ANALYSIS

Obama collapse in final contests may be Clinton's best hope

 

Senator Hillary Clinton listening to her introduction at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, on Monday. (Mike Mergen/Bloomberg News)

 

By Adam Nagourney

Published: March 24, 2008

 

 

 

WASHINGTON: To listen to some of the discussion about the Democratic presidential contest these days, one would think that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton should have spent Easter weekend at her home in Chappaqua, New York, writing her withdrawal speech and preparing for her return to the Senate.

 

Make no mistake about it; Clinton's task in trying to overtake Senator Barack Obama of Illinois is daunting. And it grew even tougher last week, when the collapse of efforts to redo the Florida and Michigan primaries almost certainly ended her hope of narrowing Obama's lead in pledged delegates and being able to claim a majority of the popular vote when the voting is done.

 

But it is still not impossible. There remains at least one scenario where Clinton could win. It is an increasingly unlikely one and one that could traumatize the Democratic Party. Still, it gives succor to her supporters, and presumably Clinton herself, and is something to keep in mind watching the two of them head toward the endgame of their contest.

 

The electorate that matters most now are not the voters waiting to go to the polls in the 10 nominating contests that remain between now and June. Instead, it is the superdelegates - the elected officials and party leaders who have automatic status as uncommitted delegates and whose votes are needed to put either Obama or Clinton over the top.

 

There are about 800 of them and they are going be weighing two main arguments: Obama's contention that the Democratic rank-and-file has expressed its will and superdelegates should not overturn it, and Clinton's brief that she offers the party the best chance to defeat Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican, this fall.

 

Obama's side of the argument has become almost unassailable, while Clinton's is, at the least, open to debate. Clinton's best hope now is that Obama, as a candidate, suffers a political collapse akin to what has happened to the subprime mortgage market, a view shared by aides in both campaigns.

 

How could that happen? First of all, Clinton not only has to win Pennsylvania on April 22; she has to swamp Obama there.

 

And she has to go on and post a convincing win against Obama in Indiana, a state where the two appear evenly matched. Results like that would serve to underscore concerns among some Democrats that came after Clinton beat Obama in Ohio, suggesting he was having trouble getting blue-collar white voters into his column. That is one constituency that aides to McCain see very much in play this fall.

 

Along the same lines, Clinton would get some wind if she trounces Obama in the June 3 contest in Puerto Rico. Obama has had trouble with Clinton in competing for Latino voters. And that has been duly noted by McCain's aides who said they are beginning to see a general election upside - among Hispanic voters in a contest against Obama - to the problems that McCain's support of immigration legislation caused him in the primaries.

 

That is one reason why the endorsement that Obama won last week from Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who is one of the country's leading elected Hispanic officials, had significance going far beyond the Democratic nominating contest.

 

But neither of those two factors would be enough. What Clinton is going to need is for Obama to suffer a collapse in polls by the time superdelegates are being pressed to make up their minds.

 

Could that happen? The most pressing question now is the extent to which Obama has succeeded in dealing with the incendiary statements made by his former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright Jr., which rocked his candidacy last week.

 

Obama won huge praise for the speech he gave addressing his relationship Wright and the state of racial relations in the country. But in this case, as a political matter, the audience that counts is general election voters - not Democratic primary voters, party leaders, editorial writers or television commentators.

 

Two months is a long time, and it is simply too soon to say if the political imprint of an acclaimed speech by Obama will begin to fade, overcome by the potent images of Wright at the pulpit.

 

Superdelegates are by nature political animals. They appreciate the potential political price if they are perceived as overturning the will of voters, and blocking what so many Democrats view as a historic candidate.

 

They are also hungry to win the White House and, in many cases, more committed to the success of the Democratic Party than to the fortunes of any specific candidate.

 

They surely will pause if polls two months from now show McCain with a sudden and sizable lead over Obama.

 

All of which is to say that while all this could happen, it is going to take a near-perfect confluence of forces in Clinton's favor, a turn of luck that has evaded her this year.

Looking at the nature of politicians, I really hope Obama gets the nomination, though I would support Hillary over McCain, if it came down to the general and somehow she won the nomination. Basically, politics here is about investment payoffs, and Hillary is pretty crass looking to me; McCain's worse in some ways. Obama isn't quite so taken by the money, but the influence pedaling is everywhere. Better to bet on someone who gets numerous small contributions, and the endorsement of honest candidates like Kucinich, I think at least then we, the people, have a chance with Obama. Otherwise, its a choice that requires one to hold one's nose while selecting..

This business with Obama's minister may be causing a temporary stir, but I really feel that the voters are wise enough to want change over "experience", and see the light when it comes to selecting someone who works for them, and not the special interests primarily.

 

 

ANALYSIS

Obama collapse in final contests may be Clinton's best hope

 

Senator Hillary Clinton listening to her introduction at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, on Monday. (Mike Mergen/Bloomberg News)

 

By Adam Nagourney

Published: March 24, 2008

 

 

 

WASHINGTON: To listen to some of the discussion about the Democratic presidential contest these days, one would think that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton should have spent Easter weekend at her home in Chappaqua, New York, writing her withdrawal speech and preparing for her return to the Senate.

 

Make no mistake about it; Clinton's task in trying to overtake Senator Barack Obama of Illinois is daunting. And it grew even tougher last week, when the collapse of efforts to redo the Florida and Michigan primaries almost certainly ended her hope of narrowing Obama's lead in pledged delegates and being able to claim a majority of the popular vote when the voting is done.

 

But it is still not impossible. There remains at least one scenario where Clinton could win. It is an increasingly unlikely one and one that could traumatize the Democratic Party. Still, it gives succor to her supporters, and presumably Clinton herself, and is something to keep in mind watching the two of them head toward the endgame of their contest.

 

The electorate that matters most now are not the voters waiting to go to the polls in the 10 nominating contests that remain between now and June. Instead, it is the superdelegates - the elected officials and party leaders who have automatic status as uncommitted delegates and whose votes are needed to put either Obama or Clinton over the top.

 

There are about 800 of them and they are going be weighing two main arguments: Obama's contention that the Democratic rank-and-file has expressed its will and superdelegates should not overturn it, and Clinton's brief that she offers the party the best chance to defeat Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican, this fall.

 

Obama's side of the argument has become almost unassailable, while Clinton's is, at the least, open to debate. Clinton's best hope now is that Obama, as a candidate, suffers a political collapse akin to what has happened to the subprime mortgage market, a view shared by aides in both campaigns.

