Obama Proves the Pundits WrongRandy Shawbyline‚ Oct. 06‚ 2008After Barack Obama won the Iowa caucuses by a surprisingly large margin, the punditocracy was troubled. Pundits had virtually conceded the nomination to Hillary Clinton, and now went into high gear explaining the Illinois Senator’s deficiencies. They told us Obama would have problems winning white working class voters, Jews, Latinos, women, and, as absurd as it now sounds, African-Americans. He supposedly alienated voters in Michigan and Florida by not agreeing in the spring to seat all of their delegates. Pundits said Obama was too inexperienced on foreign policy, lacked management experience, and would be chewed up in debates with the wily John McCain. Obama was said to be too “cool” to connect viscerally to middle-class voters, and was unable to “feel” their pain. Some pundits even publicly expressed what others were saying privately--- that many voters would never support a black man for President. A month before Election Day, Obama has proved the pundits wrong on every count. He is now on track for the largest victory by a Democratic nominee since 1964, sending a powerful message to activists and candidates not to allow their dreams to be derailed by the crushing force of conventional wisdom. |