many progressive ideals that are important to

dems and hence has a large following especially on the net.Has

the potential of expanding the reach of the party into the deep

south if at the top of the ticket.He also doesn't bring along

too many negatives,although he has a few.He has a strong pro

labour agenda that can help galvanize the labour vote.Also

brings the experience of having already run in a presidential

campaign.He is in a sense running on a populist agenda and that

is his rallying cry for change.

Question : Can he overcome is initial setbacks?Will Dem primary

 voters vote for someone who has lost a presidential campaign

once? Can he rally AA's,Hispanics to turnout in large numbers?

Will he run on a populist agenda in the general and will that

be acceptable? Will he be seen as ready to lead in the

general? How will his repeated apology for the iraq war play in

the general and primary ?

These are important questions among others that will influence

voters when making thier decision.

  The question is who is the best candidate ?

I have watched the t.v. pundits,read on blogs,newspapers etc

about the state of the 2008 primaries.While everyone does have

their preferences , and we all point out the double standards

held against our own candidates and in the next minute also hold

the same double standards against other candidates as well,

This is all in the spirit of the passion and excitement that the

prospects of a democrat being in the white house in 08

generates.The most important point to understand is that while

all the candidates all have their flaws and imperfections,we can

all argue as supporters of different candidates who has more or

less,they all share the core principle of being a democrat

which in my opinion can be summed up in a single phrase,

"I am my brother's keeper".,other specific democratic ideals

flow from this core belief.However in the last 5 - 6 years this

core belief and the ideals that flow from it has been overturned

by the Bush administration and his republican allies.Hence

there is a crisis of leadership in the country which has

shaken the foundation of the essence of what we believe to be

democratic principles our country was built on.We are

questioning who we are as a nation,we have lost our faith in

our leaders,there is great anxiety and uncertainty in the

course this administration has taken us.In 2008 we are looking

for someone to inspire us a nation and to guide us back to our

ideals as a nation that will be seen as a beacon of hope,peace

,properity and

justice.This brings us to the fundamental question of who the

best candidate among the 3 top candidates will be.Every

election is about change and the 08 one can't be more important

to us,both Obama,Clinton,Edwards are all change candidates in

their own way in the democratic party primaries,hence I want to

examine the type of change each candidate brings the table

Obama :

He is the true meaning of change in the simplest of terms.He is

a Fresh face.Hasn't been part of the washington establishment

for long.He is inspiring a new generation of voters into action

and giving hope to a lot of disillusioned African Americans who

have not been participating in election and politics due to

disenchantment with the process.He is challenging the very idea

of the preconceived notion of what it is to be an AA in some

quarters and his candidacy is breaking down racial

barriers,uniting all races and demand a change from the

status quo.His impact on the political process has been

compared to John F. Kennedy or even Bill Clinton.He can raise

loads of money because of the excitement he is generating esp.

among young voters.

Question : Will the dem primary voters turn over the keys to a

fresh face with his type of resume in this consequential

times,with everything going on in the world.Will they overlook

the potential benefits of his candidacy.Is the general public

ready to vote for someone with a short resume in light of the

disastrous last 6 years or an AA candidate a la Harold Ford.

Clinton :

 Hard to make a case she is a change candidate since she has

been in the thick of political battles for decades now.The most

viable

argument of change She can make is Change to competence and

Leadership.However She also serves as an inspiration to many

women and can inspire millions of women who haven't

participated in the electoral process to step forward and do

it.She also provides a feeling of steadyness and ability to

govern in this complex world we live in both in Dem primary

and the genral public,indeed this is her bigget asset as shown

in the polls .She can

also rally hispanics,AA's and women into a powerful political

force. She is perceived as an effective campaigner that will

take it to the republicans.Her theme of competence and

leadershp,as well as women rallying to her in the dem primary

is keeping her ahead in the polls now.

Question : Is the dem primary voters ready to move on from the

clinton years? Will the yearnings for a new face prevail over

that of perceived "ready" leadership? Will the arguments that a

Clinton candidacy rally the republicans and is unelectable

prevail? What about questions of her marriage and Favourability?

Edwards:

 The most passionate of all 3 candidates.His theme of two

america's cannot be more relevant today in light of Katrina.

He is seizing on many progressive ideals that are important to

dems and hence has a large following especially on the net.Has

the potential of expanding the reach of the party into the deep

south if at the top of the ticket.He also doesn't bring along

too many negatives,although he has a few.He has a strong pro

labour agenda that can help galvanize the labour vote.Also

brings the experience of having already run in a presidential

campaign.He is in a sense running on a populist agenda and that

is his rallying cry for change.

