“I hear it in the barbershop, that white folks aren’t ready to elect a black president,” U.S. Senator Barack Obama told a small group of local black leaders on Friday afternoon in his new Downtown campaign headquarters.
He had promised to be blunt and candid.
“We can’t defeat ourselves or set a ceiling ourselves for what we can do,” Obama urged the group.
“If we only did the easy stuff, I don’t know where we would be.”
Moving to his best laugh line, Obama said, “I’m a 46-year-old black man named ‘Barack Obama’ running for president of the United States. I knew this was not going to be easy.”
The group had been convened by U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay, at the request of the candidate.
“The senator has made an effort to seek the advice of the leadership in our community, which reflects his background as a grass-roots, African-American community organizer,” Clay told the American.
Clay said he wanted about 50 guests and got about 60.
Mike Jones, executive assistant to County Executive Charlie Dooley, said the crowd was a good mix of city and state elected officials, clergy, operatives and business leaders.
Jones said Dooley had not yet endorsed in the primary.
Notably absent from the group were Comptroller Darlene Green and some of the younger blood, such as state Rep. T.D. El Amin (who was out of the state) and state Rep. Jamilah Nasheed.
Green told the American she is “supporting state party efforts to elect a Democratic president.” Clay said she told him she wasn’t prepared to endorse just yet.
Nasheed told the American she had not been invited, but others said she wasn’t settled on an endorsement. Clay said he considered her to “be on board.”
Clay assured the group that Obama’s campaign would “help us with our state legislative battles,” but this group has a number of internal battles, like any political crowd.
The Rev. Douglas Parham stood far from the Rev. Sammie E. Jones. Parham is leading the effort to oppose Mayor Francis G. Slay after the Sherman George debacle, and Jones has chosen to accommodate the mayor.
At one point state Rep. Rodney Hubbard sat next to state Rep. Robin Wright Jones. Both seek the 5th District seat of state Sen. Maida Coleman (who was absent).
The Rev. James T. Morris didn’t have much to share with Hubbard, Aldermanic President Lewis Reed or License Collector Michael McMillan, who are backing Sam Coleman against Morris for Hubbard’s 58th District seat in the state House.
Clay is convinced he can rally these divided troops and other constituencies to carry Missouri for Obama. He speaks from experience. Clay helped the Rev. Jesse Jackson capture almost 40 percent of Missouri delegates as co-chair of his 1988 primary campaign in Missouri, which included beating U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt in his home city.
“Twenty years ago, we almost carried Missouri for Jesse Jackson with a shoestring campaign,” Clay said.
“With a well organized, broad base, we can win Missouri outright.”
Stumping for Obama, Clay said he has been amazed by “how so many different factions come together – liberal whites, urban voters, even rural factions.”
This plays into Obama’s message of change.
“I have inspired new people to come out, and that changes the political map,” Obama said.
He also argued that he is the best candidate for improving the image of the U.S. on the world stage. “The day of my inauguration, the world will look at America differently,” Obama said.
“I have lived in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country on Earth. When I convene Muslin leaders, I have credibility. Though I am Christian, they understand that I respect them,” Obama said.
“When I go to Africa and talk about development or HIV or improving terms of trade, they know I have a grandmother in a little village without running water or electricity and a cousin who died of AIDS.”
All about Iowa
The road to the world stage passes through Iowa, where Obama is locked in a tight, three-way race with U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. Obama said this puts him in a good position, though he and Edwards consistently trail Clinton in national polls.
He said, “If you had told me at this time we’d be tied in Iowa, competing in New Hampshire and South Carolina and have raised $12 million more than Hillary Clinton, I’d have said, ‘I’ll take it.’”
Mike Jones agreed with the conventional wisdom that Obama’s challenge, in the primary, “is to present a clear, stark difference between himself and Hillary Clinton.”
Obama stressed that his consistent opposition to the war in Iraq sets them apart. He pointed out that Bush is pushing an $196 billion appropriations bill, just to fund the war next year. Obama said, “That’s two-thirds as much as all of our transportation infrastructure for the next six years, just to pay for one more year in Iraq.”
Clay said Obama’s “character and good judgment” are what “clearly distinguish him from Hillary Clinton.”
Clay has told the campaign he is willing to soldier for Obama in Iowa on weekends. He pointed out that Duval Patrick, the African-American governor of Massachusetts, has endorsed and will work for the campaign in New Hampshire.
“If he wins Iowa, with that momentum you can throw out all the polls,” Clay said.
“And, after Iowa, all roads lead to Missouri.”
The 2008 Iowa Democratic Caucus is Jan. 3, followed by caucuses and primaries in Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida. The Missouri primary is Feb. 5.
Voter info
To exercise your right to vote, you must be registered to vote by the fourth Wednesday before the election. To vote on Feb. 5, you must be registered to vote by Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2008.
City voters can register to vote by completing a Missouri Voter Registration Application and presenting it in person or mailing it to the Election Board (300 N. Tucker, St. Louis, MO 63101), a deputy registrar in your community, voter registration agency (DMV, Health and Social Services, Community and Regional Affairs, recruitment offices of the armed forces of the United States).
Visit www.stlelections.com for more information.
County voters can register to vote at any St. Louis County library, at the office of the St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners (12 Sunnen Dr., St. Louis Mo, 63143), at a driver’s licensing office while applying for or renewing a driver’s license, at a designated state agency while obtaining services, or by downloading a voter registration form with mailing instructions from the County board website at www.co.st-louis.mo.us/elections.
