They perceived him as not of their world.

This is just a guess, but I suspect it's not far off. Yes, racism played a part in WV yesterday,(exit polls tell us that) but not, I believe, as big a role as perceived cultural differences. I think Obama was perceived as being a prototypical elitist that most West Virginians just couldn't identify with. You know, latte drinking, arugula munching, Ivy League College attending, elitist. Hillary worked hard to hone her message that she's really a good ol' gal who slams shots and can identify with the pains and joys of the rural working class. She became tougher than JMac on national security issues. And she appealed to those voters because they could more easily identify with her.

Obama needs to take note of his overwhelming defeat in WV. Is WV representative of many states? Maybe not, but there are a lot of voters like those in WV in a lot of states. His campaign is smart. I have no doubt that they're planning as meticulously for the general as they did for the primaries. I believe, particularly if the economy remains as bleak as it now is, that he can win a lot of those voters, but he needs to reach out to them in a way he has yet to do. All nominees adjust to the general election and retool. Obama is no exception. Fortunately, McCain is not a strong candidate and he's alienating a fairly large swath of the repuke base with his global climate change position and his immigration stance(s). We hear all the time about Hillary voters who won't go for Obama, but there are also alienated repukes.

Obama has time to change how certain segments of the electorate view him. He needs to do it.

away.

That would shatter the latte drinker image.

There is a lot in that area he can do to make up the ground it appears he still can't capture from Hillary.

As far as the "hard working whites", they know they are being killed by Repuke ideology in terms of Health Care and job security. They will not be voting for McCain in significant numbers.

failure to conduct even one meeting of the committee he heads shows me he has NO work ethic....said he'd fullfill his 6 year Senate election and hasn't. He's a propped up front man....so exactly like w with a little more talent in the speaking area -- although it's just repetitions platitudes. I feel he's an empty suit.. I'm not interested in a preacher for President. Hillary's the right choice.

Fight on Hillary....take it right to the Convention floor.

her and her gross incompetence. The woman had every possible advantage going into the primaries: Money (that she threw down the Penn toilet), a popular ex-president, the endorsements of over 150 SDs who before a single vote was cast who thought erroneously that Hilly was inevitable and a press that endlessly repeated that she would be the nominee- up until she lost Iowa. Obama has a resumee that is hardly thin. He spent 8 years in the Illinois State Senate and he's been a U.S. Senator for 3+ years. He's a Constitutional scholar. He's known for his strong work ethic. The absurd tinfoil nonsense about how he's a frontman is simply laughable. His policies are every bit as detailed as Hill's.

Hill is toast. She's behind in every metric. She ran an epically bad campaign. She can't manage money. She played the Southern Strategy. She does worse than Obama in the newest head to heads against McCain. She's a liar. She doesn't have much more experience than Obama. She's the past. Too bad.

:eyes:

This is a problem in the GE. Obama needs to figure out how to get his message across in places like this. This bullshit of 17% thinking he's Muslim and another 50% thinking he shares Reverend Wrights views - or even wierder, people thinking he's a Muslim AND shares Reverend Wright's views just has to stop.

But I agree he needs to go into places like Southern Ohio, Indiana, and Central and Western PA and try his best to get that message out.

While other states have large regions which lean the same way, West Virginia stands out as one of the few states in which the region is the state. It has an unusual political composition which puts it right up there with other outlying states like Minnesota and Vermont.

West Virginia will always hold a warm place in my heart for being one of the few states--along with Minnesota--which went against Reagan and Bush the Smarter. (We'll just forget that little lapse in 1984.) Those voters are still around and still know what's good for them.

It would be really good if Obama could strike the right chord over the next few months, because if he can unlock West Virginia, he also makes significant inroads into similar portions of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. In each of those states, reaching the sensible rural voter, combined with strong urban support, could flip 'em all Obama's way.

The obvious way to start would be to entice Mrs. Clinton into becoming his running mate. If he pulls it off, the guy fuckin' A deserves to be President for that feat alone.

That could have driven his numbers all the way up to 31%.

:hi:

problem would have been that many of those pool tables are in bars where ladies practice their coreography whilst scantily clad. I'd bet we have more 'adult' bars here per capita than any other state.

I think the people of WV will be so divided by the time November comes that the Dems might stand a good chance of picking up the state, no matter our nominee. The WV loss probably isn't as big a deal as the Clinton supporters want it to be, unless of course Obama starts spouting off the classist crap that some of his more vocal "supporters" at DU espouse. I trust him not to do that, so I think he'll be ok with the state.

He got 1% of the caucus vote in WV. Perhaps Barr could be a factor in GE and Obama might have a chance in a place like WV. There is still a lot of time and ground to cover until GE.

Stranger things have happened.

they are stuck on stupid and many don't want to see change or be anywhere near it. Sad. But true. It would take and act of God for them to open their eyes and see that things aren't working so well for them like this.

Maybe I'm cynical, but I'm tired of ignorant people who hold this country back.