On the Radar
Primary voters head to polls in Mississippi
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by Associated Press
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
GREENVILLE, Miss. (AP) —
Barack Obama made a final appeal to Mississippi voters as Democrats
Tuesday decide the last in a series of presidential contests between
Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton before the two rivals settle in for a
six-week battle to win Pennsylvania. Mississippi’s large black
electorate makes the state fertile ground for Obama, who has swept the
other Deep South states and has pulled huge margins among black voters.
Clinton, the New York senator and former first lady, campaigned in the
state last week, but by Monday was in Pennsylvania, where the primary
is April 22. Obama, making a final stop Tuesday morning in
Greenville before flying to Pennsylvania, noted that the Mississippi
delta area is struggling economically. “We just haven’t seen as
much opportunity come to this area as we’d like,” he told a small
gathering at Buck’s restaurant. “And one of the challenges, I think,
for the next president is making sure that we’re serving all
communities and not just some communities.” “I’ve been praying for you,” a man called out. “I believe in prayer,” Obama replied. He then ordered eggs “scrambled hard,” with turkey sausage, wheat toast and grits. The
Illinois senator spent all of Monday in Mississippi, drawing
enthusiastic crowds in Columbus and Jackson, the capital. At stake are
33 delegates and another chance for Obama to ease the sting of last
week’s losses to Clinton in primaries in Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island. In
Lowndes County, Miss., Circuit Clerk Haley Salazar said Tuesday there
appeared to be good early participation at the polls despite wet
conditions. Obama’s visit on Monday “spurred a lot of interest
here. We’ve had a lot of people coming in and asking about registering
to vote … and we have a a lot of calls,” Salazar said. The Rev.
Jesse Jackson, who has endorsed Obama, praised Mississippi’s primary as
an example of how far the state has come from the racial and gender
politics of the past, but worried about the ability of the two
candidates’ campaigns to pull together in fall. “My concern is
they keep one eye on winning and one eye on reconciliation,” Jackson
told The Associated Press in an interview. “By the ending they must
have one big tent to avoid a collision.” Former Gov. Ray Mabus campaigned with Obama Monday and Tuesday, and said in an interview he believed the campaign would do well. “The
Clinton campaign has made a big effort here,” Mabus said. But Obama’s
message seemed to resonate with voters, he said. “There’s a mood of
hope and optimism,” he said, even though parts of the state are
struggling economically. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., also
joined Obama on Tuesday, and said the heavily black delta region would
go overwhelmingly for the Illinois senator. Mississippi Democrats were
energized by the Obama-Clinton rivalry, he said, whereas Republicans
seemed less enthusastic, in part because John McCain has locked up the
GOP nomination. With Clinton’s camp saying she has little chance in Mississippi, the campaigning here focused largely on national issues. Obama
used his Monday morning visit to Columbus to try to squelch speculation
that he might accept the vice president’s slot on a ticket headed by
Clinton. He noted that he has won more delegates, states and votes than
Clinton. “I don’t know how somebody who is in second place is
offering the vice presidency to the person who is first place,” Obama
said, drawing cheers and a lengthy standing ovation from about 1,700
people. He added: “I am not running for vice president. “I am running
for president of the United States of America.” Later, at a rally
in Jackson with 9,000 people, Obama painted Clinton as part of the
Washington establishment whose time has come and gone. The nation
does not need “the same old folks doing the same old things, talking
the same old stuff,” he said, essentially lumping Clinton with
President Bush and Republican candidate John McCain. He accused
Clinton’s campaign of leaking a photograph of him wearing traditional
African garments, including a turban, during a visit to Africa. That
was “straight out of the Republican playbook,” Obama said. “That’s not
real change.” Clinton has said she is not aware of anyone on her staff leaking the photo. For
her part, Clinton had moved on to Pennsylvania, where she held a rally
in Scranton and carefully sidestepped questions about the sex scandal
threatening the political career of Eliot Spitzer, her home state
governor and political ally. “I don’t have any comment on that,”
she said when asked about reports that Spitzer allegedly paid for sex
with a high-priced call girl at a Washington hotel. “Obviously, I am
sending my best wishes and thoughts to the governor and to his family,”
Clinton said.
