The margin of victory in the Iowa Caucuses for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) over challengers U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and former U. S. Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) was by all accounts impressive. Iowa will serve as a springboard for the Obama candidacy as the race moves quickly to New Hampshire. With record turnout, Obama was able to carry virtually all of the major population centers. Leaving Clinton only the most conservative western counties. (See Map for county breakdown and links to the key speeches)
In addition to Obama, there were at least two other big winners -- The Iowa Poll and the people of Iowa. When the final Iowa Poll was released Jan. 1 many people were skeptical. However, take a look at the Iowa Poll again to refresh your memory of what it said and then look at what Edwards' advisor Joe Trippi had to say to Real Clear Politics. The Iowa Poll pretty much nailed it. A huge turnout of independents, young people, first time caucus goers and a sprinkle of Oprah magic sealed the deal for Obama.
The people of Iowa were also big winners as they may have set the stage for another generational swing in politics. The votes for Obama, age 46, and Huckabee, age 51, come from a state that was fourth in the nation in terms of population older than 65, according to the 2000 census. Yet young people helped to make the difference.
While Iowa's population is growing more diverse, it is still essentially 95 percent White. However, the paradox that is Iowa points you to a legacy of taking bold steps in regard to race relations.
Stops on the Underground Railroad ran through Iowa. In the 1860s, nearly 100 years before the 1954 Brown Decision whereby the U. S. Supreme Court outlawed segregation in the public schools, Alexander Clark, Sr, and the Iowa Supreme Court had already legally resolved the question of equal access to public schools. In 1884, the Iowa Legislature become one of the first four or five states to enact a civil rights act dealing with public accommodations. This law was used in the late 1940s (perhaps 1950 - my memory is not what it used to be) by folks like Edna Griffin and the Des Moines NAACP legal Redress Committee to integrate lunch counters -- more than a decade before the sit-in and student protests of the early 1960s. Just 10 days after my birth Iowa Gov. Loveless established the state's Human Relations Commission.
When I left Des Moines and moved to Gary, Indiana - I left a city with a roughly 10 percent African American population for a city that had a roughly 10 percent White population. However, Des Moines had an African-American mayor and Gary had a White mayor. We live in a time where the old stereotypes are breaking down.
This is not to say that Iowa is not without its problems (one only need to look at the civil justice system) or that the early laws were adequate or fairly enforced -- but it does speak to the fact that Iowans are more than up to the task of fairly judging a candidate --particularly one with a message of hope and inspiration.
Many of the media pundits only see the obvious -- Black man/White state -- Iowans are more sophisticated than that. In my earlier blog entry I noted that only a small percent of Iowans would be victims of that small-minded sort of thinking. The key to victory had to be energizing people to come out and be part of history. Obama was able to get his message to those non-traditional voters in a very big way.
Now its on to New Hampshire where polls taken before the Iowa caucuses had Clinton with a 6 point lead over Obama. New polls should be out soon and that lead may have evaporated. Again if memory serves me no Democrat has won both Iowa and New Hampshire and not been the nominee.
Stay Informed about Health Issues...
Summary of Health Disparities-Focused Legislation in 110th CongressThe Kaiser Family Foundation has issued a summary of health disparities-focused legislation introduced in the first session of the 110th Congress. "Key Health Disparities-Focused Legislation Introduced in the 110th Congress" is available. An archived webcast and transcript is also available. Scroll down to "A Little This...A Little That"
Friday, January 4, 2008
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This section highlights key legislation and links for you to contact your elected officials.
Health care reform is front and center on the nation's agenda. The group Sojourners has an interesting "Christian Health Care Creed" that can be sent to Congress. It in part says:
"I believe that Christians should seek to bring health and well-being (shalom) to the society into which God has placed us, for a healthy society benefits all members (Jeremiah 29:7).
I believe in a time when all will live long and healthy lives, from infancy to old age (Isaiah 65:20), and "mourning and crying and pain will be no more" (Revelation 21:4). My heart breaks for my brothers and sisters who watch their loved ones suffer, or who suffer themselves, because they cannot afford a trip to the doctor. I stand with them in their suffering."
Health care reform is front and center on the nation's agenda. The group Sojourners has an interesting "Christian Health Care Creed" that can be sent to Congress. It in part says:
"I believe that Christians should seek to bring health and well-being (shalom) to the society into which God has placed us, for a healthy society benefits all members (Jeremiah 29:7).
I believe in a time when all will live long and healthy lives, from infancy to old age (Isaiah 65:20), and "mourning and crying and pain will be no more" (Revelation 21:4). My heart breaks for my brothers and sisters who watch their loved ones suffer, or who suffer themselves, because they cannot afford a trip to the doctor. I stand with them in their suffering."
A Little This..A Little That...
06/20/08
Gallup Poll: Currently, 79% of Americans hold negative views about the economy, while 13% hold mixed views, and only 5% hold positive views. In comparison, 61% of Americans held a negative view at the begining of the year, 21% held a mixed view and 16% were positive.
04/19/08
Gallup Daily: Hillary Clinton now receives 46% of the support of Democrats nationally, compared to 45% for Barack Obama, marking the first time Obama has not led in Gallup's daily tracking since March 18-20.
