Ignoring Reality: Clinton Stays In
Ignoring all the numbers in favor of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton says that although her campaign is cash-strapped, she's staying in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination "until there's a nominee." That statement sent chills down the spines of some top Democrats, who see the Clinton-Obama battle continuing until the party's Denver convention in August.
Clinton appeared in West Virginia today after an early morning conference with advisers following her huge loss to Obama in North Carolina and a whisker-thin win in Indiana, where Obama came within less than two percent of her despite her earlier double-digit lead in polls. Obama, meanwhile, added insult to injury when, on Wednesday morning, he pocketed the support of at least four Democratic convention superdelegates, building on his momentum and further extending his delegate lead over Clinton.
Pundits say Clinton's poor showing on Tuesday will only deepen her fundraising problems and may require far more than the $6.4 million she's personally put into her campaign in recent weeks.
"Her campaign is on life support," quipped a Democrat consultant today.
The list of people pushing Clinton toward the exit now is growing, and added to it Wednesday was one of her earliest backers, 1972 presidential candidate George McGovern, who said he now is supporting Obama.
“I don’t see how Senator Clinton could prevail” to win the nomination, the 85-year-old former senator told FOX News.
McGovern said Clinton’s exit is important to ensure the upper hand in November.
“I think it’s important for Democrats to be united,” McGovern said.
McGovern joins last week’s high-profile defection of former Democratic Party chairman Joe Andrew and February’s stinging departure of Georgia Rep. John Lewis.
Even before McGovern’s announcement, Clinton cut loose a planned day of rest Wednesday to start up the campaign machine for one final push. Six nomination contests remain over the next four weeks, 217 pledged delegates are still up for grabs and 269 superdelegates are undecided.
The campaign reacted coolly to the news.
“We appreciate his friendship, but we think voters in the upcoming states should have their votes counted,” said Clinton spokesman Jay Carson.
Clinton now aims to keep hope alive among a jittery group of superdelegates who have stuck with her so far. To do so she’ll need to pull together a string of fourth-quarter miracles while dangling the prospect of bringing back into the fold votes from Florida and Michigan — which were written off in a pre-primary party dispute.
That hope is diminishing quickly after the latest balloting. Clinton eked out a 1.7 percent win over Obama in Indiana, lower than pre-election polls predicted, taking the Hoosier State 50.8-49.1. But in the Tar Heel State, Obama racked up a 15 percentage point win, winning it 57-42.
Seeing the end in sight, Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod appeared to be shifting the campaign toward a general election fight, saying presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain has “run free for some time now” because of Democratic preoccupation with the ongoing primary fight.
“I don’t think we’re going to spend time solely in primary states,” he said. “We have multiple tasks here.”
Clinton has a chance at winning a few of the remaining states, but the likelihood of her taking the delegates she needs to win is nearly insurmountable. She is favored to win next week in West Virginia, as well as the May 20 contest in Kentucky, and the June 1 contest in Puerto Rico. But her chances are slim in Oregon on May 20, and in the last two primaries in Montana and South Dakota on June 3.
Still, she argues the count is close. Clinton touched on this theme Tuesday night, citing the “he wins one, she wins one” nature of the campaign.
But to reach the number of 2,025 total delegates needed to clinch the nomination, the New York senator would need to take 349 of the 486 total pledged delegates and superdelegates still on the table or undecided, which includes 16 pledged delegates that have yet to be cast in North Carolina.
“Absent a comfortable win in Indiana, it’s hard to see how the Clinton campaign can go forward from here,” FOX News contributor Karl Rove said, noting the results from Tuesday’s contests seemed to signal the end of the primary race and the beginning of the general election campaign.
“It’s gonna be much harder for her tomorrow,” Democratic strategist Bob Beckel said late Tuesday.
The Clinton campaign showed no signs of letting up even as it fought rumors that it was holding a “crisis” meeting with superdelegates on Wednesday to keep them from jumping to Obama.
The campaign, which canceled Clinton’s Wednesday morning show appearances, confirmed it will meet superdelegates but said it’s not anything unusual. Aides say the outcome of Tuesday’s primaries changes nothing and the race moves on to the remaining six contests.
