By Zenitha Prince
Washington Bureau Chief
PHILADELPHIA (April 18, 2008) — “Obama!” “Obama!” “Obama!” The feelings of love and adoration emanating from the crowd were almost tangible. In some ways, backers were releasing pinned-up anger over how their candidate had come under withering attack during a debate with his lone Democratic challenger.
“I’m here because I’m Black and I’m proud,” said Evadne Lewis, an elderly lady, while standing on a chair. “I’ve waited my whole life to see this.”
Another woman, Pamela Prophet-Lott, 45, said she was just in awe.
“It’s amazing to see the multitudes of people of all nationalities and backgrounds here like this,” she said. “It doesn’t feel like a Black thing; it feels like a people thing….I’m glad he came out among the people.”
“I don’t like how the media keeps riding him about his pastor; they need to ride Hillary about her lies.”
The crowd that filled the greens of the Independence Historical National Park in downtown Philly is the kind of event that organizers hope will give the campaign a booster shot before Tuesday’s primary. Trailing in the polls, Obama campaigned here and in Erie and Williamsport before criss-crossing the state in an effort to overtake Hillary Clinton in the Keystone State. “Sen. Obama is going to be making a five-day trek by rail, road and air to talk to people in cities and towns and wherever they are,” said Adora Andy, deputy press secretary for the Obama campaign in Pennsylvania.
“There will be some times when he will stop in unannounced and talk to voters impromptu so that he really gets to hear from them.” Obama is fighting the perception that a Clinton victory in Pennsylvania is a foregone conclusion. Gov. Ed Rendell, who has traveled around the state on behalf of Clinton, said earlier on in the campaign that many White Pennsylvanians simply will not vote for a Black man. Former NAACP President and CEO Bruce Gordon said that should not be taken as gospel.
“We need to be very balanced when we question whether a Black man can be elected president; we have to look at Iowa,” said Gordon, a Philadelphia native who says he is working behind the scene for Obama. “It may be difficult for some White voters to pull the lever and vote for a Black man but there are many White Americans who will choose the candidate that’s best for them.”
Still, according to polls, Obama’s support remains stalled at about 40 percent of the state’s electorate. Although Obama has won more states than his Democratic opponent, Clinton argues that he has not won enough of the big states, such as New York and California, and that if she wins Pennsylvania, superdelegates should throw their support behind her. “Sen. Clinton has argued that little states don’t matter and our campaign has always argued that all states matter,” said Andy, the Obama spokesperson.
“We know we’re the underdog here; Sen. Clinton has the support of the establishment. So, we’ve been campaigning really hard for every vote we can get. But the bottom line is we are in first place going into Pennsylvania and in other states with upcoming primaries.” But that path won’t be easy, as Obama discovered during the ABC News debate in Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Co-moderators Charles Gibson and George Stephanopolous have been widely criticized for asking too many questions about tangential issues, such as Obama’s comment that some small-town voters are bitter; his relationship with Jeremiah Wright, his former pastor, his failure to wear an American flag on his lapel and his tenuous relationship with William Ayers, the former 1970s Weathermen member who happens to live in Obama's Chicago neighborhood.
Though Clinton was asked about her fabrications about enduring sniper fire in Bosnia, Obama was clearly the main course for the night. In Philadelphia, a city Obama is expected to carry, voters were not pleased with the way he was treated. “I don’t like how the media keeps riding him about his pastor; they need to ride Hillary about her lies,” said a woman known in Philadelphia as JoDe, 33, of the Arena Museum neighborhood.
Though many political observers said Obama’s performance was weak, JoDe said she likes how he handled himself. “I like the way he’s campaigning. He tries to stick to the issues,” she said. “You see him taking the high road, staying cool and not reacting the way people expect him to act.” Obama has tried to use his treatment in the debate to make a larger point. “We have to declare our independence from politics that feeds on fake controversies and distractions,” he said at the rally tonight.
“That may make for good headlines and good television but it does not make for good government.” He also had some words for Hillary Clinton. “In the last few months Sen. Clinton has launched what her campaign calls a kitchen sink strategy of negative attacks, which she defends by telling us that that is how the game is played and she can play that game better,” Obama said. “Well, I’m not running to play the Washington game.” Clinton’s strident attack may have backfired.
According to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, 54 percent of voters said they have an unfavorable impression of Clinton, a 14 percentage point increase since the New Hampshire primary. Obama’s favorability ratings also slipped, largely because of the controversy over his former pastor, but they remain more positive than negative. “Hillary came out throwing sticks and stones and that’s why people are drawing away from her,” said Prophet-Lott, an executive assistant who attended the Obama rally. “Her campaign has made things so ugly.”