Clinton fails to get needed game-changer
May 7, 2008 -- Barack Obama won a resounding victory in North Carolina after the worst two-week stretch in his campaign. And Clinton, fueled by a burst of energy from her convincing win in Pennsylvania last month, barely eked out a win in Indiana despite her full-throated populist appeal in that largely blue-collar state.
By BETH FOUHY
WASHINGTON _ Hillary Rodham Clinton needed a game changer. Instead, it's almost game over.
Barack Obama won a resounding victory in North Carolina after the worst two-week stretch in his campaign. And Clinton, fueled by a burst of energy from her convincing win in Pennsylvania last month, barely eked out a win in Indiana despite her full-throated populist appeal in that largely blue-collar state.
There are six primaries left in the Democrats' epic battle for the nomination, but Tuesday's results were decisive on their own: They offered Clinton her last, best chance to turn the tables on her rival, and she didn't even come close.
"It's bad news for Hillary Clinton, but frankly I think the game changed a long time ago," said unaligned Democratic strategist Garry South. "Barack Obama has outraised her substantially, he's won more states, more pledged delegates, and is ahead in the popular vote. It's obvious he's outperformed her."
Indeed, Obama managed to outpace Clinton through a period that tested his mettle and political skills more than any other in the 15-month campaign. In a stretch that pitted Clinton's gritty determination against Obama's calm fortitude, the Illinois senator prevailed.
To be sure, Obama is still struggling to win some demographic groups, notably blue-collar white voters, who are a key component of the Democratic base.
Among whites without college degrees, Clinton outdid Obama by 64 percent to 35 percent in Indiana, and 71 percent to 26 percent in North Carolina. The New York senator and her surrogates have trumpeted that advantage, hoping to persuade the so-called superdelegates likely to decide the race will that she would be the stronger Democratic candidate in the general election.
Seeking to broaden her advantage with that group, Clinton fashioned herself as the champion of the working class, railing against Wall Street "money brokers" and promoting a summer federal gas tax holiday widely panned by economists and many Democrats.
Obama denounced Clinton's gas tax proposal as an unabashed pander. Clinton aides were giddy, feeling that they had drawn Obama into an argument over the economy, which has long been viewed as her strong suit.
Obama was also forced to contend with the re-emergence of his controversial former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, who made incendiary statements at a Washington press conference last week. Among other things, he suggested the U.S. government may have developed the AIDS virus to infect the black community and had invited the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Exit polls showed the Wright imbroglio did influence about half the voters in both states as they weighed which candidate to choose.
Yet none of that shook the fundamentals of the race, as the results Tuesday demonstrated. Obama remains ahead of Clinton in every measure, and the final jury — superdelegates — have been trending his way, even as he charted rough seas. His strong showing in North Carolina and Indiana will undoubtedly speed up that pace.
Clinton, meanwhile, is low on cash and her anemic performance Tuesday means she may not be able to rely on a surge in Internet fundraising that she saw after winning primaries in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas. She will meet with superdelegates Wednesday and attend an evening fundraiser in Washington — both key tests of her chances going forward.
She also continues to be dogged by an "honest gap" — hardly a strong suit in making the case to superdelegates that she is the more electable candidate. Exit polls in North Carolina found just 49 percent of voters believe Clinton is honest and trustworthy, compared to 71 percent for Obama. In Indiana, 54 percent said Clinton is honest, while 66 percent said Obama is.
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Clinton fails to get needed game-changer
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View All Comments »mruth at 05/08/2008 11:13:38 AM
Comment:
I agree with you 100%.
LA at 05/08/2008 9:30:28 AM
Comment:
My comment is that I feel that Hillary actually helped Obama in some ways:
1) She used a boot camp approach to get him ready for what he would face in the general election by "exposing" any weaknesses he may have had going into the race. This early exposure will now be known as a thing in the past and will not hold water with McCain-it's old news and we heard it all before!
2) Her staying in this race could help her supporters actually transition to Obama and put to rest the speculations that he cannot win. Either way, I do not believe that her supporters would vote McCain and not vote for Obama simply because I am sure that they don't want another 4 years of the same BS. Right now, people are hurt and still wanting to find a reason NOT to vote for Obama and it is due to racial divides. But I think that Hillary can and should reassure her supporters to do the right thing and that really should be her exit strategy.
Although her supporters would feel more decisive about voting for Obama if she was on the ticket as VP, I think that is a marriage that would head for a divorce! I say that only because Hill would push her own agenda, Bill would push his weight and that would almost leave Barack like a stepchild in the White House! So I am not feeling that union at all!
Here's something for thought: how about Obama-Powell? That would be major! Two African-American men--one who is a Dem, the other a Rep! Can't be any more bi-partisan than that, right?
csfoster at 05/07/2008 4:13:52 PM
Comment:
The Fat Lady has sung. The results of last night's elections in North Carolina and Indiana was in effective Senator Clinton's last stanza in her bid for a plausible claim to emerging as the Democratic Nominee. It is not going to happen unless Senator Obama completely implodes as a result of a controversy greater than Reverend Wright. And that is very hard to imagine.
So in effect, Senator Clinton now has two choices.....she can take the high road or the low road.
Contrary to what many may believe, I believe that, with less than a month to go and in honor of her supporters, her high road will be to compete in the last six primaries and do so focusing on critical issues without going no where near negative on Senator Obama. Her purpose will be to help build the democratic party turnout in the remaining primaries and to start letting her supporters know across the board that regardless of who the Democratic Nominee is, at the end of the primary season they will all get behind that nominee to insure that Senator McCain does not win in November.
And very soon after the end of the primary season, Senator Clinton will gracefully recognize Senator Obama as the presumptive Democratic Party Nominee based on the pledged delegate count of the primaries and the fact that the majority of the superdelegates will have publicly made their choice of Senator Obama known. Incidentally, I believe the remaining issue of seating the delegates of Michigan and Florida will be resolved by awarding 50% of the Michigan delegates to both candidates and dividing the Florida delegates on the basis of the votes cast. At that point, the 2,209 delegate threshold will have been crossed by Senator Obama and Senator Clinton will follow through with her pledge to work hard on behalf of Senator Obama and uniting the Democratic Party to ensure that a democrat is elected as our new president in November.
Senator Clinton will respectively decline Senator Obama's invitation to run on his ticket as the VP and perhaps instead accept an invitation to serve as the new administration's Secretary of Health and Human Services for the purpose of implementing Universal Health Care thus adding to her legacy.
She will be taking the low road by doing anything else than the above.
I believe Senator Clinton will take the high road because any other road will ruin her and President Clinton's legacy which at this moment is still held in high regard.
Meanwhile, Senator Obama will also take the high road by continuing to reach out to Reagan Democrats and focusing on Senator McCain in preparation for the November election.
Taking the High Road!
Caryl S. Foster