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HALLI CASSER-JAYNE - bio
RED, WHITE 'N TRUE
THE SWEET AGONY OF DEFEAT
 Posted, January 25,  2008,  12:01 a.m. est

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Poor Barack Obama. He’s been snookered, hornswoggled, swindled, flimflammed, beat to a pulp by that machine of political machines, Team Clinton, and the poor guy didn’t even realize it till just a few days ago.

What am I talking about? Come Sunday morning following the South Carolina primary the headlines very likely are going to read: Obama Takes South Carolina in a Landslide Victory Winning with Over 70% of the Black Vote.

It’s a win from whose WIN the Obama candidacy might never recover.

Why? Because Obama got bamboozled by the Clinton machine into making his campaign about race. Never mind who started it, race is at the center of the democratic run for the presidential nomination. And once the Clintons got their opening they ran with the ball so-to-speak, outplaying and out-maneuvering the unwitting neophyte Obama, even in the game of race.

As each team made their play, the black voting bloc moved to Obama’s side, which is exactly what the Clinton Team was after. In fact, the polls now show Obama with over 70% of the African-American vote in its camp.

So what does this mean? Well, Obama, who knew he had to run as a “colorless” candidate in order to be viable candidate nationwide, has been forced into being perceived as a “black” candidate, and that is bound to hurt him beyond the south.

If you’re wondering just how serious a situation the Obama camp finds itself in, take note that they have called in nearly all their chits. Their surrogates  are bombarding the press, websites and every outlet they can reach to fight back trying to change the course of the race, attempting to make this about the naughty Clintons and squelch any perception or talk that the first serious black candidate may only be a candidate for the blacks.

In their effort to put the focus on both Clintons, the Obama campaign is taking its plays out of the old Republican playbook: the Clintons play dirty politics, they’re swift boaters, they’d rather lie than tell the truth, Hillary worked for Wal-Mart! I particularly love the one that argues that it is not statesmanlike for a former president to be defending his wife against attacks from her opponents. What would they say about him if he didn’t advocate for his wife?

The list goes on and on, and the Clintons barely defend. They continue to campaign vociferously, if only to increase the pity upon their defeat. Bill has thrown a punch or two at the press, but as to the specific charges, they’ve pretty much let them bounce off their backs probably saying to each other: “Bring it on, baby Barack!”

Everything is calculated in the Clinton camp and they’ve set it up so that Hillary Clinton wins whether she wins or loses. If she loses, it can only help Hillary if she looks the victim. When it’s all said and done white voters are going to have a hard look at this. There very likely would be a white backlash at the perception of a black voting block, and Clinton will play it for everything it is worth.

Can’t you just hear Bill Clinton the day following Hillary’s resounding defeat, “Wow, they really trounced us this time. Oh, we’re so wounded. My wife is wounded. We’ve dedicated our whole lives to our friends in the African-American community. This is a terrible defeat.”

For Obama, who couldn’t afford to lose in South Carolina, the win leaves him only his much revered hope for a better day, but he’s unlikely to fully recover. For the Senator from New York it is a loss they’ll be calling for years to come: Hillary Clintons sweet agony of defeat.

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