THE PARAGRAPHS? WHERE ARE THEY?

I SEE THEM!

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Much of the focus of tonight has been on Senator Obama, who is to be congratulated for his winning a majority of the pledged delegates (see CNN for confirmation).

However, in this eagerness to certify Senator Obama as the Democratic nominee the Kentucky primary was deemed to be of little importance in the nominating process. While the logic behind this is reasonable(that the state does not have enough delegates for Clinton to catch Obama)the fact remains that Obama's inability to attract a credible retinue in the state mirrors his problem among blue collar whites in West Virginia.

While this group has not been one of the Democrats' more reliable constituencies, their support is critical in the general election. The fact that Obama did not deign to campaign here shows that he is all too aware of the problems he faces among this demographic. However, I do not think that is fair to attribute Clinton's convincing wins in WV and Kentucky to racism, as many on this site (not mentioning any specifics for fear of additional undeserved troll ratings) have recently done.

It is undeniable that to a small segment of the population in these states, race played a major factor in their votes but the overwhelming majority said that race had no impact on their decision. This is somewhat exemplary of the double standard that has been utilized in many instances, such as the North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, etc primaries, in which not a word was breathed of Obama's heavy reliance on the African American vote in his victories.

For confirmation of my statements, feel free to check out CNN's exit polls or the NY TImes politics page.

Again, I know that many on this site are eager for this marathon of a primary race to end but there are others, including myself, who would like to see the contest carried on at least until the end of the primaries so as to give every state a voice. I know many of you disagree with this reasoning, but the fact remains that Senator Obama's problems with white blue collar workers, as evidenced in the WV and Kentucky primaries, are quite serious and merit mention in arguments concerning his electability on the general election.

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THERE THEY ARE

you forget PA, OH. If Obama cannot connect in these states he will be a tough sell.

News Flash: Racists don't like Obama. We saw this in WV, and now we've seen it in KY. As I said after WV, I'd rather lose than win with the support of racists. Still waiting for Hillary to denounce the racists who voted for her.

While the logic behind this is reasonable(that the state does not have enough delegates for Clinton to catch Obama)the fact remains that Obama's inability to attract a credible retinue in the state mirrors his problem among blue collar whites in West Virginia. While this group has not been one of the Democrats' more reliable constituencies, their support is critical in the general election.

No, it isn't. We don't need to win WV or KY and I highly doubt that Senator Clinton is capable of carrying these states in the general election either.

The fact that Obama did not deign to campaign here shows that he is all too aware of the problems he faces among this demographic.

Except, he did campaign there -- albeit not a lot (then again, he didn't have a lot of time).

However, I do not think that is fair to attribute Clinton's convincing wins in WV and Kentucky to racism, as many on this site (not mentioning any specifics for fear of additional undeserved troll ratings) have recently done.

Guilty as charged.

It is undeniable that to a small segment of the population in these states, race played a major factor in their votes but the overwhelming majority said that race ad no impact on their decision.

Yeah, 80% of Kentucky voters wouldn't admit to being racists to complete strangers so we can assume that none of them are. Riiiiiiight.

This is somewhat exemplary of the double standard that has been utilized in many instances, such as the North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, etc primaries, in which not a word is breathed about Obama's heavy reliance on the African American vote in his victories.

Welcome to reality: There is a double standard. Since African Americans have been historically repressed in this country, they're allowed all sorts of privileges that whites aren't. Since blacks are underrepresented on the boards of Fortune 500 companies and in the halls of Congress, they're allowed to form explicitly-minority organizations such as the NAACP and vote for minority candidates by 90% margins. These "privileges" are hardly a consolation for their socioeconomic status relative to white Americans, but that's where we are at this point.        

I know many of you disagree with this reasoning, but the fact remains that Senator Obama's problems with white blue collar workers, as evidenced in the WV and Kentucky primaries, are quite serious and merit mention in arguments concerning his electability on the general election.

Obama doesn't have a problem with white blue collar workers outside of the South and Appalachia. And to be perfectly honest with you, I could care less if he did. With the exception of committed union voters, these are the same yahoos whom the GOP leads around by the nose every election year with the God, gays, and guns flim-flam. When it comes to deciding whether to honor the wishes of a constituency that votes 90% Democratic every year or one that generally supports the Republican candidate, I don't think that's much of a contest.