Obama tells black voters he'll take it as a 'personal insult' if they don't turn out for Hillary

"Vote for Hillary because it's very exciting to think of electing her. She would be such a great president." Oh. Sorry. Just kidding. If you're looking for an argument to motivate Democrats to get out and vote, you don't want to use the one offered above, because your objective is not to get everyone a) laughing at you; or b) groaning with disgust. As Democrats grow increasingly desperate amidst the dramatic shift in the polls toward Donald Trump, they have to offer some sort of rationale to motivate their base. It's a tough sell. Hillary is a historically awful candidate, liked by virtually no one. Even her loyalists are mere hangers-on who enjoy getting a cut of the Clintons' graft and corruption. Everyone else can see that she's a corrupt, lying sleaze.

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So, President Obama, your job is to give black voters some reason to care about going to the polls for Hillary. Tough assignment. What do you say? Well, knowing the tendency of black voters to close ranks around you, the only argument you have really is to make it personal, and all about you:

“We have achieved historic turnout in 2008 and 2012, especially in the African-American community. I will consider it a personal insult and an insult to my legacy if this community lets down its guard and fails to activate itself in this election," he said. "You want to give me a good send-off? Go vote." Obama's reelection in 2012 marked a record turnout for black voters, and 93 percent of them backed Obama over Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, according to exit polls. A recent Washington Post report gave Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, an 80 percent lead over GOP nominee Donald Trump among black voters But Obama warned the audience to not sit back.

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"If you care about our legacy, realize everything we stand for is at stake. All the progress we’ve made is at stake in this election. "My name may not be on the ballot, but our progress is on the ballot. Tolerance is on the ballot. Democracy is on the ballot. Justice is on the ballot. Good schools are on the ballot. Ending mass incarceration, that's on the ballot right now," he said. "And there is one candidate who will advance those things, and there is another candidate whose defining principle, the central theme of his candidacy, is opposition to all that we’ve done. There's no such thing as a vote that doesn’t matter; it all matters."

In her keynote address at the dinner, Clinton similarly presented herself as a way to carry on Obama's legacy while warning against a Trump presidency without mentioning him by name. So not only did Obama make it all about Obama and not about Hillary at all, but when Hillary took the stage, she did the same. Apparently even she is figuring out that no one is enthusiastic about electing her. But back to Obama: The nature of his appeal here demonstrates that he recognizes black voters feel a certain tribal loyalty to him, one that often takes precedent over very real differences. A lot of black voters, especially those in the black church community, do not agree with Obama's stands on things like gay marriage, abortion and transgenderism. Many of them even recognize that Obama is outwardly hostile toward Christianity, his self-identification as a Christian notwithstanding.

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But they also feel a certain responsibility to have his back because he's the first black president. They may talk amongst themselves about their issues with him, but they will accept none of it from anyone else. To some degree, it's understandable that given the civil rights history of this country, black leaders would feel compelled to close ranks around Obama. But how far do you expect people to go in marching off to the polls and doing what they're told just because Obama has made it personal? Whether you consider it acceptable or not that some black voters backed Obama because of his race, the fact is that some felt compelled to do so. Let's just stipulate that without getting too philosophical about it. In no way does that mean Hillary is entitled to the same consideration. And if Democrats think they can exercise mass command over black voters just by trotting out Obama to tell them what to do, I think they're going to find there are limits to that closing of ranks. If Obama feels personally insulted by voters disinclination to back Hillary, he needs to get over himself. A nation's election is not about how he personally feels. If a large number of black voters are figuring out that Hillary would be an awful president and they're keeping an open mind about voting for Donald Trump, then they need to do what they think is right for the country, not what would prevent the hurting of Barack Obama's feelings. I have enough respect for black voters that I expect them to think for themselves and do what's right for the country, not what some self-appointed tribal leader instructs them to do. Too bad the Democrats don't have that same respect for them.

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