With Hillary Clinton’s commanding victory in West Virginia Tuesday and John Edwards’ endorsement of Barack Obama Wednesday, one question continues to loom over Obama’s candidacy: Can he win the support of white, blue-collar voters?

To answer that question, veteran In These Times senior editor David Moberg traveled to Fort Wayne, Ind. to talk with union officials and voters about the presidential race. In an article in our June issue now available on our Web site, Moberg offers a complex picture of a key Democratic constituency that has yet to commit to the frontrunner.

If Obama ever gives the speech that [former General Electric factory worker] Tom Lewandowski wants, he will have to acknowledge the experiences of a broadly defined working class. He will need to take on the extreme inequalities of wealth, income and power that undermine the potential for shared prosperity, security and opportunity. And he will have to make clear how he would lead a government committed to giving all working people concrete, believable reasons for the hope he has been promising.

"It seems like nobody makes a change, no matter who you elect," retired Fort Wayne autoworker Larry Johnston says. "We elected Democrats, and they didn't change anything. But we need a change, and I don't think McCain will make a change."

Can Obama ultimately win over disillusioned working-class whites? Check out Moberg'’s answer to that question here.

In Axle of Evil, John Patrick Leary reports on the ongoing strike between 3,600 United Auto Workers members and American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM), a major supplier for General Motors. In February, AAM, which made $37 million in profits last year, demanded wage concessions from its workers –from $27 per hour down to $14 per hour. For many of the company’s employees, that wage drop would mean losing their homes.

Rob, who declined to give his last name, says of the proposed $14 hourly wage, "I can honestly tell you that no one would go back for that. The plant life is such that you don't know what it's like unless you work there."

Read the full article here.

And check out this month’s In Person feature –- an interview with comedian Margaret Cho, who, 14 years after ABC pulled the plug on her sitcom “All-American Girl,” will bring “The Cho Show” to VHI this summer. Here’s Cho, who has been honored by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, on the pains and pleasures of the George W. Bush era:

Well, it's been great for comedians but pretty bad for the country. It's a pretty desperate situation. We've ruined our reputation with the rest of the world. We've gone into this needless war with Iraq. People have died. The economy is in terrible shape. At the same time, we've been able to make fun of George Bush and his inability to be a good president and that, in itself, is comedic, though ultimately tragic.

Also, if you’re free the first weekend in June, join thousands of activists committed to building a better media in Minneapolis at the 2008 National Conference for Media Reform (June 6-8). Presented by Free Press, the event features Bill Moyers, Amy Goodman, Dan Rather, Arianna Huffington and many more. For details and registration, head over here. The staff of In These Times’ looks forward to seeing you there.

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