I'm within reach of victory, says Obama
Obama has returned to Iowa, but not to make a victory speech, but rather to assure his supporters that victory is in sight and to heap praise upon his rival.
"We have had our disagreements during this campaign, but we all admire her courage, her commitment and her perseverance. No matter how this primary ends, Senator Clinton has shattered myths and broken barriers and changed the America in which my daughters and yours will come of age," he said.He really is paving the path for her to stand down with dignity.
The facts on the ground now render a Hillary victory, not merely unlikely, but statistically impossible.
All roads now point to Obama securing the nomination and the "momentum" which Hillary was claiming only a few short weeks ago, is undeniably moving towards him as well.Barack Obama drew within 70 delegates of outright victory in his protracted battle with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination today after the Oregon and Kentucky primaries.
He won Oregon by a comfortable margin, according to exit polls, while she trounced him in Kentucky by two to one.
Obama raised $31.3m last month and recruited 200,000 new donors.
Clinton's campaign said she had raised $22m in April. The figure does not include a $5m loan from the Clinton family. Her campaign has debts of some $20m.
It really is all over bar the shouting. And, for the first time, Obama is saying so:Obama started the night with 1,917 delegates to Clinton's 1,722. He was expected to win about 45 of the 103 delegates at stake in Kentucky and Oregon.
He will also take a share of the delegates in the final three remaining primaries, and can expect more of the 212 remaining undecided superdelegates _ members of Congress with automatic votes _ to drift to him.
About 115 of the undecided superdelgates are from states that voted for Obama, according to a CNN survey, and it would be politically risky for these superdelegates to go against the wishes of their states.
"You have put us within reach of the Democratic nomination," he told cheering supporters in Iowa, the state that launched him, a first-term senator from Illinois, on his improbable path to victory last January.He has resisted his earlier wish to claim outright victory during his Iowa speech, and has instead decided not to alienate any Hillary supporters who he will need in order to defeat McCain in November.
Even Clinton has started preparing her supporters to back whoever becomes the eventual Democratic nominee:
"While we continue to go toe-to-toe for this nomination, we do see eye-to-eye when it comes to uniting our party to elect a Democratic president this fall," said Mrs Clinton.However, there are still signs that the animosity which Clinton has stirred against Obama amongst her supporters will be very hard to eradicate.
In Kentucky, 8 in 10 Clinton voters... say they'd be DISsatisfied if Obama were the nominee; about 60% of Clinton voters in Oregon said the same. MORE Clinton voters in KY say they'd support John McCain than say they'd support Barack Obama.Hillary has run a really nasty campaign in which Obama has been portrayed as unfit for the White House, something which she has been keen to point out that both she, and McCain, are ready for.
It can hardly be surprising that some of her more fervent supporters have taken her at her word and now see Obama almost as the anti-Christ. After all, she's been telling them that's almost what he is for months and month now. A cursory glance at the comments section of Taylor Marsh's blog reveals levels of hatred towards Obama that are simply impossible to rationalise. It's almost as if these people are not Democrats at all but simply women interested in seeing another woman elected president at long last.
It's the only thing that can explain why someone would vote for McCain as opposed to Obama on matters of policy, especially if one was once backing Clinton whose policies almost mirror those of Obama.
Clinton could have stopped all of this a long time ago by stepping down once it became obvious that she was not going to win. She is to this day refusing to do so, insisting that there is some bizarre point of honour in insisting that she will continue "until there is a nominee".
There is already a nominee and everyone knows who that nominee is. Clinton has continued to foment false hope amongst her supporters and has continued to foster the hatred against Obama that will make it harder for her supporters to accept him as the Democratic nominee.
That's the disservice which she has done to the party and to the Clinton brand name. There are many of us who were once Clinton supporters who will find it very hard to forgive her for what she has done, so I do understand the way her supporters must feel towards Obama.
However, anyone who believes in progressive politics must, at this point, put all that behind us and unite behind Barack Obama.
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4 comments:
It's the only thing that can explain why someone would vote for McCain as opposed to Obama on matters of policy, especially if one was once backing Clinton whose policies almost mirror those of Obama.
Obama comes off to many people as a condescending and arrogant elitist, particularly to white working class people in middle America apparently. Further, Wright has hurt him. I believe there are many that feel that Obama must share his views at least to some level. I have had people tell me that they think he's racist (the actual quote was "a racist piece of shit").
So, regardless of whether he is or isn't any of these things, there is a perception there that will be hard to shake. There are a large number of people who quite simply feel he doesn't share their values. What effect that will have in the general election remains to be seen.
Now what would be interesting is if Clinton, after losing the Dem bid, decides to run as an independent. That would give the voters four choices (don't forget Bob Barr) and make a halfway interesting election.
Obama comes off to many people as a condescending and arrogant elitist, particularly to white working class people in middle America apparently.
And your multi millionaire with nine homes is just like the guy next door I take it?
Further, Wright has hurt him. I believe there are many that feel that Obama must share his views at least to some level. I have had people tell me that they think he's racist (the actual quote was "a racist piece of shit").
There are ignorant people everywhere and it's no surprise that you know some of them. I saw people on TV recently who still thought Obama was a Muslim, even after all the scandal about Reverend Wright; that level of dumbness is a thing of wonder to behold.
Now what would be interesting is if Clinton, after losing the Dem bid, decides to run as an independent. That would give the voters four choices (don't forget Bob Barr) and make a halfway interesting election.
The only reason you are hoping for that is because it would split the Democratic vote and give McCain a chance. It's not going to happen in a million years which is why Hillary has now started talking about uniting around the eventual nominee.
And if people have such a bad opinion about Obama, as you claim, why is he ahead of McCain in a lot of these polls that I see? And why does Obama attract crowds of 75,000 when McCain and Clinton are pulling in nowhere near those crowds?
I think you are displaying an awful lot of wishful thinking Jason.
So I guess you refuse to admit that the messiah has a perception problem with a large portion of the electorate, despite overwhelming evidence to support that fact? Further, I guess you just dismiss all of them as "ignorant", you being so educated and enlightened and all.
And don't think I missed the insult. I think the bottom line is that you have some sort of man-crush on Obama and would probably like to fellatiate him at the drop of a hat if given the opportunity. The cult-like obsession of his backers (even those who are just foreign spectators) is certainly an interesting phenomenon, not to mention creepy.
When a politician attracts crowds of 75,000 people just to hear him speak, something incredible is going on. Obama is a revelation and you are kidding yourself if you think McCain is going to beat him.
And, unable to work out why it's so powerful for a politician to sell hope in a culture used to trading in fear as a political weapon, you turn on his supporters and say that they are creepy. Which makes you elitist.
You don't understand it, therefore they must be wrong.
I think the bottom line is that you have some sort of man-crush on Obama and would probably like to fellatiate him at the drop of a hat if given the opportunity.
Such enlightened debate, Jason. By the way, there is no such word in English as "fellatiate", I presume you mean fellate, in other words you're calling me cocksucker.
I do apologise for, once again, dragging you into the gutter. I know how you always like to be so highbrow and that it's me who brings out the worst in you.
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