The Political Chase

162 delegate lead is not ‘close’

Hillary told a few lies in her speech tonight, like "the number of delegates needed to win is 2,209," but this statement definitely surpasses that.

So as we look at the stakes in this election, I think we can all agree it’s been unprecedented. We haven’t had an election like it for as long as anyone can remember.

It is still so close, and it really does depend upon those who will vote in these next contests and those who have the awesome responsibility as delegates of our great Democratic Party.

Let’s check. . .

 
Chuck Todd/MSNBC Estimate

Those are Chuck Todd’s numbers as of a few minutes ago. Hillary, according to Chuck, may have realized a net gain of 10 delegates (included) in WV tonight. At best, albeit very unlikely, she might have a net gain of 12. Therefore, assuming the graphic is correct, 162 delegates is anything but close.

There are five primaries remaining  for a total of 235 delegates. If Hillary wants to just tie Obama, she will have to win 70% of the remaining delegates. Impossible, and considering Hillary’s flat-line success losing winning superdelegates, I don’t see that as any help.

Obama needs 145 more delegates to win the nomination. That’s 61.72 percent of the  delegates in the five remaining primaries. . He won’t get that, but he’ll be very close. Now, he just needs to add a few more superdelegates and send Hillary packing.

Hillary can chug beer, but she can’t count

Hillary tonight — You can take the White House away from me when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

If you voted for Barack Obama in an election before tonight, your vote does not count according to Clinton and Terry McAuliffe. McAuliffe admitted on MSNBC tonight they cannot get within 100 delegates of Obama, but they intend to take the nomination at the convention.

Clinton will still be declaring she is the most electable, has won more votes, delegates, and beer-chuggin’ contests as Michelle and Barack begin their first dance at an inaugural ball.

Sermon on the Mount

Olbermann: "Terry McAuliffe said it would be the greatest speech of all time. And there it was, tied with the Sermon on the Mount."

Fearing Obama

Olbermann:  "The only thing we have to fear is Obama himself."

That was an advance excerpt from the greatest speech ever, but hasn’t been delivered yet. It is supposed to begin at 9:05 PM ET.

On a side note, don’t count on the returns to come in quickly. They apparently are using an abacuses rather than computers.

Nets Call It For Hillary

All the nets have called West Virginia for Hillary.

Also, if you’re not in close proximity to a teevee, run, don’t walk, run and turn it on! History will be made tonight!! Terry McAuliffe said Hillary Clinton would deliver the best speech ever tonight.

MSNBC: Senator Obama called Senator Clinton to congratulate her on her 2 to 1 victory. She was not available to take his call.

Hagee repents

Sen. John McCain and Pastor Hagee

John Hagee has apologized for referring to the Catholic Church as the “great whore.” It is good to see that Pastor Hagee has finally been enlightened with a theological perspective that not every verse in the Bible was intended to be interpreted literally. An epiphany at 68, is better than no epiphany at all. Unfortunately, Hagee’s repentance is limited to his remarks against the Catholic Church.

[...] I better understand that reference to the Roman Catholic Church as the “apostate church” and the “great whore” described in the Book Revelation is a rhetorical device long employed in anti-Catholic literature and commentary.

I hope you recognize that I have repeatedly stated that my interpretation of Revelation leads me to conclude that the “apostate church” and the “great whore” appear only during the seven years of tribulation after all believers — Catholic and Protestant — have been taken up to heaven. Therefore, neither of these phrases can be synonymous with the Catholic Church.

Since Hagee makes no apology for his other bigoted remarks, such as Katrina was God’s wrath against gays and lesbians in New Orleans, maybe John McCain could persuade him to revisit Romans and Leviticus

I also see that Pastor Hagee could benefit by reviewing the terms “evangelism” or “evangelical” in his lexicon, especially as applied in this sentence.

Both Catholics and Evangelicals have been engaged in an effort to assert the primacy of faith and values in our increasingly secular society.

I’ll probably get a lot of rebuttal on flack on this, but evangelism is a unique talent and skill. It is not something bestowed based on membership to a church or personal beliefs. Moreover, it is probably one of the most misused terms in the Protestant lexicon.

ABC News Promotes ‘Obama is Muslim’

As if the Democratic debate wasn’t enough, Good Morning America and Kate Snow did a great job of promoting "Obama is Muslim" this morning. Perfect timing for the West Virginia primary.

Tell ABC they must provide an on-air apology.

Transcript and video via John Aravosis:

GMA’s KATE SNOW: Janis said she can’t support Obama.

JANIS (voter): He’s Muslim and that has a lot to do with it. I just, you know, I just would rather have Hillary.

GMA’s KATE SNOW: Just for the record he constantly says he’s a Christian -

JANIS (voter): I know he does.

GMA’s KATE SNOW: You don’t believe him?

JANIS (voter): No.

Kurtz, the media, and Saint Hillary of the Down-Trodden

While I don’t always agree with Howard Kurtz, especially when he places himself in the middle and serves as a scribe rather than a critic, his criticism today of the media’s coverage of Hillary’s never-ending campaign is fitting and appropriate. As Kurtz points out, it’s far more important to continue covering Hillary than it is to focus on the two candidates who will actually be running for president.

When the press, in its infinite wisdom, decides that a race is over, the usual course is to ignore the losing candidate until the person fades from public view.

Heard a lot about Fred Thompson lately? Mike Huckabee? Rudy Giuliani? Bill Richardson? Joe Biden? Chris Dodd?

But while journalists are now treating Barack Obama as the nominee-in-waiting–to the point that no one seems to care that he’s likely to get creamed in today’s West Virginia primary–the Hillary story is still very much with us.

The media, it seems, just can’t let go.

There’s the short-term tactical story: Why hasn’t she dropped out yet? Doesn’t she watch television or read the papers? The news business has decided she’s lost. Why prolong the agony?

But more important, I believe, is the psychodrama story: Is Hillary a sore loser? Detached from reality? Determined to weaken Obama so he’ll lose and she can run in 2012? The stories get increasingly sharp-edged, increasingly speculative, as we put the senator on the couch.

And, of course, there are the legacy pieces: How did the Clintons lose control of the Democratic Party? How did she fumble away the nomination? How badly did Bill hurt her? Has their time passed?

Journalists have been in a co-dependent relationship for nearly two decades with the Clintons, who provided endlessly juicy copy, from their capture of the White House to nearly losing it, from Whitewater to Gennifer to Paula to Monica, from the last-minute pardons to Hillary’s Senate bid, to the impenetrable mystery of their marriage.

So while there’s plenty of media carping about Hillary’s refusal to exit the stage, there are plenty of journalists who want to keep her there.

The point here is how the media creates its own self-perpetuating story and the story is the coverage-of-the-coverage.

The Project for Excellence in Journalism determined in its most recent annual report, The State of the News Media 2008, that the broadcast media dedicates more time to the presidential campaign than any other news story. That’s not reporting on the issues, per se, it’s reporting on what the campaigns are doing, what they are saying, and what’s being said about the campaigns. In other words, we’re watching Insider Edition or Access Hollywood presented in a news format.

But it’s not all-Hillary-all-the-time. They do the same thing with Barack Obama, mostly on matters related to Jeremiah Wright, but will graciously yield to whatever wild tale the Hillary campaign has generated about Obama on a given day.

For a solid week, the great drama has encompassed: what will Hillary do; when will she do it; to what extent will she be the victim (or victimize); Obama must choose her as his running mate; and the uber-critical West Virginia primary. Uber-critical only because Hillary says it is. It is this week’s “game-changer.”

Challenge Hillary directly on those claims? Certainly not. Nor will she be challenged on anything else. The drama must continue.

There is no follow up on Hillary’s gas tax plan, which was her raison d’etre last week. It was so vitally important to the survival of the nation that Hillary demanded every congressional member go on the record as being “with her or against her.” It failed miserably in the eyes of experts and voters last week, but it’s not important that Hillary be challenged on the issue this week to ensure voters in West Virginia are duly informed.

Fear not, the story will repeat itself next week — just replace West Virginia with Kentucky. God forbid the press actually carry out its role as the Fourth Estate.