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Kentucky Poll: Wright, Bitterness, Bosnia, Electability

By Truthteller on May 11, 2008 at 7:15 PM in Barack Obama, Current Affairs, Electability, Hillary Clinton, Kentucky, Religion, Second Amendment, Typical white person

Conceding Kentucky to Clinton, Obama has already dismissed Kentucky Democrats as so many “typical white people” whose participation in the Democratic primary is inconsequential. Kentucky Democrats will determine the outcome of the general election, however. And according to a poll conducted on behalf of Herald-Leader/WKYT on May 7-9, 2008, Obama has an electability problem with Kentucky Democrats.

I quote:

Wright’s remarks are important or very important to 43 percent of those polled. Among white voters, his statements were important to 46 percent, compared to only 11 percent of black voters.

Compounding this problem is Obama’s elitist remark about white, rural, bitter voters who “cling” to guns and religion. According to the poll I cite above,

Twenty-nine percent of voters said they didn’t care about Obama’s comments about rural voters clinging to guns and religion.

In other words, 71% of Kentucky Democrats do care about Obama’s derisive statements about rural white voters who “cling” to guns and religion.

Compare these alarming figures to the following finding of the Herald-Leader/WKYT poll:

Twenty-three percent of those polled said Clinton’s misstatements about whether she was under sniper fire in Bosnia were important to their vote.

Clinton’s statements about Bosnia have not affected Kentucky Democrats’ perception of her viability and electability. I guess the voters of Kentucky know how to pick a President.

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Lest one try to dismiss the results of this poll, let us remember that the Democratic nominee will have to win Kentucky in the general election. Bill Clinton won Kentucky in 1992 with 44.55% of the vote, and he won it again in 1996 with 45.84% of the vote. Neither Gore nor Kerry could carry Kentucky, and neither of them managed to win the White House. Kentucky, in other words, is an important swing state, and Obama with his out of touch elitism will not be able to carry it if almost half of Kentucky Democrats find his pastor’s statements offensive.

Clinton, on the other hand, can carry Kentucky. Just listen to this expert on Kentucky politics and culture:

“It is the working class support that Hillary is enjoying and Bill Clinton did alright by the working and middle class,” Gershtenson said. “Those folks enjoyed improving times over the course of his terms and I think that makes a big difference.”

“Typical white people” matter, even if Obama, Brazile and other Washington, DC, elites denigrate and dismiss them. Or perhaps Obama really does despise the “typical white people” of Kentucky. After all, he and his wife listened to the following again and again when they attended the “God Damn America” Church in inner city Chicago for a full twenty years: