Democratic candidate Dr. Carl Perrin sent his congratulations to Barack Obama on his victory in the South Carolina primary. It was a tough fight for the Illinois senator because he was catching flack from both Clintons. Unfortunately for Mrs. Clinton, her husband’s campaigning may have helped Barack more than it helped Hillary.
The former president compared Obama to Jesse Jackson, who is not popular among many whites. Many people saw the comparison as invalid and a gratuitous introduction of race into the campaign. Many people in South Carolina and elsewhere saw Clinton’s comments as unfair. A lot of people voted for Obama because they thought Bill Clinton was misrepresenting Obama. Even people in the Clinton campaign feel that Bill did more harm than good. They want to rein him in and make him take a more positive approach to his future campaigning.
Not only did the Clinton campaign lose votes in South Carolina because of the former president, but the effect of his negative campaigning has been felt elsewhere. Over the weekend Caroline Kennedy endorsed Obama, saying that he had the same kind of appeal that her father had. Caroline was not the only Kennedy to endorse Obama. Ted Kennedy, a friend of the Clintons, is expected to endorse the Illinois senator today.
While Perrin didn’t pick up any votes in South Carolina, he is hoping at least to make a showing in Florida tomorrow, thanks to his friends in West Palm Beach. Of course even a victory in Florida would be only symbolic. The Democratic National Committee is not going to seat Florida delegates at the national convention because they violated the rules by moving their primary up ahead without the sanction of the national committee.
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