Although Clinton is the projected winner, it doesn’t look like her margin of victory will be enough to make any noteworty change in the larger picture. Most of the areas around Philadelphia have not reported yet, and Obama was expected to win that area.
Of course, that will not be the spin you will be hearing from Team Clinton or the media. Team Clinton has already declared themselves the winner of everything — past, present, and future.
While Clinton may win the popular vote tonight (by an unknown amount), she may not win what is most important — delegates. At best, allocation of delegates will not be known until tomorrow.
In spite of Terry McAuliffe’s gleeful claims on MSNBC that popular votes will determine the nomination, Democratic rules, not Team Clinton’s, are applicable. Besides, I don’t know if Team Clinton really wants to go down that road. If they do, and are allowed to do so, caucus votes would have to be factored in some way.
Unfortunately, I cannot recall the source or the specific amount, but I distinctly remember a credible source saying an algorithm to convert caucus votes into popular votes had been developed (not party sanctioned yet). In summary, the mathematician had determined that adding caucus votes would give Obama a lead (before tonight) of approximately 1.5 - 2 million votes or more.
I believe Obama will continue focusing on trying to run Clinton out of money, and unless she is very successful with her forthcoming spin, it will be very easy.
Ohh god. I don’t think I can sit here and listen to all the lies coming out of the Clinton campaign.
Chris Matthews is squeezing McAuliffe on delegates vs. popular vote, but of course that doesn’t matter to Team Clinton. They won the Democratic nomination tonight to hear them tell it.
Clinton argument: Popular vote is more important than delegate vote and Hillary was just granted that by magic I suppose. All Democratic primary rules before tonight are meaningless. Team Clinton just wrote all the new rules.
9:18 PM
Well, it looks like Russert was right on one thing. Terry McAuliffe just said, “Hillary Clinton will move ahead in the popular vote.” How many truckloads of voters did McAuliffe take into PA today.
9:14 PM
Russert says Clinton is in to stay regardless of the margin and North Carolina is essential. He also doesn’t have a clue what the margin will be, but at least admits it. Says Clinton will go full throttle on the spin. Gives the impression that Clinton will treat as if Obama didn’t get a single vote.
9:08 PM
David Gregory and Pat Buchanan are just giddy with Clinton’s victory. She’s in this game now!!!!
These are the nim-wits that said Clinton had to have an overwhelming victory to stay in and now they’re beside themselves and haven’t a clue about how much she won by
And the number continues to drop.
Clinton
52%
68,189
Obama
48%
61,715
Precincts - 6%
9:03 PM
Clinton
53%
61,200
Obama
47%
53,925
Precincts - 5%
Fineman: Clinton started twisting the arms of superdelegates as soon as the networks called her the winner. Never mind the margin of victory.
Fineman: Obama spent Clinton into oblivion…only a matter of time.
Still to close to call.
8:35 PM
Howard Fineman says the Obama strategy was to force Clinton to spend lots of money in Pennsylvania and it may have worked.”They’re out of bundlers, exhausted, and are reduced to online contributions. No more $2300 contributors left. They’re just tapped out.”
8:14 PM
Chris Matthews, Russert, Andrea Mitchell, Russert, et. al chit-chatting. Blah.
Olbermann wanting to know why the campaigns are being so quiet and not spinning. They’re not getting emails, etc.
Mitchell emphasized Team Clinton’s dire financial status.
Lots of cheering going on at Obama’s rally in Evansville, IN
Clinton white voters with under $50K - winning 2 to 1
8:04 PM - No surprise here. It’s too close to call.
Welcome.
It’s just after 8:00 PM ET. I’ll start out here and see where we go.
7:45 PM Update: Take a look at the relatively minor influence the campaign ads may have had (below). That probably is more to Obama’s disadvantage than Clinton’s. He spent $$$$ in ads. But at the same time, that may mean all of Hillary’s negative ads might not have helped her as much either. The answer is buried somewhere in the negative attack findings. Hard to know right now.
ORIGINAL POST
Take this lightly. Exit polling has proven to be unreliable this primary season.
Negative Attacks
Who attacked unfairly? Clinton 67%
Barack Obama 49%
Among African-American voters Clinton 77%
Obama 37%
Why does Hillary Clinton run a scorched-earth Lee Atwater campaign every single day, but literally hours before or on election day, Clinton presents herself as if she is preparing to meet her maker?
"Anybody who supports Barack or me would be very foolish to think voting for Senator McCain makes any sense," she said.
"Whatever differences Senator Obama and I may have…that pales in comprison [sic] with the differences we have with Senator McCain," she said earlier.
If there was any doubt The Enlightenment has long since passed us, the Jonesville Church of God in Jonesville, S.C. may help remove that doubt.
Jonesville Church of God in Jonesville, S.C.
The pastor of the church, Roger Byrd, wanted to inspire a little critical thinking in his congregation, therefore, after a "moment of prayer," Byrd put this message on the church’s bulletin board.
"Obama Osama Humm Are They Brothers?"
How much church members may actually reflect upon the pastor’s message cannot be determined, but they surely will not be able to avoid reading it. Neither will any of the town’s 922 residents that drive by it.
It is also worth noting the town’s population has been declining for years. Humm.
Pastor Byrd denies unequivocally that the message is racially or politically motivated. It would be hard to argue the message is not politically motivated by the mere fact that Barack Obama’s name is included, but Byrd assures it is not:
"It is absolutely not a racist sign or a political sign," Byrd said. "It’s only meant to encourage people to think about what they’re doing. (Obama) said he’s not (a Muslim), but that’s why I asked the question. I would put the same sign up if he were a white man.
