Super Tuesday's Super Draw

   

    Here's the story I filed from Chicago for the Afro American Newspapers the morning after Super Tuesday's election. The change-sign toting Rev. Jesse Jackson, who has a nationally-syndicated newspaper column, was drawn to the press section--but allowed no where near the candidate's platform.
    What a difference two decades make.
    While hanging out with the press, Jackson did a couple of local TV interviews and gave Obama's campaign chief strategist, David Axelrod, the thumbs up before the speech began. Once Barack Obama began to address the audience, Jackson appeared to pay rapt attention. He was the only one, by the way, in the cordoned-off media section carrying and waving a campaign placard.

    I shot the photo from my perch in the press section.

 

Democratic Presidential to be decided at National Convention

By Monroe Anderson
Special to the AFRO

Chicago --Super Tuesday has come and gone with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both emerging victorious and both eying the beltway primaries–Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia–on February 12 as the election that may make their opponent the loser.

Political observers expected that next week's primary in the Chesapeake region favors Obama over Clinton. The senator from Illinois has been drawing an overwhelming percentage of Black and youth votes while the New York senator wins the White women's vote.

Sen. Obama walked away from Super Tuesday with the most states won, 13, including Missouri, the bellweather state that will be a general election battleground, while Sen. Clinton laid claim to a popular vote victory with wins in the three most populous states–California, New York and New Jersey.

As the tallies rolled in on Tuesday night, the Obama and Clinton campaign camps worked hard at putting a positive spin on election results while emphasizing what was becoming the obvious, it wouldn't be over until it was over.

While Clinton leads Obama in the delegate count, her lead is too close to matter at this point in the presidential contest. She has slightly more than 800 delegates, while Obama has slightly more than 700. The battle in next week's primary will be over 70 delegates in Maryland, 83 in Virginia and 15 in D.C.

"We're both preparing for a long, drawn-out affair," said David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager. "If it goes through June, it goes through June."

Plouffe's sentiments were shared by the thousands of Obama supporters gathered at a Chicago hotel to await election results.

Describing Obama's Super Tuesday performance as "fantastic, marvelous, stupendous and terrific," Willie W. Walden was all smiles as he filed out with the rest of the fired up supporters.

The 75-year-old businessman said when Obama first announced his candidacy for president, Walden wasn't sure the Illinois senator would go as far as he had in his bid to become the Democratic party's first African American nominee, but now felt good about Obama's prospects because of grass roots support.

"People want a change. People see their jobs, their health, the homes kind of escaping them," said Walden. "He's the man for change."

"We're going to win this," said Garnett Hall, a sales and marketing professional. "He's got support across the country."

Obama has already surpassed the 11-state total Jesse Jackson won 20 years ago in his then-historic run for the Democratic party's presidential nomination.

Jackson, who like Obama, is a Chicago resident, stood in the press section, watching Obama speak to supporters. The civil rights leader, with a "Change We Can Believe In" sign in hand, smiled and gestured throughout segments of Obama's speech. Close to the end, Jackson held his sign overhead, waving it to the beat of the crowd chanting "Yes We Can!"