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Hillary or Barack? Black Leaders Are Torn

Congressman: 'The black body politic is not a monolithic movement'

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 1, 2007 12:50 PM CST
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(Newser) – With the primary season heading into crunch time, black leaders are facing a complex question: Who gets the endorsement, Clinton or Obama? Clinton gets high marks for electability, the Washington Post reports, but many find it  wrenching to turn their backs on a viable black candidate. "The black body politic is not a monolithic movement that goes the same way," says one Georgia pol. "That's the way it should be."

The black vote is potentially critical, the Post notes, with states such as South Carolina and Alabama taking on a greater importance in the primaries. As Obama and Clinton line up their high-profile endorsements, comedian Chris Rock sums up the dilemma by noting that black voters will be "real embarrassed" if they back Clinton and Obama wins. "You'd say, 'I had that white lady! What was I thinking?' "

Joe Reed,left, Chairman of the Alabama Democratic Convention, gives Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton D- N.Y. their official endorsement for president with local Commissioner Sheila Smoot in Hoover, Ala. on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2007 (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Joe Reed,left, Chairman of the Alabama Democratic Convention, gives Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton D- N.Y. their official endorsement for president with local Commissioner Sheila Smoot in Hoover, Ala. on...   (Associated Press)
Democratic presidential hopefuls, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., applaud at the start of the Democratic debate at the Cox Pavilion at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/ Ronda Churchill)
Democratic presidential hopefuls, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., applaud at the start of the Democratic debate at the Cox Pavilion at the University of Nevada, Las...   (Associated Press)
Talk Show host Oprah Winfrey smiles as she arrives for the Chicago premier of The Color Purple in a Thursday, May 3, 2007 photo. Winfrey is endorsing Barack Obama for president. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, file)
Talk Show host Oprah Winfrey smiles as she arrives for the Chicago premier of "The Color Purple" in a Thursday, May 3, 2007 photo. Winfrey is endorsing Barack Obama for president. (AP Photo/Charles...   (Associated Press)
Chris Rock introduces Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., not pictured, at the The Apollo Theater in the Harlem section of New York, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Chris Rock introduces Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., not pictured, at the The Apollo Theater in the Harlem section of New York, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)   (Associated Press)
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