Deep fried foods, simple living, cradle to grave church attendance, charm and hospitality - the iconic, Rockwellian descriptions of 'the South'. Lest we forget - its not all good news. After all, the south is not remembered for slavery and oppresion for no reason. It was home to the Confederacy and a past steeped in racisim and prejudice. These prejudices are so ingrained in our society that in modern political discourse it was a region written off for the first viable black presidential candidate, Barack Obama.
dfghfggghhjkhjPundits, commentators, and strategists alike did not give Obama a prayers chance at performing well in the deep south. Yet the first blow to conventional wisdom came when Obama beat Clinton by nearly a twenty point margin - ten points more than any poll predicted. He not only carried the black vote, but the white, hispanic, young and old, male and female, etc. Simply, he crushed his opponent in every voting block. In hindsight then it is not surprising that Obama did so well on Super Tuesday in the south. His performance in South Carolina was just the beginning and was then mirrored in Georgie and Alabama. New polls indicate that this trend will continue in Louisiana and Mississippi. Perhaps this is finally the beginning of a new era in the south and old practices might finally be laid to rest.
Interesting to note is the region Obama performed the most poorly: the North. Those tree hugging, feel your pain liberals in the northeast came out in droves to vote on Tuesday and vote they did - for Hillary Clinton. These are the same Ted Kennedy liberals that demand new energy sources yet refuse to allow their cities to put up wind turbines; speak out against Bush's fiscal irresponsibility yet have been responsible for more earmarks and pork spending than any previous Congress. It's the classic liberal hypocricy that we have all grown to detest but expect: Do as I say, not as I do. They will speak out against racisim, even march if necessary, but vote? I guess that's just going too far.
The madness doesn't end there! The media had a field day Tuesday night reporting the unanticipated succcess in the south of Gomer Pyle, I mean Governor Huckabee. It had appeared that Huckabee's star was fading after mediocre performances in four of the five early primary/caucus states. Heck, most pundits had actually begun to call the GOP race a two man fight between Romney and McCain. We should have all known better. After all, Gomer is a
former Baptist preacher. Combine that resume with the southern white, evangelical electorate and the formula more than not will equal success. Disgusted with McCain and against Romney the only option was to pull the lever for the Huckabeast. Going against the grain of the party establishment and against the suggestions and persuasive arguments of powerful conservative talk radio, the evangelicals did what they do best - vote on a single issue, religion. Regardless of the FACT that Huckabee's lackluster record is far from conservative, he happens to have the right religion. It is as simple as that. Bigotry at an astounding level.
Needless to say, the media hype over Huckabee's performance on Super Tuesday was over the top and almost laughable. To date he has won a total of five states, three or more behind Romney and if my count is correct seven behind McCain. So he won some southern states. The conclusion I draw is that Huckabee is a regional candidate - incapable of winning any state outside of the south and completely incapable of winning in November. It is undeniable that Hucks' real goal is the VP slock on a McCain ticket. The two of them have worked behind the scenes together (i.e. in the West Virginia caucus) to squeeze out the other candidates leaving them as the GOP's only choice. Nice try. This Republican isn't buying it and will likely sit out in November, performing what Rush Limbaugh has coined a 'suicide vote.'
Never before had I been such a Kansas fan, but sometimes conference allegiance and respect for a magical team demands putting aside any past animosity and rivalry. Held up in my La Quinta hotel room here in Shreveport I cheered as Kansas defeated the Memphis Tigers to win the NCAA Championship, their first since defeating my Sooners in 1988. The game was exactly what any fan and player dreams - hair raising, nail biting, down to the wire, all energy spent excitement! After an up and down second half, which found me pounding, jumping, and yelling, I quietly joined the blue and clad fans in the famous "Rock Chock Jayhawk, KU" seance and for a moment was a converted fan. My hats off to a deserving team.
