Stories related to: Obama 2008

Barack Obama's West Virginia loss by a whopping 30 points probably won’t cost him the Democratic nomination, writes John Dickerson in Slate. But the loss does put a chink in Obama’s argument that he can unite disparate groups, since, apparently, these powers have failed him among at least one key voting block—the blue-collar whites that are Hillary Clinton's base. More »

Hillary Clinton wasn’t asking anyone to stand up and be counted as she met with superdelegates on Capitol Hill yesterday. Instead of trying to lock in public endorsements—with political risks for the supers involved—Clinton was just trying to get a private headcount, Politico reports. "We have to know where our numbers are,” said one Clinton staffer, “and there’s no other way.” More »

Just about every political bigwig is calling the race for Barack Obama—but not the Democrat himself. "We've still got some work to do," he told CNN today, making sure to heap praise on Hillary Clinton. Asked whether she could be his running mate, he said it would be "presumptuous" to answer but noted, "Obviously, she'd be on anybody's short list." More »

Barack Obama is now the prohibitive favorite for the Democratic nomination, writes Karl Rove, analyzing the presidential race for the Wall Street Journal. Clinton may still battle on, but there’s nothing Obama can or should do to stop her. Instead, he should focus on the general election where, by Rove’s count, he trails McCain in electoral votes 241-217. More »

Oregon’s primary, usually a non-event, is shaping up to get an unusual amount of attention this time around, the Oregonian reports. The state has 52 delegates at stake—huge among remaining contests—and is likely to be crucial for the Democrats in the fall as well. Says a state party official: “There’s talk that it’s going to be the last battleground state.” More »

If you went to bed early last night, you missed a bizarre political cliffhanger. Indiana’s Lake County, a populous northwestern county with a reputation for corruption, didn’t report its results until well after 1 am, a full 6 hours after the polls had closed. When the results finally arrived, Hillary Clinton’s steadily dwindling lead had shrunk to an unimpressive 2-point victory, the New York Post reports. More »

Hillary Clinton held on to beat Barack Obama by the slimmest of margins in the Indiana primary, CNN reports. Though Clinton led by double digits early in the night, Obama made a dramatic recovery late and closed the gap to 51% to 49%. Populous Lake County held up the results until after 1am ET. Having lost in North Carolina earlier, Clinton sorely needed an Indiana victory. More »

In exit polling in both Indiana and North Carolina today, voters overwhelmingly said the economy was the No. 1 issue influencing their decision in the presidential primary. In Indiana, 65% said the economy was most important, compared to 60% in North Carolina. Asked if the recession had affected their lives, 89% in Indiana said yes, as did 81% in North Carolina, MSNBC reports. More »

Obama likened Hillary's stance on Iran to George Bush's "cowboy diplomacy" on Meet the Press today, while Clinton took to ABC to defend the gas tax and told voters mired in the Jeremiah Wright controversy "We should move on." Tim Russert ignored her advice, however, and devoted his first 18 minutes to the pastor, reports the New York Times . “Obviously, it’s distracted us,” Obama admitted. More »

David Axelrod isn’t just a political hired gun. Instead, Barack Obama’s chief strategist backs his candidates with the same passion he reserves for his beloved Cubs and Bulls, the Washington Post reports in a lengthy profile. “He loves his candidates when he starts. He’s usually let down when he finishes,” said one friend. “Obama is the one different guy.” More »

Barack Obama has spent his entire career trying not to be an Angry Black Man, but yesterday Jeremiah Wright forced him to tap his rage, Maureen Dowd writes in the New York Times . Wright, seemingly among the angriest of black men, had created a full-blown crisis for Obama, forcing the Democrat to commit “a painful form of political patricide.” More »

Hillary Clinton has joined John McCain's call for a summer holiday from the federal gasoline tax, but Barack Obama says the move will hurt more than it helps, the New York Times reports. Clinton says she’d pay for it with a windfall-profits tax on the oil companies. “Middle-class families are paying too much and oil companies aren’t paying their fair share,” Clinton said. More »

Hillary Clinton opened a commanding lead in a heads-up race against John McCain in the latest AP-Ipsos poll, leading the GOP’s presumptive nominee 50%-41%. Barack Obama, meanwhile, edged McCain just 46%-44%, a statistical tie. Today's numbers are a gift for Clinton, forwarding her argument that she would be more electable than Obama come November. More »

Barack Obama and John McCain clashed over Iraq today, as the DNC readies an ad campaign criticizing McCain's now-infamous remark about keeping troops in Iraq for 100 years. In a Fox News interview, Obama pledged to withdraw troops from Iraq even if Gen. David Petraeus advised against it. But the McCain camp says Obama's leadership "can't deliver." More »

Hillary Clinton wants one last debate before the Indiana and North Carolina primaries next month, and she’s ready to do it Lincoln-Douglas style. “After the last debate, Sen. Obama’s supporters complained a little about the tough questions,” Clinton told a crowd in South Bend today. “I’m offering Senator Obama a chance to debate me, one-on-one, no moderators.” More »

Barack Obama, once the fresh-faced symbol of a new kind of politics, emerged from the Pennsylvania primary “stale, battered, and embittered,” Joe Klein writes in a stunningly dour piece on the state of the Democratic race in Time . Dragged into a morass of character attacks, some of it  “scurrilous trash,” Obama withered. “There is an immutable pedestrian reality to American politics,” Klein writes. “You have to get the social body language right.” More »

The Pennsylvania primary didn't change the basic parameters of the race for the Democratic nomination in any significant way, Andrew Romano writes in Newsweek. But it had a huge effect on the narrative, handing Hillary Clinton Exhibit A for her claim that  Barack Obama can't win over white men. She will taunt him, as she did last night, for failing to knock her out, despite outspending her 3 to 1. Obama will boast, as he did last night, of cutting her Pennsylvania lead, and will hammer her for divisive tactics that are hurting the party. More »

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry endorsed Barack Obama yesterday, saying the Illinois senator was the only one who could “transcend partisan games.” Henry is the third Oklahoma superdelegate to back Obama, the Tulsa World reports, bucking the results of the state’s Feb. 5 primary—which Hillary Clinton won 54-31%. Clinton has just one Oklahoma superdelegate, while six remain uncommitted. More »

Without a knockout blow in Pennsylvania, Barack Obama is going to have to keep jabbing back at Hillary Clinton. But those counterpunches could hurt his campaign, warns Jonathan Weisman in the Washington Post. The Obama camp's swing to the negative in the closing days of the Pennsylvania campaign shows he can take on John McCain—but at the same time undercuts his message of fresh hope and an end to old-style politics, writes Weisman. More »

The Democratic presidential candidates are in a neck-and-neck race for donations from Hollywood. Less than $300 in contributions from the entertainment industry separates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, reports the Los Angeles Times . Both boast just short of $3 million in Tinseltown cash. But John McCain has only shaken loose some $500,000 from the Hollywood money tree. More »