One week before the South Carolina Democratic primary, students from three historically black colleges and universities rallied in the rain at an event called "Black Youth Vote Justice Speak Out" at South Carolina State University.
“They showed up, even though it was pouring, and we had to change the location on the day of the event,” said Melanie Campbell, executive director of the National Coalition for Black Civic Participation. “When they learned that the location had changed, they immediately began text messaging their friends, and people showed up,” Campbell told BlackAmericaWeb.com.
That kind of activism is showing across the country as more young voters take part in primary election activities. The impact of young voters may play a significant part in the outcome in the Super Tuesday primaries and in elections in the future, political observers say. Voters in nearly half the states and American Samoa will vote in primaries and caucuses today.
“This race is highly competitive for the Democrats and Republicans. Highly competitive elections tend to drive the turnout up, and young people are driving up the numbers of new voters,” Campbell said.
At black youth rallies, hundreds have registered to vote and made speeches about the issues presidential candidates should be addressing.
“Sure, they want to get good jobs, but they also are concerned about whether their grandmother has healthcare,” Campbell said. “They are concerned about issues, and they want to be heard.”
Campbell predicts record primary turnouts in states such as Alabama and Georgia.
Georgia, a state that allows early voting, already has recorded high numbers, she said. “In 2004, about 43,000 voted early for the primary. This year, well over 150,000 already have voted. There is extremely high interest in the election for various reasons.”
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has the overall lead in delegates to the Democratic convention, with 261, according to an Associated Press analysis of delegate totals. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has 196.
Obama has won more delegates in the primaries and caucuses held to date. But Clinton leads in endorsements from superdelegates -- party and elected officials who automatically attend the convention and can support whomever they choose, regardless of the outcome of the primaries.
A total of 1,681 Democratic delegates in 22 states and American Samoa will be up for grabs Tuesday. However, it will be difficult for either candidate to take a decisive lead because the Democrats award delegates proportionally in every state. That means the second-place finisher in every state will also win delegates, as long as they get at least 15 percent of the vote.
Polls show that large numbers of black Democrats are lining up in support of Obama.
“In July, at best, Obama was trailing Hillary, and in December he was completive,” said Charles Ogletree, a noted Harvard University. “Now in 2008, we see the statement that, despite endorsements from several prominent leaders for Hillary Clinton, blacks are showing overwhelming support for Obama,” Ogletree told BlackAmericaWeb.com.
Ogletree taught both Barack and Michelle Obama at Harvard School of Law and is traveling across the country to support his former student.
“He is being embraced in a way that no other candidate, black or white, has been embraced in quite some time,” Ogletree said.
The overwhelming support of black Democrats for Obama has not had a negative impact on whites who also support him, said Prof. Carol Swain, a Vanderbilt University professor and author of "Black Faces, Black Interests: The Representation of African-Americans in Congress."
“It would have hurt if (Obama) had not had the support of several high profile white politicians,” Swain told BlackAmericaWeb.com. Sen. Edward Kennedy last week announced his endorsement of Obama and immediately went on the campaign trail on Obama’s behalf.
Kennedy, the younger brother of slain President John F. Kennedy, has called Obama a "man with extraordinary gifts of leadership and character," a worthy heir to his assassinated brother.
On the other hand, Rep. Maxine Waters, a powerful member of the Congressional Black Caucus, recently announced her endorsement of Hillary Clinton.
"At a time when the economy continues to worsen and so many of my constituents are losing their homes and their jobs, we need someone with the leadership and experience who can step in on day one to tackle the economic challenges our country is facing," Waters said in a statement to the Associated Press. "Hillary understands the daily challenges that people are facing, and she will fight for them everyday she is in the White House."
According to campaign officials, Obama has obtained the endorsements of over 100 newspapers in early primary states, including California and other Super Tuesday states. Among them are The Birmingham News, The Arizona Republic, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Connecticut Post, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Post, The New Jersey Star-Ledger, The Native American Times, La Opinion and The Los Angeles Times.
Here’s an excerpt of what the L.A. Times said about Obama on Feb. 3:
Democrats preparing to vote in Tuesday's California primary can mark their ballots with confidence, knowing that either candidate would make a strong nominee and, if elected, a groundbreaking leader and capable president. But just because the ballot features two strong candidates does not mean that it is difficult to choose between them. We urge voters to make the most of this historic moment by choosing the Democrat most focused on steering the nation toward constructive change: We strongly endorse Barack Obama.
The U.S. senator from Illinois distinguishes himself as an inspiring leader who cuts through typical internecine campaign bickering and appeals to Americans long weary of divisive and destructive politics. He electrifies young voters, not because he is young but because he embodies the desire to move to the next chapter of the American story. He brings with him deep knowledge on foreign relations and on this nation's particular struggles with identity and opportunity. His flair for expression, both in print and on the stump, too easily leads observers to forget that Obama is a man not just of style but of substance. He's a thoughtful student of the Constitution and an experienced lawmaker in his home state and, for the last three years, in the Senate.
On policy, Obama and his rival Democratic candidate, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, are a hairsbreadth apart. Both vow to pull troops from Iraq. Both are committed to healthcare reform. Both offer candid critiques of the failed George W. Bush presidency, its blustering adventurism, its alienating stance toward other countries and its cavalier disregard for sacred American values such as individual liberty and due process of law.
