***********Official South Carolina Democratic Primary Thread**************

[techs]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200...south_carolina_primary

Democrats headed to the polls in South Carolina Saturday in an unusual contest that pitted Barack Obama against two Clintons. Race was a persistent subtext in the first primary to feature a large number of black voters.

South Carolina became a "must win" state for Obama, whose victory in the Iowa caucuses Jan. 3 began to fade after he lost contests in Nevada and New Hampshire to Hillary Rodham Clinton. A victory could help reinforce Obama's co-frontrunner status with Clinton, while a loss would severely imperil his candidacy.

Polls showed Obama favored to win the state in large part due to his strong support among black voters, who are expected to comprise more than 50 percent of the electorate. The Illinois senator is running to be the first black president.

The state Democratic Party chairwoman, Carol Fowler, predicted a record turnout.

Obama has made a direct appeal to blacks here after rarely mentioning race throughout the campaign. He'll continue that strategy going forward, making trips to Georgia and Alabama later this weekend. Both states hold primaries on the multistate "Mega Tuesday" contest Feb. 5 and feature a significant number of black voters.

Most recent polls:
SurveyUSA 1-23/1-24
Obama 43
Clinton 30
Edward 24

Mclatchey, MSNBC, Mason-Dixon 1-22/1-23
Obama 38
Clinton 30
Edwards 19

 

[Pabster]

GO OBAMA GO!

 

[techs]

Originally posted by: Pabster
GO OBAMA GO!

Funny, Obama is the candidate furtherst away from your political views.

 

[techs]

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting take on the primary:

To Truly Win in Carolina,
Obama Needs Large Margin

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- When is a win in the South Carolina Democratic primary really a win?

For Sen. Barack Obama, anything less than a decisive victory Saturday might lead some political operatives and observers to shrug off a first-place finish as a given.

Mr. Obama has been leading rival Sen. Hillary Clinton in polls by as much as 16 percentage points over the past week. He fares particularly well among African-American voters, who make up half of all registered Democrats in the state. By a 5 to 1 margin, they said they would vote for Mr. Obama over Mrs. Clinton.

This may seem like good news for Mr. Obama, who scored a first-place finish in the Iowa caucus but finished second to Mrs. Clinton in New Hampshire and Nevada. But with expectations set so high, political pundits say the Illinois senator faces a dilemma: He will have to win by a double-digit margin in order for voters nationwide to perceive South Carolina as a real victory.



Basically if Obama doesn't win by double digits it will be considered a loss.

 

[ProfJohn]

^ I love this way of thinking.

If the Patriots don?t cover the point spread then they really didn?t win the Super Bowl, right?

This explains why Hillary left South Carolina. She knew she couldn?t win, so she left in order to change the ?rules? as it were. If she stays and losses then she has no excuses for losing, but if she leaves and losses she can say ?we didn?t really try to win? and spin it as a victory for doing so well in that state.

The fact that Hillary left the state in the first place shows how fall she has fallen from her anointed position as ?Mrs. Inevitable.?

 

[Sinsear]

Originally posted by: Pabster
GO OBAMA GO!

I'll have to agree. Sink the Clintons!!!

 

[palehorse]

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: Pabster
GO OBAMA GO!

Funny, Obama is the candidate furtherst away from your political views.

True, but given the political gridlock in DC these days, the individual issues become much less of an issue. AFAIC, Obama may be the only candidate who has any integrity or character left in his cup -- which has ALWAYS been more important, to me, than the myriad of issues -- especially since the President can't write legislation.

I also believe Hillary Clinton would be much worse than GWB.

So, like Pabs said: GO OBAMA GO!!

 

[Jaskalas]

Originally posted by: palehorse74
So, like Pabs said: GO OBAMA GO!!

In the general, if I have to pick between Obama, McCain/Romney, I might just have to tell the Republicans to go f' themselves. Give me a true conservative, or I'll give you Obama.

 

[palehorse]

Originally posted by: Jaskalas

Originally posted by: palehorse74
So, like Pabs said: GO OBAMA GO!!

In the general, if I have to pick between Obama, McCain/Romney, I might just have to tell the Republicans to go f' themselves. Give me a true conservative, or I'll give you Obama.

