Today, John Edwards officially endorsed Barack Obama’s campaign for President, and as we prepare for this story to get churned through the news cycle over the coming weeks, let’s take a step back and think about the significance of this endorsement for the Democratic primary.

The Math

First, the objective meaning of Edwards’ endorsement: with 18 pledged delegates, Senator Edwards can now increase Barack Obama’s lead over Hillary Clinton in the delegate count. During April’s Pennsylvania primaries, Clinton made a net gain of 12 delegates (she won 85 to Obama’s 73), and when she won Indiana, Clinton took home four (38 for Clinton, 34 for Obama). Basically, John Edwards now has the option of giving his pledged delegate to Barack Obama, thus erasing the advantage she fought so hard for, and staked so much in over the past few weeks.

Edwards’ Demographic Appeal

It’s something we’ve all heard over and over again:  while Barack Obama can win over African-Americans and affluent Democrats, Hillary Clinton has the advantage with low-income (or, to use a favorite phrase on cable news, “blue collar”) white voters. Clinton’s wins in states like Pennsylvania, Indiana, and West Virginia (a primary I’ll get to in a little bit) were credited to this popularity. However John Edwards represents a way for Obama to reach those groups. If we think back to December, everyone assumed that Edwards would get support from working-class male white voters, that Hillary Clinton would have a lock on women, and that Barack Obama would appeal to minority voters. With Obama still failing to draw blue-collar Democrats, the Edwards endorsement could be the ticket he needed to find their support.

But Does this Matter?

Endorsements haven’t meant much this primary season. We all remember the fuss made when Ted Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy, and John Kerry all gave their support to Barack Obama – but he ended up losing in Massachusetts. Although they make for good opening speakers at campaign rallies, having major politicians endorse your campaign is not a proven way for victory. Plus, with so few contests left (for the Democrats just Kentucky, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Montana, South Dakota, and Guam remain) the Edwards effect doesn’t have much time to have an impact. However the most significant effect of this endorsement isn’t about votes or the primaries remaining…

Stunting the Clinton News Cycle

Hands up if you can still remember that Hillary Clinton won yesterday’s West Virginia primary? I thought so… By waiting to announce Edwards’ endorsement until today, the Obama campaign has massively shortened the news life of Hillary Clinton’s victory in West Virginia. If this story hadn’t broken today, we would have heard for days about the effect of her win on Tuesday – even if it wasn’t positive coverage, cable news would still be repeating that she won a state, affecting the minds of superdelegates in that “don’t think of an elephant” way. Now, very few people will remember this victory, it’s old news in the face of this major endorsement. And what Obama has effectively done is shift the focus from Clinton’s win to Obama’s new endorsement – he’s taken the question from “how does this win change things?” to “how does she respond?” There had been hints that Edwards was supporting Obama – a possible Freudian slip during MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” May 9^th almost gave it away (judge for yourself, http://youtube.com/watch?v=uR_Y5FqvFmU) – but the wait to announce is anything but coincidental. My guess is that Edwards came to his decision before North Carolina, decided to announce after seeing the results in NC/Indiana, and then waited (along with the Obama campaign) until after West Virginia to announce so that Clinton’s  victory celebration would be short-lived, and she would be on the back foot again.

This is a huge endorsement for the Obama campaign, and one that has to sting for Hillary Clinton. In the months since he dropped out, John Edwards has been seen as the “king-maker” in the 2008 Democratic primary, and we may have seen him do just that. Of course, rumors will now pop up about Edwards’ doing this to get himself a spot as VP on an Obama campaign, but for now what matters is that Barack Obama gets a fresh face (and, perhaps, even more money) on the trail, and Hillary Clinton just might be done for in the minds of superdelegates and party leadership, not to mention voters.

The Net is abuzz with word that John Edwards will be endorsing Barack Obama tonight in Michigan. Note the location of the endorsement… the very state where neither Obama nor Edwards were on the ballot. Will this be looked back on as the moment when the Fall Campaign began in earnest? [Via Huffington Post]

Remi Ma has officially been sentenced to eight years for shooting her friend over a couple racks. Not to mention her jailhouse marriage to Papoose got postponed because he brought handcuff keys to the jail . What did brah think he was going to do, set the bird free? DMX got arrested for the second time this week, and his mug shot screams out one word, Crack! I think rappers need to really stay in the house or spend more time actually RAPPING at the studio because it’s obvious that we can’t be in public without getting into some shit. But when I think about it, getting into some bullshit is the story of the last six years of my life, and I’ve only been rapping for about two. Maybe it is beyond our control.

