Barack Obama won the South Carolina Democratic primary with the overwhelming support of African Americans, who made up roughly 55 percent of all voters.
For months, the mainstream media asked whether Obama was "black enough?" With 80 percent of the black vote, Obama has flipped the script: Is Obama too black to appeal to white voters whose support he will need to avoid being washed away in the Super Tuesday tsunami?
I spent part of Election Day at the Greenview Park polling place, a predominantly black precinct in Columbia. There, I met Albert Reid, a medical doctor and longtime civic leader. Dr. Reid said that he voted for Hillary Clinton because "she gives us facts and solutions for a troubled world."
By contrast, Obama “talks about hope and inspires our admiration for change. He is a feel good vote.” Dr. Reid added:
Blacks are voting for pride. Obama can talk. He can inspire. But the bottom line is: Is he electable nationwide?
Clearly, Dr. Reid was a minority voice. Obama won the "black primary" hands down. Blacks turned out in record numbers. One voter told me:
In order for a change, that's what you have to do. Voting is the beginning stage. Voters are tired of the same old, same old. Obama tried to reach out and that's what you need. America is in bad shape.
I chatted with Obama supporters who traveled from across the country to volunteer in his campaign. They included New York City Councilwoman Helen D. Foster, who was the first New York elected official to endorse Obama. Councilwoman Foster said:
This election is the most important election of my lifetime. It is important to vote based on beliefs and conscience, and not because someone is pressuring you.
A brother from Houston told me he supported Obama because he is "qualified and black." He traveled to South Carolina because this is a "crucial" state.
Now about the "white primary." Pre-election polls projected Obama would win 10 percent of the white vote, but he actually received 24 percent. Still, 76 percent of white Democrats voted against him.
My airport driver, Roger, believes whites voted for Clinton "before they would put an African American in the White House." He said they are the same "die-hards" who think the Confederate flag represents Southern heritage. "That flag is a constant reminder of how a vast majority of them feel."
Meanwhile, Bill Clinton is downplaying Obama's victory:
Jesse Jackson won South Carolina twice in 1984 and 1988. And he ran a good campaign. Senator Obama's run a good campaign here, he's run a good campaign everywhere.
In eight days, we will know whether Obama made history or history merely repeated itself.
