Barack Obama supporters can come off fthe ledge now. The high profile defeats by Democratic governors in New Jersey and Virginia on Tuesday does not mar the Obama presidency, nor signal its impending demise. Not even close, according to political pundits.
If you’ve been listening to conservative talk TV since Tuesday’s election, they’d have you believe that Obama’s administration is down like two flat tires, since the president put the weight of his name behind two governors who had little chance of winning. Dr. William Boone, an associate political professor at Clark Atlanta University, says the Democratic administrations in New Jersey and Virginia were hemorrhaging from their own incompetence and lackluster performances long before Obama surfaced as a viable presidential candidate.
“You can look at it in terms of just a local matter in those two states,” Boone offers. “Or you can look at it as Republicans and conservatives are looking at it — as a bell bringing.
In New Jersey, for instance, “We know that a good number of black folks did not turn out to vote for John Corzine [who was defeated by upstart Chris Christie]. We also know that, as some have indicated, that he did … a poor job in the state,” Boone says. “This had no reflection on Obama, nor [was it] a referendum on the Obama administration. In [the voters’] view, it was strictly poor job performance.”
In other words, Obama is not a miracle worker. His arm was not nearly long enough to pull Corzine out of the political hole he had dug for himself.
“Of course,” Boone says, “the other side will argue that Obama made multiple trips to New Jersey and put his personal stamp on it,” therefore resulting in a resounding defeat for Obama. But, Boone continues, “It could say that maybe the African American voters and white voters in that state felt alienated from [the state] government.”
In Virginia, where Republican Bob McDonnell defeated Democrat Creigh Deeds, the loss represents a different political animal altogether.
“What you have to understand is that even though Obama won Virginia on the strength of the black vote and young white vote, Virginia is a very conservative state,” Boone says. “Even the Democrats over the last several terms have been very conservative governors. The other problem is that this Democrat [Deeds], that was running was a very conservative fellow — distancing himself from Obama — and some would even say the right wing. So the Democrats didn’t pump a lot of money into his campaign.”
In short, people can spin Tuesday’s results any way they wish, Boone says. While the losses did sting Obama because of the Democratic connection, which Republicans will undoubtedly leverage to continue pummeling his administration, they will only have a short-term impact. –terry shropshire