Obama Readies Plan to Reshape Electorate

[Connie_Corleone]

Obama Readies Plan to Reshape Electorate

Even as he fends off Senator Hillary Clinton in the Democratic nomination contest, Senator Barack Obama is already turning his attention to the general election, and to an ambitious plan to reshape the American electorate in his favor.

Bringing new voters to the polls "is going to be a very big part of how we win," said Obama's deputy campaign manager, Steve Hildebrand, in an interview. "Barack's appeal to independent voters is also going to be key."

Hildebrand said the campaign is likely to turn its attention and the energy of its massive volunteer army this fall on registering African-American voters, and voters under 35 years old, in key states.

"Can it change the math in Ohio? Very much so," he said. "If you look at the vote spread between Bush and Kerry in 2004 - we could potentially erase that."

More at link: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0408/9328.html

[izzybeans]

1. Cool stuff. Thanks for sharing.

[JimGinPA]

2. It's The Winning Strategy...

I've been involved in the grassroots campaign for weeks now In PA and it's been growing here in one of the "reddest" counties here every week, with the intention of working right on through November.

[bluestateguy]

3. I think he will need a record black turnout in the fall

And something on the order of 92% or 93% of their votes. FYI, Gore won 90% and Kerry won 88%.

[Bullet1987]

4. Getting 90%+ of the Black vote in the Fall won't be hard...

But he'll need a record turnout in many of those states.

[invictus]

5. I campaign for Obama and have found he has the broadest appeal

I have found Obama to have the broadest appeal of any presidential candidate among voters of all political affiliations: Democrat, Republican, and Independent. Whereas, a lot of hard-core Hillary supporters I have encountered actually tended to fall into two categories (1) conservatives who were pro-war, held some racist and homophobic views, and had a favorable opinion of John McCain (2) older women who feel that a woman candidate is a culmination of a lifetime of feminist struggle. Most of the Hillary supporters I encountered were in category #1. Obama supporters, on the other hand, regardless of party affiliation wanted change. Both pro-Obama Democrats and pro-Obama Republicans I have encountered felt betrayed by Washington insiders and the current and previous presidents, Bush and Clinton respectively. Among both pro-Obama Democrats and pro-Obama Republicans, there was strong opposition to the war, support for universal healthcare coverage, opposition to job outsourcing, tolerant views on race, ethnicity, and religion, and a strong desire for something to be done about the economy. Many of the Independents I have encountered have avoided politics in the past because they were disgusted with both Bush and Clinton, but are hopeful that Obama will be different.