"Recalling Civil Rights, Democrats Seek Black Votes"

NY Times:

SELMA, Ala., March 3 — Representative John Lewis, whose political career grew out of the civil rights movement, had longed for the day he could vote for someone that he believed could become the nation’s first black president. So when Senator Barack Obama entered the race, he was on the cusp of declaring his support.

Until Bill Clinton called.

Now, Mr. Lewis said, he is agonizing over whether to choose Mr. Obama, whom he once described as “the future of the Democratic Party,” or Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

“One day I lean one way, the next day I lean another way,” said Mr. Lewis, Democrat of Georgia. “Sometimes, you have to have what I call an executive session with yourself, a come-to-Jesus meeting, and somehow, some way we will all have to make a decision.”

In the opening stretch of the 2008 Democratic presidential contest, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama and John Edwards, the former North Carolina senator, are embroiled in what party officials believe is one of the most competitive scrambles for black supporters since the Voting Rights Act was passed four decades ago. The chief rivals will be here on Sunday when the Clintons and Mr. Obama commemorate the 42nd anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when hundreds of activists — Mr. Lewis among them — crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge during a civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery.

Representative Artur Davis, Democrat of Alabama, invited Mr. Obama to deliver the keynote address at the historic Brown Chapel on Sunday. After Mr. Obama agreed, Mr. Davis said, Mrs. Clinton accepted an invitation to speak at a church just down the street. And two days ago, Mr. Clinton said he would join his wife in Selma, the first time since she formally entered the race that he has been called on to use his clout so directly to give her a hand.

“Her timing speaks for itself,” said Mr. Davis, who supports Mr. Obama.

It will be the first time Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama share the same campaign turf, and curiosity was building Saturday evening as hundreds gathered in the historic district for the weekend festival. Aides to Mrs. Clinton dismissed suggestions that they were following Mr. Obama, but members of Congress traveling to Selma said they were encouraged by her allies to attend her speech, not his.

Mr. Obama also adjusted his schedule, a spokesman said, postponing a fund-raiser in Boston on Sunday evening after learning that the Clintons would be attending the daylong series of events here.

Mr. Edwards declined an invitation. He plans to be in California on Sunday to deliver a speech — about Selma and civil rights — at the University of California, Berkeley.

Black voters are a crucial component of the Democratic electorate. In 2004, despite intensive efforts by President Bush to break the Democratic dominance, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts won about 89 percent of the black vote.

In contested primaries, particularly in South Carolina, black support could be vital to the Democratic nominee. About 50 percent of the primary voters in South Carolina are black, and the state is fourth in line on the nominating calendar. Alabama, where about 60 percent of the primary voters are black, is making plans to move its contest to Feb. 2. And at least 16 states are considering voting on Feb. 5, including Florida, California, Illinois, New York and Texas, all states where black voters could hold considerable sway.

But the weekend appearances also offer a window into a broader struggle among the candidates to define themselves to the country and to associate themselves with the legacy of the civil rights movement in a way that could help them appeal not only to blacks but also to white Democratic voters who are proud of their party’s role in that struggle.

Mr. Obama, who was born in 1961, four years before the Selma march, grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia, far from the civil rights battles that played out in the American South. While he plunged into racial issues as a young adult, he has traveled to the region only in recent years, beginning to build relationships with older leaders of the movement.

Mrs. Clinton, who was born in 1947, had her political sensibilities forged during the tumult of the late 1960s. She has benefited from her husband’s immense popularity among black voters, built gradually during their years in Arkansas and then the White House. Mr. Clinton will be in Selma to be inducted into the Voting Rights Hall of Fame.

Mr. Edwards, who was born in 1953 and raised in North Carolina, often discusses growing up in the segregated South and the obligation that brings him to address issues of race and class. He has courted black support in both of his presidential campaigns.

For Mrs. Clinton, the Selma appearance could be a test of her ability to connect with black audiences, and of Mr. Clinton’s ability to transfer his political aura to his wife.

It also gives Mr. Obama a chance to show he can compete with the Clintons, both in connecting the language and themes of the civil rights movement to the politics of today and in keeping the spotlight on himself in the middle of a head-to-head political spectacle.

“President Clinton remains popular and Senator Clinton will benefit a lot from that, but there are a lot of African-Americans who see the possibility of this,” said Representative Elijah E. Cummings, Democrat of Maryland, who supports Mr. Obama. “People say, ‘He’s like my son or my grandson, and before I die, I’d like to have a chance to vote for someone who can win.’ ”

Clinton advisers said they were not concerned about polls showing some early signs of a tightened race for black support. They have been honing both a public message and a private political strategy to deal with what they acknowledge is the unmatchable personal appeal of Mr. Obama as a black candidate courting black voters.

“African-Americans historically align with people based on issues, not personality,” said Minyon Moore, a senior Clinton adviser who, among other things, has focused on building support in the black community. “People will look at her record, look at her biography, look at her experience, and support her as a real champion of their issues.”

Asked how Mrs. Clinton would compete for black votes with Mr. Obama Ms. Moore said: “It’s probably a proud moment for us all. But there’s so much history to be made this time around — having the first woman president, having the first African-American nominee, having the first Latino nominee.” The latter was a reference to Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, another Democratic candidate.

Ertharin Cousin, a senior adviser to the Obama campaign, said Mr. Obama needed to introduce himself to all voters, including blacks. “We have a responsibility to tell his story, to paint his narrative,” Ms. Cousin said. “He may not be of the civil rights era, but he is definitely an extension of the work that was done of that era.”

While Mr. Obama must appear credible to civil rights leaders, he is also looking beyond the establishment of black political leaders. He is seeking to give voters a deeper look at him, advisers said, hoping to drive home the notion that a black candidate can win the presidency.

For Mrs. Clinton, the strategy for reaching black voters at this early stage of the campaign involves strong outreach to black elected officials, business leaders and others, followed by phone calls to reinforce her candidacy from her husband and supporters like Robert L. Johnson, who founded Black Entertainment Television.

Mrs. Clinton is seeking to deepen her own relationships with black voters, Mr. Johnson said. “When she’s running for president, it’s far more important that someone say, ‘Gee, it’s Hillary Clinton on the phone,’ and not, ‘President Clinton’s calling to ask if we can support his wife,’ ” Mr. Johnson said. “Hillary knows the black community’s attachment to her husband doesn’t transfer to her.”

It may, however, buy her time to win over voters on her own.

Mr. Lewis, one of the few icons of the civil rights era still active in politics, has been enamored with Mr. Obama since he arrived in Washington. Long before Mr. Lewis knew Mr. Obama would run for president, he invited him to headline a 40th anniversary gala of the Voting Rights Act, saying, “I think the hopes and dreams and aspirations of so many of us are riding on this one man.”

Nevertheless, his strong sentiment toward Mr. Clinton has been enough for him to remain neutral in the presidential race.

“I talked with President Clinton. I know him a little better than I know Mrs. Clinton,” Mr. Lewis said. “Some of us are caught in between, but isn’t it healthy that we have the luxury to choose between two wonderful, gifted politicians?”