Libercontrarian

Crushed between the wheels of capitalism and big government.

Clinton Wins Pennsylvania

It looks like Hillary has secured a win in Pennsylvania... and it smells an awful lot like New Hampshire, when the teary-eyed baring of her soul on national TV propelled her to a win when she was looking like she'd come in third.

Pundits and pollsters have predicted Obama's expenditure of around $11 million clams on attack ads would shrink her lead and perhaps would deliver the "coup de grâce" to her failing campaign. This belief was largely upheld by, once again, polling that revealed a tendency for the Democratic electorate to seek "Change." Hillary, as it was described to us, would represent More Of The Same - a continuation of America's Feuding Families: Bush v. Clinton, Clinton v. Bush, and so on. Obama would be our last good shot at fixing things before the country went totally down the tubes to Big Oil/Pharma, Corporate Outsourcers and the mortgage pirates.

That was when things started going wrong with Big O.

Two weeks back, Barry O said a dumb, dumb thing in front of what he thought was a sympathetic crowd. He was inadvertently recorded, and his debasement of Middle America in front of a bunch of billionaires began a downhill slide for him that continued with his lackluster performance at last Sunday's debate (see below) and has ended with him losing, and from all reports, losing BIG to Senator Clinton in Pennsylvania. I think the folks that want "Change" but are nervous about what it's going to take to get there may have moved in a Clintonian direction.

So how come the poll results are so confusing?

I call it as "White Liberal Guilt." This little monster tends to rear its head whenever Middle-Class White folks discuss people of color - they trip over the words attempting to announce that they are not a bunch of seething cross-burners or nonhipsters. African Americans have long been subjected to racism, their minds shout, so I GOTTA SHOW how NON-RACIST I AM!!

Note that White Liberal Guilt doesn't come out of hatred or adoration of anyone's culture or anything, but rather more understated fears of ostracization from other White folks because of a naughty failure to observe political correctness. They are afraid that if they say anything, anything at all that could be misperceived as "racist" about a person who happens to be non-White will cause other folks to view them as insipid, close-minded, and old-fashioned. Unfashionable. Unforgivable. Such misapprehensions can damage relationships in a long-lasting manner, as the modern paradigm of character-judgment offers no redemption for White bigotry.

So how does White Liberal Guilt feature into Hillary's win?

Comfort zone, perhaps - the woman DID spend time in the White House, after all. Racism a factor? Certainly to some extent. Obama's youth and apparent inexperience? Dopey statements and problematic relationships surrounding Big O? These last two are probably the largest factor, and the teflon-coating on the candidate is starting to wear thin. The net result is that, like New Hampshire, folks told the pollsters what they thought they'd want to hear based on their White Liberal Guilt, and did what they wanted to do when they hit the voting booth.

posted by: underwhelmed at April 22, 2008 19:37 | link | comments |

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