 

How could that happen? First of all, Clinton not only has to win Pennsylvania on April 22; she has to swamp Obama there.

 

And she has to go on and post a convincing win against Obama in Indiana, a state where the two appear evenly matched. Results like that would serve to underscore concerns among some Democrats that came after Clinton beat Obama in Ohio, suggesting he was having trouble getting blue-collar white voters into his column. That is one constituency that aides to McCain see very much in play this fall.

 

Along the same lines, Clinton would get some wind if she trounces Obama in the June 3 contest in Puerto Rico. Obama has had trouble with Clinton in competing for Latino voters. And that has been duly noted by McCain's aides who said they are beginning to see a general election upside - among Hispanic voters in a contest against Obama - to the problems that McCain's support of immigration legislation caused him in the primaries.

 

That is one reason why the endorsement that Obama won last week from Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who is one of the country's leading elected Hispanic officials, had significance going far beyond the Democratic nominating contest.

 

But neither of those two factors would be enough. What Clinton is going to need is for Obama to suffer a collapse in polls by the time superdelegates are being pressed to make up their minds.

 

Could that happen? The most pressing question now is the extent to which Obama has succeeded in dealing with the incendiary statements made by his former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright Jr., which rocked his candidacy last week.

 

Obama won huge praise for the speech he gave addressing his relationship Wright and the state of racial relations in the country. But in this case, as a political matter, the audience that counts is general election voters - not Democratic primary voters, party leaders, editorial writers or television commentators.

 

Two months is a long time, and it is simply too soon to say if the political imprint of an acclaimed speech by Obama will begin to fade, overcome by the potent images of Wright at the pulpit.

 

Superdelegates are by nature political animals. They appreciate the potential political price if they are perceived as overturning the will of voters, and blocking what so many Democrats view as a historic candidate.

 

They are also hungry to win the White House and, in many cases, more committed to the success of the Democratic Party than to the fortunes of any specific candidate.

 

They surely will pause if polls two months from now show McCain with a sudden and sizable lead over Obama.

 

All of which is to say that while all this could happen, it is going to take a near-perfect confluence of forces in Clinton's favor, a turn of luck that has evaded her this year.

 

She'd better stay home....:laugh3:Don't you agree Samir?

She'd better stay home....:laugh3:Don't you agree Samir?

 

 

Actually, there is no different. The three of them {Obama-Clinton- MacCain} given Israel the sacrifices.

Well, we shall see. I am hopeful that at least one of them will be wise enough to steer things in a better direction. It seems to me that to really support Israel means to reducing the threat of violence that it's people must face. Doing that requires a better foreign policy than the one we've got, and moving towards improving the conditions for Palestinians and for a more stable from of government in Iraq seems crucial in changing the situation there.

There are those right-wing extremists in the Israel camp who see everything in terms of military attacks and security, but root causes need to be addressed. I'll see what I can do with my connections in Washington.;) (and I put more faith in President Obama making the smart choices than the rest.)

No matter who is elected they will be the same...its lobbyist and big corporations who make the policy in Washington...whoever lines the pockets of the president and congress will make the laws. Follow the money and you'll find the real leaders

True, but the chips are stacked differently amongst the candidates, and that does matter. If you want an analysis of who's buying what, check out the non-partisan site opensecrets.org.

I'm betting Barack is a bit less tainted based on the money, though a lot has flowed into his coffers all of a sudden, and that might not be so good. Kucinich threw his support behind Barack, and so has Richardson, so that seems to indicate greater honesty as well.

But true, ultimately, we need real reform measures to stem the flow of big money into the campaigns. Something with teeth, and a watch-dog that's on our side..:policeman::bobby::bandana:

True, but the chips are stacked differently amongst the candidates, and that does matter. If you want an analysis of who's buying what, check out the non-partisan site opensecrets.org.

I'm betting Barack is a bit less tainted based on the money, though a lot has flowed into his coffers all of a sudden, and that might not be so good. Kucinich threw his support behind Barack, and so has Richardson, so that seems to indicate greater honesty as well.

But true, ultimately, we need real reform measures to stem the flow of big money into the campaigns. Something with teeth, and a watch-dog that's on our side..:policeman::bobby::bandana:

 

We had that option this year, Ron Paul is exactly the opposite of all that is corrupt in Washington but Americans didn't vote for him in the primaries. In my book whatever happens now is on our own hands for being morons. We pick our destiny to a certain extent and we set ourselves up with corrupt system.

No matter who is elected they will be the same...its lobbyist and big corporations who make the policy in Washington...whoever lines the pockets of the president and congress will make the laws. Follow the money and you'll find the real leaders

 

True, that's right

 

{ suddenly you became a wise man }

Clinton-Obama Race Spurs Party Switches

 

By JULIA SILVERMAN – 4 hours ago

 

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Matthew Buckingham, a stay-at-home father in Portland's suburbs and lifelong Republican, is fired up about voting for Sen.

 

John McCain in November.

 

But on May 20, the date of Oregon's unexpectedly consequential presidential primary, Buckingham's choice for the primary is still up in the air: Should it be Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, or Sen. Barack Obama?

Like nearly 10,000 Oregonians — and thousands more voters in other late-primary states — Buckingham has temporarily switched his party affiliation in order to be able to vote in the red-hot Democratic primary.

 

"The bottom line is, this is the first Oregon presidential primary I have ever voted in my life that actually could matter, and I am not going to pass up that chance just because I am registered with the wrong party," said the 45-year-old Buckingham. "I want to make sure whoever gets in there, it is someone I can live with."

 

Many voters say they have made the switch to grab the chance to have a voice they never thought they'd have, in a historic race that conventional wisdom had predicted would be decided on Super Tuesday in February.

 

Some renegade conservatives, though, will admit to switching in order to drag out the Democratic primary as long as possible in the hope of bruising both candidates along the way.

 

Talk radio hostess Victoria Taft, a familiar Republican voice in the Democratic-leaning Pacific Northwest, said that even in her wildest dreams, she never imagined urging her listeners to vote for Clinton.

 

But these days, Taft is firmly on the New York senator's bandwagon, along with national conservative talk radio heavyweights like Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham.

 

"I want to vet (Illinois Senator) Barack Obama more than Hillary," said Taft, whose daily program during prime evening drive-time reaches about 30,000 people. "We know what she is all about, but we don't know a stinking thing about him."

