Obama Wins North Carolina; Clinton Ahead in Indiana
Today's primaries have been referred to as "Game-Changers" and "Tiebreakers." As predicted, Obama won the Tar Heel state and Clinton is ahead in Indiana. Barring a Corleone political move, I don't see how she catches up in delegates, the popular vote and in states won. And please spare me the Florida and Michigan tripe--you don't change the rules halfway through the contest. But here's an interesting tidbit I heard from Willie Brown and Dan Schnur on NOW: if Democrats had a winner-take-all system (like the Republicans) instead of the current proportional primary vote rules, Senator Clinton would've clinched the nomination a while ago.
Labels: 2oo8 presidential campaign, Barack Obama, hillary clinton
Posted by Edward Headington @ 5/06/2008 04:31:00 PM
2 Comments:
Travels of Smith, Espinosa, and the "Driver".
PEMBROKE, N.C. - In a college gymnasium draped with banners of past athletic victories, his warmup could easily be mistaken for a school pep rally.
"We are undefeated," roars Mike Trujillo, Sen. Hillary Clinton's North Carolina field director. "We do not lose."
Jabbing a pointed finger at his own blazer lapel, he punctuates his claim with a defiant grin. "I do not lose."
In a state where the stakes are high and the demographic pie charts are stacked against the New York senator, the Clinton campaign is hoping that he's right.
Trujillo's high-octane cheerleading is far from modest; He's fond of the phrase "kick butt" in his warmup act at campaign rallies. But he has a point. The team he refers to — made of up of himself, political director Miguel Espinoza, and state director Averell "Ace" Smith — hasn't lost yet.
Bespectacled and soft-spoken, Smith has none of Trujillo’s swagger. But his devastatingly effective opposition research for Clinton and for Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in California has earned him the nickname “Doctor Death.”
Smith masterminded Clinton’s victories in California and Texas, two states where the New York senator faced fundraising deficits and see-sawing poll numbers. Her unanticipated victory in the Texas primary, in particular, was largely credited to Smith's ability to mobilize community leaders and deploy Bill Clinton with exhaustive precision.
In Texas, where nearly half of all voters in the Democratic primary cast their ballots before the March 4 primary day, the Clinton campaign’s relentless focus early voting kept her numbers high and her name in the news. The strategy, says Smith, was to turn audiences into a steady stream of early ballots that would keep Clinton afloat during Sen. Barack Obama’s initial surges of popularity there.
“What happened in Texas was that we were clearly behind early,” he says. “Our early voting pretty much allowed us to hold our own, and then we beat them pretty soundly on Election Day.”
To keep that steady stream coming, Smith’s staff cast lines all over the state to reel on-the-fence voters in to early polling places. In Odessa, for example, those boasting an “I Voted!” sticker were ushered to front-row seats at a rally, and the spicy smell of free tacos often wafted in the air at outdoor campaign events held within sniffing distance of polling stops.
The end is near..
Hillary has declared over and over that she is AGAINST torture at GITMO...she lied! She is putting the nation through more torture than those terrorists EVER had to experience. The wardens at GITMO should keep CNN blasting 24 hours a day...with the lights on...now THAT'S torture! I would trade an hour of water boarding just to NEVER, EVER, see or listen to that shrew again!
Barak, on the other hand....just puts me to sleep...no problem. He runs the gamut from A to B...and that's fine with me.
McCain? Well, we haven't begun to suffer through his senior moments! GAWD....the thought of it!
I guess I'll vote for Obama...better that the nation sleeps through the next 4 years...it's the lesser of the two evils!!!
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