"God loves us all, but what if we get someone in the White House who happened to be Muslim? I’m just trying to open people’s minds. . . .
"I’m not meaning to say that he has the same character as Osama, but it hit my mind that their names are so close. Maybe there’s some sort of kinship," he said."
Interestingly enough, not every right-wing conservative blogger supports Pastor Byrd’s thought provoking idea. At least two conservative bloggers do not.
John McCain is a very, very ethical Senator. To consider otherwise would be "outrageous and disgusting."
For decades, McCain’s circle of close friends has been a testament to his integrity and unquestionable character.
For example, Charles Keating is one that everybody should remember, but unfortunately, the press has allowed him to fade from peoples’ memories. But the New York Times today focuses on one of John McCain’s contemporary close friends — Donald Diamond. Diamond understands McCain and what is important to McCain — campaign contributions.
"Mr. Diamond, for his part, said Mr. McCain had only done his job. ‘I think that is what Congress people are supposed to do for constituents,’ he said. ‘When you have a big, significant businessman like myself, why wouldn’t you want to help move things along? What else would they do? They waste so much time with legislation’.”
If other Senators did their job as well as John McCain, all their constituents could prosper just like Donald Diamond has:
Mr. Diamond finally bought the land [hundreds of undeveloped acres and two golf courses in the ocean-misted hills overlooking Monterey Bay] for $250,000 in 1999. He obtained an unusual guarantee from the Army that provided a generous water allowance outside the standard allocation process — a bonus that continues to rankle municipal officials on the dry Monterey Peninsula.
“Those guys got a sweetheart deal,” said Michael Keenan, whose family bought the housing complex from Mr. Diamond for nearly $30 million two years later. Mr. Diamond acknowledged turning a profit of $20 million.
There you have it. Another story for John McCain to tell the media that he has done nothing wrong, and they will politely nod their head in acknowledgment, never bringing it up again.
Update: Another thought. This is a perfect example of why it is important for Cindy McCain to release her tax records.
I realized this weekend that I am part of the problem
Actually, I think the stage got set during the debate. But this weekend, I was watching the talking heads as I do every Sunday, talking about who is or isn’t “bitter,” who is or isn’t “patriotic,” whether Michelle Obama is more like Abigail Adams or Mrs. John Kerry…
I was at the gym on the treadmill, so you can see all of it at once on separate TV’s. But there are other things on too. Rock of Love, MadTV, Yankee replay, church!, the movie Major League.
And I realized, out of nowhere really, that I didn’t want to watch these people talk about this stuff. More than that, I couldn’t. That it would be wrong. It suddenly occurred to me that my watching these old farts talk about our country and this important election as if it were a race they had no dog in, it occurred to me that this is exactly what Obama’s been imploring me not to do. It’s precisely what this whole “change” is about. It’s about the way I think, and how I behave. It’s about me.
Because these pundits, these programs, they’re so stuck in the old-think, the Right v. Left, Tax Cuts v. Big Government bullsh#t that we all know isn’t even true or real or valuable, but they’re so invested in the state of politics as they see it, that they cannot imagine the world would be different. To them, I am a demographic, and to them, the nation is a bunch of funny little anecdotes you share at a dinner party.
If McCain wins, and this country stays in this war, and thousands more troops die, will one single person ever come on the air and pull their hair out and yell and say what the hell is going on in this world? No, of course not. And worse than that, they will coolly evaluate the nature of the president, of his followers and his detractors, and come to the conclusion that he’s either playing with fire, or that he’s working a nifty little political game. How clever he is. How clever we are. How well we articulate these insights.
And what a misguided fool I feel like for allowing them so much space within me. For giving them ratings, and for giving such weight to their bought and sold opinions.
I see now that if this is what politics is (and it may be), or if this is what our country is going to allow itself to be ruled by (”Gore’s square, Bush is cool”; “Kerry’s uptight, Bush is cool”), then there are better things I could be doing in the meantime, like watch the movie Major League.
Or more importantly, if I were to continue giving to the candidates and causes I believe in, continue trying to influence the opinion of friends, students and family, and one day, teach my children that the whole world might be falling apart, but that that doesn’t mean you should too, then I am certain that I will have improved the planet. And that’s more good than (pundit’s name here) will ever do.
And so in that instant, I resolved to change. From now on, when I catch myself arguing with the television, or wondering why Rove is being treated like someone who’s opinion matters, or why everyone is having so much damn fun in that studio while Rome is burning, I’m going to simply turn it off, and do anything else.
And while I am going to “hope” that we can “change” the direction of this country, if we cannot, then I have decided that I am no longer going to revel in its demise.
Clinton has made three very serious threats against Iran in less than one week. This is serious and dangerous stuff, and it needs to be stopped in the election booths ASAP. She’s making Cheney look like a teenager with sparklers.
Clinton did an interview today that will air on ABC’s Good Morning America tomorrow morning. When ABC’s Chris Cuomo asked Clinton what she would do if Iran attacked Israel with nuclear weapons, Clinton responded:
"I want the Iranians to know that if I’m the president, we will attack Iran," Clinton said. "In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them."
Tonight on Countdown, Keith Olbermann asked Hillary Clinton about the ad she released today that includes an image of Osama bin Laden, and references many of the worst disasters America has ever faced. Clinton said the ad was about "leadership."
John McCain is a very, very ethical Senator. To consider otherwise would be "outrageous and disgusting." 