 

Her urging has resonated with listeners like Deborah Whisler, a Tigard-area retiree, who changed her registration from nonaffiliated to Democratic after hearing Taft on the radio.

 

"I almost can't say this without choking, but I'm going to vote for Hillary Clinton," Whisler said. "Just on the basis of finding out more about each candidate."

 

None of the major candidates reflects her views on immigration policy, Whisler said. Still, in November, she said she'll "hold my nose," and vote for McCain.

In Oregon alone, in the past seven weeks, nearly 10,000 voters have refiled as Democrats, more than 1 percent of the state's 764,000 registered Democrats. More than 3,500 of them were Republicans; almost all of the rest had been nonaffiliated voters.

 

In Pennsylvania, where the primary is set for April 22, the Democrats have registered a staggering 235,000 new voters since last fall, pushing their numbers to more than 4.1 million for the first time. In West Virginia, which votes on May 13, the increase has come in the form of a swell in nonaffiliated voters, said Democratic Party executive director Tom Vogel, after the Democratic primary was opened to independents for the first time in recent history.

 

"We are sure there are Republicans who are switching to vote in our primary, whether they honestly want to vote or if they have more malicious purposes to try to get the candidate of their choice to run against," Vogel said.

 

Elections officials in two other late-voting states with closed primaries, North Carolina and South Dakota, said there was so far no evidence of widespread party switching there. And in Kentucky, where the primary is scheduled for May 20, there won't be any chance for party-hoppers, thanks to a state law specifically designed to prevent so-called "party-raiding."

 

"If you want to change your party affiliation to be eligible to vote in the upcoming primary, you have to change it by December 31st," said Les Fugate, a deputy secretary of state in Kentucky — a date that came months before anyone in Kentucky dreamed their primary votes could matter.

 

In Ohio and Texas, the two key states widely acknowledged to have kept Clinton's presidential bid alive when she won their March 4 primaries, Republicans and independents voted for Clinton and Obama in roughly equal numbers, helping to solidify her wins.

 

That was a departure from previous states with "open primaries," like Virginia and Missouri, where anyone can vote for any candidate despite their affiliation, in which Obama had won handily among Republicans and independents.

 

Nick Shapiro, Obama's communications director in Oregon, said that if an organized effort to strategically cast conservative votes for Clinton did exist, it was a sign that "conservative Republicans are worried that Barack Obama can unite this country, and will get support from not only the Democrats, but independents and Republicans and propel him into the White House."

 

Isaac Baker, a spokesman for the Clinton campaign, however, called it "encouraging that independents and Republicans are switching to the Democratic Party, and joining our call to dramatically change course."

 

The all-time high for registered Democrats in Oregon came in November 2004, when a serious get-out-the-vote effort for that year's presidential race pushed the total above 820,000. But both campaigns expect record-breaking turnout for the May 20 primary, mirroring other states.

 

Oregon voters around the state offer a variety of reasons for switching.

 

The chance to participate was key for 19-year-old Bryant Stegall, a part-time student from Southern Oregon who said he's leaning toward Obama. If Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, he said, he'd probably flip back to the Republican McCain.

 

Seventy-year-old Mary Nelke, of Ashland, Ore., said she made the switch because she's fallen for Obama and the promise she hears in his voice.

 

"Whether he is a Democrat or a Republican, he is our hope for the future," she said. "The economy is desperate, we need to make peace with the world. I am a grandmother — I look, and I think, I have to stand up and do what I think is right."

 

As for Taft — no relation to William Howard Taft, the one-time GOP president from Ohio — she said she's hearing every day from more voters who plan to heed her call.

 

"If she (Clinton) gets a bump in Oregon, she may just be on to Puerto Rico," Taft said.

 

Puerto Rico votes June 1.

Clinton Says She's in US Presidential Race to Stay

 

By Jim Malone

Washington

31 March 2008

 

Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton is sounding a defiant tone in response to calls from some supporters of rival Barack Obama that she quit the presidential race. Meanwhile, the presumptive Republican candidate, Senator John McCain, has begun a week-long tour aimed at reintroducing himself to American voters. VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington.

 

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton talks about the economy as she campaigns at the Capitol Diner in Harrisburg, Pennyslvania, 31 Mar 2008

 

The two Democratic candidates campaigned in Pennsylvania in advance of the primary there on April 22.

Opinion polls give Clinton a lead in Pennsylvania and the New York Senator has been quick to cite them as she fends off suggestions from Obama supporters that it is time for her to quit the race.

"You know, there are some folks saying we ought to stop these elections," she said. "I did not think we believed that in America."

Senator Clinton continues to get help from her husband, former President Bill Clinton. He argues against the view that the lengthy nomination battle will hurt the Democratic Party.

"We are strengthening the Democratic Party. Chill out! We are going to win this election if we just chill out and let everybody have their say," she said.

Some prominent Obama supporters have urged Clinton to quit because they believe there is no way she can catch the Illinois Senator in the race for party nominating delegates.

 

Sen. Barack Obama speaks at a town hall meeting at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster, Pennyslvania, 31 Mar 2008

 

 

But Senator Obama has yet to join those calling on Clinton to withdraw.

"My attitude is that Senator Clinton can run as long as she wants," he said. "Her name is on the ballot and she is a fierce and formidable competitor."

Some Democrats fear the party could be torn apart if the nomination race goes all the way to the party's national nominating convention in Denver in late August.

Analysts have suggested party leaders may eventually turn to a respected figure like former Vice President Al Gore to mediate between Obama and Clinton before the convention. But Gore showed little interest in that in an interview with the CBS program 60 Minutes.

"I am not applying for the job of broker," he said.

 

Sen. John McCain delivers a speech at Mississippi State University in Meridian, during his Service to America tour, 31 Mar 2008

 

While the Democrats focus on Pennsylvania and nine other upcoming nominating contests that go into June, Republican John McCain has begun an effort to reintroduce himself to the American public.

McCain began a biographical campaign tour in Mississippi, where he recalled the influence of his father and grandfather, both of whom were admirals in the U.S. Navy.

"My grandfather was an aviator and my father was a submariner. They were my first heroes," he said. "I have been an imperfect servant of my country for many years. But I am their son, and they showed me how to love my country, and that has made all the difference for me, my friends, all the difference in the world."

Later this week, McCain is scheduled to speak in Maryland at the U.S. Naval Academy, from which he graduated, and a Naval air station in Florida where he trained as an aviator.

