By Mike Dorning
Barack Obama began airing radio ads in South Carolina today featuring Chicago Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., son of the prominent civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
The senior Jackson won the South Carolina Democratic primary during his 1988 campaign for president, a victory the younger Jackson recalled in the ad, which is airing on gospel and R&B stations with a predominantly African-American audience.
“Once, South Carolina voted for my father, and sent a strong message to the nation,” the younger Jackson said. “Next year, you can send more than a message. You can launch a President.”
The advertising campaign comes a month after Jackson’s father criticized Obama for “acting like he’s white” because the Illinois senator did not speak more aggressively in the racially charged “Jena 6” case. The elder Jackson, who is supporting Obama, later said the remark was taken out of context.
African-Americans are a crucial demographic group in the South Carolina primary, a key early contest in the presidential nomination. They comprised about half the electorate in the Democratic presidential primary in 2004.The younger Jackson lauded Obama for legislation he passed in the Illinois state senate combating racial profiling and for seeking to counter “the railroading of the poor in the justice system.”
Though Jackson did not mention front-runner Hillary Clinton in the ad, he appeared to suggest Obama would better represent the interests of blacks.
“A lot of politicians call themselves our friends,” Jackson said.
“But Obama has a heart that beats for our community. And he’s dedicated his life to the struggle,” added Jackson, who cited Obama’s work as a community organizer on Chicago’s South Side and as an attorney working on voting rights cases.