Wednesday's Tidbits

Consistent with the Newsweek poll released last week, the LA Times/Bloomerberg poll has Obama with a 15 point lead over McCain.

Meanwhile, Ralph Nader says Obama is "talking white".

The Supreme Court has ruled against the death penalty for child rapists. I can think of other ways to punish these folks that would make the electric chair seem like the easy way out.

Iran issues a warning about its nuclear program.

Senate close to passing housing aid.

What's Wrong with Wheat Bread?

America's first Muslim Congressman was excited about the Obama campaign. He wanted to campaign on his behalf at a local mosque in Iowa during the primaries. However, the Obama campaign wanted to avoid a contreversy and denied the request. Later, Mr. Ellison wanted to provide his assistance in the North Carolina primary. However, the campaign said North Carolina was too conservative. Once again, his request was denied.

This is the second story that has came out recently in regards to the distance the Obama campaign has kept with the Muslim community. After his fierce denials about being a Muslim and then repeatedly deciding against appearing at mosques, while finding time to attend churches and synagogues, some of his Muslim followers have began to feel unwanted.

However, Obama's arms reach strategy is not exclusive to Muslims. The latino community is starting to express the same frustrations. Last week, the LA Times ran an article about the cautious approach the Obama campaign is taking while pursuing the black vote.

I see this as a clear political strategy to avoid alienating any potential white voters. Although he is up by a substantial margin, his campaign is handling his white voting block very fragilely. The indication is that their loyalty is very precarious and can blow up at any time. The only minority he can aggressively pursue without negative political repercussions is the Jewish community.

Some folks wondered why he didn't campaign harder in Philadelphia during the Pennsylvania primary. While in Indiana, he avoided Gary and Lake County. That area contains over 100,000 residents and is more than 90% African American. Many Hoosiers noted that he probably would have won Indiana, and therefore ended the primary sooner if he would have won the county by the margin that he won other heavy African American districts. He lost Indiana by less than 2%.

To be fair, I know that some Muslims have worked directly with the Obama campaign and haven't had negative experiences. I'm also not judging him. He is in the middle of a historic presidential campaign.

To really make history, he needs to win. Keeping it lily white helps him to that end. Everyone else can come out of the shadows after the election.