West Virginia Primary: Clinton Expected To Win

West Virgina Democrats go to the polls Tuesday, where Sen. Hillary Clinton is expected to win easily over rival Barack Obama. Clinton has been campaigning hard in West Virginia, despite the fact that most Democrats now believe that Barack Obama will be their party's nominee:

The two candidates campaigned across West Virginia on Monday, with Mrs. Clinton's motorcade driving more than two hours through the winding hills of Appalachia, where she courted a relatively small number of voters in hopes of driving up her expected margin of victory. She is counting on a big victory to impress undecided superdelegates, the party leaders who will most likely decide the nomination.

Mrs. Clinton also wants to show strength in Kentucky and West Virginia -- states Democrats have struggled to carry in presidential elections -- not to mention, advisers say, pointing up what the Clinton campaign sees as the weakness of the Obama coalition. But advisers acknowledged that even if she won those states by wide margins, it was probably too late to change the dynamic of the nominating contest in her favor.

Poll Closing Times: Polls in West Virginia will be open from 6:30am to 7:30pm ET.

Pledged Delegates: 28 pledged delegates are at stake on Tuesday.

Latest Polling: A Suffolk University poll Monday showed Hillary Clinton with a 36-point lead over Barack Obama. Clinton leads Obama 60 to 24.

Comments

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

James Carville had the best comment so far today. He said "anybody in the non-lobotomized world thinks Obama is the likely nominee".

[PAposter]

Al Franken is far left, does anyone here think he and Senator Barack Obama have any similar characteristics or personality traits? Let's be clear on the definition of far left.

How exactly is Liberal defined, both candidates are offering the same thing, Hillary went too far with the "gas tax holiday" and "windfall profits tax" if anyone is left of center, it's those pandering, rude, race baiting, negative, Clintons. I don't hear Senator Obama giving anyone a handout.

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

Hillary is farther left than Obama on all the key issues taxes, health care, nuclear energy, foreclosure crisis and regulations. They just call Obama more liberal because he is African American.

[Ramirez]

Their voting records are fairly close, but Obama is rated more liberal. In fact, he's rated the "Most Liberal" senator in congress.

You'll hear much more about that once the GOP gets in gear.

[Nonamnesiac]

The majority stupid racist electoarate of West Virginia only likes one kind of Black -- Black lung. Their votes for Republicans has led to a substantial deterioration in mine safety and has assisted in expandng,and not even trying to develop sympathetic treatment for, Black lung.

Now they will heed the racist call of Hillary Clinton -- racist campaigner. But in November, they'd abandon her -- as they will be able to vote for a candidate who will pick their pockets, send their kids off to be killed and maimed against the interests of the United States, reduce mine safety and contribute to Black lung-- AND who voted against making MLK Day a national holiday and against the Civil Rights Bill of 1990 -- a stone cold racist, like them.

[sclucie]

That is disturbing.

[sclucie]

Your comment is racist and bigoted - and I'm not a Clinton supporter. Have you actually ever been to WV? Met anyone who was from there? Are you aware the state voted for Bill Clinton twice? Did you happen to hear the pretty amazing speech Robert Byrd gave during the debate over the Iraq war?

Hillary Clinton gave a reprehensible, racist interview to USA today and she should be ashamed of it. But that doesn't make all the people of WV or all of Clinton's supporters racist. It certainly doesn't help defeat John McCain.

[Nonamnesiac]

Yes I've been to W. VA. Yes I know people from there. And yes, it is a despicably majority racist state. It's public educational institutions are in the bottom 30% of the nation.

Byrd, who was in the KKK when he was a young politician, has been a vocal and serious opponent of the Iraq War -- a truly eloquent voice against Hillary's insane vote to kill and maim American young against the interests of the United States.

The depth of racism within W. Va. (and Kentucky for that matter) is not to be minimized or ignored. You may not like the truth, but that doesn't mean it's not the truth.

[Rothgar]

Loved Bryd's speech.

I regularily converse with Liberal West Virginians and they'd generally agree with the assessment. On of them recently pointed out that West Virginia has good feelings about Bill Clinton and will coorespondingly reward Hillary.

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

Face it the bulk of Hillary Democrats want something from there government for nothing. Obama is not willing to do that. A great example is Obama's college grant plan were he will give a young person money for college but they have to serve in civil or military service in return.

[blubastian]

"The majority stupid racist electoarate of West Virginia only likes one kind of Black -- Black lung."
Thank you. That's an excellent quote to send to some of the super delegates! I want them to know the true heart of Obama and his supporters.

