Andrew Sullivan asks why the question of whether Hillary can win black votes is not focused on as much as the question of whether Obama can win rural, working-class, white votes. I think the answer is that the media pretty much assumes that there's not much doubt as to whether the black vote will vote Democrat no matter what. And in reality, I think that's a pretty safe assumption. But the double standard does reflect, I think, a somewhat condescending attitude on the part of the media, because clearly the media does not treat it as a safe assumption that working-class voters will vote Democrat no matter what. And remember that we've been talking about Democratic voters this entire time, so the working-class voters we're talking about are largely union members and other voters who have been reliably Democratic.
Why, one wonders, would the media not think it's safe to assume that these loyal Democrats will not stay with their party if Obama gets nominated, but that black voters will stay with their party if Clinton gets nominated? Could it perhaps be that the media thinks these rural, working-class voters are a bunch of racists who don't just prefer Clinton to Obama but rather can't accept the possibility of a black president? Maybe?
Why, one wonders, would the media not think it's safe to assume that these loyal Democrats will not stay with their party if Obama gets nominated, but that black voters will stay with their party if Clinton gets nominated? Could it perhaps be that the media thinks these rural, working-class voters are a bunch of racists who don't just prefer Clinton to Obama but rather can't accept the possibility of a black president? Maybe?
About 90-95% of African Americans vote Democrat, while this working class group you identify has much lower loyalty rates for the Democrats, especially the ones who aren't in a union. There is a legitimate battle for that demographic, but the African American demographic appears unmovable for nearly any Republican candidate.
I would like to add that the percentage of the workforce that is union has been on the decline for some time. In 2007, the figure was 12.1% of the workforce according to the DoL's Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the number of union employees grew by 311,000, the percentage of the workforce was essentially the same as the previous year (12% in 2006).