Filed under: John McCain , 2008 President , Race Well even though John McCain will absolutely not get the black vote this year (as if!), the NAACP convention is in Cincinnati, a must-win state, so it's a two-fer. The free media coverage alone makes it worth the trip, even if he doesn't get a single black vote. From the Columbus Dispatch : Another high-ranking Democrat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that appearing before a predominantly black audience from which the Republican presidential candidate has a scant chance of getting votes is designed to earn McCain points with moderate white voters. McCain dismissed such conjecture: "I know why I'm going," he told The Dispatch last week. "I'm going to tell them that I will be president of all the people." McCain said it is important for him to "go to places where there may not be a lot of Republican votes," and he rejected notions that black voters can't be swayed because of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, soon to be the first black presidential nominee, in the race. Whoever this high ranking Democrat is, he's absolutely right. Whatever this is, it's not about the black vote. As Republicans have demonstrated through the last two presidential elections, they do not need the black vote. But McCain can score some free media coverage, make some points by saying "well I tried!" and appear open-minded, reasonable and sensitive on racial issues. These last things won't hurt him with ...
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Filed under: John McCain , 2008 President , Race Well even though John McCain will absolutely not get the black vote this year (as if!), the NAACP convention is in Cincinnati, a must-win state, so it's a two-fer. The free media coverage alone makes it worth the trip, even if he doesn't get a single black vote. From the Columbus Dispatch : Another high-ranking Democrat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that appearing before a predominantly black audience from which the Republican presidential candidate has a scant chance of getting votes is designed to earn McCain points with moderate white voters. McCain dismissed such conjecture: "I know why I'm going," he told The Dispatch last week. "I'm going to tell them that I will be president of all the people." McCain said it is important for him to "go to places where there may not be a lot of Republican votes," and he rejected notions that black voters can't be swayed because of Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, soon to be the first black presidential nominee, in the race. Whoever this high ranking Democrat is, he's absolutely right. Whatever this is, it's not about the black vote. As Republicans have demonstrated through the last two presidential elections, they do not need the black vote. But McCain can score some free media coverage, make some points by saying "well I tried!" and appear open-minded, reasonable and sensitive on racial issues. These last things won't hurt him with ...