Hillary's rural white low information base in their own words

Ugly truth why Hillary Clinton won't quit


BY THOMAS M. DeFRANK - DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

New York Daily News - Wednesday, May 7th 2008

While the case for Hillary Clinton to stay in the race is shakier than ever, one ugly reason for staying in could be found Tuesday amid the ruddy, sun-kissed Hoosiers who cheered her on to victory at the Indianapolis Speedway.

With Clinton posing alongside pioneering Indy speedster Sarah Fisher, there were almost no African-Americans to be seen. Many in the white, working-class crowd were simply not ready to back Barack Obama - for reasons that are disturbing.

"I'm kind of still up in the air between McCain and Hillary," said Jason Jenkins, 32, who cited information from a hoax e-mail as a reason to spurn Obama.

"I'll be honest with you. Barack scares the hell out of me,"he said. "He swore on the Koran."

Obama did manage to pull in many white voters, but still encountered similar sentiments from a man who refused to shake his hand at a diner in Greenwood, Ind.

"I can't stand him," the man said. "He's a Muslim. He's not even pro-American as far as I'm concerned."

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Two separate sources in the Clinton orbit insisted Tuesday night it's now more likely Hillary will pursue her quest until the August convention in Denver - unless party leaders rise up en masse and publicly tell her it's time to stop. The math, after all, remains solidly in Obama's favor.

"I can think of no reason why it would not go to the convention now," one top Hillary Democrat predicted. "Why should she get out?"

Some insiders still want to make sure no new bombshells will explode around the freshman Illinois senator.

"He could slip and stumble some more, her polls could continue to be strong, and once the party decides what to do with Florida and Michigan, his lead in the popular vote will be very narrow," an insider said.

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