New buzz: Hillary and Obama

vs.

Rudy or McCain and Condi

  or  

by Richard G. Carter
"The only thing that surprises me is the people some people marry"--Gene Hackman, "Bite the Bullet" (1977)

"I’m in!" screamed a huge front page headline in the New York Post on December 5, with a photo of Hillary Clinton. The reference was to Hillary’s not-so-cryptic previous day hint at what everyone already knew: That she is going to run for president in 2008.

On December 6, the Hillary-hating Post ran a cartoon in its widely read Page Six gossip space with an unflattering caricature of Clinton--which some may find accurate--throwing her hat in the presidential ring. The hat was the pointed variety worn by a witch.

Like it or not, those who can read between the lines--and this includes Hillary--are well aware that New York’s junior senator rates very low on the national likeability scale. As a matter of fact, Hillary is hated by many people for many reasons.

Perhaps this is why Jon Corzine, Democratic governor of New Jersey, said the following on Don Imus’ syndicated radio show December 6: "If she were to be president, she’d do an outstanding job. {But} I think she’s going to have a hard time getting elected..."

And perhaps this is why Bill Clinton’s ex-pollster/guru Dick Morris advances what he considers a strong possibility that Hillary will team with Illinois junior senator, Barack Obama--touted as the "anti-Hillary"--as her vice presidential running mate.

Hillary’s negatives could be offset by early positives of the shallow, inexperienced, 45-year-old Obama. And such a ticket would appeal to many Black people and some White women.

If an inexplicable Obama candidacy emerges, the Republicans would need a Black candidate to counter him and a female to counter Hillary--which is what Morris said on "The O’Reilly Factor" December 7 on Fox News Channel. If Morris is correct, logical standard-bearers would be Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for VP and Arizona Senator John McCain or ex-New York mayor Rudy Giuliani in the top spot.

Most polls have both GOP men leading Hillary.

As everyone knows, politics makes strange bedfellows. And when you think about it, Hillary-Obama opposing Condi and either Rudy or McCain makes political sense--if there is such a thing. These days, racial politics is the name of the game in America.

A year ago on O’Reilly’s show, Morris--the ultimate Clinton insider--discussed his book "Condi vs. Hillary, The Next Great Presidential Race."

Unabashedly, he postulated the following: "I think a Hillary candidacy will make a Condi candidacy inevitable.

"I think the public will increasingly realize that the only way to beat a woman is with a woman.

"And the only way to beat the Democratic Party is to take away the African American vote. And every single Black mother is going say to herself that my baby will know there is no ceiling if this woman {Rice} is elected..."

To further explain what he considers Condi’s growing appeal to Black Americans--despite the decline of her mentor, President Bush--Morris told O’Reilly: "You’ll begin to see a fissure between middle class Blacks and those that are in poorer groups.

‘Women and men, educated and not educated. And the same class fissures that exist in the White community will begin to appear in the Black community."

Speaking of Obama in his syndicated December 9 column, Morris said: "Can Obama weather a presidential race? He better ramp up his learning curve if he is going to try.

"His {new} book is filled with feature story fluff and freshly scrubbed naivete about the political process.

"Unless he can step beyond such Oprah-level content, the national press corps will have him for breakfast."

And here is an operative question: Which way would Black voters go in the presidential election if faced with Black candidates on the Democratic and Republican tickets?

More than any other ethnic or racial group, Black people vote their color. Which is why the opportunistic Hillary needs the neophyte Obama if Condi runs.

Yet, despite Obama’s elevation to rock star status by the cowed White news media--which loves to embrace wimpy, non-threatening Blacks--some Black journalists aren’t buying.

One is Stanley Crouch, of the "New York Daily News," whose November 2 column was headlined "What Obama isn’t: Black like me." Crouch said:

"Other than color, Obama did not--does not--share a heritage with the majority of Black Americans, who are descendants of plantation slaves.

"So when Black Americans refer to Obama as ‘one of us,’ I do not know what they are talking about.

"In his new book, ‘The Audacity of Hope,’ Obama makes it clear that, while he has experienced some light versions of typical racial stereotypes, he cannot claim those problems as his own--nor has he lived the life of a Black American.

Where does this leave us? Hillary is Hillary. What you see--and sometime what you hear--is what you get. Nobody knows what Obama is.

Rudy is Rudy, and Black New Yorkers know what he is. The rest of the country better beware. McCain is an experienced senator and war hero, but now 70, he may be too old.

Condi is a brilliant, seasoned Black professional, but as the political creation of George W. Bush, she’s closely identified with the disastrous war in Iraq.

Bottom line: A whole lot of Black folks never vote. But if Obama and Condi run for VP on opposite sides in 2008, it’s likely that many millions will cast ballots. Will Black women vote for Condi instead of Hillary? And is Obama "Black enough?" Stay tuned.

Richard G. Carter, a freelance writer, is a former columnist with "The Milwaukee Journal" and the "New York Daily News."