Crossing the presidential campaign corridors for the first time, two top contenders for the Democratic nomination, New York Senator Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama who represents Illinois, marched over (earlier scheduled) the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma to commemorate the 1965 civil rights march and to endeavor for the all important support of black voters in the southern US state.
The Democratic rivals for the 2008 presidential nomination addressed a mass gathering at nearby churches, where 42 years ago a seminal march helped turn the tide against racial discrimination, in Selma.
Both candidates honored the memory of the historic 1965 march that captured the nation’s attention and sped approval of the Voting Rights Act. Both gave speeches at historic black churches in Selma before they make their way across the bridge.
Prelecting a packed out crowd at Brown Chapel AME Church, Obama said,
Because of what they endured, they led a people out of bondage. It’s because of them that the next generation has not been so bloody. It’s because of them I stand before you today.
Clinton in a speech three blocks away at jam packed First Baptist Church expressed the identical premise as well. She asserted,
The Voting Rights Act gave more Americans from every corner of this nation a chance to live out their dreams. Today, it is giving Sen. Obama the chance to run for president, and by its logic and spirit, it is giving the same chance to Gov. Bill Richardson, a Hispanic, and, yes, it is giving me that chance, too.
Apart from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, big personalities, such as Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. (an original participant in the 1965 march) and former president Bill Clinton together with hundreds of others took part in the traditional march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
The challenge between Clinton and Obama for black voters has put black leaders in a tricky situation as they are uncomfortable approving a presidential candidate this early and just want to play safe without revealing their cards.
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The American political climate, which had been so optimistic of late, has started to get ugly again. Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich has likely seen his last payday for a while, along with his chief of staff, John Harris. The FBI on federal corruption charges arrested both on Tuesday morning. Normally, a person in such a high position getting busted for something that big is shocking enough, but it gets worse in that he is the second governor if Illinois in a row to get arrested on federal criminal charges. His predecessor, George Ryan, was arrested a few years ago, on corruption charges as well. Blagojevich evidently assumed that he was King of Illinois and did Barack Obama recently vacate trying to literally sell the Senate seat. According to Illinois law, the governor determines who fills the seat, and Blagojevich figured that it was a quick way to make a buck or two. Well, it would be an understatement to say he got a little greedy. The FBI compiled a 76-page indictment against Harris and Blagojevich. He was caught on wiretap last month, and the FBI waited to get even more evidence against him, which they did. He claims that everything he did and said was legal. Residents of the state of Illinois will just have to wait and see. The climate in DC appears to be hopeful for now, but darker clouds are on the horizon for Blagojevich and his buddy, Harris. It’s likely they’ve seen their last paydays in office.
Click to read more on Blagojevich courtesy of Personal Money Store’s Payday Loan News.