May 9, 2008 at 5:23 PM by David Pleasant
Maybe a wave is beginning.
Obama has a net gain of seven superdelegates today. One jumped ship from the Clinton camp, but Clinton added a delegate giving her a net gain of zero. Also Rep. Rahm Emmanuel (D-IL), a long-time Clinton supporter, referred to Obama as the "presumptive nominee," but has not endorsed either candidate yet.
Former Clinton supporter Rep. Donald Payne, a Democrat from the 10th District of New Jersey said, "Barack Obama can best bring about the change that our country so desperately needs," according to First Read. Payne added that he had been "mulling it over for quite a while."
Other delegates endorsing Obama today are: Rep. Peter DeFazio, (D-OR), California DNC Member Ed Espinoza, NC DNC Member John Gage, SC DNC Member Wilbur Lee Jeffcoat, Laurie Weahkee (NM), and Rep. Mazie Hirono from Hawaii.
Clinton added Rep. Chris Carney (D-PA) and lost Payne
The NBC Delegate Count:
Pledged: Obama 1,590, Clinton 1,426
Superdelegates: Clinton 273.5, Obama 269
Total: Obama 1,859, Clinton 1699.5
- Undeclared superdelegates: 252.5 (50 of these have not been named yet)
- Since the elections in North Carolina and Indiana Tuesday, Obama has gained 13, and Clinton has gained a net 1.
- Obama is 166 delegates away from the winning number of 2,025.
May 9, 2008 at 3:37 PM by David Pleasant
The polling firm Rasmussen has decided it will no longer track the Democratic race, but instead will focus on the general election and Hillary will not be included in its surveys. When the media and the polling firms start abandoning a candidate, it doesn’t matter what kind of argument the candidate makes — their candidacy is doomed.
If the superdelegates won’t end the Democratic race, the external forces will.
Obama has had an increase in the rate of endorsements by superdelegates since Tuesday’s election, but it is by no means a tidal wave. So, what’s behind that? I believe most of the congressional superdelegates are scared to death of the Clintons and the vengeance they will endure from the Clinton political machine if they formally abandon Hillary. And their fear-motivated silence is ultimately damaging the party in many ways — some not quite so obvious.
We know the Clinton’s have damaged the party’s base and there is considerable evidence to suggest it could cost Democrats the White House in the general election. But the White House is not the only potential area of impact. Many congressional candidates, especially those that are not incumbents, are suffering significantly from the protracted race and associated negativity.
The media, and especially the polling firms, have no reason to share superdelegates’ concerns. If Hillary’s campaign doesn’t fit their business models, they’ll pull the plug as evidenced by Rasmussen. External forces ending the race may take longer, but at least there is some type of intervention beginning.
It’s unfortunate that our supposed leaders in Congress will not take a decisive step for the good of their party and more importantly their constituents.
Meanwhile, Rasmussen’s daily tracking poll has Obama leading at 47 percent to John McCain’s 44 percent. It is the fourth straight day that Obama has lead by at least one-point over McCain.
May 9, 2008 at 11:41 AM by David Pleasant
When pressured on who he voted for in the North Carolina primary, John Edwards said, "I just voted for him on Tuesday."
There’s no doubt about the "him" part. The question is, was it a slip, or a subtle announcement?
Watch the video.
May 9, 2008 at 9:43 AM by Political Chase
Peggy Noonan is exactly right. She rips Hillary Clinton, and the party, to pieces — both justifiably.
White Americans? Hard-working white Americans? “Even Richard Nixon didn’t say white,” an Obama supporter said, “even with the Southern strategy.”
If John McCain said, “I got the white vote, baby!” his candidacy would be over. And rising in highest indignation against him would be the old Democratic Party.
To play the race card as Mrs. Clinton has, to highlight and encourage a sense that we are crudely divided as a nation, to make your argument a brute and cynical “the black guy can’t win but the white girl can” is — well, so vulgar, so cynical, so cold, that once again a Clinton is making us turn off the television in case the children walk by.
“She has unleashed the gates of hell,” a longtime party leader told me. “She’s saying, ‘He’s not one of us.’”
She is trying to take Obama down in a new way, but also within a new context. In the past he was just the competitor. She could say, “All’s fair.” But now he’s the competitor who is going to be the nominee of his party. And she is still trying to do him in. And the party is watching.
Here’s the entire piece. It is must-reading.
