Clinton 2008

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 »

Nobody knows what Hillary Clinton will do if she's not the Democratic nominee, but Politico's John F. Harris and Jonathan Martin list five reasons she shouldn't be Barack Obama’s VP: Clinton’s rep as a Washington insider will undercut Obama’s cool factor. Who says Clinton would take the job anyway? Her pride and contempt for Obama’s readiness may make a post as Senate Majority Leader seem more attractive. More »

Barack Obama would be wise to put Hillary Clinton on his ticket, write John F. Martin and Jonathan Harris in Politico. Here's why: Obama has no choice. He needs Clinton’s Catholic and blue-collar supporters, and he’ll be pressured to include her for the party’s sake. He may dislike Clinton, but that’s irrelevant. Picking her will show he really can overcome divisions and be a true uniter. More »

Ted Kennedy vetoed a spot for Hillary Clinton on the Barack Obama ticket, saying their fellow senator needs a running mate “in tune with his appeal for the nobler aspirations of the American people.” He laughed off suggestions of a dream ticket, Politico reports, saying, “I don’t think it’s possible”—and following up, “If we had real leadership … in the No. 2 spot … it’d be enormously helpful.” More »

Hillary Clinton’s tactics have been especially divisive in the last few days, and Katharine Q. Seelye writes in the Times that maybe she’s “veering into dangerous territory” to force her rival to bargain. Some suggestions on what she wants from him: More »

Barack Obama today moved ahead of Hillary Clinton among superdelegates for the first time. Obama picked up nine more by midday—one a defector from Clinton's camp, the Los Angeles Times reports. Both ABC and the New York Times put him ahead—the latter's count is 266-263—meaning he now leads in pledged delegates, states won, popular votes, money raised, and superdelegates. 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 »

John Edwards again declined to endorse a candidate today, but he said on TV that it looked like Barack Obama would win the nomination—and that he'd be able to bring the Democrats together before Election Day. The former third wheel also refused to say who he voted for in this week’s North Carolina primary, adding that the power of endorsements was “greatly inflated," Reuters reports. More »

Hillary Clinton's loss of momentum is taking a tangible toll on her ability to raise—and spend—money, leaving her campaign even more strapped for cash at a time she needs to pull out all the stops, the New York Times reports. Advisers say that Clinton is prepared to shell out more of her own, adding to the $11 million she's already provided. More »

Now that Hillary Clinton has lost, Peggy Noonan writes in the Wall Street Journal , she’s busy tearing her party apart. Democrats "should be dancing in the streets" after the brutal campaign, but instead they’re holed up at DC bars, regarding the former first family with “depressed horror.” Hillary is sharpening every divisive tool in the shed, hiding behind her gender and insisting that white voters have chosen her. More »

When a woman makes it to the White House, it will be thanks largely to Hillary Clinton's demonstration of late that she could move beyond annoying stereotypes of the strong female, writes Susan Faludi in the New York Times. Instead of being a goody-goody rules-pusher—"the purse-lipped killjoy who passes strait-laced judgment on feral boy fun"—Clinton has joined in the brawl, showing she can "hit hard, not complain, bounce back and endeavor to prevail in the end." More »

Hillary Clinton today rejected the latest plan for seating Michigan’s rogue delegates, Talking Points Memo reports. A campaign rep wrote of the scheme settled on by state Dems that would award Clinton 69 delegates to Obama’s 59: “This proposal does not honor the 600,000 votes that were cast. Those votes must be counted.” January's extra-legal vote netted her 73 conventioneers to 55 for “uncommitted.” More »

Much has been made of Barack Obama’s “Jewish problem,” but while it’s hurt him in the primaries—he’s done 10 points worse among Jewish voters—it will have little or no meaning in November, SV Date writes in the New Republic . The demographic is most politically meaningful in Florida, and 80% of Jews there dependably vote Democratic. More »

Hillary Clinton urged her supporters to stick by her today, telling a West Virginia audience that calls for her to step down are simply "deja vu all over again," the AP reports. Clinton also told USA Today that only she can deliver the broad base of voters, including whites, necessary to beat John McCain. Her campaign chief, meanwhile, suggested Clinton would not keep the fight going until the convention in August, notes the New York Times . 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 »

Don't say fashion and politics don't mix—Donatella Versace thinks one way Hillary Clinton can revive what's left of her campaign for president is to soften her look, the New York Post reports. "She could dress a little more feminine. She doesn't have to wear pants to show she is strong. She can wear a dress," the fashionista says. More »

With the Clinton campaign in death throes, Karen Tumulty runs down its five crucial  mistakes in Time : Mood. In a season when Democrats were desperate for change, Hillary “completely misread the mood” and went with incumbency. Rules. Clinton's inner circle wasn't up on them. Mark Penn thought California's primary was winner-take-all—an early flub that forced them into a big-state strategy. More »

With Barack Obama headed toward the Democratic nomination, the Clintons' long reign over the party looks likely to end, the New York Times reports. That could lead to a bold new era—or a divided party that Obama can’t reconcile. “It’s going to create an upheaval,” said one Democratic organizer. “The Clintons and their allies have been running the show for 16 years.” More »