By Zenitha Prince
AFRO Washington Bureau Chief
PITTSBURGH (Saturday April 12, 2008)—Kweisi Mfume believes in miracles. After all, the former U.S. congressman from Maryland won his first political seat on Baltimore’s City Council by a mere three votes after three recounts and a 33-day waiting period.
Now, on the stump for presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama in a state widely regarded as Clinton territory, Mfume says he believes there’s still a chance for an Obama victory here.
“I think the chances here are pretty much as it’s been elsewhere,” Mfume tells a group of volunteers at the Obama campaign’s Pittsburgh office. “This campaign has defied all odds and made all states very competitive.”
“Every vote counts,” he continues. “Use me as an example. If two people had stayed home and the other gotten sick, I wouldn’t be here talking to you today.”
In the 1960 presidential election, John F. Kennedy defeated Richard M. Nixon by one-tenth of 1 percentage point, the closest popular vote of the 20th century.
Mfume, who was restricted from participating in partisan politics as head of the non-profit NAACP, points to polls that show that Sen. Hillary Clinton’s early 20-plus-point lead has dwindled to a single-digit advantage.
“As Sen. Obama introduces himself to voters, people want to sign on to this campaign,” he says. “The volunteer spirit of this campaign is unmatched and it really bodes well. They’re coming out because they have a candidate that they can believe in.”
That’s why he has signed up as volunteer, Mfume said, using his clout as the former NAACP president and CEO as well as former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus to spread the Obama message to people in barbershops, hair salons, churches and sidewalks in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Sharon, Erie and other part of Pennsylvania.
He believes the Illinois senator is largely responsible for the excitement generated among voters. According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, Pennsylvania has about 307,000 more Democrats and 58,000 fewer registered Republicans compared to the general election in the fall of 2007. Also, about 28,000 voters switched to the Democratic Party while a mere 779 switched their allegiance to the GOP.
“This campaign engenders hope,” Mfume said. “Its focus is getting people who’ve never been in the process to join, people who’ve never voted Democrat or Independent to vote, and those with racial hang-ups to go beyond that.”
Gov. Ed Rendell, a Clinton supporter, said early on in the campaign that most White Pennsylvanians were not ready to vote for a Black man. Mfume says he believes Obama can defy that prediction.
“If Ed Rendell had one wish, it would be that he could take that statement back. When you give credence to that, it tells people who fit that description that it’s OK,” he says. “My position is that if they get to know this candidate many of them will change their minds.”