Monday, September 19, 2016

Apparently Narcissism Is a Requirement for Presidential Candidacy

The president told African-Americans this weekend he would consider it a “personal insult” if they did not vote for Mrs. Clinton, implicitly putting his name on the line as his former secretary of state struggles to replicate the coalition that delivered him victories in 2008 and 2012.

“My name may not be on the ballot, but our progress is on the ballot,” Mr. Obama said on Saturday night at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation gala dinner in Washington, where Mrs. Clinton also spoke.

  NYT
Oh, my. We certainly don't want to insult Mr. President.
By 9 a.m. Sunday, the Rev. Al Sharpton began taking calls from black listeners to his “Keepin’ It Real” radio program who said they had misgivings about Mrs. Clinton, but could not bear to insult Mr. Obama. “Making not voting synonymous with an insult to the president is a shot in the arm,” Mr. Sharpton said in an interview.
A cheap shot.
“Absolutely hate this framing of the necessity of voting (for Democrats) that places all the blame on marginalized and young folks,” Vann R. Newkirk II, a writer for The Atlantic, said on Twitter. “Black folks have done above and beyond their part already.”
But they can always be tapped for more.
Younger black voters, in particular, have expressed misgivings about Mrs. Clinton because of some of the policies of her husband’s administration.

These voters specifically point to the 1994 crime bill, which put more police officers on the streets, but also led to tougher sentences for nonviolent drug offenders and the overhaul of welfare, which reduced federal assistance for the poor by nearly $55 billion over six years.

In addition, it is hard for Mrs. Clinton to replicate the deep personal affection and pride that many African-Americans feel for Mr. Obama.

“People say, ‘It doesn’t matter because Hillary Clinton will get 90 percent of the African-American vote,’” said Charlie King, a prominent New York Democrat. “The question is, ‘Ninety percent of what?’ Turnout makes a difference.”
...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

No comments: