|
Posted on 05.14.08 by Stephen Covington @ 4:16 am
Out where the blue ticks bay and the cardinals sing, where mountaineers roam and the banjos twang, Hillary Clinton has won what might be one of her last few significant victories ahead of similar small states like Montana and South Dakota in June. West Virginia has gone to Clinton. Yep, West Virginia, a fairly conservative state which wouldn’t vote for Barack Obama even if he paid everyone with pure gold ingots and delicious snacks. WV is pretty heavily Democrat at the state level, but national elections are another tale entirely - Bush won in 2000 and 2004. Clinton probably didn’t even have to don a pair of overalls to pull this one off. It doesn’t change the fact that she’s still going to get smashed. I would say it’s time to hang it up, but it can’t hurt to have her keep slinging at Obama. Filed under: Barack Obama and Campaign 2008 and Democrats and Election Results and Hillary Clinton Comments: None |
|
Posted on 05.06.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 11:27 pm
To the delight of most Republicans, it appears that Hillary Clinton could win a very narrow victory in Indiana tonight. Early returns put her up by more than 10%, but as the numbers keep coming in that will narrow. However, CNN’s exit polls show her with about a 2-3% lead over Barack Obama. That may be a sign that she’s going to pull this one off — but just barely. It doesn’t save her or change the dynamic of the race very much, but it does hold off the idea of a knock-out punch from Obama. Clinton will live to fight another day, and the race will go on. No word yet from North Carolina, but the leaked exit polls show an easy win for Obama. If it’s a double-digit defeat, that’s going to be hard to spin for Hillary. We’ll just have to wait and see how things unfold the rest of the night. Filed under: Barack Obama and Campaign 2008 and Election Results and Hillary Clinton Comments: None |
|
Posted on 05.06.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 6:45 pm
Could tonight’s Democratic primaries in North Carolina and Indiana spell the end of Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the White House? Maybe. Final Zogby polling suggests that Clinton is behind by 14 points in North Carolina and 2 points in the essential Indiana contest. Now, I suppose that North Carolina can be partially written off as a case of “demographics” - which is her code word for a state with a high African-American population. But an Obama win in Indiana would all but end the race tonight. If Obama wins both states, there’s really only one good strategy left. The Clinton campaign should shift everything it has into a last-ditch attempt to win (and win BIG) in West Virginia next week. It wouldn’t help her much in the delegate race, but the symbolic victory would give her the ability to go into immediate negotiations for the Vice-Presidential spot on the ticket. Filed under: Campaign 2008 and Hillary Clinton Comments: None |
|
Posted on 04.27.08 by Stephen Covington @ 4:08 pm
Recent campaign expenditure reports show that both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have spent a combined $110 million vying for the Democratic nomination. Obama alone is near $70 million as compared to Kerry’s $20 million in 2004, and is outpacing Clinton 2-1 in television spots in the key states of North Carolina and Indiana, which will hold primaries on May 6. Obama already stands to outdo Clinton in North Carolina, which has significant numbers of liberal voters in specific enclaves, and a large black population. Areas around Raleigh have seen significant growth in the last decade as younger voters have moved into the state seeking jobs in the “research triangle” region that focuses on the high-tech and bioscience sectors. Indiana, although politically dominated by Democrats, is fairly conservative and has a long history as a “red state” in Presidential general elections, which could play in favor of Clinton. Her convincing win in Pennsylvania shows that she is still relevant in the eyes of conservative Democrats who haven’t gone over to the Obama camp. Indiana could either reinforce this, or be a coup for Obama if he can garner more of the traditionalists in the party. An Obama win in NC and Clinton taking Indiana would allow Hillary to hang on, but barely. Filed under: Barack Obama and Campaign 2008 and Democrats and Hillary Clinton Comments: None |
|
Posted on 04.20.08 by Stephen Covington @ 12:20 am
With 188 delegates at stake, this coming Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Pennsylvania is shaping up to be a make-or-break event for the Clinton campaign, which has recently seen a string of strategic endorsements go to Obama. The list includes former Clinton Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, former senator Sam Nunn, Nebraska Democratic State Chairman Steve Achelpohl and even singer Bruce Springsteen. Pennsylvania is seen as a stronghold state for Clinton, with large numbers of working class voters, high levels of union membership and a labor force that has seen significant displacement from manufacturing and industrial jobs. A Zogby poll on 4/18 has Clinton at 47% to Obama at 42%, with a 5-point margin of error. A Rasumussen taken on 4/17 seems to agree, with Clinton at 47% and Obama at 45%, with a 3% margin of error. Obama is running competitively in the state, maintaining at least 30 field offices and blasting the airwaves with TV ads. Geographically, the candidate’s strong areas in the state are divided; Clinton has a lot of support in the western area of Pittsburgh, traditionally associated with heavy industry. Obama has a great deal of momentum in Philadelphia, with its large numbers of black voters who traditionally vote Democrat. The rest of the state is pretty much up for grabs. This is the first time that Pennsylvania has played a decisive role in any presidential election since 1976. Clinton needs to win the state somewhat decisively; a slim margin of victory would be considered a plus for Obama, showing that Clinton’s support is eroding quickly. A win for Obama would almost certainly knock Clinton out of the race as a serious contender. Many superdelegates may make up their mind based on what they see on Tuesday, or in the early-May primaries in Indiana and North Carolina. Filed under: Barack Obama and Democrats and Hillary Clinton Comments: 3 Comments |
