According Clinton, in 2008 Obama wasn't electable either... [View all]

[draa]

Bill was trying to do two things with this statement: linking Obama to Jackson in voters' minds and suggesting that Obama can't attract enough white voters to get elected President, so Hillary is the "electable" Democrat. His was seeking to pigeonhole Obama as the "black" candidate -- not only as a matter of pigmentation but also as a matter of voter appeal.

Clinton's campaign operatives were more blatant than the ex-President, shooting out emails comparing Obama and Jackson, noting that in 1988, Jackson won the South Carolina primary with 54% of the vote (to 19% for Al Gore and only 18% for Michael Dukakis, the eventual Democratic nominee).

The Clinton campaign message was transparent: although Obama can win enough black votes to win a few primaries, but he can't prevail in states where whites comprise a huge majority of voters, and certainly isn't as "electable" as Hillary in the November election.

As you can see the "electable" argument is something Clinton has used before. The Democratic Primary in 2008 clearly showed who the "unelectable" candidate was. And, much like this year, it was Hillary Clinton.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-dreier/white-voters-deserve-more_b_83604.html