Anyway to my real story for the week…

Sunday was mother’s day, and so off top I was with my mama. On the way home from going out to eat with the beautiful lady that brought baby Roach Gigz into this world, 2Pac started playing from the radio.

“Dear Mama” , was instantly turned up in the used “new” car my mom recently bought (thank god for insurance). The first verse was muffled by her talk about how much she loves 2Pac and how great he is. By the time the second verse came along though the car was quiet and we were all focused on the words of the greatest rapper to ever live. By the end of the song my mom was almost in tears, presumably getting the feeling that I was the one delivering the message on the song since there were many obvious similarities, as well as differences in the stories Pac and I share with our single mothers. All that could go on in my own head was damn, what happened to rap like that?

My thoughts were interrupted when KMEL mistakenly played Kanye West’s ballad for his mother immediately after, which got turned off after my little brother insisted we turn it off because it was ruining the feeling of the song we had just heard. I got to admit, as much as I respect the man, the song kind of sucked. The truth and feeling that 2Pac gives was just not there, shit, it isn’t anywhere in hip-hop for that matter. Money money this, shoes shoes that, bet you can’t buy this hat! It’s all I hear, and being young myself, growing up in this clutter of crap, I can’t claim that I haven’t been influenced by and added to the problem. I don’t agree with Nas, Hip-Hop isn’t dead, but it is “Jockin’ on they b!#$ a$S” and unfortunately no song out now will ever be able to be played over ten years later and make a mother cry, it just ain’t happening. Shout out to Plies though, I respect dude and he is the closest I have heard.

]]> http://youthradioflows.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/roach-report-dear-mama/feed/ http://youthradioflows.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/whats-the-new-what-yes-it-is/ http://youthradioflows.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/whats-the-new-what-yes-it-is/#comments Tue, 13 May 2008 18:39:19 +0000 noahjn http://youthradioflows.wordpress.com/?p=226

Back in business after a Van Winkle-esque slumber, Youth Radio’s cutting edge culture blog What’s the New What returns to “Teh Interwebs” on the eve of the launch of the new What’s The New What segment on NPR’s Day To Day May 22nd.

Within its virtual pages you will discover how Internships are the New Summer Jobs, The Bathroom is the New Office, Rick Ross is the new Notorious B.I.G. and much, much more.

[What's The New What @ blogspot]

[Unathi Kondile- Youth Radio Cape Town]

At first my affair with cigarettes was one of love and hate. As a child I actually enjoyed that rich smell of Benson & Hedges. My grandfather would sit in front of the TV canning himself with one cigarette after the next. He’d take us to school and we’d get to class reeking of cigarettes but no-one ever took note of that or maybe they did, but they just didn’t associate the smell with your own child habits.

Smoking was everywhere and it seemed rather normal. At times I’d even sit outside just to savour the gardener’s roll-your-own tobacco. You’ve got to admit it! That roll-your-own tobacco stuff really has a great smell especially if it was flavoured. Ask me I’ve tried it – from cherry to strawberry to vanilla – that’s me: been there. done that.

Then there was a time during early teenagehood, that I really hated the smell of cigarettes. It was awful. I couldn’t stand it. And I somehow think it had something to do with my grandfather being diagnosed with an acute smoke-related lung disease of sorts. He then quit smoking and turned to candy. Boy was that something. We’d watch the man whom we’d grown to know as an avid smoker sitting in his favourite couch, but instead of smoking, he’d be profusely going at a piece of candy. And just like the cigarettes – one candy bar after the next.

But things got worse. In high school I was elected as a prefect. It’s amazing the stuff that goes on at high schools that one never really sees unless they start looking for it. For instance there were these groups of boys who’d always head to the rugby fields during recess. They’d lie in circles, smoking and exhaling the fumes into the grass. It was truly genius of them and no one could see the smoke. Needless to say I busted them and they hated me. A few months later I was sitting with the very same boys I’d busted holding a beer and clutching a cigarette in one had. Don’t ask me how that started.

