Will D. Campbell supposedly gave us, "The tragedy of the redneck is that he chose the wrong enemy." I've long thought it as good a summary of what all ails the South as any. I'd been following the Travis Childers vs. Greg Davis Special Election race in Mississippi's 1st CD with some interest and felt like it might mean the hat trick for my team.Even George Will saw the handwriting on the wall. The again , The Politico did as well. One can only hope the GOP is indeed quaking in their boots. The NYT's Adam Nossiter and Janny Scott delivers In the South, a Force to Challenge the G.O.P. yet we still need the white folks to make this work out favorably. Newhouse's Jonathan Tilove suggests Obama's Is an Appalachia Problem, Not a Whites Problem where he quotes now Senator Webb's 2004 idea that "if the right national leader found a way to bring the Scots-Irish and African-Americans to the same table" it would be "the greatest realignment in modern politics."
I hope Senator Obama might be that leader yet I think he'll need to learn to at least "leave a mark" when he gets into a scrap. The right Veep choice would help yet I'd prefer him to scrap with a little more heart than head as a start. Finally, I don't accept the idea that you have to run as a "conservative" to get elected in the South. Mix in a little populism and even a good lefty can win. John Gunn
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