Make HuffPost Your HomePage
Get Email Alerts
Hillary's Chances: Can She Rescue Her Campaign After 10 Straight Obama Wins?
Now that Obama has beaten Hillary Clinton in ten states in a row, the major question is whether she can make a "Clinton comeback."
Keep checking below for updates on what the pundits and politicians are saying:
The AP reports that this is now Obama's race to lose since Clinton is "fading":
Barack Obama cruised past a fading Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Wisconsin primary and Hawaii caucuses Tuesday night, gaining the upper hand in a Democratic presidential race for the ages.
The twin triumphs made 10 straight for Obama, and left the former first lady in desperate need of a comeback in a race she long commanded as front-runner.
Clinton campaign sets up delegate site that pushes for Michigan, Florida delegates to be counted.
Exit polling shows that Obama is biting into a voting base that has traditionally been Clinton's.
CBS News exit polling of Wisconsin Democratic voters indicated that Obama made significant gains among groups long thought to be loyal to Clinton. Women voters and Catholics were equally split between the two, and Obama led Clinton among those without college degrees by 13 percentage points. He also edged her out among self-identified Democrats, 53 percent to 46 percent, and won 54 percent of the vote from those in households making less than $50,000 a year.
Meanwhile, Obama continued to dominate the groups that have favored him in the past, winning convincing majorities of men (67 percent), college graduates (60 percent) and those in households earning more than $50,000 a year (60 percent).
Everyone is looking to Texas and Ohio to see if Clinton can put a wedge into Obama's momentum.
Texas and Ohio: Two states, two debates, one chance for Hillary Rodham Clinton to save her moribund candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.The former first lady suffered another bruising night Tuesday, badly losing the Wisconsin primary and the Hawaii caucuses to Barack Obama. The Illinois senator has now crushed Clinton in 10 straight contests, amassing a growing delegate lead and building support among women and white working class voters who have long formed the core of Clinton's candidacy.
Clinton aides are confident that she can take Texas and Ohio, despite polling that shows Obama is gaining on her.
Ace Smith, Clinton's Texas state director, said the response the campaign is getting on the ground is "absolutely amazing" and recent stops have drawn thousands of supporters. "We're comfortable we're going to have a ground operation we haven't seen in the state in a long time," he said. "We're going to have a campaign down here where we cede absolutely nothing."
A CNN poll out Monday gave Clinton a narrow 50%-48% lead against Obama and a separate USASurvey poll gave Clinton a slighter larger 50%-45% lead. Smith played down the polls. "I don't think there's any big movement," he said. "There's so many polls showing so many different things."
The media is now seeing little hope in Clinton's candidacy after Obama's latest wins. USNews does a round-up of today's reports across the country.
Sen. Barack Obama yesterday easily won the Wisconsin primary and the Hawaii caucuses, and the media is now openly questioning Sen. Hillary Clinton's viability going forward. CNN (2/20) reports that with 99% reporting, Obama topped Clinton 58%-41% in Wisconsin. In Hawaii, with 68% reporting, Obama beat Clinton 76%-24%. The AP reports this morning that Obama "cruised past a fading" Clinton, "gaining the upper hand in a Democratic presidential race for the ages." The wins, says the AP, "left the former first lady in desperate need of a comeback in a race she long commanded as front-runner." The Baltimore Sun reports, "Since Super Tuesday, everything has gone Obama's way, and there have been few, if any, signs that Clinton can stop him."
Loading comments…
Huffington Post | February 20, 2008 09:08 AM