Clinton-Obama Tussle

John Edwards’ endorsement may have helped Obama turn the page on recent troubles, but pundits say he should face up to them—or he leaves an opening for Hillary to climb back in: Sure, it was a “rational, prudent decision” to skip West Virginia, David Broder allows, but it will keep Obama’s blue-collar question alive into the fall. He could have staged a JFK-style coup in the Mountain State—he certainly had the money and foot soldiers. More »

John Edwards’ endorsement of Barack Obama may “hammer another nail into Clinton’s subterranean coffin,” but it won’t do much to sway primary voters, Andrew Romano writes in Newsweek . Had Edwards taken a pro-Obama stand a few months ago, it might have helped the senator with blue-collar voters. But at this point, the endorsement was inevitable: “Edwards is a Democrat. Obama's the Democratic nominee. It had to happen eventually.” More »

Hillary Clinton can crow all she wants about West Virginia, but the media won't hear. “This may be the first time in election history,” Roger Simon writes on Politico, “in which the press has withdrawn from a race before the candidate.” Barack Obama was off campaigning in Missouri—a state he already won—and the media agreed with him: The primaries are over. More »

John Edwards endorsed Barack Obama today, calling him the one person who can bring about the "one America" that will bridge the divide between rich and poor and rebuild the nation's "moral authority." Edwards, who dropped out of the race in January, joined Obama in Michigan for the announcement, the Wall Street Journal reports. His backing could help Obama with his weak spot—working-class white voters. More »

NARAL tapped Barack Obama today, an endorsement that a top Hillary Clinton aide called “surprising.” The abortion-rights group said Obama is the candidate “we believe will secure the Democratic nomination”—and said it hoped to start healing a rift between black voters and white female activists that the primary fight has opened, Talking Points Memo reports. More »

Three former heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission, including President Bush appointee William Donaldson, will endorse Barack Obama today, joining with former Fed chair Paul Volcker to say the candidate will take a “reasoned approach” to “balanced regulatory reform.” Donaldson said he was especially impressed by Obama’s recent comment that he would overhaul regulations for any business that borrows from government. More »

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 »

For Bill and Hillary Clinton, 2008 is smacking of 1998, as the struggle to stay in the presidential race looks remarkably like the battle to survive impeachment, argues Michael Crowley in the New Republic . The former first couple is under siege again, and again is willing to “ride out any crisis”—wrapping themselves in the mantle of populism and indicting the press. More »

Barack Obama is feeling like a winner but unable to start campaigning like one, the New York Times reports. The almost-nominee can't go after John McCain the way he would if he had the nomination sewn up for fear of infuriating Hillary Clinton's supporters, aides say. He also is still unable to completely write off Clinton's challenge for the Democratic nomination. More »

Early exit polls in West Virginia suggest that Democrats have much healing to do when the primary season ends, CNN reports. Only 25% of Hillary Clinton supporters said they would be satisfied if Barack Obama won the nomination, and only 38% of Obama supporters said they'd be satisfied with Clinton as the nominee. More telling, 36% of Clinton supporters said they would vote for Obama if he's the nominee, but 35% said they'd jump ship for John McCain. The economy was voters' No. 1 issue. More »

Hillary Clinton won a decisive—and expected—victory tonight in West Virginia, the Charleston Gazette reports. With 95% of returns in, Clinton led 67% to 26%, and her camp hopes a big margin of victory will raise new doubts in superdelegates' minds about Barack Obama's ability to win over white voters. The state is nearly all white and has a high percentage of the working-class voters that have eluded Obama during the primary season. More »

Harry Reid brushed aside yesterday suggestions Hillary Clinton, fresh from a primary defeat to Barack Obama, might ascend to the top Senate job. “Keep in mind,” he told the Huffington Post, “a senator coming back who’s run for president is not a very unique one. Sen. John Kerry ran, he’s back. Chris Dodd ran, he’s back. Joe Biden ran, he’s back.” More »

Abraham Lincoln’s modesty and Ronald Reagan’s warmth were evident in their handwriting. Now, the Los Angeles Times wants to know what analysts think of the strokes of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain: Obama's writing is described as “fluid, graceful”; intelligent but also emotive. His words end in lines that reach out, a sign of flexibility—though a certain illegibility can be seen as subtly guarded. More »

Barack Obama won the support of five more delegates today, putting him within 145 total of clinching the nomination, by Huffington Post’s count. Obama's new backers include New Orleans' mayor, a former Democratic National Committee chair and the chairperson of DC’s Democrats. Obama also gained the support of an elected Hillary Clinton delegate from Maryland, a markedly rare switch of a pledged nominator. More »

Some analysts see today’s West Virginia primary as a final chance for Hillary Clinton to raise questions about Barack Obama’s weaknesses. Here’s what to watch, via Kenneth Vogel on Politico: How will Mason County go? The 30,000-strong district has been a remarkably reliable indicator of statewide results in the past. More »

Divisions among Democrats have killed the party’s presidential chances on more than one occasion, and it must not happen this time, writes George McGovern in the New York Times . The 1972 Democratic nominee—who recently switched his endorsement to Barack Obama—offers a plan to unite the party: Obama and Hillary Clinton should campaign side-by-side in the remaining states, outlining their plans for the country without attacking each other. More »

Support for President Bush has sunk to its lowest level yet, according to a new Washington Post /ABC News poll. Bush's 31% approval rating marks a career low as 82% of Americans now think the country is heading in the wrong direction. Opinions were highly split along partisan lines. More »

Hillary Clinton and her supporters are canvassing heavily in West Virginia despite a 20-point lead and little competition, the Baltimore Sun reports. “We are all pretty inspired,” said one Clintonite on the eve of the state's primary. But Clinton and her family were the only politicos stumping across the Mountain State today: Barack Obama was MIA. More »

The long-tern effect of John Edwards’ early exit is that Barack Obama will wrap up the nomination by early June, a grateful Steve Kornacki writes in the New York Observer . A  slower withdrawal would have spelled trouble for the Democrats, who are having enough trouble making up their minds. "Imagine the comparative mess Democrats might be in if Edwards had opted to stick around," says Kornacki, who dissects the numbers. More »

With Hillary Clinton’s chances of beating her rival all but shot, Ben Smith, on Politico, runs down the graceful and non-graceful ways to exit: Never say die: If Clinton can stomach shrinking coffers and departing supporters, she can bide time until the convention, ensuring that lightning hasn’t struck Barack Obama before she concedes. More »