Among white Democratic voters earning less than $50,000 a year, Clinton received nearly 66 per cent votes while Obama got 24. Clinton won 71 per cent of the vote from white members of labour union households, leading Obama by a striking 43 points.

Sixty-nine per cent of white voters who attend church once a week supported Clinton, while 31 per cent supported Obama. Among those non-religious white voters, Obama received a 52 per cent majority of the vote, compared to 48 per cent for Clinton.

Among white Catholics, who have traditionally picked the eventual winners, Clinton got 71 per cent of the vote. Clinton also did well among white Protestants, although with a much smaller margin — 59 per cent to 41 per cent for Obama.

Obama’s remarks about ‘bitter’ small towners clinging onto ‘religion and guns’ amidst economic frustrations, made him vulnerable to charges of ‘elitism’ and ‘political condescension’ and have cost him dearly in Pennsylvania.

The larger problem is that Obama, who gets strong support from white liberals and upper middle classes as well as an overwhelming majority of African American voters in the Democratic Party, has been unable to connect with the majority of simple, god-fearing blue collar folk in the American heartland. Clinton will highlight this vulnerability in the next few weeks to force the Democrats to rethink in her favour.

Southern discomfort

As the Democratic race continues, Clinton is expected to narrowly win in the mid-western state Indiana, which has a large white working class population like in Pennsylvania. Polls also suggest that Obama enjoys a significant lead over Clinton in the southern state of North Carolina. Together they offer 187 delegates, 29 more than Pennsylvania.

... contd.