Question : Can he overcome is initial setbacks?Will Dem primary

 voters vote for someone who has lost a presidential campaign

once? Can he rally AA's,Hispanics to turnout in large numbers?

Will he run on a populist agenda in the general and will that

be acceptable? Will he be seen as ready to lead in the

general? How will his repeated apology for the iraq war play in

the general and primary ?

These are important questions among others that will influence

voters when making thier decision.

  The question is who is the best candidate ?

There's more...

Funny they get the republicans to block a vote of no confidence

on Gonzalez but he is orchestrating one on maliki in baghdad.Check

out

this story in AP/CBS.

How will that help bring our troops home.It is just going to

further destabilize iraq.Who gave him the right to interfere in

their internal deliberations in such a blatant way.

Although I don't have confidence in anything over there but

I know this has to rank up there in terms of dumbness.

Discussion.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070708/wl_ afp/usiraqpoliticsmaliki_070708031419;_y lt=AnnrvjicR9.jN787EX2uq.kUewgF

There's more...

Hey folks this is not a diary per se, but I just had to point

out  

that there is a front page piece in the Newsweek magazine on

Barack Obama that you will find very interesting.He sure is

inspiring.You can go to the

website and read it.It is a very beautiful piece.

You can catch it at this link.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19651719/sit e/newsweek/

  Sorry for the short diary.It is worth reading,plus its free of

  charge.What more do you want.

There's more...

I am not here to pass judgement on obama or his campaign,however

I would like to examine the impact of the Obama's candidacy on

the African American community and the historic opportunity it

presents.For far too long African Americans have been treated

like second class citizens in this country,while the situation is

improving gradually there are still a lot of steps we have to

take  into the future.While majority of the ills facing the

african  american society should be squarely placed at the feet

of folks  in the community I would also expect that the

government will be

there to step in as well in situations that are deserving.That

is why I am a democrat.We do not believe in a society in which

the poor,the sick are left alone to deal with the situation

they are in hence creating a class of poor,unhealthy citizens.

Hence you can debate the merits of obama the man himself but

there is no denying the impact of his candidacy in the

democratic party.Now every candidate will be forced to provide

an agenda that will directly address issues that affect the Aa

community.Indeed Hillary Clinton must know that if She is gonna

do well in the AA community she must provide specific plans

about issues that include among others,

1) Poverty in the inner cities and other urban neighbourhoods

2) Healthcare,most importantly the rising cost of healthcare

and insurance.The issue of aids.

3) Police brutality in urban neighbourhoods.

4) Education.Poor schools.

5) Disparity in the legal system.

among other issues.These are issues are expect the government to

address,which are often beyond the powers of memebers of the

community.

This is an agenda that must not be campaign

rhetoric alone.Again these are indeed issues relevant to all

Americans,especially we democrats.

Loyalty alone will not be enough to convince AA's to support any

candidate whether its Obama or Clinton.Any candidate that

provides a positive agenda that is sincere will do well.

This is the beauty of Obama's Candidacy to me.I cannot get  

Excited enough about that.

There's more...

There is a strong argument to be made that the ultimate

usefulness  of experience is good judgement . In this regard you

will have to  agree that Obama,Kucinich had the bestjudgement,now

I do not want to argue the reasons for taking or not taking the

vote,I just want  to point out the impact of it on clinton and

obama's candidacy.

1) In a weird way the best case for Obama's candidacy which is

   based on appealing on instincts to look to a better future is

  based on the vote for the war which is in the past.My instinct

  is that the appeal of not taking that vote has been lost to a

  lot of people ,this is basically becos most dem voters might

  be thinking of the execution of the war.In other words I think

  most dem voters are making a distinction based on who would

  have executed the war better,either becos they believe that

  the administration lied about the info for the war or other

   reasons hence they are not holding Clinton responsible.

   That is why the Clinton's keep talking about how incompetent

   the administration has been on the war.The national

   discussion has moved away from who voted for it to why it

   wasn't executed better and who can execute a better

   withdrawal and I think there is a perception out there that

   clinton will.

 2) If this election was about that vote Obama will be way

   ahead,of course there will be a lot of people that will vote

   based on that vote,but they are not nearly enough to win the

   primaries.If Obama cannot convince Dem primary voters that

   he will be the best to execute a responsible swift withdrawal

   he will not be able to capitalize on that vote.

3) The Clinton's have successfully blurred the distinction

   between both and indeed all candidates on the iraq issue and

   it has become a less potent issue to a lot of dem voters.