[Nonamnesiac]

Eat this. The superdelegates HAVE TO GIVE OBAMA THE VOTES HE NEEDS TO GET THE NOMINATION. Otherwise they are rewarding racism and rewarding Hillary's flagrant breaking the rules to which she agreed regarding MI and FL. They CANNOT strip away the nomination from the guy who got the most delegates, states and the popular vote under the rules to which all parties (including racist, liar Hillary Clinton) agreed based on more pundit crystal ball BS about Obama's electability -- pundits whose crystal balls have been wrong on nearly everything since they cheerled us into invading Iraq based upon intelligence they knew to be false.

And they HAVE TO DO GIVE HIM THE NOMINATION even though that's what's in one of Obama's supporters' heart about the racist majority of the West Virginia and Kentucky elecotrates (and I'm not even his pastor). What are you going to do, get the media to run a national loop over one of my temper tantrums too, and blame it on Obama? I'm even more irrelevant to Obama than the Reverend Wright is.

Kentucky means "stupid, racist, white guy mentality", in the Dixiecrat dialect of the Redneck language.

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

If you best plan to get super delegates is the whine about Obama supporters you will be sadly disappointed. Nonamnesiac's comment was a little caustic but there is a good deal of truth about what they are saying. My father is from north eastern PA and half his family was on black lung disability at one time. It is a way of life in those old states. They just said on one of the networks that 1 in 6 people in WV are on food stamps. They like Hillary because she promises to keep the handouts going.

[DIdaho]

What's hilarious and disturbing about these comments is how so many supposed free-thinkers base their opinions on spin and style instead of substance. Correct as you will, I've seen exactly three policy differences between Obama and Clinton - on health insurance, on foreclosures, and on the gax tax. In each case Clinton champions the big-government, anti-market solution: mandating coverage, freezing foreclosures and interest, and (attempting) to impose punitive taxes. Honestly, I don't recall any other policies or programs on which they differ. Hillary is, policy-wise, the leftist candidate. Yet people shriek about Obama's liberal policies. Do you people have any idea there's a ring through your nose?

[aliceblue]

I don't see any follow through on Hillary's
so-called policies.

She lied her head off about her position on
NAFTA, in fact she was holding all these soirees
for business women at the White House to garner
their support for Bill's NAFTA legislation at the
exact time she was supposed to be

privately protesting

her opposition to NAFTA. In addition . . .

There's supposed to be an ongoing investigation
in the Canadian Parliament over the NAFTA
flap but Harper has taken it away from (first)
the Privy Council and (second) the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police and handed it over
to a private investigative firm.

The opposition in Parliament is livid.

The right-wing Harper is politically aligned
with the Clintons but this coverup and a
couple of other irritations are about to force
a national election that will throw Harper out
of office.

So the damage the Clintons do to promote
themselves isn't limited to the continental
United States alone.

[Tulka2]

Clinton would MANDATE the citizen to buy insurence from the Insurence Industry. She would graft the Insurence Industry onto the U.S. Government. What is leftist about that?!

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

Thank you I thought I was the only one who noticed that too. Obama's policies are very pragmatic and more mainstream than Hillary's. Add Hillary's radical freeze on foreclosures and Obama's middle class tax cut as another policy were Obama is much more centrist than Hillary. Obama is pro nuclear and coal energy which may tick off some green people but nuclear is needed to ween ourselves off of foreign oil. On the social issues they are the same though Clinton has been much more gun control than Obama. I think Obama has a much more moderate personality than Hillary's and that's why you see his policies and campaign are much more moderate.

[IAM4CLINTON]

With the exception of Bill Clinton, we Democrats have time and again nominated left wing liberal (atleast that has been the perception in middle America) candidates that have not been able to win in the general election- Dukakis, Gore and Kerry.

Why should we expect a different result this time with BHO ? In fact, BHO is perceieved to be even left of Dukakis.

[sclucie]

You're ignoring facts. Of the three candidates, Clinton is the least favorable and the least trusted. She has not been remotely vetted. Polls in New Jersey show that she wouldn't even take that state now.

Obama is not Dukakis - and the comparisons are ridiculous. Good or bad - people vote for who they like - and Dukakis was not a particularly likable candidate.

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

Yada yada Obama's plans are more centrist than Hillary's the only thing Hillary is being more conservative actually neoconservative on is foreign policy where she sounds like McBush.

[MNmommy]

Ugh.

Recess isn't over yet?

Folks around here need to stop tearing each other apart and insulting one another. It's like the school yard around here.

[NetProphet]

Hurray for Mrs. "C" for driving up the winding hills of WV ! She's a trooper - all the way!

