Crunch time for Obama

last updated 8 January 2015

What happened

Barack Obama pulled into a double-digit lead over Hillary Clinton in South Carolina polls ahead of the state’s Saturday Democratic primary. Obama is favored to win, thanks in part to a big lead among African Americans—who account for nearly half of the state’s eligible Democratic voters. (Reuters)

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

If Obama has been “ghettoized” as the black candidate, said Mickey Kaus in Slate, his best move is to “find a Sister Souljah” to “stiff arm.” The “most-promising” target is “not a person, but an idea: race-based affirmative action.” If Obama comes out in favor of “shifting to a class-based, race-blind system of preferences”—something he has already suggested he supports—“wouldn't that shock hostile white voters into taking a second look at his candidacy?”

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox