There is an article in this morning's Washington Post
about some of the racial resistance volunteers for Barack Obama have
encountered on the campaign trail. It depressing, and somewhat
misleading, as out in the field racist responses are few and far in
between. But they do happen, and they happen more often in some regions
than in others. A big part of the Post article focuses on Kokomo, Indiana, and it's no big surprise that there is lingering racism there.

On July 4, 1923, Kokomo hosted the largest Klan gathering in history -- an estimated 200,000 followers flocked to a local park.

On Election Day in Kokomo, a group of black high school
students were holding up Obama signs along U.S. 31, a major
thoroughfare. As drivers cruised by, a number of them rolled down their
windows and yelled out a common racial slur for African Americans,
according to Obama campaign staffers.

Frederick Murrell, a black Kokomo High School senior, was not there but
heard what happened. He was more disappointed than surprised. During
his own canvassing for Obama, Murrell said, he had "a lot of doors
slammed" in his face. But taunting teenagers on a busy commercial strip
in broad daylight? "I was very shocked at first," Murrell said. "Then
again, I wasn't, because we have a lot of racism here."

Kokomo is the seat of Howard County, which gave Hillary Clinton 56% of the vote. It lies at the extreme southern edge of Indiana's Second Congressional District, represented by Democratic freshman Joe Donnelly. Progressive Punch
gives Rep. Donnelly a score of 230, meaning that there are only four
Democrats in the House of Representatives that have a less progressive
record. Nevertheless, Rep. Donnelly has endorsed Barack Obama.

"Today, I am pleased to announce my support for Barack
Obama. At a time when too many Americans have lost faith in their
government, Senator Obama can move us beyond the politics of stalemate
and gridlock that has kept us from meeting the monumental challenges of
our time: our dependence on foreign oil, a health care gap that leaves
tens of millions uninsured, the steady deterioration of our
manufacturing base, and an economy that is not working for working
people.

The Democratic Party's strength comes from its core
commitment to the American Dream and from a coalition that is
ideologically, economically, geographically and ethnically diverse.
Barack Obama will stand with working families while building that
coalition so that we can change this country, and that's why he's the
best choice for America."

Rep. Donnelly just alienated a substantial portion of the voters that
he needs to win reelection in this very tough district. This is
leadership. It is moral
leadership. In a district where at least some people have no
compunction about hurling racial epithets and young black and white
Obama volunteers, Donnelly had plenty of incentive to withhold an
endorsement, or to endorse Hillary Clinton. I may not agree with how
Donnelly votes on a whole host of issues, but he has just earned my
respect. Compare his stand with how Bill Clinton is behaving in West Virginia.

"The great divide in this country is not by race or
even income, it's by those who think they are better than everyone else
and think they should play by a different set of rules."

...

"The people in small towns in rural America, who do the work for
America, and represent the backbone and the values of this country,
they are the people that are carrying her through in this nomination."

That's not moral leadership. That's a naked appeal to the lowest common denominator. It's an appeal to the mindset of these voters:

Documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy, the daughter of the
late Robert F. Kennedy, said she, too, came across "a lot of racism"
when campaigning for Obama in Pennsylvania. One Pittsburgh union
organizer told her he would not vote for Obama because he is black, and
a white voter, she said, offered this frank reason for not backing
Obama: "White people look out for white people, and black people look
out for black people."

Real leadership comes from standing right up to those prejudices, as Joe Donnelly did, and saying:

"The Democratic Party's strength comes from its core
commitment to the American Dream and from a coalition that is
ideologically, economically, geographically and ethnically diverse.
Barack Obama will stand with working families while building that
coalition so that we can change this country, and that's why he's the
best choice for America."

That's the kind of leadership this country needs right now. Joe Donnelly gets it. The Clintons do not.