Buckwheat Kicks Hitlary's Ass in CA Despite Help From Nigger AIDS-Player Magic Johnson

http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/clinton_blacks/2007/09/14/32810.html

Obama Gets Oprah, Hillary Gets Magic

Friday, September 14, 2007

LOS ANGELES -- Hillary Rodham Clinton pursued votes Friday in the city's

historical black heartland with basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson at

her side. Less than a week ago, her rival Barack Obama banked $3 million at

a fundraiser at Oprah Winfrey's seaside estate.

For the two leading Democratic presidential contenders, the dueling events

just six days apart highlighted the stiff competition for support and

dollars within one of the party's key voter groups _ blacks.

Johnson, the former Los Angeles Lakers star whose sprawling business

interests range from movie theaters to health clubs, was also holding a

fundraiser for Clinton at his Beverly Hills home Friday night. It was

expected to be considerably smaller than the lavish event staged by Winfrey

for Obama, an Illinois senator, on Sept. 8.

Johnson's fundraiser was co-hosted by music industry heavyweights Quincy

Jones, Berry Gordy and Clarence Avant, and scheduled guests included Mayor

Antonio Villaraigosa. Guests at the Obama event included Sidney Poitier,

Forest Whitaker and Chris Rock.

The divided loyalties among blacks show "the community just isn't going to

go lockstep behind any candidate, even a black one," said University of

California, Los Angeles, political scientist Franklin D. Gilliam Jr.

When it comes to competing celebrity endorsements, "I don't know if anybody

stands equal with Oprah," Gilliam said. But Clinton, a New York senator, is

not conceding the black vote to Obama and "she can compete for it in a

legitimate way."

On Thursday, the California Legislature's black caucus endorsed Obama _ but

one of its eight members is backing Clinton. And independent polls in

California suggest the black vote is divided, largely between Clinton and

Obama.

Obama, whose late father was Kenyan, gives blacks a chance to put one of

their own in the White House for the first time. But Clinton benefits from

the strong relationship her husband, former President Bill Clinton,

maintained with blacks for years.

"People in the black community love Bill Clinton; she's seen as comfortable

in the community," Gilliam said. And "there's concern about Obama being

electable, period, because he's black."

The rivalry between Obama and Clinton also showcases the clout of black

political influence and money.

Obama has predicted that black voter turnout could swell by at least 30

percent if he wins the presidential nomination, giving Democrats victory in

Southern states that have been voting Republican for decades.

Asked last month why she would be a better candidate for blacks when Obama

was in the race, she cited her years of public service and advocacy, and

described herself as the more experienced candidate.

"My attitude is, I don't deserve anyone's vote. I have to earn everyone's

vote," Clinton said.

At an event earlier Friday at a school in a heavily minority neighborhood

near the Watts section, Clinton shared a stage with Johnson, Villaraigosa

and other local leaders. She told a largely minority crowd including many

students and supporters that she would bring a new style of leadership to

Washington to take on issues like health care, education and ending the Iraq

war.

"When I'm president, there will not be any invisible Americans," she said.

Several people in the audience said they were comfortable with Clinton, in

large part because of her long record in the public eye and efforts in her

husband's administration.

John Bruce, 45, a Democrat from Los Angeles who works in security, said the

black community is looking for leaders and Obama "seems to be heading in the

right direction." Bruce, who is black, said race was not an issue in picking

a candidate.

He said he remains undecided on 2008 but added, "I'm an all-Clinton

Democrat."

Black community activist "Sweet Alice" Harris, who is backing Clinton, said

she worked closely with her during her days in the Clinton White House.

What about Obama?

"I don't know him, but I know her," Harris said.

Earlier in the day, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, held a

private fundraiser for Clinton at a Mexican restaurant in Lynwood, a Los

Angeles suburb.