A VIEW FROM-- AND OF-- MICHIGAN

-by Mags

Hillary can claim to have won Michigan and her supporters can continue to parrot the excuse that Obama did not want to run here, but neither of them are true.

I asked Howie if I could wax poetic about the Edwards endorsement of Barak Obama in Grand Rapids Michigan the other day. I know, I know it is all over the blogosphere, but not so much from a uniquely Michigan perspective (Is there such a thing?).

Before the brouhaha about the Michigan primary, it is my guess that John Edwards would have carried Michigan. A lot of mud is slung at Obama from on high in the Clinton campaign which of course ends up being repeated, right or wrong, among her supporters. The song goes a little like this, Obama did not want Michigan’s support. Or another version, Obama thought pulling out of the primary would embarrass Mrs. Clinton. Still no one points to the fact that Biden, Edwards, and Richardson also pulled their names off the ballot. We can call that a primary, but it certainly does not look like a primary or smell like a primary, nor does it act like a primary.

With our delegates barred many of us did not get why we should vote at all. Our choices were Hillary, Kucinich, and uncommitted. Many of us were committed, just not to Hillary. And, if the delegates were not going to be seated, then why did it matter? From the get go the DNC disenfranchised voters in Michigan. The plan to hold another primary does not hold water. Michigan is broke. We can barely function as a state, where is the money going to come from? Hillary backers? And, why now change all the campaign schedules for a vote that will not yield an overall gain for Senator Clinton?

When I first heard Hillary claim she won Michigan, I could see right where she was planning to go with that and it raised my hackles.

I know you think this leads me far from the Obama Edwards appearance in Grand Rapids, but bear with me.

The big claim of Hillary is that Obama cannot win the white hard working American vote. I can tell you this, it doesn’t get any whiter than West Michigan. And, hard working? Even though this is not Detroit, it is still a hub (or was) of manufacturing. It is also farm country. The Calvinist Dutch who dominate here are from the stock that washed the streets of Holland. I know this because I am Dutch, but I am not Dutch like they are Dutch. These are the people who believe they are favored by God and that is why they have stuff (here you can imagine Bernadette Peters inflection when she says “stuff” in the movie The Jerk).

Not only are these folks here hard working white guys, but they are also hunters and fishermen. This is the hunting capital of the world. This is not the south, but let me just tell you this, if you are ever traveling northwards and are homesick for the south, then stop by rural West Michigan and you will feel right at home.

Obama announced his visit here two days before it was to occur. His rally was held in the Van Andel Arena named for Dutch Republican Amway Founder Jay Van Andel which seats about 10,000. Unlike George Bush and other GOP candidates they did not have to bus in Democrats for a crowd. The doors to the arena were locked by 6 PM. It was filled to capacity and some hundreds outside the arena stayed there to watch a broadcast from inside.

Imagine that, the arena was filled with a bunch of hard working white people, pasty white people. Remember this is western Michigan.

What a perfect venue for Barack to fill on the heels of Hillary’s claims about white America, her claims of winning Michigan, her claims now about it not being about the math, but the map. I am not sure what other signals she needs.

Now, add to Obama’s appearance the endorsement of John Edwards the favorite of Michiganders of all stripes. Even Republicans liked John Edwards. Michigan, a couple of years earlier, had rejected the leadership of Dick DeVos (the other Dutch Republican founder of Amway) when he ran against our current Governor, Jennifer Granholm (who I am sorry to say supports Clinton).

That is the story, straight from one Michigan resident. We had no primary that Hillary can claim to have won. On Wednesday after such a long election season some folks in Michigan finally got a chance to show their support for someone other than Hillary, and Barack Obama was their choice. John Edwards was right. Here in Michigan we would like to see John on that ticket with Obama, but I understand that that is not politically expedient in this election and by all means I say we win the election.

With so many young people inspired and older people inspired I say let’s start the race. Let’s declare Obama the candidate and move on.

Contrary to what Clinton and Ferraro think, I would vote for Obama even if he were white. It seems to me even more than fair that hard working black people have a choice besides some pasty white person whether it be Clinton or McCain. Besides, isn’t Barack half white? Why don’t we talk about that half for awhile?