   Although she has made it look like she has been against the

  war for a long time,in reality She was just a recent convert

  to that position,However you have to recognize what an

  effective campaign she has.Even Bill made the case that Obama

  and Hillary were the same on the war and lets face it,that was

  a chance for Obama to differentiate himself from Hillary and

  point out she was just a recent convert.But I think his

 rhetoric of beyond partisanship has made him a little

 unsure of how to react.Hey maybe as the election gets closer he

 will start doing it.There is the likelihood it might seem as an

 act of desperation at that point if he waits too long.You know

 even among liberals who you would think the iraq war vote is

 most important Clinton is leading Obama.

 4) Although there is a hunger for change in the dem party and

   the country,I suspect it is not more of change to heal

   bipartanship but a change to competence.And Hillary looks to

   be benefitting from that as of now.

   Obama should be credited for his forsight on the iraq war and

   Hillary failed on that test.However if Obama does not

   overcome the perception that Hillary is more experience and

  competent he would not prevail in the primaries.

  This is my opinion.

   

There's more...

In my opinion,Obama will beat Hillary in the money race from now right through the primaries and he will have a lot of money to give Hillary a fight to the finish.Hillary will also raise chunks of money because I suspect that they will retool their fundraising tactics,in light of Obama's success.Part of what I think they will do for the next quarter will include large gatherings for between $5 - $20 which Obama has perfected,more focus on building internet donations,a lot more focus on cultivating small donations form women especially.They come on T.V. and in interviews and say they are not worried about Obama's fundraising but do not even believe that for a second.Obama's success worries the hell out of them because one of the ways they planned on knocking him out was their fundraising.The only other camp the whole Libby thing helped apart from libby and his supporters are the Hillary and MCcain camp and the one it hurt the most was Obama.This is becos with the news on Sunday about Obama's fundraising you could sense momentum building,that was stopped by the libby pardon.Actually the whole fundraising announcement backfired on Obama,because this was strategizing by both camps,Obama camp was trying to preempt the whole iowa appearance of the Clintons becos he knew their joint appearance was gonna dominate and the release of those numbers were supposed to throw a wrench into those plans because if you looked at the last cycle they didn't release their fundraising totals until about a week into the month,that way they dominated the news,but the pardon just totally messed things up for Barack.I still think the last 1 wk before the primary will be the most important,whoever can dominate the news cycle between the top 3 will be in a strong position to go into the primaries with momentum.Edwards will not drop out of the race,but I susupect Biden and Dodd will be gone by primary day,I think Richardson can still be in there.However look for Obama to make the case that Hillary is old news more aggressively in the final 2 weeks of the campaign and I predict its gonna be effective,the outcome of the race is still not certain but I hope Hillary wins in what will be a really close fought election.The most likely outcome is Hillary will win 2 out of 4 early states while Edwards wins 1 and Obama wins 1,However NH can still be a steal for Obama hence it can be flipped Obama 2 , Hillary 1, Edwards 1.Again it could be Flipped Iowa,NV due to labor goes to Edwards.

This is my opinion.

Hey seat back and enjoy the primary season.      

There's more...

I will like to point this out upfront I am young African American lady and a Hillary supporter.I point out that I am African American not because it gives me a unique position on anything or makes me right on the issue I raised.I just have to point out these facts in the interest of full disclosure,while I hope Hillary does well among African Americans,I will be foolish to disregard the historic opportunity that Obama presents to the African American community.While I also really want Obama to do well especially among African Americans and I waffle on a daily basis between him and Hillary,I end up on Hillary after I get past the initial emotional response.Hence heart is with Obama for obvious reasons but Head + Heart is with Hillary,that is why I will never attack any of the two candidates and indeed any other dem running.I will have prefered both of them not running at the same time or at least both of them being on the same ticket.However I just want to address the impact of both candidates on the african american vote both in the primary and the general.However I do not claim any special insight and I do not put myself on any pedestal and claim to speak for any one.However this is what i see as the impact in my opinion,

1) In South Carolina Obama should win majority of the Black vote and He should prevail in South Carolina and he knows this and that is why I think his campaign is focusing on South Carolina ,however this depends on how well he does in Iowa,nh,nv ,the reason I say this is because He knows that is his firewall,If he performs reasonable well in those early states and that means not coming in 3rd in those states then AA will rally behind him in South Carolina or the other way is if Hillary stumbles in the early states,However if he is beaten by Hillary in those early states or say Edwards manages to sneak in 1 win for example and she wins nv,nh while he comes in 3rd in the three states then he is done although he might not be out of it yet,I suspect blacks will move to Hillary.This is because of the strong feelings aa's have for Hillary.For some AA's she is a first choice or a very strong second choice and they should easily switch camps to Hillary if they think he is losing.If the story coming out of the early states before South Carolina is that Hillary is on her way and Obama is falling behind he will lose South Carolina's.

