The Semi-Solid South

Ken Silverstein talks to Chris Kromm, the Executive Director of the Institute for Southern Studies, about Obama's chances in the south. Kromm:

The G.O.P.’s Southern Strategy goes back decades, which built the South as the party’s base. Republican dominance reached its peak in the South in the mid-1990s. There’s been a gradual chipping away at that, which is what we’re seeing this year. Democrats have had more and more potential to win here during recent election cycles, as conditions have changed to undermine the G.O.P. base. There are dramatic demographic changes, as in Mississippi, for example, with its large African-American population and a skyrocketing Latino population. Combine those sorts of changes with urbanization and other factors. Obama, because of his immense fund-raising prowess, has spent a lot of money and tried to capitalize on all of this. In the South, Democrats traditionally just throw up their hands and refuse to fight.