The Associated Press reports that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton suggested in Toledo, Ohio this morning that she'll press on with the campaign after Tuesday's crucial primaries, arguing that momentum is on her side despite 11 straight losses to rival Sen. Barack Obama.
"I'm just getting warmed up."
---o0o---
I've got to admit there is not quit in her but, what is your take?
ReplyDeleteThose Clintons do not just give up...
ReplyDeleteI swear she's just biding her time, extending the race just in case something trips up Obama.
She knows she will not win it on her own, but there may be a moment where she can grab on. We've seen how fickle the public can be, and we know if the press gets it in their minds, they can do incalculable damage.
But mainly, her decision, I think it's probably all jawboning, and if she doesn't win tomorrow, she'll bail out. Remember she took in $32 million last month, which is some encouragement too...
...and then last night I saw someone--David Gergen maybe--tell how the longer she stuck around, the more likely an opening would develop...as long as she picked up some delegates meanwhile
ReplyDeleteYep, it's her only chance, definitely, and if she narrows the delegate gap you can bet the drum beat for MI & FLA will get plenty loud. And, unless Obama holds serve tonight, say 3-1 or 2-2 with a solid increase in delegates, it's likely to be messy in any case. But if the DEM leadership read the tea leaves they may begin to go at her like water torture, drip, drip, drip. Some of that has already started and I wonder what Richardson's almost cryptic remarks meant!
ReplyDeleteBut it seems like the likely outcome tonight is probably 2-2 or 3-1 in Hillary's favor...and I still bet that she wins the bigs, OH and TX.
ReplyDeleteSo now, we add Michaigan and FLA to the primary roster, perhaps.
As I undertand the pundits, yes, Hillary can't become the nominee on delegates no matter how many she picks up now. But thet also say Obama is likely to not reach the 2,025 threhhold either. And the superdelegates--well, if Obama continues slipping a little, I bet they go with the prevailing winds (because they are after all politicians).
The people have spoken once again. We have met the enemy, and he is us...
Looking forward, it's hard to imagine that Obama doesn't do fairly well through the rest of the primary season. He won't take all but he won't lose all either. You're right that they will both need SD's to get across but if FLA and MI are redos it won't really hurt him mathematically. He may net fewer delegates but those that he bags will get him closer than her to the 2025 than her. That said, after last night, it's going to get messy and that can't be good for either candidate no matter who wins. Had he won won 3-1 he might have been able to take the high road and DEMS might have unified behind him. What's coming looks like neither side's supporters will be happy. OOOPS, we did it again.
ReplyDeleteUPDATE on Pledged Delegates:
ReplyDeleteFor all the hoopla over Clinton's great night she only reduced Obama's lead in this category by a handful of delegates. His lead as of now is about 155 but call it 150, to be conservative. That means she will have to win better than 63% of the delegates from WYO onward to catch him. Impossible. Even if she pulls 55% of all the remaining delegates including redos of MI & FLA she will come to to Denver some 50 delegates short of Obama. And if that occurs, she will be the nominee because that would be an amazing winning streak. If Obama, on the other hand, keeps the gap at 150 it's hard to argue that he's slipping. But do you think the opposing troops will join forces behind the party's nominee? Can we DEMS play nice no matter what the verdict?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what the democrats will do! We haven't had a convention fight since 1972, when McGovern/Gary Hart/Frank Manckewicz (msp!) threaded their way through a masterful string of delegate challenges (both defending and opposing), deals, and a wave of populism what we haven't seen since (maybe until now...too early to tell) to lock up the convewntion, finally, at three in the morning.
ReplyDeleteHow will the Dems behave when Obama shows up a number of votes short? Who will engineer the best outcome? At the moment, it looks like Obama would, but you can bet the Clinton machine is this afternoon beginning to work on their strategy for a free-for-all convention. Who knows? WHo knows about the superdelegates abandoning ship on Obama...they're definitely all creatures of expediency, ever-poised to trim their sails to meet the prevailing winds.
If this thing now lasts 'til June, which is seeming more likely, God knows what damage those two will do to each other. Next, we'll see Obama answer the "nagging" lesbian question "I don't think Hill's a dyke...as far as I know!"
I think you are getting your delegate counts from the Obama web site. Other neutral sites, like, say, CBS, http://election.cbsnews.com/campaign2008/d_delegateScorecard.shtml
ReplyDeleteput the count more like Obama up by 110.