SC Yellow Dogs

South Carolina Democrats are ready to elect our country’s next Democratic president! Check out this article from The State.

High hopes for ‘fresh message’
Obama’s S.C. supporters think he can defeat McCain

By JAMES ROSEN and WAYNE WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON — Two Democratic congressional leaders from South Carolina endorsed U.S. Sen. Barack Obama for president Tuesday, helping spur a nationwide movement of uncommitted superdelegates toward the Illinois senator.

House Majority Leader Jim Clyburn, the highest-ranking black lawmaker in Congress, made good on a pledge to endorse Obama. He was joined by U.S. Sen. John Spratt of York, who compared Obama’s eloquence with that of Ronald Reagan and said “his fresh face and message” is drawing tens of thousands of new voters to the Democratic Party.

“Through a grueling campaign and rigorous debates, he won not just the points but the people, and not just their support but their hearts and minds,” Spratt said. “I am astounded at the mix of people who tell me that they are supporting Obama.”

South Carolina Democrats were optimistic about Obama’s chances of defeating Republican Sen. John McCain in November.

But they acknowledged Obama has some more immediate work to do to mend a divided party and appeal to working-class white voters and women - voters who consistently preferred U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton over the last few months.

Clyburn said he recently advised Obama in stark terms about what he should do to draw more white, blue-collar voters.

“You’ve got to share with voters your life story,” Clyburn said he told Obama. “You’ve not talked about those things that you had to overcome to get to where you are.”

Obama can appeal to those voters by understanding the depth of their frustration and anxiety, said former S.C. Education Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum, an early Obama supporter.

“Americans are hurting because of health care, the rising cost of fuel, the rising cost of food,” she said. “And the people are pointing a finger at the current administration.”

Lay out solutions to those problems and support will follow, Tenenbaum said.

While Obama has near rock-star status among some Democrats, he is not as familiar a figure as McCain. As people get to know Obama better, they will embrace him, said Carol Fowler, who heads the S.C. Democratic Party.

“He needs to do more of what he has been doing,” she said. “He’s been going into states that he didn’t win - in Florida and in Michigan, for example. He needs to move around the country introducing himself.”

As Obama heads into the fall campaign, much has been made about the work he must do to unify the party.

Clinton should do some of that work, Tenenbaum said.

“What I think needs to happen is Hillary Clinton needs to be magnanimous.. And once she signals that she will be, her supporters will get behind (Obama). I don’t think anyone will cut off their nose to spite their face.”

Some Clinton supporters aren’t giving up yet, perhaps showing how a long, intense campaign has created a significant emotional investment for some.

Kathyrn Hensley, an S.C. delegate who lives in Lexington, got an e-mail from the Clinton campaign Tuesday afternoon, saying Clinton was not dropping out of the race.

“I was elected by Hillary supporters in the second congressional district to vote for Hillary and that’s still my plan,” Hensley said, noting Clinton is the more experienced candidate.

“She’s still in the race,” Hensley said. “We’ve got too many problems for someone to go in and learn on the job.”

Republicans, too, are expected to heartily paint Obama, who has served one term in the U.S. Senate, as too inexperienced to be president.

“Democrats appear to have settled for the most inexperienced presidential candidate in history,” said S.C. Republican Party chairman Katon Dawson. “But don’t take my word for it. Members of Barack Obama’s own party have criticized him for lacking the experience to lead on issues that matter most to Americans.”

Clyburn said Obama will not only unite Democrats, but compete for Republican votes. Clyburn said Obama “has helped to draw a new map for the Democratic Party nationally” by putting into play “red states” previously ceded to the GOP.

“We have over the years - the last two (presidential) cycles, at least - run a 17-state campaign with no room for error,” Clyburn said. “Senator Obama and his campaign decided to expand that map” to all 50 states.

Spratt ticked off a broad range of people who had told him they were backing Obama: a retired banker; the formerly Republican wife of his nephew; a judge who had held office as a Republican.

“In the end, it’s eloquence that sets Sen. Obama apart, and we saw the difference it can make when President Reagan came to office,” Spratt said. “In the case of Sen. Obama, it is not just rhetorical flourish, but the clarity and insight behind it.”