No serious, I really don’t remember how and why I started smoking. I wasn’t stressed or suffering from any anxiety. There were no smoking role-models at home – except for that quitter called granddad, but he quit. From 2001 up until 2007 I was hooked. Smoking like my life depended on it. Things got worse in college. In college smoking seemed like a fashion statement – everyone did it and they looked damn good doing it. It even had seasons and trends. In 2003 everyone was smoking Camel Lights. And then 2004 saw Marlboro hit the South African market. From 2005 people went back to their natural habits, the fuss of American branded cigarettes faded, and people went back to mild Styvesant cigarettes. By this time I could barely run on a treadmill without jumping off after a minute. Tennis became a nightmare and my nostrils constantly felt like they were blocked. I hated smoking, but still did it. The worst was waking up and having that stale cigarette taste lingering in your mouth until you had that magical early morning smoke.

I hated smoking and thank goodness for doctor Phil. It’s really embarrassing to say this, but I’ll say it anyway: Doctor Phil changed my life. I remember staring at the TV and doctor Phil lambasting a group of addicts on his show. And then out of nowhere he said: “The best way to quit is to stop!” I realised the redundancy of that statement but it somehow resonated well with me and made sense. The only way I could quit smoking was to stop, put the cigarette down and just not have the next one.

It’s now been 7 months since I last dragged on a cigarette.

Previously By Unathi Kondile:

Name Change

Obama-Clintonostosis

7.9 Magnitude Quake In China Kills Thousands

CHINA- The death toll, standing already at 8,533 people, is expected to rise after a massive earthquake rocks central China.  [CNN]

Prom Dress Gets Teen Arrested

HOUSTON, TX- 17 year old Marche Taylor wound up in handcuffs at her prom when school officials objected to her dress as being too reveling. [Huffington Post]

Hundreds Arrested In Iowa Immigration Raid

POSTVILLE, IA- Federal agents expect to make between 600 and 700 arrests in a raid on the country’s largest kosher meat packing plant. [Des Moines Register, via Drudge]

Check out the stories and share what you think in the thread below.

Tune into NPR’s Weekend Edition this Sunday to hear Youth Radio’s Alix Black talk about growing up with a mom who was also a teacher…

Mom always encouraged us to ask questions and never bothered ‘dumbing down’ her answers. She taught us to look for patterns, to think creatively, to draw our own conclusions. Having a teacher for a mom gave me a special appreciation for my own teachers.

This is part of a series of Youth Radio education essays airing in May on NPR.

Yesterday in West Virginia, Senator Hillary Clinton vowed to stay in the presidential race even after her big loss in North Carolina and slim victory in Indiana. Democratic Party insiders, particularly those who are loyal and supporting the junior Senator of New York are facing pressure to switch their support towards Obama. Like I said before in my previous blogs, she has every right to stay in the race, however, Democrats fear that their might be a civil war within the Party because of the growing feud between the Obama surrogates and the Clinton surrogates. It has become clear who the presumptive Democratic nominee is going to be but Hillary isn’t giving up her hopes yet.

She should continue her campaign and raise enough money to pay off her debts. She in fact did loan her campaign another $6.4 million coming straight from her own pocket just recently. Now that Obama expanded his lead in the popular vote, the ongoing argument that Hillary makes that she has more popular votes including Florida and Michigan is no longer in check even if she were to count them now. The only realistic way she can receive this nomination is if super delegates decide to overturn the will of the popular vote and the pledged delegate count, which could ultimately turn off a lot Obama’s base supporters. In which case Rush Limbaugh’s “Operation Chaos” will have succeeded. My personal advice to Hillary, come back in 2012.

When was the last time you heard any of the candidates talk about issues in a realistic fashion… i.e. not offering a gas tax holiday, but breaking down the long term solutions? Alright, harder question then: when was the last time you heard the press ASK a question about the hard issues?

Thought so.

How would YOU have liked the primary season to go, new coverage-wise?

From our sister blog, What’s the New What!

I’m not ashamed to admit it; I’ve held several conversations on the can that directly pertain to business. I’ve also looked over contracts and planned events, all while relieving myself. In the sitcom Seinfeld, when the character George read a book in the bathroom, it was “flagged” and people didn’t want to go near it. I wouldn’t give a crap (no pun intended) if someone read a book in the bathroom.

-King Anyi

Read the whole piece!