Stories related to: Barack Obama

Despite what has been hailed as a strong showing by Barack Obama in Indiana, his campaign claims he would’ve done better but for the sabotage of Rush Limbaugh, the Washington Post reports. Under his “Operation Chaos,” the conservative radio host urged Indiana Republicans to vote for Clinton in order to prolong the Dems' dogfight and "bloody up Obama politically." More »

Barack Obama plans to lay claim to his party’s nomination on May 20, the day that votes in Kentucky and Oregon will net him a majority of pledged delegates, a top aide tells Politico, setting up what David Paul Kuhn calls “a train wreck waiting to happen.” For at least 11 days—until the DNC meets on whether and how to seat Michigan and Florida’s outlaw delegates—the Clinton camp will dispute it. More »

In the last few weeks, two giants of center-left politics—Hillary Clinton in America and Gordon Brown in Britain—have seen their electoral chances reduced to near impossibility. Both have struggled as uncharismatic politicians in a media age. But for one columnist in London's Times , their trajectories have more important parallels: not least, their support for the war in Iraq, the unspoken element in both of their downfalls. More »

After a career of sober-minded policy politics, Hillary Clinton let loose her inner populist pol in Indiana and North Carolina, Joe Klein writes, and, like much of the media, he thought the showmanship-over-substance (along with Obama's pastor problem) might pull it out for her. But that "shameless populism" proved not to be a game-changer after all. She lost the contest—and the race, he concludes in a Time cover story anointing Obama as the nominee. 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 »

Now that Barack Obama has all but knocked out Hillary Clinton, Rush Limbaugh is calling off "Operation Chaos" and relishing the notion that Obama will be the nominee, CNN notes. Limbaugh has for months urged Republicans to vote for Clinton to prolong the race. Today, he urged superdelegates to publicly back Obama, calling him the "weakest" of the Democratic candidates. More »

The quirkiest presidential candidate has found a new platform—a drop-dead funny video spot with Web fave Obama Girl, writes AOL blogger Liza Porteus Viana. Libertarian Mike Gravel does the Soulja Boy dance in an attempt to sway the famous Barack booster. “You should drop your crush on Obama," sings Gravel, 77, who should probably keep his day job. Alas, he fails to win her over. More »

Deeming Hillary Clinton knocked out, John Judis takes a look at Barack Obama’s flaws in the New Republic and finds the Democrat with much to work on before Election Day: His base: Obama has become too dependent on young and black voters, after early success with white men. More »

The pundits agree that Hillary Clinton barely has a leg to stand on, though explanations vary: John Dickerson writes in Slate that Barack Obama closed the door on his blue-collar problem, shaking off the elitist label. Evidence is that Obama barely lost among poorer voters and actually won in “sharing your values” exit-polling; to win now, Clinton “must bring more states into the union.” More »

Hillary Clinton pledged today to fight on despite yesterday's disappointing primary results; she “refused … to withdraw,” the AP reports, despite tough questioning at a news conference. Clinton said she wasn’t going anywhere “until there’s a nominee,” even if it means waiting for Democratic National Committee bodies (the first meets May 30) to rule on outlaw Florida and Michigan delegates. More »

America’s pundit class has deemed the Democratic race over, shifting the conventional wisdom away from Hillary Clinton’s whisker of a chance, the New York Times reports. From Tim Russert’s assertion that “We now know who the Democratic nominee’s going to be, and no one’s going to dispute it” to the Drudge Report’s anointing Barack Obama “The Nominee,” the worm appears to have turned among analysts. More »

Top Hillary Clinton backer and former Democratic nominee George McGovern is switching his endorsement to Barack Obama—and urging Hillary to step aside, the AP reports. McGovern said it was now all but impossible for Clinton to prevail; the party’s choice in 1972, he said he would call Bill to relay the news. More »

On the flight home from his North Carolina victory last night, Barack Obama’s top adviser signaled that the next phase of the race has begun: “I don’t think we are going to spend our time solely in primary states.” Confirming a reporter’s interpretation that the candidate would be moving on to general-election territory, he added, “We are not going to take anything for granted. But we are also going to spend time addressing broader issues.” 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 »

Barack Obama romped to victory in North Carolina and almost fought Hillary Clinton to a draw in Indiana by relying on his most loyal coalitions: young voters, African-Americans, and liberals. He also did better yesterday than in recent races among white men, pulling about 40% of that demo in Indiana. That puts Obama back at the level of support he enjoyed on Super Tuesday, reports Politico. More »

Barack Obama's resounding win in North Carolina and fight to the finish in Indiana has left the Clinton campaign with one final strategy to win the nomination: move the goalposts and play for time. Team Hillary is now telling journalists that the winning candidate actually needs almost 200 more delegates than both sides had said earlier, reports the Los Angeles Times. More »

Barack Obama tonight portrayed himself as the likely Democratic candidate and predicted the party will reunite once the primaries end, CNN reports. Analysts saw the speech as a direct appeal to superdelegates, a kickoff to the general election. After his resounding victory in North Carolina, Obama rejected the notion that the primary race has divided the party—that Clinton supporters or his supporters are so bitter they will jump ship and vote for John McCain. "I'm here to tell you tonight that I don't believe it." More »

Barack Obama won the North Carolina primary today, foiling Hillary Clinton's hopes of an upset in her bid to sway superdelegates, the Washington Post reports. It's Obama's first win in a big state since February. Obama won decisively, 56% to 42%. In his victory speech, Obama tweaked Clinton for calling the state a potential "game changer." Voters decided "the only game that needs changing is the one in Washington," he said. 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 »

John McCain reached out to conservatives today, saying he would follow George Bush's lead in appointing judges, CNN reports. McCain drew sharp contrasts between his legal philosophy and that of both Democratic hopefuls before an audience in North Carolina. He specifically criticized Obama for voting against the confirmation of John Roberts and Samuel Alito, saying Obama favored "activist" judges who do not respect the constitution. More »