According to a recent poll by Newsweek reveals that should Senator Barack Obama become the eventual Democratic Party nominee; he will face a difficult uphill battle against presumed GOP nominee Senator John McCain of Arizona. So far, Obama and McCain have been focusing attacks on each other while neglecting Democratic co-frontrunner Senator Hillary Clinton of New York.
Yes, Clinton is not out of the race yet. So far, Clinton maintains that she still holds the popular vote over Obama. Recently, Clinton has tried to get the victories in Florida and Michigan counted. Many including Clinton’s supporters say that she is showing signs that she’s desperate.
DNC Chair Howard Dean said that a compromise will be reached by the end of May. However, he said that the forty-eight remaining states must be respected for playing by the rules. Dean said that the rules cannot be changed at the end to manipulate the outcome of the game.
Also, Clinton while in South Dakota said that the nomination rules by the DNC need to be changed. That too gives off the indication that Clinton’s campaign is desperate.
The RNC’s attack ads continue to be concentrated on Obama. So far, it looks as if the RNC is ready to acknowledge and accept Obama as the likely Democratic nominee.
One of the challenges Obama faces is winning the state of Florida. The same thing can be said about McCain. In Obama’s case, in order to win the general election should become the Democratic nominee would be to win Florida.
In order to win Florida, Obama would need to win over the Jewish and Cuban-American voters. Traditionally, the Cuban-American voting bloc in Florida has leaned towards the GOP.
However, this might change this year. Obama has made an effort to reach out to the Cuban-American community of Miami, Florida. While campaigning in Florida, Obama gave a speech during lunchtime in front of the Cuban American National Foundation. One of the guests attending the audience happened to be Alina Fernandez, the exiled daughter of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Fernandez has been one of Castro’s outspoken critics.
Many in the crowd were warm to Obama. Obama had even received a standing ovation from the crowd. They liked Obama’s policy towards Cuba. Pepe Hernandez, the president of the CANF said that he was disappointed in McCain’s message. He also scoffed at the initiative by US President George W. Bush allowing Americans to send cell phones to Cuba. Hernandez said that has already been going on for a long time.
This is a sign that the Cuban-American voting bloc is up for grabs.
On McCain’s side, he too would need to win Florida. Florida and Florida Governor Charlie Crist look to be essential to winning the presidency. In short, Crist could possibly help McCain win Florida. Currently, Crist is one of McCain’s guests at his Memorial Day weekend barbeque in Arizona.
Crist looks to be valuable to McCain due to his popularity also amongst Democrats and Independents. However, due to Crist’s stance on policies and social issues, he comes off as more of a moderate Republican. That could spell trouble as McCain has tried to court the conservative voting bloc of the GOP. So far, McCain has not gotten that vote as of yet. He explained that he needs that voting bloc to win.
Also, GOP strategists explain that McCain needs to be in good standing with the Latino community. So far, McCain is posed with a difficult balancing act. Many Latinos look to like McCain’s stance on immigration. However, McCain risks not being able to get the conservative vote. There is the chance he could risk losing both voting blocs.
At the same time, McCain faces a second balancing act in which he could also risk losing the conservative vote of the GOP. Not long ago, McCain addressed the environment to reach out to Independent voters. At the same time, he risks alienating himself from the GOP constituency.
While Florida is a crucial state to win, it is up for grabs. Should Obama grab the Democratic nomination, he has his own challenges. While McCain is the presumed GOP nominee, he took has his own challenges in Florida.
But, Clinton is still in the race.