An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Baffled!
Blue-collar vote a key for Clinton, Obama
The Democratic caucus and primary results from Iowa and New Hampshire tell a tale of two elections. And not just in terms of who won.
In Iowa, Senator Barack Obama scored a wide victory by winning or matching Senator Hillary Clinton among voters of every income group, entrance poll data show. Obama won more support, for example, from those making less than $50,000 a year, according to a CNN poll.
But Obama’s success with down-scale Iowans stands in stark contrast to his fate in New Hampshire, where Clinton won the primary partly by beating Obama handily among lower-income, less-educated voters concerned about their economic situation. Granite State voters making less than $50,000 chose Clinton over Obama 47 percent to 32 percent.
If such divergent preferences among Iowa and New Hampshire voters help explain why the two states sent two different candidates to victory, they also illustrate an important inflection point for the Democratic primary race as Clinton, Obama, and former North Carolina senator John Edwards clamor for votes in the weeks ahead.
It is unclear exactly why Iowa and New Hampshire produced seemingly contradictory results, but as the Democratic contest moves to Nevada, South Carolina, and the nearly two dozen states that vote on Feb. 5, the campaign that figures it out may have an inside track toward winning the party’s presidential nomination.
I honestly find it beyond baffling when I read, or hear, that those who work the hardest, aka blue collar, support those who would take more out of their paychecks. Does it really make any sense to beg to be robbed of your hard earned dollars? I just don’t get it!