Clinton appeared in West Virginia today after an early morning conference with advisers following her huge loss to Obama in North Carolina and a whisker-thin win in Indiana, where Obama came within less than two percent of her despite her earlier double-digit lead in polls. Obama, meanwhile, added insult to injury when, on Wednesday morning, he pocketed the support of at least four Democratic convention superdelegates, building on his momentum and further extending his delegate lead over Clinton.
Pundits say Clinton's poor showing on Tuesday will only deepen her fundraising problems and may require far more than the $6.4 million she's personally put into her campaign in recent weeks.
"Her campaign is on life support," quipped a Democrat consultant today.
The list of people pushing Clinton toward the exit now is growing, and added to it Wednesday was one of her earliest backers, 1972 presidential candidate George McGovern, who said he now is supporting Obama.
“I don’t see how Senator Clinton could prevail” to win the nomination, the 85-year-old former senator told FOX News.
McGovern said Clinton’s exit is important to ensure the upper hand in November.
“I think it’s important for Democrats to be united,” McGovern said.
McGovern joins last week’s high-profile defection of former Democratic Party chairman Joe Andrew and February’s stinging departure of Georgia Rep. John Lewis.
Even before McGovern’s announcement, Clinton cut loose a planned day of rest Wednesday to start up the campaign machine for one final push. Six nomination contests remain over the next four weeks, 217 pledged delegates are still up for grabs and 269 superdelegates are undecided.
The campaign reacted coolly to the news.
“We appreciate his friendship, but we think voters in the upcoming states should have their votes counted,” said Clinton spokesman Jay Carson.
Clinton now aims to keep hope alive among a jittery group of superdelegates who have stuck with her so far. To do so she’ll need to pull together a string of fourth-quarter miracles while dangling the prospect of bringing back into the fold votes from Florida and Michigan — which were written off in a pre-primary party dispute.
That hope is diminishing quickly after the latest balloting. Clinton eked out a 1.7 percent win over Obama in Indiana, lower than pre-election polls predicted, taking the Hoosier State 50.8-49.1. But in the Tar Heel State, Obama racked up a 15 percentage point win, winning it 57-42.
Seeing the end in sight, Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod appeared to be shifting the campaign toward a general election fight, saying presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain has “run free for some time now” because of Democratic preoccupation with the ongoing primary fight.
“I don’t think we’re going to spend time solely in primary states,” he said. “We have multiple tasks here.”
Clinton has a chance at winning a few of the remaining states, but the likelihood of her taking the delegates she needs to win is nearly insurmountable. She is favored to win next week in West Virginia, as well as the May 20 contest in Kentucky, and the June 1 contest in Puerto Rico. But her chances are slim in Oregon on May 20, and in the last two primaries in Montana and South Dakota on June 3.
Still, she argues the count is close. Clinton touched on this theme Tuesday night, citing the “he wins one, she wins one” nature of the campaign.
But to reach the number of 2,025 total delegates needed to clinch the nomination, the New York senator would need to take 349 of the 486 total pledged delegates and superdelegates still on the table or undecided, which includes 16 pledged delegates that have yet to be cast in North Carolina.
“Absent a comfortable win in Indiana, it’s hard to see how the Clinton campaign can go forward from here,” FOX News contributor Karl Rove said, noting the results from Tuesday’s contests seemed to signal the end of the primary race and the beginning of the general election campaign.
“It’s gonna be much harder for her tomorrow,” Democratic strategist Bob Beckel said late Tuesday.
The Clinton campaign showed no signs of letting up even as it fought rumors that it was holding a “crisis” meeting with superdelegates on Wednesday to keep them from jumping to Obama.
The campaign, which canceled Clinton’s Wednesday morning show appearances, confirmed it will meet superdelegates but said it’s not anything unusual. Aides say the outcome of Tuesday’s primaries changes nothing and the race moves on to the remaining six contests.
Labels: 2008 Presidential Race
posted by Mike McCarville @ 12:44 PM
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