McCain spent five-and-one-half years as a prisoner of war after being shot down over North Vietnam in 1967.

 

I'll be keeping my eye on this. It'll be interesting how it turns out.

Obama raised more than $40 million in March

 

Thu Apr 3, 2008 11:34am EDT

 

By Caren Bohan

 

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama raised more than $40 million in campaign contributions in March, his staff said on Thursday.

 

That followed a record $55 million the Illinois senator hauled in during February.

 

The competition between Obama and his rival Hillary Clinton for campaign cash has been closely watched with the two locked in an intense battle to become the Democratic nominee to run against Republican John McCain in November.

 

Obama, who leads Clinton in the number of delegates that will determine the outcome of the Democratic race, has strongly outpaced the New York senator in fundraising this year.

 

Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said her campaign would not release its fund-raising figures for March until April 20, when she must file a report with the Federal Election Commission.

 

"We knew that he was going to outraise us. He has outraised us over the last few months," Wolfson told reporters. "We will have the resources we need to compete and be successful."

 

"Both of these campaigns are raising a considerable amount of money. We are both outraising Senator McCain," he said.

 

Both Clinton and Obama have outraised McCain, an Arizona senator whose campaign ran short of money last year before the decorated Vietnam War vet started winning primaries.

 

But Clinton has significantly less money available than her Democratic rival because of weaker fundraising and higher debt. Also, some of the money she has raised can only be used if she becomes their party's nominee.

 

Clinton had some $10.9 million in cash left at the end of February compared with $31.6 million for Obama, according to an analysis of FEC filings by the Washington-based Campaign Finance Institute.

 

The figures showed Clinton had significantly higher debts -- she owed $8.7 million, not including the $5 million she herself loaned to her campaign. Obama had about $625,000 in debt to be paid.

 

Obama's campaign said the more than $40 million he raked in during March came from some 442,000 contributors, including 218,000 first-time donors. The average contribution level was $96, the campaign said.

 

Obama suffered a loss of momentum in March with losses to Clinton in Ohio and Texas that broke a prior winning streak. But Obama has racked up some endorsements lately from prominent party figures including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Pennsylvania Sen. Robert Casey.

 

Obama, who would be the first black president, and Clinton, who would be the first woman to win the White House, have been campaigning heavily over the last few days in Pennsylvania, which holds its voting contest on April 22. Clinton is ahead in the polls.

 

(Additional reporting by John Whitesides and Jeff Mason; editing by David Wiessler)

 

(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at http:blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)

McCain says he knows economy better than Democrats

 

Thu Apr 3, 2008 11:24am EDT

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - John McCain on Thursday rejected criticism from his Democratic opponents over his experience on economic issues, saying that he understands the subject better than they do.

 

Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have ridiculed the Republican presidential candidate over his December comment that economics was not his strong suit.

 

"I know economics very well, certainly better than Senator Clinton and Senator Obama. So let's clear that up," McCain told CNN in an interview.

 

The Arizona senator said he had been very involved in economic policymaking as a former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and as a strong supporter during the 1980s of former President Ronald Reagan's tax cuts.

 

While campaigning in New Hampshire in December, McCain told the Boston Globe: "The issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should."

 

The former Navy pilot and prisoner of war who has been outspoken on foreign policy issues in the Senate, said that he had been merely pointing out that he was not as steeped in economics as he was in international affairs.

 

"I said it wasn't my strongest (suit) because I spent 22 years in the military and I've been a member of the Armed Services Committee and involved in every major national security challenge in the last 20 years," McCain said.

 

Obama, an Illinois senator, and Clinton, a New York senator, have both highlighted the remark and accused McCain of lacking a plan to tackle the housing crisis and help a U.S. economy teetering on the brink of recession.

 

The two Democrats, who are vying for the right to become their party's nominee to run against McCain in the November election, have suggested he would continue what they described as the failed policies of the Bush administration.

 

McCain said he had plenty of plans for the economy, including ridding the federal budget of wasteful spending and seeking to ensure that people struggling with their mortgages can keep their homes.

 

(Reporting by Caren Bohan and Jackie Frank, editing by Lori Santos and David Storey)

Obama says would consider Gore for a Cabinet post

 

Wed Apr 2, 2008 2:09pm EDT

 

WALLINGFORD, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Wednesday he would consider asking former Vice President Al Gore to become a top adviser should he win the White House.

 

Asked at a town hall meeting if he would look at Gore for a possible Cabinet position, Obama said, "I would."

 

The Illinois senator, who is vying with New York Sen. Hillary Clinton to become the Democratic nominee for president, also said there was no question Gore would play an important role in shaping his policies on climate change and that

he already consults him on the subject.

 

"I will make a commitment that Al Gore will be at the table and play a central part in us figuring out how we solve this problem," Obama said.

 

"He's someone I talk to on a regular basis," Obama said. "I'm already consulting with him on these issues. Climate change is real. It's something we have to deal with now."

 

Gore's consultations with the presidential hopeful are of interest amid speculation over whether he will publicly endorse either Obama or Clinton.

 

The former vice president, who served with Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton, is considered one of the most influential of the so-called superdelegates in the Democratic Party who will play a role, along with delegates selected in state-by-state voting contests, in picking the Democratic nominee.

 

Gore, who lost his own bid for the White House in 2000 to George W. Bush amid the disputed Florida voting, is highly regarded by many in the party. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his work to try to halt the warming of the earth.

 

(Reporting by Caren Bohan; editing by David Wiessler)

Latest Pennsylvania poll: Clinton ahead by 4 points

 

The survey was done before Sen. Barack Obama's opponents jumped on him for describing some small-town voters in Pennsylvania as being "bitter," but a new poll from the Keystone State shows a very tight race there between Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

 

The Newsmax/Zogby survey puts Clinton ahead 47%-43%. That's the smallest lead for Clinton of any Pennsylvania poll in the last week or so, according to Real Clear Politics. It also puts Obama within the poll's 3.2 percentage points margin of error because Clinton's support could be as low as 43.8% (47-3.2=43.8) and Obama's could be as high as 46.2% (43+3.2=46.2).

 

Pennsylvania's primary is set for April 22.

 

Interestingly, Zogby says it did not use its automated, robo-call technology to do its latest survey. Instead, the polling company says, the survey "was conducted April 9-10, 2008, and includes 1,002 likely Democratic primary voters using live telephone operators calling from Zogby's in-house call center in Upstate New York."

