AppId is over the quota
Two more southern primaries, two more eyebrow-raising performances by President Obama.
Obama carried only 58% of the vote in yesterday's Kentucky Democratic primary -- against 42% for "uncommitted" delegates to the national convention; "uncommitted" actually outpolled the president in 67 of Kentucky's 120 counties.
Obama also carried 58% in the Arkansas primary; little-known Tennessee lawyer and Occupy Wall Street supporter John Wolfe won 42% of the vote against the Democratic president in Arkansas.
Two weeks ago, a federal prisoner in Texas named Keith Judd racked up 41% of the vote against Obama in the West Virginia primary.
Of course, there are reasons for these kinds of returns. Few Democrats are voting in these primaries where Obama faces only token opposition; only protest voters are truly motivated.
There's also the fact that Obama is an underdog to Republican candidate Mitt Romney in the states of Kentucky, Arkansas and West Virginia; Obama lost all three in 2008 to John McCain.
Another potential factor: Race.
The Washington Post reports:
One easy explanation -- and the one regularly espoused by some Democrats -- for Obama's struggles in Appalachia and portions of the South is simply that some white voters will not vote for an African American for president.
But although no one doubts that race may be a factor, exit polling suggests that the opposition to Obama goes beyond it.
And seasoned political observers who have studied the politics of these areas say race may be less of a problem for Obama than the broader cultural disconnect that many of these voters feel with the Democratic Party.
"Race is definitely a factor for some Texans but not the majority," said former congressman Charles W. Stenholm (D-Tex.). "The most significant factor is the perception/reality that the Obama administration has leaned toward the ultra-left viewpoint on almost all issues."
