Obama Wins Final March '08 Primary

Righting the ship after last week's setbacks in three March 4th primary states, Barack Obama last night won the Mississippi Primary as expected, going out on a high note as the Democratic race heads into a six week primary and caucus vacuum.

Anything less than a win in Mississippi would have be a shock for Obama, as he won a huge share of the black vote, while Hillary Clinton took her largest share of the white vote in any state.

It also came on a day when comments by former New York Congresswoman and 1984 Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Geraldine Ferraro stirred the pot on the issue of race.

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," Ferraro told the Daily Breeze of Torrance, California.  That was published last Friday, but didn't gain attention until now.

Whether that statement is true or not, race has become the third rail of the Obama-Clinton contest in many ways.  No matter how "correct" your observation may be, when race is the subtext, it can burn you.

A few weeks back, the focus was on Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, a Clinton supporter, when he said that some white people in his home state would be unlikely to back Obama because of his race.

Again, while that statement can most certainly be defended as a basic review of what some white voters might do in April in the Keystone State, it also stirred things up on the issue of race, and stirred things in a negative way for the Clinton camp.

So what happens now over the next six weeks?  I look for both sides to see if they jab the other on a variety of issues to try to open a few cuts on their opponent.

One would guess that Hillary Clinton will continue to hammer on the "Who is more prepared to be Commander in Chief" theme.  I will be interested to see what Obama decides to focus on.  Calling for the release of her tax returns and other records isn't the same as calling your opponent unfit to lead the U.S. military.

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