 

In the past, Clinton campaign pollster and adviser Mark Penn has complained that automated polls may not be as reliable as those done by humans.

As for what Obama said about small-town folks, there's lots of commentary out there this morning about what it may or may not mean for his campaign.

 

Some conservative bloggers, such as John Hinderaker at Powerline, are making the case that Obama's done himself great damage. David Sirota at The Huffington Post, though, says Republican Sen. John McCain isn't being straight when he attacks Obama on this one because McCain has said similar things in the past.

shit, thats no good

Obama Continues To Take Fire For "Bitter" Comments

 

The blow up over Sen. Barack Obama's "bitter" comments continued unabated in the latest media cycle, remaining the dominant theme in the presidential contest. Though much coverage is devoted to Obama's counterpunch yesterday, in which he mocked Sen. Hillary Clinton as "Annie Oakley" for her recent comments on her experience with firearms, he is nevertheless widely seen as badly wounded by the episode.

 

The issue led all three nightly newscasts last night. According to NBC Nightly News, "Obama says he is only sorry for a poor choice of words. But Hillary Clinton and John McCain both seized on his comments as the three candidates accused each other of not connecting to blue-collar voters. Obama today took on Hillary Clinton and John McCain for calling him an elitist." Obama said, "When I hear my opponents both of whom have spent decades in Washington saying I'm out of touch, it is time to cut through the rhetoric and look at the reality."

 

The CBS Evening News reported Obama's comments "gave Hillary Clinton some much-needed ammunition heading into next week's Pennsylvania primary." CBS added, "Obama's admittedly ill-chosen words have plagued him for days, left him labeled as out of touch, and forced him to defend himself today in Pittsburgh from two foes." CBS added that Obama "is in a political pickle." ABC World News adds that Hillary Clinton "is not missing a single opportunity to contend to voters that Obama is out of touch." ABC noted that Obama "is now suggesting Clinton's populism is all show. When the former first lady reminisced about learning to hunt with her dad, Obama mocked her as Annie Oakley."

 

The AP reports that "after days on the campaign defensive," Obama accused Clinton of "leveling criticism straight from the Republican playbook," though he admitted that he "may have made a mistake last week in the words that I chose." Obama's "focus turned to Clinton...reflecting what aides say is a rising anger after days of criticism of his comments. Asked about the impact of the long nominating battle on the party's chances of winning the White House, he said, 'I have tried to figure out how to show restraint and make sure that, during this primary contest, we're not damaging each other so badly that it's hard for us to run in November.'" Obama said Clinton "may not feel that she can afford to be so constrained." The Washington Post quotes Obama as saying, "I'm sure that Senator Clinton feels like she's doing me a great favor, because she's been deploying most of the arguments that the Republican Party will be using against me in November, and so, it's toughening me up. And I'm getting a run through the paces here."

 

Obama Says He "Mangled" Comments The Philadelphia Inquirer reports this morning that in an interview with their editorial board yesterday, Obama "said he had let several thoughts run together when he said nine days ago that people were 'bitter' about lost jobs and 'cling to guns or religion.' 'The problem was that I just mangled it, which happens sometimes,' he said. The thoughts that ran together, he said, were that people who feel abandoned find stability in their traditions but also are vulnerable to politicians exploiting wedge issues."

 

McCain Calls Obama's Comments "Elitist" Fox News' Special Report reported Sen. John McCain "went directly after" Obama's "suggestion that when economic times get tough, rural and working class Americans get bitter and cling to guns and religion in order to cope." McCain said, "Hope in America is not based on delusion, but in the faith that everything is possible in America." McCain added, "I think the comments are elitist. ... I can only look at his remarks and I have seen them now several times and say that those are certainly not the vision that I have of America and its strength and its greatness and what its fundamentals values and beliefs are." The New York Times says McCain "threw himself into the culture war," saying that Obama's comments were "a fundamental contradiction of what I believe America's all about."

 

Clinton Airs New Ad On "Bitter" Remark Clinton is now up on the air with an ad in Pennsylvania highlighting Obama's comments. Fox News' Hannity and Colmes aired a portion of an ad the Clinton campaign is running in Pennsylvania. In the ad a narrator says: "Barack Obama said people in small towns cling to guns or religion as a way to explain their frustrations." The ad then shows unidentified people on the street making the following comments, "I was very insulted by Barack Obama. ... It shows how out of touch Barack Obama is. ... I'm not clinging to my faith out of frustration and bitterness. My faith is very uplifting. ... The good people of Pennsylvania deserve a lot better than what Barack Obama said." The Politico provides a full transcript of the ad.

In Fundraising Email, Obama Camp Slams Foes' "Fake Outrage" The Hill reports that the Obama camp "sent a fundraising e-mail to supporters Monday afternoon, accusing" Clinton and McCain "of being the candidates who are 'out of touch.' ... 'Both our opponents have been spinning the media and peddling fake outrage around the clock,'" campaign manager David Plouffe "wrote. In response, he said, the campaign is making a fundraising push with a goal of lining up 1.5 million donors by May 6."

 

Clinton Comments On "Bitter" Remark Received Poorly The Washington Post reports in a front-page story that at a trade debate, Clinton "encountered a flash of resistance." Clinton "declared: 'Many of you, like me, were disappointed by recent remarks he made.' Some audience members shouted 'No!' When she suggested that voters in Pennsylvania...might find Obama's remarks 'offensive,' loud cries of 'No!' could be heard again."

 

Opinion Pieces Critical Of Clinton's Handling Of Issue While some editorials today see the affair as harming Obama, such as pieces in the Chicago Tribune and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, a number of liberal columnists in big papers are highly critical of Clinton's attacks on Obama, portraying her as hypocritical for portraying Obama as elitist, led by a trio of pieces from the Washington Post this morning. The Washington Post's E. J. Dionne writes, "Something doesn't parse when a Wellesley and Yale Law School graduate whose family made $109 million since 2001 relentlessly assails a former community organizer on the grounds that he is an elitist." The Washington Post's Eugene Robinson says Clinton "made a show of demonstrating that she's actually just a regular gal. The point wasn't really to convince anyone that she, Bill and Chelsea commute between their two lavish mansions in a five-year-old Ford F-150 pickup with a gun rack and a 'Jesus Rocks!' bumper sticker. Her aim was to prove to the nation -- or at least to Democratic primary voters in Pennsylvania and Indiana -- that she's better at feigning regularness than Obama." The Washington Post's Richard Cohen writes, "Since when is Hillary Clinton a gun lover, a hunter or even a weekend skeet shooter? She is apparently none of the above -- at least she will not say when she last fired a gun. The truth, if a guess is allowed, is that she does not give a damn about guns and hunting, and when she brings up her 'churchgoing family' and 'Our Town' values, they are expressions of treacly nostalgia and not the life of incredible affluence and situational morality she now enjoys."

