Published: February 14, 2007 11:21 am      

Like Kennedy in West Virginia, Obama should target the South

John F. Kennedy's decision to run for president in 1960 placed him as a front-runner in a crowded field of Democratic contenders, including Sen. Lyndon Johnson and former Democratic nominee Adlai Stevenson. With stiff competition during the nomination process, Kennedy turned to the primary system to draw attention to his campaign and prove that a Catholic candidate could appeal to the largely non-Catholic electorate. Kennedy's decision to run in the primaries was unique. Previously, party front-runners had stayed away from actively running in the primary contests out of fear that making an effort and losing would be more detrimental than not being actively involved. To make an appeal directly to the voters and show the Democratic Party that he could win support outside of the Northeast, Kennedy entered the Democratic primary in West Virginia, a state that was majority Protestant. Kennedy was able to win West Virginia. In doing so, he defeated leading contender Sen. Hubert Humphrey and showed Democrats that he was more than just a Catholic politician who some people feared would take directions from the Vatican and not from the American people.

Kennedy's genius was rooted in his ability to think outside of the traditional nomination process. He entered the primary process that had previously been reserved for second-tier candidates who needed the extra boost of national convention delegates. Kennedy might have secured the Democratic nomination without winning the West Virginia primary. With his win he showed that he was a viable candidate outside of his comfort zone and that his youth and vigor could be appealing to all Americans.

Sen. Barack Obama announced this past weekend that he is seeking the Democratic nomination in 2008. He should take a page from Kennedy's playbook and use his front-runner status (with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards) and prove to voters that he can win at least one primary in the South. If Sen. Obama can win an early southern primary, he can show America that an African-American can appeal to voters in a traditionally non African-American area. This would boost his already strong campaign and allow him to steal the spotlight from his competitors.

South Carolina, which is scheduled to have its primary on Jan. 29, 2008, can provide Senator Obama with an early boost and put him in position to be the strongest candidate on Super Tuesday. In suggesting that Sen. Obama focus his attention on South Carolina, I am not advocating that he forgo Iowa and New Hampshire. Instead, I believe that all Sen. Obama has to do is finish in the top three or four in each contest. In Iowa, former Gov. Tom Vilsack appears to have the inside track to win because of his statewide popularity. This would allow Sen. Obama to dedicate some money and people to Iowa without the pressure of having to win outright. Likewise in New Hampshire, Sen. Obama is part of a clear triad of candidates, with Clinton and Edwards, who must finish in the top-three to sustain their candidacies in the public eye. Concentrating his efforts on winning South Carolina, Sen. Obama can prove, like President Kennedy before him, that he appeals to a broad base within the Democratic Party and is an alternative to the traditional candidates so often nominated.

With a Kennedy-esque strategy, Sen. Obama could ride strong finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire and a win in South Carolina to victories in other primaries and caucuses and to the Democratic nomination convention in Denver. His path could finish what the Rev. Jesse Jackson started in 1984 when he introduced the African-American as a serious candidate in the minds of the American people. Obama could bring America closer together and unite all types of people, the way Kennedy did as America was in the middle of the Cold War and a time of uncertainty.

The views expressed in this letter are my own and do not reflect the opinion of Frostburg State.

Jacob Straus
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Frostburg State University