2)If the elections were held to day I do not think Obama will win the overwhelmimg majority of AA votes nationally.However his support state to state will vary.For example in New York Hillary should prevail among Aa's while in Illinois he probably will.In South Carolina he should but in Florida she probably will.There are several reasons i See why he still hasn't consolidated his vote among the AA,

- The most obvious is the Clinton factor,AA are deeply loyal to the Clintons and indeed have accepted them in a funny kind of way as one of their own.Some might argue the loyalty is sometimes to the detriment of the community and of course there is an argument to be made there , however this will probably have little impact,it is like people arguing AA's loyalty to the dems is unhealthy,yeah people can make the case but that loyalty will never change unless Dems become the KKK , it is not a coincidence that almost all the AA reps are dems,from old heads like charlie rangel to new schoolers like jesse jackson jr.However that argument could be potent to some people because of Obama.However I suspect the potentcy would be limited to some young to middle aged lower Middle class,Upper middle class and Rich Aa's and indeed I think they are gravitating to him,however I suspect most of the older generation and lower income Aa's will stick with clinton.

- The second is AA Women,while I am not saying that Hillary will win this segment,she will dilute the impact of Obama.I say this becos I think the older,lower income/young,rich dichotomy is less  effective here.I think the novelty of not a woman president but a woman and its Hillary Clinton president cuts across all ages in AA women.I think a large chunk of AA women will vote for Hillary  becos She is a woman and becos she is Hillary.This is where Obama will find difficulty in breaking through,because AA women are actually more loyal to the clinton's and love Hillary more than male AA's.Hillary's favourability is probably in the 90's among AA women.Obama can make inroads a lot easier with Upper Income AA's but it is this segment that is also more open to the woman that is Hillary thing.Also younger women AA's like me in our 20's are also drawn by the novelty of a woman/hillary presidency. The reason i say Hillary/woman presidency is,if it was some other woman even if she was a dem , Obama will win in a landslide,so it is not only the woman thing that affects the AA woman but the fact that it is Hillary.Some argue that it is because of Bill AA's like Hillary, that is a total mistake.Although Bill was the catalyst,Hillary herself has developed a special following with AA women in her own right.

- The third is the candidate himself.Obama still has some issues in the black community.There are is the perception in some quarters  of the black community which i think is foolish that HIllary understands the issues in the AA community more than Obama,however the reason this might be the case is that some think that he doesn't speak enough about aa issues.People like Al Sharpton is in this category.However I think he is made a conscious effort to change that,maybe the feeling in his camp was  that since he is AA the AA voters will automatically move over to him,however i think this was the assumption he was working under at the early phases of his campaign,however I think he has changed that now,he knows he is in a fight with Hillary.If you remove Clinton and it was Edwards and Obama,Obama will get 90% of the vote.

3)In the General If Hillary wins the primary even if Obama is'nt on the ticket,She wins the AA vote in a landslide, i predict 90% and overwhelming turnout.If obama is on the ticket Head/tail doesn't matter that number pushes up to like mid 90's in terms of percentage win.I think Hillary is in a better position to win Florida in 08,much less Obama if he is on the head.This is because HIllary generates a lot of excitement among Hispanics,Obama much less.This is an argument for Obama to pick an Hispanic V.P, much less for HIllary.Besides I don't think Hillary camp is impressed with Richardson performance.Do not be surprised if she picks Mark Warner of Virgina,JIm Webb or a midwest governor.

I will think the shortlist will include;

1)Mark Warner - Strongest Possibility in my estimation

2. Obama - Also very strong possibility,infact he is tied with Mark Warner.
   
3. Jim Webb- I doubt this becos he only works if you are thinking of Virginia alone.
   

4)Evan Bayh - Less so
5) Richardson - Reason he is this low is becos his campign skills are below average as of now,if he was good especially in debates he could be a logical choice in the Midwest.
6)other midwest governors.
7)Bill Clinton - Lol,best case scenario but never happen.

You will notice towards the end I started talking more about Clinton,yes this is because She is my preferred candidate and judging by the polls she is the early favorite , however there is still time for things to change.

Anyone with constructive views can offer theirs , however lets not start attacking other candidates.And all of the above is just my opinion.  

