The Bare Knuckled Pundit
05-23-2008, 12:55 PM
Crushing Barack Obama with a 30+ point victory for the second consecutive week, Hillary Clinton locked up the coveted title of Bubba’s preferred presidential nominee Tuesday. Pabst Blue Ribbon bottles were hoisted in celebration from Pennsylvania to Arkansas as any doubts about her claim to the title were finally laid to rest.
Building to a crescendo on the momentum of her double digit victories in Ohio and Pennsylvania, Hillary easily dispatched Obama with a 35 point drubbing in the Blue Grass State. This was a fitting coda to the thunderous Wagnerian climax of her 41 point West Virginian triumph a week ago. Hoping to use the Bubba title as a springboard to the Democratic nomination for president, Hillary headed off to campaign along the sun drenched shores of southern Florida.
While landing in the Sunshine State, it was clear Clinton in fact was in the state of denial as she vowed to continue her quest for the nomination through to the party’s convention. Attempting to parlay her stunning electoral success into increased pressure on the Democratic National Committee, Hillary campaigned across the state and continued to press for the seating of its banned delegation at the Denver convention. With her political fate intertwined with that of the Michigan and Florida delegations, Clinton relentlessly insists there can be no legitimate Democratic nominee without the votes from these two critical states being counted. That even though she originally agreed to abide by the decision of the DNC when it appeared she would easily wrap up the nomination earlier in the campaign season.
Following Hillary to the land of plentiful citrus and giant talking mice, Barack Obama turned his attention to the upcoming fall campaign and the fight for the crucial battleground state. Celebrating his Oregon victory over Clinton in Iowa Tuesday evening, Obama returned to the state that had launched his campaign with an upset first place finish in the January caucuses. Stating he was now “within reach of the Democratic nomination,” Obama politely put Clinton in his rearview mirror as he focused squarely on John McCain.
Passing the symbolic threshold of winning a majority of the available delegates with his Oregon win, Obama is now 60 delegates short of the 2,026 necessary to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination. In spite of this, he has still been unable to deliver the coup de grace to Clinton who continues on an increasingly insurgent, anti-establishment tack.
With reports that Hillary's campaign debt now exceeds $30 million, with $10 million of it loans from herself, questions continue to mount concerning the viability and underlying logic of her candidacy. Ignoring the writing on the wall, she carries on, buoyed by the unflagging support of women and working class voters.
Trailing by 185 delegates with only 86 left to be distributed in primaries in Puerto Rico, South Dakota and Montana, Clinton has split her focus along three fronts. While continuing to lobby the remaining 210 superdelegates, she has grown increasingly dogged in her calls to seat Florida and Michigan's rogue delegations. Finally, she insists the actual number of delegates needed to seize the nomination is 2,209, not 2,026; a figure that can only be reached with the seating of the two banned delegations.
As her victories in West Virginia and Kentucky highlight Obama’s ongoing difficulties in appealing to white, blue collar voters, it becomes increasingly clear he has serious work to do if he hopes to win these and other battleground states in the fall. Perhaps a first step in that direction would be his taking them seriously instead of making half-hearted last minute appearances once the dye has already been cast. While these voters may not share the economic status or educational background of many of his supporters, they are nonetheless an integral part of the electorate he hopes to lead. Kudos for giving it the ole college try, Senator! Rest assured, it will be remembered come the fall.
Stock up on Pabst Blue Ribbon, faithful readers! It's a long road to November 4th! Stay tuned for further updates as the Clintons go rolling along!
Building to a crescendo on the momentum of her double digit victories in Ohio and Pennsylvania, Hillary easily dispatched Obama with a 35 point drubbing in the Blue Grass State. This was a fitting coda to the thunderous Wagnerian climax of her 41 point West Virginian triumph a week ago. Hoping to use the Bubba title as a springboard to the Democratic nomination for president, Hillary headed off to campaign along the sun drenched shores of southern Florida.
While landing in the Sunshine State, it was clear Clinton in fact was in the state of denial as she vowed to continue her quest for the nomination through to the party’s convention. Attempting to parlay her stunning electoral success into increased pressure on the Democratic National Committee, Hillary campaigned across the state and continued to press for the seating of its banned delegation at the Denver convention. With her political fate intertwined with that of the Michigan and Florida delegations, Clinton relentlessly insists there can be no legitimate Democratic nominee without the votes from these two critical states being counted. That even though she originally agreed to abide by the decision of the DNC when it appeared she would easily wrap up the nomination earlier in the campaign season.
Following Hillary to the land of plentiful citrus and giant talking mice, Barack Obama turned his attention to the upcoming fall campaign and the fight for the crucial battleground state. Celebrating his Oregon victory over Clinton in Iowa Tuesday evening, Obama returned to the state that had launched his campaign with an upset first place finish in the January caucuses. Stating he was now “within reach of the Democratic nomination,” Obama politely put Clinton in his rearview mirror as he focused squarely on John McCain.
Passing the symbolic threshold of winning a majority of the available delegates with his Oregon win, Obama is now 60 delegates short of the 2,026 necessary to clinch the Democratic presidential nomination. In spite of this, he has still been unable to deliver the coup de grace to Clinton who continues on an increasingly insurgent, anti-establishment tack.
With reports that Hillary's campaign debt now exceeds $30 million, with $10 million of it loans from herself, questions continue to mount concerning the viability and underlying logic of her candidacy. Ignoring the writing on the wall, she carries on, buoyed by the unflagging support of women and working class voters.
Trailing by 185 delegates with only 86 left to be distributed in primaries in Puerto Rico, South Dakota and Montana, Clinton has split her focus along three fronts. While continuing to lobby the remaining 210 superdelegates, she has grown increasingly dogged in her calls to seat Florida and Michigan's rogue delegations. Finally, she insists the actual number of delegates needed to seize the nomination is 2,209, not 2,026; a figure that can only be reached with the seating of the two banned delegations.
As her victories in West Virginia and Kentucky highlight Obama’s ongoing difficulties in appealing to white, blue collar voters, it becomes increasingly clear he has serious work to do if he hopes to win these and other battleground states in the fall. Perhaps a first step in that direction would be his taking them seriously instead of making half-hearted last minute appearances once the dye has already been cast. While these voters may not share the economic status or educational background of many of his supporters, they are nonetheless an integral part of the electorate he hopes to lead. Kudos for giving it the ole college try, Senator! Rest assured, it will be remembered come the fall.
Stock up on Pabst Blue Ribbon, faithful readers! It's a long road to November 4th! Stay tuned for further updates as the Clintons go rolling along!