I look at it a little differently since character and integrity are my primary motivators -- that is, I see an Obama vs. McCain debate and race as being the only possible one wherein each candidate has any of either trait left in their cups. Therefore, it would be the first Presidential race, since I turned 18 in 1992, wherein I'd actually get to choose between two decent human beings for a change!

Obama vs. McCain in the general would be a better situation for this country than any other combination of candidates.

 

[ProfJohn]

Techs... what happened to your other 'official' thread about this primary???

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: palehorse74

Originally posted by: Jaskalas

Originally posted by: palehorse74
So, like Pabs said: GO OBAMA GO!!

In the general, if I have to pick between Obama, McCain/Romney, I might just have to tell the Republicans to go f' themselves. Give me a true conservative, or I'll give you Obama.

I look at it a little differently since character and integrity are my primary motivators -- that is, I see an Obama vs. McCain debate and race as being the only possible one wherein each candidate has any of either trait left in their cups. Therefore, it would be the first Presidential race, since I turned 18 in 1992, wherein I'd actually get to choose between two decent human beings for a change!

Obama vs. McCain in the general would be a better situation for this country than any other combination of candidates.

Are you kidding? McCain lost all integrity when he supported this unnecessary, deadly, illegal, and expensive war in Iraq. He can't even admit it was a mistake. He's either a liar or a dangerous fool.

 

[palehorse]

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: palehorse74

Originally posted by: Jaskalas

Originally posted by: palehorse74
So, like Pabs said: GO OBAMA GO!!

In the general, if I have to pick between Obama, McCain/Romney, I might just have to tell the Republicans to go f' themselves. Give me a true conservative, or I'll give you Obama.

I look at it a little differently since character and integrity are my primary motivators -- that is, I see an Obama vs. McCain debate and race as being the only possible one wherein each candidate has any of either trait left in their cups. Therefore, it would be the first Presidential race, since I turned 18 in 1992, wherein I'd actually get to choose between two decent human beings for a change!

Obama vs. McCain in the general would be a better situation for this country than any other combination of candidates.

Are you kidding? McCain lost all integrity when he supported this unnecessary, deadly, illegal, and expensive war in Iraq. He can't even admit it was a mistake. He's either a liar or a dangerous fool.

For the first few years, I supported the war too -- as did many Americans. It took me several years to realize just how much of a mistake it was. However, like McCain, I also recognize(d) the current need to stay until we fix what we've broken - at least to the greatest extent possible.

I believe McCain is a "mostly honest" man, and that's about the best you can expect from a politician these days.

On another note, just to make YOU happy, I'll state that Ron Paul is certainly the candidate with the most character and integrity, on either side of the aisle. It's just too bad that he's also such a crazy loon...

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: palehorse74

Originally posted by: bamacre

Originally posted by: palehorse74

Originally posted by: Jaskalas

Originally posted by: palehorse74
So, like Pabs said: GO OBAMA GO!!

In the general, if I have to pick between Obama, McCain/Romney, I might just have to tell the Republicans to go f' themselves. Give me a true conservative, or I'll give you Obama.

I look at it a little differently since character and integrity are my primary motivators -- that is, I see an Obama vs. McCain debate and race as being the only possible one wherein each candidate has any of either trait left in their cups. Therefore, it would be the first Presidential race, since I turned 18 in 1992, wherein I'd actually get to choose between two decent human beings for a change!

Obama vs. McCain in the general would be a better situation for this country than any other combination of candidates.

Are you kidding? McCain lost all integrity when he supported this unnecessary, deadly, illegal, and expensive war in Iraq. He can't even admit it was a mistake. He's either a liar or a dangerous fool.

For the first few years, I supported the war too -- as did many Americans. It took me several years to realize just how much of a mistake it was. However, like McCain, I also recognize(d) the current need to stay until we fix what we've broken - at least to the greatest extent possible.

I believe McCain is a "mostly honest" man, and that's about the best you can expect from a politician these days.

On another note, just to make YOU happy, I'll state that Ron Paul is certainly the candidate with the most character and integrity, on either side of the aisle. It's just too bad that he's also such a crazy loon...