There's more...

"Today's decision is yet another example that this Administration simply considers itself above the law. This case arose from the Administration's politicization of national security intelligence and its efforts to punish those who spoke out against its policies. Four years into the Iraq war, Americans are still living with the consequences of this White House's efforts to quell dissent. This commutation sends the clear signal that in this Administration, cronyism and ideology trump competence and justice."

There's more...

I will raise this disclaimer before i write my reasons for this view.I am African American woman and wholeheartedly support Hillary.However I like Obama equally as much as Hillary and would like them to be on the same ticket.The underlying reason why I think Obama won't win isn't because of racial issues which definitely plays a part but because of the following,the most important reason is number one:

1)The main reason is because although Obama is a charismatic and Inspirational force that is looking to overturn the system as we know it,the fundamental question is,is this a change election or an election of competence and experience.With my limited knowledge of things,I will say the answer is ,this is an Experience and Competence election that is why Hillary is dominating in the Democratic electorate and there is apprehension about switching support to Obama.This is because after 8 years of Bush's incompetence,I think people are not ready to sacrifice "perceived experience,competence and leadership" of Hillary (indeed these are words they use to describe Hillary's attributes in polls) while Obama's is Charisma and Likeability while leadership and experience are way down there.Look at New Hampshire,that is the perfect place in which the novelty of his candidacy should work,especially with democratic leaning independents,however Hillary is leading by about 17% in polls in Nh.Now some people might argue that people are not paying attention,but in Nh i guarantee you people are paying attention with all these candidates running around the state.It is the same competence and experience thing that is driving Gore's candidacy in Nh.If he is in the mix he beats Hillary.There is a narrative in the media that is painting Obama as inexperienced and when people hear him sometimes he uses soaring rhetoric but not really being substantive and this reinforces their views.This is the overall reason I think he won't win.

2)I am going to put all the other reasons together,they are age ,race,battlegroung states and effectiveness of campaign.

 I will start with the age thing.His age is both a blessing and curse because his age makes him look like a fresh face and could appeal to the change issue,however his age reinforces the whole  experience thing,if he is matched up even with a mayor Guiliani who was just a dam mayor,people will think Guiliani has more experience and leadership than he does but thats the opposite he actually does have more than Guliani.If he goes against Mccain it will be brutal beacuse I can already picture what the republicans will say about him and it could be very effective and the media will support Mccain over Obama.If you think of it like an Independent,who would you pick Obama or Mccain,if the election is an experience,competence and leadership  one which I think it is

 Race,the republicans will not waste time in this arena because they have given up on the black vote,they are already calling him hussein.Unless I am mistaken ,Obama will not win any Southern state.States that can be won with another candidate like Edwards or Hillary will be lost.Although Hillary also has her problems in the south too but Hillary stands a good chance in Florida and Ohio,Edwards stands a good one in Ohio and Obama stands only a marginal one in both states because of the race factor.I am not being naive,I live in the South and race is a big factor.Also if he runs against mccain,mccain might win the hispanic vote this is because he doesn't excite Hispanics like Hillary does.Mccain is insulated from the whole anti-immigration movement,if he is the nominee they will vote dem for ballots in the states but if it is national it is not a guarantee they will vote for Obama,but if it is Hillary they will.So those states in the south with a large Hispanic vote Hillary stands a chance thats why she is 1 point behind Guiliani in Texas and ties Mccain.Howver I am not saying She can win.

Thirdly,democrats are not sure of how effective he will be when it comes to the general,because any one who is gonna be our candidate will be savaged and the country will still be polarized after that,do you think rush and hannity want to shake hands with Obama , you better think again.No wonder Hillary also uses it in campaigns,I know how to beat republicans etc.Of course people (democrats) including the writer will always have the whole can she win arguments at the back of their minds but they have seen her campaign and her debates and they seem to like their chances with Hillary,obama's they are not so sure.

3)The bill factor,the whole 2 for 1 thing appeals to dems but could also be a negative,but the polling suggests people are taking the  side of the 2 for 1 arguments which also dovetails into competence and experience.Thats why the trot out Bill every time.The campaign has made that calculation.

4) The women factor is also huge.It is even affecting Obama in his natural constituency ,African American Women,like me,Hillary being a woman serves as an inspiration for a lot of black women like me and is a deciding factor for so many democratic women even in the aa community.Especially when they regard Hillary like a sister even though she is of another race.  

This is my reasons,however its just how my opinion and everyone else can voice theirs constructively.

   

There's more...