.
February 20th, 2008
05:02 PM ET

Importance of white male voters overlooked?

ALT TEXT

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

These days politics is all about voting blocs – you know African-Americans, Latinos, women. But there's one group that might not be getting as much attention as it deserves: white men.

These guys often go unnoticed, even though they could play a big role in deciding both the Democratic nominee and the next president.

Working-class white men make up almost one-quarter of all voters. That's more than blacks and Hispanics combined. The group is usually defined as those without a college degree, including union members and those with service and technical jobs. They typically make less than $50,000 a year. And, they make up huge chunks of the electorate in key states like Ohio, Michigan, Missouri and Pennsylvania.

The Wall Street Journal reports that when it comes to the Democratic race, some of these white men are finding it hard to identify with either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. In interviews, some said because Obama is black, they will cross over and vote Republican. Others say the country isn't ready for a woman president yet.

One Ohio political strategist points out that for a lot of blue-collar men over 40, "Hillary Clinton is a poster child for everything about the women's movement they don't like – their wife going back to work, their daughters rebelling, the rise of women in the workplace."

So stay tuned for the general election, where blue-collar white men could be the key group of swing voters – either backing the Democrat's nominee or putting their support behind John McCain, whose war record and straight-talk could appeal to many of them.

Here’s my question to you: Is the importance of white male voters being overlooked in this election cycle?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

FULL POST


Filed under: 2008 Election
February 20th, 2008
04:03 PM ET

Will we be spared a negative campaign?

 Click the play button to see what Jack and our viewers had to say.

Click the play button to see what Jack and our viewers had to say.

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Barack Obama has apparently already struck fear into the hearts of the Republican power structure. He doesn't quite have the nomination yet, although it's a pretty good bet he's going to get it.

But John McCain couldn't wait for that formality. Apparently if you're John McCain, it's never too early to start calling people names. Last night while celebrating his victory in Wisconsin, McCain could have chosen to use the free air time he was given on all three cable news networks for advancing some of his ideas of how he thinks he can make the country better.

But instead, he chose to call Barack Obama names, referring to the Democrat's call for change as "eloquent but empty." This is school yard stuff and you'd think a 71-year-old member of the United States Senate would know better. The reason Obama has captured the imagination of the people in this country is because he has a long list of ideas on how to improve things. And in case you haven't noticed, we could use a little improvement around here.

Barack Obama was expected to draw a crowd of 20,000 people to a campaign event in Dallas, Texas, today. I wonder how many people showed up at McCain's last appearance.

Partisanship, name calling and gridlock are turning people's stomachs. Barack Obama has arrived on the scene like a breath of fresh air and if John McCain doesn't understand the significance of that, he has no more chance of becoming president than I do.

Here’s my question to you: What are the chances we’re spared a negative campaign when it comes to the general election?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

FULL POST


Filed under: 2008 Election
February 20th, 2008
02:05 PM ET

Advice for Clinton’s campaign?

ALT TEXT

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:

Hillary Clinton got a good old fashioned beating in Wisconsin yesterday at the hands of Barack Obama.

Pick a way to lose… she lost. Popular vote, delegates, you name it. Obama is taking away Clinton's base. In Wisconsin, almost 9 out of 10 Democratic voters are white. Obama won more than 60% of the votes of white men, and split the support of white women with Clinton. He beat her by double-digits among voters whose families make less than $50,000 dollars. He beat her among voters who don't have college degrees.

It gets worse. Obama did well not only in cities like Madison – winning large numbers of upper-income liberals – he also got a lot of support in parts of the state with lower-income voters and union households.

And if you're Hillary Clinton, the worst part is this: Obama's support among working class, blue-collar voters in Wisconsin could be an indication there is more trouble ahead for Clinton in the large industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Oh, and as for independent and Republican voters in Wisconsin, Obama won both by margins of about 2-to-1.

One Democratic pollster told the Washington Post, quote: "There's no question that Senator Clinton is on the defensive. Senator Obama has proven that he can win the kinds of voters that he needs to win" in states like Texas and Ohio.

At this point, Hillary Clinton's chances of becoming the Democratic candidate for president are hovering somewhere between slim and none.

Here’s my question to you: If you were advising Hillary Clinton’s campaign, what would you tell them?

Interested to know which ones made it on air?

FULL POST


Filed under: Democratic Race • Hillary Clinton