Artur Davis bats for Team Obama

Alabama Congressman appears on 'This Week'

Rep. Artur Davis went to bat for '93Team Obama'94 (George Stephanopoulos'92 words, not ours) on the Sunday morning talk show circuit. On This Week, Stephanopoulos moderated the four-way discussion somewhat better than he did the Pennsylvania debate, but he pitched all the Obama race-based questions predictably to the Alabama congressman.



Meanwhile the panelists struggled to keep old arguments fresh. Even Stephanopoulos seemed ready for this Family Guy chicken fight to come to an end.



Davis twice compared Obama'92s campaign to Bill Clinton'92s race in 1992. What'92s more, he said, recent short primary races have spoil Democrats. Between 1968 and 1992, all the Democratic primaries lasted through June.



'93What Barack has to do and what Barack is doing is talking about his own story of struggle,'94 Davis said.



'93He is someone who has faced an enormous amount of hardship but he used the academic process to open doors in this country, as many of us have,'94 Davis said. '93That'92s a story that resonates in Kentucky. That'92s a story that resonates in North Carolina and Indiana, but he has to tell that story.'94



According to Davis, taking the fight to the Republicans'92 stronghold states, primarily in the South, is key to a Democratic victory this fall. Otherwise the party is likely to repeat the 2004 election '93like Groundhog Day.'94



While complimenting the Clintons, Davis warned that, by questioning Obama'92s electability, they were damaging their reputations in the South and among racial progressives.



'93They have, frankly, chipped away and eroded their own legacy,'94 Davis said.