At least, unlike McCain, you can admit the invasion of Iraq was a mistake. I would rather vote for Paul who was right the first time. He stated his reasons for voting against the war, and he was 100% correct. McCain said the war would be a breeze. Paul said it would be a war that nobody wanted. And yet even with what we see with our own eyes today, McCain can't even admit he was wrong? He can't admit the war was a mistake? That is dangerous, and IMO, insanity.

You can vote for the Republicans who promise to protect your life. I'll vote for the Republican who promises to protect my American way of life.

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: Pabster
GO OBAMA GO!

Funny, Obama is the candidate furtherst away from your political views.

...and this is why the Democrats are morons for even considering nominating Clinton.

Anyway this gives Obama another chance at a victory speech, looking forward to it.

 

[Pabster]

Originally posted by: Farang
Anyway this gives Obama another chance at a victory speech, looking forward to it.

:thumbsup:

 

[Pabster]

Originally posted by: bamacre
You can vote for the Republicans who promise to protect your life. I'll vote for the Republican who promises to protect my American way of life.

And the greatest thing about the USA is that you can both vote as you please in your best interests.

My personal feelings on McCain are already well documented.

 

[nageov3t]

Obama's got this thing locked up.

let's see if it gives him a bump for super tuesday... I'm sure the media's looking forward to sucking him off for another couple weeks.

 

[SViscusi]

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: Pabster
GO OBAMA GO!

Funny, Obama is the candidate furtherst away from your political views.

Which says a lot about Obama and his ability to attract support from the entire country.

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: techs
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting take on the primary:

To Truly Win in Carolina,
Obama Needs Large Margin

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- When is a win in the South Carolina Democratic primary really a win?

For Sen. Barack Obama, anything less than a decisive victory Saturday might lead some political operatives and observers to shrug off a first-place finish as a given.

Mr. Obama has been leading rival Sen. Hillary Clinton in polls by as much as 16 percentage points over the past week. He fares particularly well among African-American voters, who make up half of all registered Democrats in the state. By a 5 to 1 margin, they said they would vote for Mr. Obama over Mrs. Clinton.

This may seem like good news for Mr. Obama, who scored a first-place finish in the Iowa caucus but finished second to Mrs. Clinton in New Hampshire and Nevada. But with expectations set so high, political pundits say the Illinois senator faces a dilemma: He will have to win by a double-digit margin in order for voters nationwide to perceive South Carolina as a real victory.



Basically if Obama doesn't win by double digits it will be considered a loss.

Yeah, and I've heard some in the MSM make this case as well.

IMO, it's bullsh!t and they're dumber than a bag of rocks.

Tell me, when is the last time a smooth-talking Harvard lawyer from the North has done well in an election in SC? If Obama doesn't get the white vote, that's the likely answer.

Edit: earlier today I heard the political analyists talking about the most interesting data will be the voting breakdown along racial lines. I disagree, I think gender and age will be important. Again, A Yankee harvard lawyer isn't gonna do well in the rural south. I think a lot of white men will vote Edwards, a lot of white women will vote HRC. And I'd like to see how the younger voters go, I'm expecting Obama no matter their race.

Fern

 

[daveymark]

Originally posted by: SViscusi

Originally posted by: techs

Originally posted by: Pabster
GO OBAMA GO!

Funny, Obama is the candidate furtherst away from your political views.

Which says a lot about Obama and his ability to attract support from the entire country.

it appears that it's not about seeing obama win, it's about seeing hildebeest lose.

 

[nageov3t]

called for obama.

2:2... looks like it's going to come down to super tuesday :thumbsup:

 

[b0mbrman]

Originally posted by: loki8481
called for obama.

2:2... looks like it's going to come down to super tuesday :thumbsup:

3 to 2

And I think it'll go past Super Tuesday...

 

[reeserock]

I hope Edwards comes in 2nd. Might make super tuesday more interesting.

 

[Pabster]

ABC News has called it for Obama.

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: reeserock
I hope Edwards comes in 2nd. Might make super tuesday more interesting.

indeed.

at this rate, Edwards might have a chance if he just spends another 200 years campaigning.