James Forsyth James Forsyth

Did Hillary just alienate black voters?

Hillary Clinton has been trying to raise doubts about Barack Obama by talking about the limits of hope. Obama has counter-punched by pointing out that many of the greatest advances in American history were due to hope and that hope is an essential American quality; one that inspired the Colonists in 1776, the abolitionists and  the civil rights movement among others. The trailblazing nature of his candidacy makes this a particularly effective rejoinder. 

Now, Ben Smith is reporting that Hillary said this to Fox News:

“Dr. King’s dream began to be realized when President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act,” Clinton said. “It took a president to get it done.”

This idea that civil rights were somehow dispensed to African-American voters, understandably, irritates them and Clinton by saying this might just have seriously ticked them off. 

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