I voted in Hamilton, OH today--took my husband and 18 year old daughter along for her first ever vote. We arrived at 10-ish and there was already a line, which grew steadily longer while we waited. This is super-Republican area just north of Cincinnati: Boehner is our rep. The majority of the voters were African-Americans, probably 65% of the voters waiting, which doesn't represent the racial makeup of the county; African Americans are 7% of the population. I also heard one of the elections workers explaining to a (white, middle-aged) guy that yes, he could switch his party affiliation from R to D.

Just a report from one of the states that count...for now.

Posted at March 1, 2008 11:11 PM in response to ARG: Obama gains in OH, steady in TX

Thanks, ZR, from another redhead....

I'm a 44 year old woman, a feminist, and a strong Obama supporter, but I haven't been able to figure out why I can't get behind Hillary. This post helped me see it better, at least partly--it IS the war. I can't help but believe that Hillary's vote for AUMF and early support for the war was a political calculation. I know Obama wasn't in the senate at the time, but as someone here pointed out the other day, when he spoke out, the country was in the grip of war fervor and speaking out made you a traitor or at least a dirty hippie. I live in the Cincinnati area--in Boehner's district, for God's sake--and trust me, it was scary to be a liberal, progressive, anti-war feminist from the time W got elected until about a year ago. I had admired Hillary through the Bill Clinton years and thought she put up with a bunch of outrageous BS from the press as well as from him. But I can't accept her calculated move to the center.

As the primary season has moved along, I've found it painful to see her campaign's childishness and arrogance. I really, really don't want a return to the DLC politics of the 90s, and I really am saddened by her recent gotcha style politics--and very impressed with the Obama campaign's ability to refute her at just about every turn.

In any case, just thinking out loud. Thanks again ZR, for a clear-eyed post.

Posted at March 1, 2008 8:06 AM in response to Divisive Primary Holds Potential Fallout for Women's Rights Community