 

Obama, Clinton Clash On Trade

 

In a story that is getting only light coverage this morning, USA Today reports Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton "exchanged barbs Monday about trade and who best can lift up the middle class in separate appearances before steelworkers and industry executives" in Pittsburgh. Obama said, "You can't spend the better part of two decades campaigning for NAFTA and PNTR for China and then come here to Pennsylvania and tell the workers that you've been with them all along." The AP adds that Clinton "told manufacturers and union workers...that her husband made mistakes related to" NAFTA "that she plans to fix." Clinton said, "As smart as my husband is, he does make mistakes." The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review adds that Clinton and Obama "promised to tighten rules on trade with China."

 

Clinton Maintains Six-Point Lead In Pennsylvania

 

A new poll out this morning from Quinnipiac University shows Sen. Hillary Clinton maintaining her six-point lead over Sen. Barack Obama in Pennsylvania as the Democratic primary in the state heads into its final week. Clinton leads Obama 50%-44%, identical to her lead in a similar poll released April 8. The poll surveyed 2,103 likely Pennsylvania Democratic primary voters from April 9-13. Quinnipiac says there was no noticeable difference in Obama's numbers in the returns from April 12-13, which came after the disclosure of his "bitter" comment. Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said this morning that "a bigger problem for Democrats looms in Pennsylvania. One out of four Clinton voters, including a third of men, say they will vote for Republican Sen. John McCain in November if Obama is the Democratic candidate."

 

Allentown Mayor Backs Clinton The Allentown Morning Call reports this morning that Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski (D) yesterday endorsed Clinton, saying she "has solutions to problems facing urban areas like Allentown" and she "has proven herself to be a very capable legislator, extremely knowledgeable on the issues, adept at getting things done, and aware of the needs of our inner city residents and middle class."

 

Carter, Gore Said To Be Preparing To Call On Clinton To Drop Out

 

Fox Special Report reported last night that former President Jimmy Carter and former Vice President Al Gore "reportedly are planning to team up in a call to Hillary Clinton to end her presidential race. The Scotsman newspaper published in Scotland says the two men have been in discussions and are said to believe the prolonged battle is hurting the Democratic Party." The paper "claims that they may ask Senator Clinton in private to bow out or they may publicly endorse Barack Obama in hopes that other super delegates will follow."

 

Journalists Like McCain Better Than Obama?

 

The Washington Post's Dana Milbank notes both John McCain and Barack Obama "appeared before the nation's newspaper editors yesterday" at the American Society of Newspaper Editors annual meeting hosted by the Associated Press. Milbank adds, "On the same day, the two media darlings of the presidential election cycle came to address their base -- and McCain easily bested his likely opponent." According to Milbank, "The dueling appearances by McCain and Obama nicely captured the current dynamic in the presidential cycle. McCain, his nomination secure, had the luxury to joke and pander.

 

Obama, wounded by the Democrats' internecine fighting, was defensive and somber. ... McCain got a standing ovation -- an honor Obama did not receive when his turn came two hours later."

 

McCain To Lay Out Economic Plan

 

Sen. John McCain is set to make a major economic address today. The Washington Post reports McCain will propose "that affluent seniors pay more for government-provided drug benefits as a way to control health-care spending, aides said during a preview of a major speech on economics that the senator will deliver in Pittsburgh." The proposal is "similar to a controversial one put forth last fall by President Bush, in which married retirees who make more than $160,000 a year would pay increasingly higher costs for the newly established Medicare prescription drug plans."

 

The Washington Times reports McCain will also call "for a freeze on discretionary spending in order to get the federal budget in better shape, his advisers said yesterday evening." The Wall Street Journal adds that McCain "will also acknowledge economic distress among students and families."

 

McCain "plans to aid students caught in the credit crunch who may have trouble obtaining college loans and to call for another big tax cut -- this one helping families with children." The proposals, "combined with those he has already put on the table, show the Arizona senator's mixed approach to economics. He pushes tax cuts, a traditional Republican favorite; government reforms, such as an end to pork-barrel projects; and new spending for those he sees as deserving, such as students looking for loans and homeowners who need to refinance their troubled mortgages."

Barack Obama claims Jewish "kinship"

 

His racial makeup, his middle name and "scurrilous e-mails" about him are partly responsible for the discomfort some people have with him, Barack Obama told Jewish leaders during a private meeting in the Philadelphia area today.

 

He also told his audience of about 75 people at a synagogue that he feels a sense of "kinship" with the Jewish community, and that he has been influenced in his life by Jewish writers, philosophers and friends.

 

"There is a kinship and a sense of shared community that predates my political career and will extend beyond this particular election," Obama said, according to the pool report from the closed-door event. "Know that I will be there for you, just as I believe that you will be there for me."

 

Stressing the point, he added: "My links to the Jewish community are not political. They preceded my entry into politics."

 

Before Obama showed up, several of his supporters spoke to the assembly at Rodeph Shalom synagogue, according to Larry Eichel, the Philadelphia Inquirer reporter who filed the account for the traveling press corps.

 

All of the speakers offered assurances that Obama is a friend of Israel and of the American Jewish community.

 

Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) told the group that Obama "unequivocally rejects the Palestinian right of return" because he understands that Israel must remain a Jewish state, according to Eichel's report.

Also from the report:

 

• Obama was asked why he favors meeting with Iranian leaders but criticized President Carter's recent meeting with Hamas. He responded: "Hamas is not a state, Hamas is a terrorist organization ... so I think here is a very clear distinction."
  
• 
  
• Asked under what circumstances he'd use force against Iran, he declined to specify.
  
• 
  
• He pledged to continue the U.S. practice of vetoing anti-Israeli resolutions at the U.N. and said that he would be "uniquely positioned" to do so due to his background. "That kind of blunt talk is something I can deliver with more credibility than some other presidents might," he said.
  