|
Posted on 03.26.08 by Stephen Covington @ 6:13 pm
At a recent campaign stop for her mother, Chelsea Clinton was asked whether the Lewinsky affair had damaged her mother’s credibility. Clinton swatted the question away by remarking that it was not anyone’s business. The resulting storm of media attention to the topic has reminded everyone about the overbaked scandal from the late 1990s, an unfortunate and tired memory which it seems we may never leave behind us. A better question is: Why does Lewinsky even matter? Who actually has the time to care about such a trivial issue? The whole situation seemed like a waste of time from the beginning - but now we’re bringing it up again? Why curse the next generation with this well-worn topic? Most people have moved on - Lewinsky herself now has a degree in social psychology, Kenneth Starr is back to private practice (he’s representing Blackwater), and Bill Clinton hasn’t been the president for nearly a decade. Surely there must be more important topics to discuss than this personality-driven morass we now find oursevles in. If there aren’t, then that’s a statement of the shabby level of discourse in American politics. We have a troubled economy, energy policy is quite a pressing issue, China is growing incredibly quickly and we have a rapidly aging Boomer population. Even reporting darkened streetlights to the local utility would be more of a contribution than discussing the Lewinsky scandal. Find something worthwhile to talk about! Filed under: Campaign 2008 and Democrats and Hillary Clinton Comments: 1 Comment |
|
Posted on 03.08.08 by Stephen Covington @ 9:09 am
Aware that she might not do extremely well against Obama in a state with a rapidly growing population of young and middle-aged urban transplants, Hillary Clinton has reevaluated her expectations for Wyoming’s primary, scheduled for later today.
Clinton has recently gained traction against Obama in Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island, where she significantly made up for her previously stunning losses in delegates. The race between Clinton and Obama is still tightly contested, and in the end may be decided almost solely by “super-delegates”, high-profile members who are not expressly pledged the way that normal delegates are. A win by Clinton is considered favorable for Republicans, who may be better able to summon their ranks against her, versus opposing Obama, who seems to be able to pull from the center more effectively. Filed under: Barack Obama and Campaign 2008 and Democrats and Hillary Clinton Comments: 7 Comments |
|
Posted on 02.19.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 9:48 pm
Oh boy, more videos of Obama supposedly stealing rhetoric from Gov. Deval Patrick have surfaced. The Clinton’s have been banging this drum all day and it’s starting to work. The Politico lays out the newest set of similarities… Here is Deval Patrick on June 3, 2006, according to an 11-second YouTube video posted Tuesday afternoon: “I am not asking anybody to take a chance on ME. I’m asking you to take a chance on your OWN aspirations.” Here is Barack Obama on Nov. 2 in Manning, S.C., according to an 11-second YouTube video posted nine minutes later: “I’m not just asking you to take a chance on ME. I’m also asking you to take a chance on your OWN aspirations.” Does it really matter if Obama is borrowing some lines from others? No. But does it diminish the power of what he’s saying? You bet it does. And that’s what Hillary is banking on. Filed under: Barack Obama and Campaign 2008 and Hillary Clinton Comments: 1 Comment |
|
Posted on 02.19.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 9:43 pm
Hillary Clinton’s campaign has decided it has a chance to win in Wisconsin, and they’ve poured resources into the state. It was originally expected she would skip the state and focus on Ohio and Texas. But polls show her within reach in Wisconsin, so they went for it. Trying to break Obama’s 8 state winning streak will be tough, and if she fails… it will hurt. The media has already started to ask the question. A headline on Drudge right now reads: “Would Wisconsin loss doom Hillary?” We shall see. But she’s made a dangerous gamble by betting on Wisconsin. A big loss here just might mean something. Filed under: Barack Obama and Campaign 2008 and Hillary Clinton Comments: None |
|
Posted on 02.17.08 by Austin Cassidy @ 3:08 pm
Here’s another sign that the Democratic nomination is slipping through Hillary Clinton’s fingers, she is giving up on Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary…
What are the odds she can skip over a dozen primaries, lose them all by big margins, and then come back and when the big states that she’s hand picked later on? Well, that strategy worked really well for Rudy Giuliani so I’m sure Hillary will have just as much luck with it. Filed under: Barack Obama and Campaign 2008 and Hillary Clinton Comments: 19 Comments |
| previous posts » |