04/06/08...The Milwaukee Brewers are starting the 2008 Season where they belong atop the NL Central. Ben Sheets was dazzling Sunday as he helped the club sweep the Giants with a 7-0 victory.
02/06/08...A bit of old news, but the casual dining chains continue to struggle as folks like me have to look twice at our spending habits due to the high price of gas, groceries and a slumping housing market. As you know, IHOP bought Applebee's last November -- a deal that I for one questioned. Applebee's sales continue to decline and that does not bode well for the future of the chain. The management strategy for IHOP is the franchise model so the company-owned Applebee's may be on their way out faster than you can say "baby back." With the debt of the purchase, you can imagine they're under pressure to turn things around or else. Look for IHOP to make a deal with a private equity firm to take the stores off their books. The National Restaurant Association recently issued the following release: Restaurant Performance Index Declined for the Fourth Consecutive Month in December
01/26/08...The Civil Rights Project at UCLA published astyd discussing the resegregation of the public schools. The report finds that segregation of African Americans is back to what it was in the late 1960s. The only kinds of communities with high levels of school integration are the nation’s rural areas and towns, once the center of the most intense resistance. By contrast, extreme segregation is concentrated in the largest metropolitan areas. Read the report: The Last Have Become First; Rural and Small Town America Lead the Way on Desegregation
01/04/08...Federal efforts to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care are underfunded and indicate a lack of seriousness about accomplishing the goal, according to former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher. You can view Dr. Satcher discussing health disparities and current federal legislative efforts and the factors that may influence the outcome of these efforts.
12/31/07...The U.S. Census Bureau says that on this New Year's Eve, morethan 303 million Americans of all ages are ready to greet the year 2008. Fifty years ago, the U.S. population was just over 171 million. A centuryago, it was 87 million. To show how fast the nation is growing, by thistime tomorrow, there will be some 7,800 new babies on hand to welcome the new year.
12/28/07...Sales of new one-family houses in November 2007 were 9.0 percent below the revised October rate and is 34.4 percent below the November 2006 rate. The median sales price of new houses sold in November 2007 was $239,100; the average sales price was $293,300, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The outlook for the restaurant industry continued to weaken in November. Forty-four percent of operators reported a same-store sales decline in November, up from 36 percent who reported similarly in October, according to the National Restaurant Association's comprehensive index of restaurant activity. The index fell to its lowest level in more than four years. FYI...News Report on the Casual Dining Sector
Gallup Poll: Currently, 79% of Americans hold negative views about the economy, while 13% hold mixed views, and only 5% hold positive views. In comparison, 61% of Americans held a negative view at the begining of the year, 21% held a mixed view and 16% were positive.
04/19/08
Gallup Daily: Hillary Clinton now receives 46% of the support of Democrats nationally, compared to 45% for Barack Obama, marking the first time Obama has not led in Gallup's daily tracking since March 18-20.
04/06/08...The Milwaukee Brewers are starting the 2008 Season where they belong atop the NL Central. Ben Sheets was dazzling Sunday as he helped the club sweep the Giants with a 7-0 victory.
02/06/08...A bit of old news, but the casual dining chains continue to struggle as folks like me have to look twice at our spending habits due to the high price of gas, groceries and a slumping housing market. As you know, IHOP bought Applebee's last November -- a deal that I for one questioned. Applebee's sales continue to decline and that does not bode well for the future of the chain. The management strategy for IHOP is the franchise model so the company-owned Applebee's may be on their way out faster than you can say "baby back." With the debt of the purchase, you can imagine they're under pressure to turn things around or else. Look for IHOP to make a deal with a private equity firm to take the stores off their books. The National Restaurant Association recently issued the following release: Restaurant Performance Index Declined for the Fourth Consecutive Month in December
01/26/08...The Civil Rights Project at UCLA published astyd discussing the resegregation of the public schools. The report finds that segregation of African Americans is back to what it was in the late 1960s. The only kinds of communities with high levels of school integration are the nation’s rural areas and towns, once the center of the most intense resistance. By contrast, extreme segregation is concentrated in the largest metropolitan areas. Read the report: The Last Have Become First; Rural and Small Town America Lead the Way on Desegregation
01/04/08...Federal efforts to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care are underfunded and indicate a lack of seriousness about accomplishing the goal, according to former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher. You can view Dr. Satcher discussing health disparities and current federal legislative efforts and the factors that may influence the outcome of these efforts.
12/31/07...The U.S. Census Bureau says that on this New Year's Eve, morethan 303 million Americans of all ages are ready to greet the year 2008. Fifty years ago, the U.S. population was just over 171 million. A centuryago, it was 87 million. To show how fast the nation is growing, by thistime tomorrow, there will be some 7,800 new babies on hand to welcome the new year.
12/28/07...Sales of new one-family houses in November 2007 were 9.0 percent below the revised October rate and is 34.4 percent below the November 2006 rate. The median sales price of new houses sold in November 2007 was $239,100; the average sales price was $293,300, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The outlook for the restaurant industry continued to weaken in November. Forty-four percent of operators reported a same-store sales decline in November, up from 36 percent who reported similarly in October, according to the National Restaurant Association's comprehensive index of restaurant activity. The index fell to its lowest level in more than four years. FYI...News Report on the Casual Dining Sector