• 
  
• Asked if he ever talked to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright about his ex-pastor's controversial remarks, Obama said he had done so privately. He also said that there was nothing in his own background that shows anything but a love of country and an understanding of the importance of the relationship between blacks and Jews.

-- Christi Parsons

Christi Parsons writes for the Swamp of the Chicago Tribune's Washington bureau

Looking past language

 

What Obama says about those who are 'bitter' here has a ring of truth. I have a cousin who infiltrated the Clan, and the clan grew from the ranks of the "downwardly mobile". That's not to say all who feel the economic bite go in that direction, or to so great an extreme, but when times get tough, those who get hurt economically often cling to those things they feel secure about, or things that restore their self-confidence - whatever that may be; and I've felt this way at times, because an economic loss makes us all feel unsure of ourselves and avails our vulnerabilities to the world. We've lost a certain amount of certainty and control over our lives, and face serious challenges, so he's right about this. And much of the anger / bitterness is justified, when one considers how American workers are treated, amidst all the job losses in the manufacturing sector. We are the land without safety nets; so when the platform looks unstable, it causes a lot of emotional and psychological stress, with real consequences. The 'fort in the wilderness' is a part of the American psyche, so the past is where we turn when times get tough. It is the last saving grace we have to cling to, and a natural response to hard times here.

With regards to Barack's comment on comparing Hillary Clinton to Annie Oakley, - is this that serious? Sure, a sincere apology is in order, but for voters to get so wrapped up in emotional rhetoric, and forgetful of who's got their best interests in mind (ie - their campaign funding) - this is unfortunate - more attention should be paid to who's the more honest candidate in the sense that counts - who's chipping in to the campaign, and what results have occurred. Unfortunately, the dog fight it has become, especially when it's so close.. I just hope we win in November.

Hillary leads in Pennsylvania, including among bowlers, gun owners

 

By STEVEN THOMMA

McClatchy Newspapers

 

Hillary Clinton leads among bowlers, gun owners and hunters in Pennsylvania, a blue-collar trifecta that is helping her hold an edge over rival Barack Obama heading into Tuesday's pivotal primary there.

 

The New York senator leads by solid margins in all three slices of working-class Pennsylvania - the political battleground where the two Democrats have waged war for control of the state, according to a new poll conducted for McClatchy Newspapers, MSNBC and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

 

The one group where she does not have a solid lead is among beer drinkers; they split evenly between her and the Illinois senator.

 

Overall, Clinton leads Obama by a margin of 48-43 percent, with 8 percent still undecided. The telelphone survey of 635 likely Pennsylvania voters was taken April 17-18 and had an error margin of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

 

"Clinton leads in Pennsylvania," said Brad Coker, the managing partner for Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, which conducted the poll.

 

"However, the lead doesn't indicate she's going to win by a large enough margin to make a serious impact on Obama's overall delegate lead."

 

Clinton leads among women, whites, Roman Catholics and Jews, voters older than 35, those looking for experience and those who rank Iraq, the economy or health care their top issues.

 

She also leads in central and rural Pennsylvania as well as the Pittsburgh area.

 

"She's a woman, that's the main reason," said Catherine Nichols, a retired receptionist from New Providence, explaining why she prefers Clinton. "And she has the experience from being in the White House for so many years."

 

Obama leads among blacks, voters younger than 35, Protestants, and those looking for change or honesty.

He leads in the Philadelphia area.

 

"I'm getting tired of the same old thing over and over. It's time for a change," said William Allen, a retiree from Philadelphia. "He just has a different way of thinking and bringing people together."

 

Despite Obama's solid support in some areas, Coker said that Pennsylvania's demographics make it difficult for him to win, given his inability to draw more support from whites, the working class, or older voters. Obama pulled just 33 percent of the white vote, but 83 percent of the black vote.

 

"I would be surprised if Obama won Pennsylvania," Coker said. "There are not enough African-American and young voters. It's one of the older states."

 

Ever since the two clashed in Ohio in early March - where she won with heavy support from the white working class - the two candidates have sparred over that key voting bloc in Pennsylvania.

 

Their campaign's been marked by sharp disagreements over his comments claiming that small-town Pennsylvanians cling to religion and guns out of bitterness over their economic anxiety, as well as inflammatory sermons by Obama's pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

 

They've also offered dueling photo opportunities, with Obama bowling on camera, and Clinton downing a shot of whiskey and a beer.

 

Many voters dismissed such efforts as silly or superficial - or said they had the opposite effect than the campaigns intended.

 

Most saw clips of Obama bowling, for example, and several noted that he was bad at it.

 

"I saw the gutter ball. Why make an idiot of yourself?" said John Ferko, a retired postal worker from Phoenixville, Pa., who supports Clinton.

 

Indeed, Clinton seems to have won the better part of the culture clash, leading among hunters by a margin of 56-31 percent, among bowlers by 54-33 percent, and among gun owners by 53-28 percent.

 

Her shot and a beer gambit apparently didn't pay off, however; self-identified beer drinkers split 44-44 percent between the two. Coker said one reason could be that beer drinkers include more African-Americans - Obama supporters - than the bowlers, gun owners or hunters.

 

While Pennsylvanians seemed to divide along those lines, several voters said they were angry at the way the campaigns and news media played up the flashpoints more than such issues as the war in Iraq or the economy.

 

"A lot of that little stuff is being blown way out of proportion," said Calvin Dolan of King of Prussia, who supports Clinton because of her intelligence and experience.

 

A majority of likely voters said they watched the candidates debate last week on ABC, yet just 7 percent said it influenced their vote.

 

Oscar Hilton, a retired hospital driver from Philadelphia who supports Obama, said he didn't like the way the debate moderators spent the first half of the debate asking about Obama's ties to his pastor or a 1960s radical before getting to other issues.

 

"For 45 doggone minutes, that's all they talked about," Hilton said. "They tried to bait him and set him up. But he tried to stick to the most important things. We want to know what they're going to do about the issues."

 

Hilton's issues? Stopping illegal immigration and getting U.S. troops out of Iraq, both of which he said would help American paychecks and the economy.

YES WE CAN, SAMIR!:P

She's for gun control so those gun owers better think twice. The NRA is also suprisingly pro gun control if you look at it more closely.

Clinton lags in cash before Pennsylvania vote

By Andy Sullivan

 

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - Democrat Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign began April awash in red ink and trailing rival Barack Obama in the scramble for cash ahead of Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary, campaign records show.

