Obama's south Florida challenge

This is just frightening. And I still don't understand it.

"I don't trust [Obama] at all," said Harriet Roberts, of Weston.

"I just think he's a snake," said Lucille Friedman, of Sunrise.

"I come from Cuba, and to me, when he speaks he sounds like Fidel Castro," said Susana Serrano, of Pompano Beach.

These weren't Republicans or independents talking. These were dyed-in-the-wool Democrats I spoke to as they awaited Hillary Clinton's last hurrah at a Sunrise Lakes condo clubhouse on Wednesday.

"If he gets the nomination, I doubt he could ever win Florida," said Irwin Bronstein, 85, of Sunrise, a Clinton backer who said he would vote for Obama. "I've heard people say they won't vote. I've heard people say they'd vote for [ John] McCain. I think we all know what this is."

Fear. Distrust. And downright prejudice.

"I think when you're dealing with older people they're still in the mentality of another era," said Jordan Gralnik, 65, of Sunrise. "When I go to the deli for breakfast, you should hear some of the things people say. Stuff like, 'Oh, he's going to empty the prisons.' Or that he's part of a big conspiracy with the Arabs. And these are lifelong Democrats. I think it's so stupid."

Just this morning, I was talking with an otherwise intelligent and reasonably well-informed friend about the fact that I'll see Obama today, and she said that she was curious about his faith, since "he's not Christian." I asked her how she could say that, and she replied, "well, isn't he Muslim?" "How can he be Muslim and still be criticized for things his pastor of 20 years said?" I retorted.

This is the key problem, and the Republicans and MSM have done a wonderful job of obfuscation and outright lying about Obama. He is a member of the United Church of Christ and is not a Muslim. Yet that meme still is out there, and I've seen firsthand that people believe it.

And yet, there seems to be more than just an anti-Obama sentiment around here.

For sure, many Clinton supporters will rally around Obama once the nomination is officially his, presuming Clinton urges reconciliation and party unity.

"Maybe I'd listen to her," said Lucille Friedman, the one who called Obama "a snake."

Then there are others, like Harriet Roberts, who says she won't vote at all if Obama is the nominee. "He just came out of the blue," said Roberts, 72. "There's just so much of his background we don't know."

Neyda Otero, 47, and her daughter Sara Plana, who turns 18 in July, said they might vote for minor-party candidates.

"As a Cuban, I would never sit out an election," said Otero, of Oakland Park. "But I will not vote for Obama. Not because of the race issue, but because of what the Democratic party has done to Florida and to women. The way the party has treated Hillary is just appalling."

Hillary Clinton really holds all the cards here. She's in a position of extraordinary power for someone who is about to lose her party's presidential nomination. If she embraces (figuratively, I mean) Obama, she can help unify the party behind him and persuade her supporters not to defect to Huggy Bear (or stay home). But if she snubs him or just fades into the background, or if she persists too much longer in the folly that she still can win the nomination, Democratic divisiveness will continue and it will be a big boost to Huggy and the GOP. Of course, I don't see how the Democratic Party has mistreated Sen. Clinton, but then again, I have a penis ...

At any rate, Obama and the party must make damn sure that he becomes extraordinarily well-known between now and November. For a voter to say "there's so much of his background we don't know" speaks volumes about their own ignorance and failure to investigate for themselves, but the sad thing is that this is how most voters operate. They must be spoonfed information, and so Sen. Obama had better have a lot of spoons ready.

Meanwhile, the country will be watching Sen. Clinton's actions and reactions. Please -- for the sake of the nation -- do the right thing, Senator. Don't sell out America for the sake of your ambition.