The Right State

While Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have ended their feud after the contentious Democrat Primary, many voters have not ‘gotten over it’ yet.

A growing number of Clinton supporters polled say they may stay home in November instead of casting their ballot for Obama, an indication the party has yet to coalesce around the Illinois senator four weeks after the most prolonged and at times divisive primary race in modern American history came to a close.

35 % still prefer Clinton to Obama, 22% said they will stay home rather than vote for Obama in November, and his approval ratings have gone from 60 to 51%.  Ouch!  It seems time does not heal all wounds.

‘Poll experts’ say they expect most of Hillary’s supporters will vote for Obama and support his nomination, but I am not so sure.  After most primaries support coalesces around the surviving candidate rather quickly.  This time things seem to be different.  There are too many hard feelings; too many harsh words were spoken for healing to take place this early in the game. 

Hillary Clinton has been defeated at her own game by an upstart from Illinois.  Years from now we may still be talking about the ‘Clinton effect’ among the voters.  Many women felt the Democrats turned a blind eye towards all the racism and sexism coming from the Obama camp.  On top of that is the media’s love affair with Barack Obama at the expense of Hillary (Now she knows how conservatives feel)  Countless women are not happy that an ‘under-qualified man’ has defeated whom they call a ‘highly-qualified female.’ 

Obama’s selection as his VP could figure into the scheme of things.  These same women may be waiting for Hillary to be picked as his VP, but that is highly unlikely.  Since Barack Obama has no experience to speak of, he will have to chose someone who has much more than he does.  Interestingly, this will make the VP a more qualified candidate for President than the Democrats’ own nominee.  Having such an unqualified ‘man’ at the top of the party’s ticket will not sit well with the women who supported Hillary.

How long will it take for the Democrats to heal this rift within their party?  Hopefully, not until after the general election in November.

Tags: Democrats, Politics //