 

Documents filed late Sunday with the Federal Election Commission show Clinton raised $20.9 million in March, less than half the $42.8 million raised by Obama.

 

Clinton's campaign said it had $8 million available for the state-by-state battle for the Democratic nomination, while Obama's campaign reported $51 million in the bank.

 

Clinton's campaign also reported $10.3 million in debt.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, who has clinched the Republican nomination, raised $15.4 million in March and ended the month with $11.6 million in the bank.

 

Opinion polls show that Clinton, a New York senator and former first lady who would be the first woman president, is favored to beat Obama in Pennsylvania.

 

But Obama's fund-raising prowess has allowed him to outspend her heavily. Obama is an Illinois senator who would be the first black president.

 

A defeat in Pennsylvania, or even a less-than-resounding victory, could increase pressure on Clinton to drop out of the race and allow the party to unify behind a candidate to take on McCain in the November election.

 

Clinton spokesman Jay Carson said the New York senator's fund-raising has been strong since the end of March, thanks in part to a benefit concert by pop star Elton John.

 

"Hillary will have the resources needed to compete and win because of the strength of her grassroots support and the influx of hundreds of thousands of new donors," Carson said in an e-mail.

Roughly half of the campaign's debts are owed to companies headed by two senior advisors.

 

Polling firm Penn, Schoen & Berland, owed $4.6 million, is headed by Mark Penn, who served as chief strategist until he was forced to step aside last month.

 

Grunwald Communications, owed $530,000, is headed by Mandy Grunwald, who serves as the campaign's ad maker. (Additional reporting by Jeff Mason, editing by Alan Elsner) (To read more about the U.S.

Obama Fails to Close the Gap; Clinton Wins in Pennsylvania

 

By Howard Lesser

Washington, DC

23 April 2008

 

Hillary Clinton’s victory in Tuesday’s Pennsylvania primary will not prove decisive for her to secure the Democratic party’s presidential nomination. That was not expected, because neither the New York Senator nor her Illinois rival, Senator Barack Obama could have divided up Pennsylvania’s prize of 158 delegates to reach the total of 2,025 needed to clinch the race. However, the Pennsylvania contest culminates the longest phase since the primary season began in January to go without a state election, and the six-week lull heightened focus on the candidates’ skills in reaching voters in a critical, delegate-rich northeastern state. University of Pennsylvania law professor Anita Allen says that the six-week focus posed a worthy test of the two US senators’ electability in November’s national election.

 

“The current campaign definitely tested the ability of Barack Obama to win in the general election in the fall, more than I think Hillary. Hillary wisely saw that her best strategy was to cast doubts about Barack’s electability, and I think she actually did that. And although Barack is going to be a formidable foe, I do think that his capacity to get around the fact that he is less experienced, that he is a man of color, and that he had less than a year in Washington (before declaring his candidacy) are going to be issues for him going forward,” she said.

 

A loss in Pennsylvania for Hillary Clinton could have signaled the beginning of the end of her 2008 bid, which at one time had been described as a candidacy of entitlement. Going into Pennsylvania, Barack Obama held about a 140-delegate lead over Senator Clinton nationwide. Despite Clinton’s Tuesday win in Pennsylvania, analysts will be closely watching her margins of victory because a narrowing of her lead still could help propel Obama to the nomination in weeks ahead if he wins Democratic primaries in Indiana (May 6), North Carolina (May 6), West Virginia (May 13), and Kentucky (May 20).

 

Professor Allen says it was a fitting finish to the Clinton campaign in Pennsylvania to hold its final rally at the University of Pennsylvania before an energized academic community of students, faculty, and a well-entrenched West Philadelphia community of local residents, many of whom are African-American.

 

“I think being in the Philadelphia area was a good idea. They have a lot of support among people of color traditionally, but also among women, among educated people, and the Clintons were on our campus a lot. Bill, Hillary, and (their daughter) Chelsea spent a lot of time of the Penn campus. And they’ve also been seen at Drexel University down the street. They’ve been seen down the road a few miles on the Constitution Center and elsewhere, because I think they believe that this university is a source of support for them. The young voters are important in this election. The educated voters are important. The black vote, of course is important, and of course having this great university being right in the middle of a historically and ethnically African-American community is a way of saying that we’re both interested in the problems of a poor urban community and also interested in promoting the interests and values of our more educated population who have a great role to play in providing leadership and guidance and policymaking for our country in the future,” she noted.

 

Although Senator Obama outspent Senator Clinton by wide margins of the past month and a half. He raised funds at the grass roots, from students, the poor, the wealthy, and a broad range of new first-time supporters. He also is considered an important stimulus for yesterday’s high voter turnout in African-American neighborhoods of Pennsylvania’s two largest cities of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Despite this, Professor Allen says his campaign was jeopardized in Pennsylvania by having to diffuse widely criticized comments depicting the bitterness of small town folks. For that reason, she says, his advisers recommended that the Harvard-law educated candidate refrain from matching the Clintons with an appearance at Pennsylvania’s prestigious Ivy League university where Mrs. Clinton spoke.

 

“There was a group of professors trying to get Obama to come and give a speech in our sports stadium here on Penn’s campus. And over 200 professors signed a petition urging him to come. And what we were told was that the rally on the (historic Independence) Mall was the substitute and that at a time when Obama was being accused of being an elitist person in Pennsylvania, it was more appropriate, perhaps, that he meet in a less symbolically elitist location than Penn’s campus,” she said.

 

Professor Allen points out that Hillary Clinton’s Pennsylvania victory most likely ensures she will continue to stay in the race into next month’s decisive primaries. “Hillary’s in this game if she wins Pennsylvania until the summer, I believe. But again, there will be some pressure on her to withdraw, but I think she can credibly stand up to that pressure if indeed she is the technical victor in Pennsylvania.”

 

The downside of prolonging the campaign is that “so much of the attention the media has given to the election has turned to negative campaigning, snide remarks, slips of the tongue, animosities which are exaggerated.”

 

However, Allen notes that if it turns out that one of them is doing less well, either after the primary season or toward the beginning of the convention, at that point, it would be a phenomenal thing if these two would decide to join forces, by sharing the ballot and running as President and Vice President “because there’s plenty of evidence here that a woman candidate and a black candidate can catalyze, can excite, and can promise a change of hope which we haven’t seen before. And they may have together skills and experience which would make the White House and Washington, DC in general a better place for all of us.”