Kos points out a huge flaw in the news media’s coverage of the Clinton/Obama race as demonstrated by the poll numbers out of Montana. Montana’s population is largely white and mostly not affluent. Therefore, according to the media narrative out of Kentucky and West Virginia to the effect that “Obama has problems with working class whites” should lead to another blowout in Montana. But, of course, Obama doesn’t have a problem among working class whites. To the extent he has a problem, it’s with Appalachian whites.
If the West Virginia/Kentucky narrative were accepted as true, however, the logical progression would be that working class whites are leaving Clinton in droves since Obama enjoys a lead in Montana of 52% to 35%. I suspect the talking heads will mostly just ignore what they said yesterday and spin a new narrative for the night of the Montana primary. Then, the day after, they’ll be back to wringing their hands about Obama’s working-class white problem, as if Montana (and the rest of the Western states) never happened. Because, as we know, the only states that matter are Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky.
Oh, and for what it’s worth, Obama’s magic number is currently 52 while Clinton’s is 246 with a total of 290 available.
I’m so bored of coverage based on race. It may be news useful to the campaigns, but in what way is it useful to anyone else? What else does it do but create divisions?
In France you could always bring a black man home to dinner as an individual guest but in the USA it had been only what the most liberal-minded of liberals would do. In the USA,we still can’t discuss race( except among like believers) without taking sides and being defensive and casting blame….time for a national discussion led by someone who frames the subject in a new way.Silence cements divisions more than discussion.
Seeing the headline “Obama has problems with working class whites” is more divisive and controversial than inserting “Appalachian” into the title.
Also Mike, that’s why we have the Kos in the first place.