Barack Obama, after telling a cheering Indiana throng that it's "good to be back in the Midwest," indirectly explains his failure in Pennsylvania. "It’s easy to get caught up in the distractions and the silliness and the tit-for-tat that consumes our politics; the bickering that none of us are immune to, and that trivializes the profound issues – two wars, an economy in recession, a planet in peril."His failure to follow that advice cost him dearly. I told you yesterday that, with a ten point margin of victory, Hillary Clinton could convincingly argue that momentum is on her side. She got it. With 89% of the vote tallied, her statewide margin of victory is 55.1% to 44.9%. (Northampton County margin - 62 to 38; Lehigh County margin - 60 to 40). In the two hours since being declared the winner, her campaign has raked in over $1 million.
Clinton can now argue that, if you count disputed totals in Michigan and Florida, she leads in the popular vote.
In Hiladelphia, Clinton graciously acknowledges Pennsylania's importance. "It's a long road to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and it runs right through the heart of Pennsylvania." Instead of acting as though her candidacy is "inevitable," she now strikes me as a decent human being.
As predicted on April Fool's Day, "Hillary will be the Democratic nominee for President. She will leave Pennsylvania with both momentum and money. Obama's campaign is in disarray, and Hillary is apparently much warmer and vibrant than commonly thought. Pennsylvania is where she makes her push. If you put your ears to the ground, you'll hear the train rumbling, and it's getting louder and louder."
32 comments:
boy talk about the tide. sam bennett racked up 38000 votes against dents 12000. interesting nite
The 15th CD could be 100% Democratic and Dent would still crush Bennett. Don't expect a victory from her.
Let's stop beating the place where a dead horse once was. She was behind yesterday, and she is still behind. The Front Runner is still the same. Obama For Your Momma!
He wasn't on the ballot in Michigan, didn't campaign in Florida(she did) and he is ahead of her in Michigan in polls.
Sheesh.
But Chris, if you count Michigan and Florida, she's ahead. I understand the argument against doing that, but Clinton can argue the democratic thing to do is to recognize those large states. What was once clear is now muddied.
Wow! After Hillary's victory speech, I saw Mayor Nutter, Gov. Ed Rendell, Gov. Corzine, Pres Clinton and........DON CUNNINGHAM on the stage. I didn't see anyone else on stage that was invited by Pres Clinton. That much is owed to DON? Subliminal message to everyone else in the Dem Party?
92% of black, PA Ds voted for Obama. 75% of whites PA Ds voted for Clinton. Can't we all just get along?
Apparently there is an intelligence divide, per pa polls. If you have a college degree, you were likely to vote for Obama. If you didn't you likely voted Clinton.
Racism is alive and well in PA.
Education and racism often go hand in hand.
I had more than one person tell me in subtle ways that they would not vote for a black man. I had one person tell me they would not vote for Obama because of Rev Wright and Obama's ties to Farrakhan. Nice job Hillary.
Education and racism often go hand in hand. Education also goes hand in hand with elitism and I see that in some of the comments here. Some of you huff that the "unwashed masses" don't know better. Last time I checked, their vote matters just as much as yours. You would all do well to remember that.
"unwashed masses"
This unwashed blog commenter thanks you.
O_o
...but Obama does have ties to Rev. Wright and Farrakhan.
...so does Hillary Clinton. That's the point of her undying hypocrisy. (Rev Wright was the spiritual advisor for the Clintons during Monicagate.)
BOH, yes 'tis true. A racist's vote does hold the same weight as a non-racist. This is not to say that all of HC's votes were from racists.
So Hayshaker, in view of your harsh criticism of Hillary, am I to understand that you will be supporting McCain if she is the nominee? I took a close, second look at her and feel I've misjudged her. I understand your enthusioam for Obama. He is a good man who represents a new approach to politics. He just ran a lousy campaign here and I may still have to pay off on my bet with Tom Foolery. I wson't be unhappy if he is the nominee. But it appears that you disdain Hillary. So what happens if she is the nominee?
I didn't have the opportunity yet to harshly criticize McCain. I find both his and HC's support of the war in Iraq to be intolerable. I find both his and HC's views regarding Iran to be highly dangerous and needless saber rattling. But I find McCain's hypocrisy with regards to the Christian right to be nauseating. I find his 100 years comment and his flip-flop on the Bush tax cuts to be unforgivable. All in all, both McCain and Clinton are peers when it comes to political opportunism.
I am the opposite of you. I regarded HC highly before the election and my perceptions of her have dropped significantly. Her dirty politics and attack first mentality is sad.
In Nov, I'd vote for her IF she can redeem herself. If not, there is always the true American hero, Ralph Nader. Don't be surprised to see the Obama contingent move to Nader.
"Apparently there is an intelligence divide, per pa polls. If you have a college degree, you were likely to vote for Obama. If you didn't you likely voted Clinton."
Assuming a college degree holder is more intelligent than one who hasn't a college degree is faulty. Between colleges' watered-down curricula and desires to be "diverse," a college degree isn't what it used to be. And with a relatively small percentage holding college degrees, Obama would do well to use his intelligence to formulate a plan to reach more of those who don't - even if he thinks they're not worth the time because they're already lost, clinging to religion and guns and xenophobic tendencies as he thinks they do.
I'm living proof there is no correlation between education and intelligence.
Either way the democrats no longer have a strong candidate for the general election.
The American people like to see thier candidates with support from thier own party. McCain has that and it shows in that national numbers show a virtual tie between him and either democract candidate. This should not be the case when you look at our current president with the lowest approval numbers, ever.
Both candidates have attacked the crediability of the other so much at this point that whenever a winner is a declared and they "kiss and make up," it will seem false to the entire general public. The democrats are playing a dangerous game with an election they "can't lose."
Tim, You're absolutely right. We are really screwed up. The only thing we have going for us is Rs.
There are a couple of other factors to consider before saying that the entire state presidential primary boiled down to racism, dirty tricks and/or elitism.
Let's not forget that PA is second only to FL in terms of the percentage of it's population that is over 65-years-old, according to Census data. Older voters probably contributed to Sen. Clinton's win, and perhaps women voters did also. You can read Pam Varkony's blog for commentary regarding the latter. Clinton may have had the edge in regards to issues that matter to these PA demographics.
Perhaps, too, many PA voters went with more experience when voting to hire the next presidental candidate. Sen. Clinton, like her or not, has more Congressional experience than Sen. Obama. For many people, it is very important to have a track record in Washington (or in governing an entire state) before they are willing to vote you into the Oval Office.
In any event, studying what went right or wrong in PA would be wise for any presidential candidate. This primary seems to have been closely followed by many Americans.
Pete,
Thanks especially for the link to Pam's well-writtewn blog about this truly historic election. I agreee with pam that women have made their power felt. I know one older lady who has not voted since JFK, but she registered and came to the polls for Hillary yesterday. I especially like the way Hillary reacted last night. She was so thankful to Pennsylvania, and at one point, I thought she was ready to cry a bit. She is a much deeper person than I had thought just a few months ago.
I certainly can't speak for the entire state of PA, but the Democrats I spoke to about whom they decided on in yesterday's primary really took a lot into consideration when they cast their vote. A lot of people really did some long hard thinking and soul searching to come up with their choice.
Some are saying this primary is hurting the Democrats, but I'm not so sure. People who really have thought a lot about it can become more vested in the process, if they see their collective voice being heard.
They did alot of the math yesterday on CNN and MSNBC. Her chances are squat. You need to start working on those Bennett paragraphs now. She barely gained on the delegate front and is behind in Indiana and North Carolina. Could I get an ice cream with those paragraphs?
Tom Foolery, I've got two words for you - Madame President.
If that happens Bernie I will walk into a County council meeting and personally kiss your feet. Since I'd imagine that doesn't happen very often, you'll know who I am when it occurs..However, sadly, I am afraid you'll never see that day..
Hillary's national negatives have run steadily at 48%. Obama repeated this early in the campaign in his football analogy about having to defend a short field if she's the nominee. She'll bump that number a bit higher after she's finished with Barack. McCain wins. Easily.
Interestingly enough, 47% of PA primary voters on Tuesday had a college degree. Seems the "elitists" are not such a minority. The elitists went to OBama by only 2% this time, 51-49.
The percentage of all voters who were white and said race had a role in their choice: 12%. That's over 200,000 people who were actually honest about it. I'd double it.
Exit polling
So you agree wioth what everyone was mad at Rendell for saying? I think you are right. I believe people are more willing to accept a woman than a person of color. It is sad but true that people still base choices on these things.
BOH, you got that right. I don't even want to repeat some of the appalling things I heard around the valley the weeks leading up to the election.
What's sad is that someone who -might be- a person of generational change has been cast aside by our electorate. Why are we LESS progressive than North Carolina? It is truly disheartening.
Bernie...
According to the Department of State website, Clinton won with 54.6% of the vote and Obama received 45.4% of the vote.
Unless I have totally forgotten my subtraction skills, that gives Clinton a 9.2% margin, not 10%.
Anon 4:15, You have the luxury of posting a comment two days after the event is over. I was writing that night, and made clear how many votes had been tabulated. Also, you should be clear that we will not have official results for some time, and the final result will be close to 10 %.
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