The Democrats’ Impending Swing State Problem

Liberal talk radio host Taylor Marsh points out that, despite Obama’s seeming inevitability, Hillary has stronger support in key swing states.

Remarkably, even as the mainstream media writes her obituary, in general-election surveys Clinton still out-polls “presumptive nominee” Barack Obama in the key battleground states of Pennsylvania and Ohio. And, based on her strong primary performances, Hillary gives the Democrats tangible hope in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee for the first time since 1996.

Despite Hillary’s dogged determination I think Obama will win the nomination, and that will be the Democrats’ downfall this year. Looking back at the last three Democrat Presidents – Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and Lyndon Johnson – it’s clear that all three won the Presidency because they campaigned as moderates. They maybe didn’t govern as moderates, but they were perceived and accepted as such by voters.
Obama has no such appeal. He is the most liberal Senator in the US Senate and has a cadre of connections to far-left interests from black nationalist leaders like Jeremiah Wright to rabidly anti-war America-haters like William Ayers. That sort of thing might not matter in the urban centers of America, but the road to the White House runs through places like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.
If Obama doesn’t increase his appeal in those places he’s sunk. And given some of his comments about “bitter” rural Americans clinging to god, guns and bigotry toward people not like them the likelihood of that happening is between slim and none.