Posted on 09/06/2008 1:48:05 PM PDT by Chet 99
Posted on Sat, Sep. 6, 2008
Biden gets mixed welcome in Northeast Local Dem leaders say race is issue for many voters
By DAVE DAVIES Philadelphia Daily News
daviesd@phillynews.com 215-854-2595 DEMOCRATIC vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden went stumping for votes yesterday in Northeast Philadelphia, where Democrats need to earn the love of Democrats who voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama in the April primary.
He worked a diner, gave a rousing speech on bread-and-butter issues at a union hall, and reeled off a memorable line tying the Republican candidate to the unpopular team in the White House.
"My friend John McCain and George Bush are joined at the hip," Biden said. "And we need a hip replacement very, very badly."
So how is the ticket doing with the Northeast's white working and middle-class voters?
Mike McAleer, the veteran Democratic ward leader of the 66th ward in the far Northeast, said Obama and Biden haven't closed the deal yet.
"The Dunkin' Donut crowd tells me that we've got everything going for us but Obama," McAleer said. "They can't give me a direct answer. Do I have them right now in the 66th ward? No. But I got 60 days to get them."
Asked what the problem is with Obama, McAleer paused and said: "It's his color . . . I tell them he's half white and half black. He's got a better perspective for everything in this country."
Joe Dougherty, business manager for Ironworkers Local 401, which hosted Biden's morning event, also said race is an issue for many Democrats.
"I hear it in the neighborhood, and I hear it in the union," Dougherty said. "But I remind them (Obama's) mother was white. He sees all sides, and he could be just what we need to bring this country together."
Biden talked to the crowd of about 200 senior citizens and union members about lower taxes, trade agreements that protect American jobs, and ending what he called the Republicans' "war on unions."
Later, Biden and Gov. Rendell worked the lunchtime crowd at The Dining Car, a neighborhood spot on Frankford Avenue.
Biden smiled, laughed, shook hands and sometimes hugged diners or slid into booths next to them. Sometimes he felt the love coming back, and sometimes he didn't.
Charles Daukas said he'd vote for the Obama-Biden team.
"Put it this way, if Hillary was running I would have really went hard for it," Daukas said. "But I'm a Democrat."
In a corner booth, Biden sat down and, after a moment's conversation, planted a kiss on the forehead of Carolyn Bauer, age 89. Bauer explained afterward it wasn't such a friendly encounter.
"I told him I'm not going to vote for him," Bauer said. "Anybody who runs with a guy with a name like that is not going to get my vote. It'd be disgusting to get a man named Barack Obama as president of the United States. No way. I mean it . . . I'm going to vote for McCain and the lady."
"[Obama's] a Muslim," Bauer added. "He pretends to be a Christian, and he isn't, he's a Muslim."
Obama has attended Christian churches for years, and his children are baptized.
After his stops in Northeast Philadelphia, Biden attended a rally in Langhorne. *
He's a guy who rides a train every night from D.C. to a kitchen table.
Is he the star of a modern version of "The Honeymooners?"
Tasteless, of course! But this is Joe Biden, who has about as much taste as a cheap used-car salesman...
It'd be disgusting to get a man named Barack Obama as president of the United States. ~Carolyn Bauer Bunker, age 89.
Archie couldn't have said it any better.
She'll probably be voting five of six times if the Democrats have their way.
Philly is one of the most divisive cities I’ve ever been to...class, race, religion...brotherly love my ass. Not that there aren’t fine people there..but the dems have DIVIDED the city and suburbs into factions. These attitude are entirely their doing.
Lord knows I don’t believe Obambi should be President of the United States, but I find it rather sad that these Democrats reached that conclusion based on Obama’s race.
It was a woman, Carolyn Bauer. It figures that they would use her comments to make it appear that the only reason people won’t vote for Obama is prejudice.
“I told him I’m not going to vote for him,” Bauer said. “Anybody who runs with a guy with a name like that is not going to get my vote. It’d be disgusting to get a man named Barack Obama as president of the United States. No way. I mean it . . . I’m going to vote for McCain and the lady.”
“[Obama’s] a Muslim,” Bauer added. “He pretends to be a Christian, and he isn’t, he’s a Muslim.”
Obama has attended Christian churches for years, and his children are baptized.
The article is trying to paint all this as racism, but if you examine this precious woman’s statement there’s something deeper going on. She doesn’t trust Obama. I’ll venture to say that if she did the race angle would be unimportant.
The last line reflects the media’s rather pathetic need to correct the record for Obama’s sake. Of course they never add that much of the doctrine coming off Wright’s pulpit for Obama’s 20 years there would be unrecognizable to any normal Christian.
So the media-inspired White guilt goes on: if you don’t like Obama, it’s because you’re a racist.
Nice commentary on the state of the enlightened Dem Party, BTW. If this is how strong they are in Philly, they’re going to need a lot of help come November.
My Ya gotta love Philly line was sarcasm.
This picture speaks volumes about the real Obama.
Yeah. I really think if Barack Obama was a conservative Republican (and an American, of course), he could be elected. I have no doubt the first black president will be a Republican, just like the first female president. I’m female and simply do not believe that the Republican party holds women or any ethnic group back. It’s the stupid factor we have a problem voting for.
This is the same paper that a couple of days ago printed a column that said if Obama loses there will be a race riot.
This article is clearly intended to set up a scenario so that if Obama loses, they can blame it all on racism.
Don’t fall for this article.
While this report made me both mad and sad, upon reflection I’m wondering if this is not also part of the set-up for dismissing Obambi’s defeat as simply an expression of racism.
I am sure there are folks who feel the way those in the article reportedly do. However, I am also sure that is not the determinative factor-—or even a substantial factor-—in how Obambi is doing in the polls, or how he will do at the ballot box.
One thing that is somewhat unique about Obambi’s situation as nominee is, as Rudy put it, that over half his party did NOT vote for him in the primaries. The Hildabeast got 18M votes. He did not win the big states. He did not win any state really, really big. To quote Rudy, “he squeaked by.”
When a party’s nominee was voted for by only one-half of his own party-—and particularly when the other half was coalesced around one other candidate-—how could that nominee ever start out anywhere but behind?
A bit off topic, but...Reparations. NEA supports them and the Congress ‘apologized’ officially at the end of the last session. Now all we need are the lawsuit decisions. Obama can play it both ways, but he did support reparations. Now, he can just point to Congress.
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