With two candidates so closely aligned on the issues, we look to their abilities and potential as leaders, and their record of action in service of their stated ideals. Clinton is an accomplished public servant whose election would provide familiarity and, most important, competence in the White House, when for seven years it has been lacking. But experience has value only if it is accompanied by courage and leads to judgment.
An Obama presidency would present, as a distinctly American face, a man of African descent, born in the nation's youngest state, with a childhood spent partly in Asia, among Muslims. No public relations campaign could do more than Obama's mere presence in the White House to defuse anti-American passion around the world, nor could any political experience surpass Obama's life story in preparing a president to understand the American character. His candidacy offers Democrats the best hope of leading America into the future, and gives Californians the opportunity to cast their most exciting and consequential ballot in a generation.
In the language of metaphor, Clinton is an essay, solid and reasoned; Obama is a poem, lyric and filled with possibility. Clinton would be a valuable and competent executive, but Obama matches her in substance and adds something that the nation has been missing far too long -- a sense of aspiration.
To her credit, Clinton has racked up editorial endorsements from newpapers that include The Des Moines Register, The Quad City Times, Foster's Daily Democrat, The Denver Post, Newsday, The Kansas City Star, The Orlando Sentinel, The Hartford Courant, The Boston Herald, The New York Daily News and The New York Times.
Here’s an excerpt of what the New York Times said about Clinton on Jan. 25:
This generally is the stage of a campaign when Democrats have to work hard to get excited about whichever candidate seems most likely to outlast an uninspiring pack. That is not remotely the case this year.
The early primaries produced two powerful main contenders: Hillary Clinton, the brilliant if at times harsh-sounding senator from New York; and Barack Obama, the incandescent if still undefined senator from Illinois. The remaining long shot, John Edwards, has enlivened the race with his own brand of raw populism.
As Democrats look ahead to the primaries in the biggest states on Feb. 5, The Times’s editorial board strongly recommends that they select Hillary Clinton as their nominee for the 2008 presidential election.
By choosing Mrs. Clinton, we are not denying Mr. Obama’s appeal or his gifts. The idea of the first African-American nominee of a major party also is exhilarating, and so is the prospect of the first woman nominee. “Firstness” is not a reason to choose. The times that false choice has been raised, more often by Mrs. Clinton, have tarnished the campaign.
Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton would both help restore America’s global image, to which President Bush has done so much grievous harm. They are committed to changing America’s role in the world, not just its image.
On the major issues, there is no real gulf separating the two. They promise an end to the war in Iraq, more equitable taxation, more effective government spending, more concern for social issues, a restoration of civil liberties and an end to the politics of division of George W. Bush and Karl Rove.
Mr. Obama has built an exciting campaign around the notion of change, but holds no monopoly on ideas that would repair the governing of America. Mrs. Clinton sometimes overstates the importance of resume. Hearing her talk about the presidency, her policies and answers for America’s big problems, we are hugely impressed by the depth of her knowledge, by the force of her intellect and by the breadth of, yes, her experience.
It is unfair, especially after seven years of Mr. Bush’s inept leadership, but any Democrat will face tougher questioning about his or her fitness to be commander in chief. Mrs. Clinton has more than cleared that bar, using her years in the Senate well to immerse herself in national security issues, and has won the respect of world leaders and many in the American military. She would be a strong commander in chief.
Domestically, Mrs. Clinton has tackled complex policy issues, sometimes failing. She has shown a willingness to learn and change. Her current proposals on health insurance reflect a clear shift from her first, famously disastrous foray into the issue. She has learned that powerful interests cannot simply be left out of the meetings. She understands that all Americans must be covered — but must be allowed to choose their coverage, including keeping their current plans. Mr. Obama may also be capable of tackling such issues, but we have not yet seen it. Voters have to judge candidates not just on the promise they hold, but also on the here and now.
The sense of possibility, of a generational shift, rouses Mr. Obama’s audiences and not just through rhetorical flourishes. He shows voters that he understands how much they hunger for a break with the Bush years, for leadership and vision and true bipartisanship. We hunger for that, too. But we need more specifics to go with his amorphous promise of a new governing majority, a clearer sense of how he would govern.
The potential upside of a great Obama presidency is enticing, but this country faces huge problems, and will no doubt be facing more that we can’t foresee. The next president needs to start immediately on challenges that will require concrete solutions, resolve, and the ability to make government work. Mrs. Clinton is more qualified, right now, to be president.
We opposed President Bush’s decision to invade Iraq and we disagree with Mrs. Clinton’s vote for the resolution on the use of force. That’s not the issue now; it is how the war will be ended. Mrs. Clinton seems not only more aware than Mr. Obama of the consequences of withdrawal, but is already thinking through the diplomatic and military steps that will be required to contain Iraq’s chaos after American troops leave.
On domestic policy, both candidates would turn the government onto roughly the same course — shifting resources to help low-income and middle-class Americans, and broadening health coverage dramatically. Mrs. Clinton also has good ideas about fixing the dysfunction in Mr. Bush’s No Child Left Behind education program.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
