Just saw this interesting post at Barack Oblogger. It’s a simple post, but it makes the point effectively. Despite the past week’s scuttlebutt over Hillary Clinton and “white, working class voters,” Barack Obama has won nominating contests in eight of the nation’s 15 whitest states (I’m trusting it’s quantified by a percentage of the overall population, the definition of whiteness or nonwhiteness — always somewhat frought — seems somewhat hard to actually hang a number upon). Results aren’t in yet for Montana (which votes June 3) or Kentucky, which votes tomorrow (along with Oregon). I think the vote in Kentucky will be much closer than it was in West Virginia but still lean toward’s Hillary, but Obama has run away with the vote in mountainous, western states (and might I say, Republican bastions), so he’ll sew it up in Montana. I also predict he’ll blow Hillary out of the water in Oregon (also tomorrow), not in this list of 15 but still far from a bastion of diversity (not to mention a place where working class ideals have incredible mileage).
Not having been there for almost four years I still feel I can speak from experience that Maine, which tops the whiteness chart (and how!) is undoubtedly Obama country, and Mainers are so wicked far from elitist that it alone shatters the “working class” myth Hillary’s campaign touts.
This is unbelievable. Amidst all the brouhaha over George Bush’s attack on Barack Obama in the Israeli Knesset was this hilarious (if grating) exchange between Hardball-host Chris Matthews and conservative pundit Kevin James. I never thought I’d be admiring Matthews twice in one year, let alone one week, but it has happened as he seized on James’ ignorance of world history (see his criticism of Bill O’Reilly’s perspective on race in America for more).
Many people already realize the saddening lack of historical knowledge in contemporary society, but for this cheerleader of the Bush regime — ostensibly expected to be somewhat well-educated if he’s attempting to articulate a political position in the mainstream media — to so blatantly lack understanding of modern world history still shocks me. It just saddens me, it really does, because thousands of American students and families will continue to eat this tripe up, to make such basic arguments without even knowing the circumstance upon which they are basing their opinion. Ugh, I’m getting ranty and this video (it takes a couple minutes to get to the good/horrible part) speaks for itself, but it’s just outstanding. While I don’t personally buy the appeasement comparison, I’d hope at least those making the argument realize at the very least that Chamberlain’s appeasement policy allowed Hitler to annex Czechoslovakia (amusing note: While writing Czechoslovakia, for some reason, I typed Poland. Who’s the idiot now? The egg is on my face. Oh I can only imagine what comments I’d have received).
Anyhow, I meant to publish this Friday and now this has probably been all over the Internet:
