Starting Gate: Twelve Days In Spring
The Pennsylvania results have gone through a mostly thorough digestion within the political community and attention is rapidly shifting toward the end-game of the Democratic primary and on into the general election. Regardless of the drama of the week, nothing has fundamentally changed for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as we head toward Indiana and North Carolina on May 6th.
For Obama, it's a matter of running out the clock without any missteps along the way – a task made none the easier with Rev. Jeremiah Wright's current media tour (his interview with PBS' Bill Moyers airs tonight). The Illinois Democrat is almost assured to finish the race with a pledged delegate lead, something that the superdelegates would likely find hard to overrule unless something occurs to severely damage his candidacy. The groundwork for that something exists, but much more fuel is required to disqualify him in the eyes of party leaders.
Clinton's is a much harder row to hoe. She must find a way to narrow the delegate gap and, more attainable perhaps, the popular vote margin. Even if she does manage to bring the Florida and Michigan results back into the equation, it may not be enough to put her ahead when all is said and done. And, she must make the case to the superdelegates that she is not only more electable in November but that Obama is somehow unelectable. That's not going to be easy when Bill Clinton continues to be a part of the conversation (witness Rep. James Clyburn's interview in the New York Times today calling the former president's behavior during the campaign "bizarre").
Yet in the end, Obama will need Clinton's supporters – those lower-to-middle class blue collar workers and white women in particular – as much as she would need his black supporters and young legions of activists for the fall campaign. In spite of all the seemingly insurmountable obstacles and psychological drama involved, the dream ticket may still in the cards after all.
Around The Track
Clinton seized on the comment, attacking McCain for, in her view, wanting to tear down that part of the city. "Sen. McCain said he might want to tear down the Ninth Ward instead of rebuilding it," she said. "But I went to the Ninth Ward after Katrina and met with people there and saw the destruction and I saw the resilience in their eyes and they deserve our help to rebuild and regain their lives and their homes." McCain responded, saying his remarks were being twisted out of context. "I made it clear — and the governor (of Louisiana Bobby Jindal) has too, who was with me — that that's a decision that individuals make. And our job is to create the environment that if they wish to come back to the Ninth Ward that they have the proper healthcare, the proper education and facilities, etcetera, etcetera. I said that many times."