Tom Baxter:

Obama Looks For The Middle In Powder Springs

By Tom Baxter
Southern Political Report

(7/9/08) What constitutes the middle in this presidential election? That question came to mind at a high school gym in Powder Springs, Ga., where Barack Obama held a town hall meeting devoted to the subject of the economy Tuesday morning.

In every respect but one, the voters who came out to see the Democratic candidate were the stereotype of the college-educated, middle-class, suburban voters whom it is thought he must win over to get elected. The difference is that while the stereotype of such voters is that they’re white, this was a predominantly African-American audience.

That’s one of the keys to Obama’s chances in the South. He’s going to get African-American votes from rural hamlets and poor inner-city neighborhoods, but his real potential to increase black voting strength lies in growing suburban areas like Powder Springs.

“Even in the most Republican county (Powder Springs is in Cobb), there are lots of people within a couple of miles of you who want to vote for Obama,” Jacob Klein, a field organizer for Obama told the audience before Obama took the stage.

There are a lot of big houses in suburbs like this, and these days a lot of foreclosure signs. Much of America has felt the impact of the real estate bust, soaring gas prices and a worsening job market, but in upwardly mobile neighborhoods like these the sting has been worst.

In line with those concerns, Obama’s message of the day was about his new proposals to streamline bankruptcy procedures for families in the military, give a temporary debt moratorium to disaster victims and increase homestead exemptions for older Americans.

In a somewhat different context, Obama himself seemed preoccupied with that question of what constitutes the middle. Asked to reiterate his position on withdrawal from Iraq, on which he’s been accused of wavering, Obama took the opportunity to expound at considerably greater length about where he sees himself on the political spectrum.

You shouldn’t be surprised to hear that he considers himself pretty much in the middle of that spectrum. Those who have accused him of a politically motivated lurch toward the center “apparently haven’t been listening to me,” he said.

While acknowledging that his position on many issues put him solidly in the “progressive” wing of the Democratic Party, Obama went to some pains to point out his positions on faith-based social service programs, personal responsibility and the recent U.S. Supreme Court gun ruling.

That’s middle-class, suburban political territory, no matter what color you’re talking about.