[LiberalIncarnate]

For those minority of Clinton supporters that will not vote for Obama in November... especially those that are women... if McCain wins you can kiss women's rights goodbye! Imagine what the Supreme Court will look like after four years of McCain?

[blubastian]

Fear-mongering will not get Obama the votes needed in November. Besides, isn't that a Republican tactic?

[PAposter]

blubastian: you have learned well from Clinton how to project your shit onto others. Name one tactic used by the Obama camp that could be characterized as fear-mongering. How do you people ever establish meaningful relationships, if this is the way you communicate your perspective?

[k6007]

Why not? I got hill plenty in OH, TX, and Pa.

[SmootyBooty]

Please, I was trying to eat...

[DFDoerr]

Cuz thay doent now anny beter.

[NightRider]

Why does West Virginians hate blacks?

Is this America?

[PAposter]

"NightRider": You live what you learn, and it doesn't help when you have smart White lady validating your fears, and ignorance about people you little contact with.

"blubastian": I've been voting for White men since I was 18yrs. old, so, yes I would be voting if it was a White, balding, middle-aged man.

"MutualDisdain": Why do you assume they are not?

[aliceblue]

I don't consider the Clintons to be Democrats.

Since Dr. Martin Luther King marched and
since President Lyndon Jonson signed the
Civil Rights Act, the Democratic Party has
been inclusive. The Republican Party, on
the other hand, took back the South with
blatant racism.

When the Clintons dropped the Race Bomb
in West Virginia, they were no longer Demo-
crats.

For this reason all the organizing to put
Hillary on the ticket is pointless. Obama
cannot hold the crucial black vote after
the

[sclucie]

Does a vote for Hillary mean you hate Blacks? What does that say about the state of New York, who gave her 67% of the vote for Senate in 2006? What does that say about Californians, where Clinton won by almost 10 points? I'm not a Hillary fan, and I was disappointed in my home state of California - but nobody can call them backward or insular, or hillbillies. West Virginia is a swing state and they are far more likely to vote for candidates they consider to be middle of the road. Hilary plays that contest well and she'll win West Virginia and Kentucky because of that.

[Paris68]

No. Some very sophisticated people I know support her and are frankly wonkish in their reasoning. Please do not equate the two. But there is a lot of reporting going on from WV today, and there is an alarming amount of people there who are saying, "I'm not racist or anything, I just would never vote for a black guy." Now for those who feel out of place without access to public transportation, that's pretty frightening stuff.

[blubastian]

Almost as frightening as the people who say they will never vote for a woman or the 98% of blacks that support Obama and those that threaten to riot in the streets if he doesn't win. Obama is certainly the Uniter!

[DIdaho]

To be fair, they also hate Mexicans, Asians, Italians and most everybody else who isn't from West Virginia, and most people from West Virginia who aren't from their town. How many people have you known who've decided to move to West Virginia? Yeah, me too. They are among the most insular in the nation, most families go back many generations and they've all done the same thing and always known the same people. This was part of my stomping grounds as a young-un, and even then I thought they made people from southern Ohio look downright cosmopolitan. Clinton's been around a long, long time and they're familiar with her. That's it, and that's all of it.

[IAM4CLINTON]

Just because Hillary is winning in WV, you cannot dismiss WV and its people as racists. Maybe, they are good old fashioned folks who believe in hard work and experience- , see that she has worked very hard while in the Senate and on the campaign with specific ideas and is not seeking the Presidency claiming (via surrogates) to be a "special" person who is entitled to it.
.
Also, folks in WV as in majority of this country believe that their lives were bettered in the years that had a Clinton in the White House.......there are many such plausible reasons for their support of HRC over BHO.

[Paris68]

True, some might, but it cannot be discounted. From a Salon today:

Mike Madden has an article up today in which he mentions one voter in West Virginia who said his neighbors "won't go for a black man ... I don't think it's being racist necessarily, they just don't like black people that well." The man added, "The arrogance and all that bothers me more than black, but black is a close second ... Our generation was back when blacks were the back of the bus, and it's hard to change that outlook. I just feel like I couldn't vote for him."

[SmootyBooty]

One of which is the fact that WV voters believe Obama is a Muslim and his wife an atheist...

[bongogirl]

LOL! That is one of the pathetic beliefs I have heard. Uneducated West Virginians, please pick up a book and read. Americans have Arab names, just as Americans have Asian, African, Greek and Italian names. SO SO SAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[blubastian]

Is Obama the embodiment of blacks or is he just a politician that happens to be black? If he were a white balding middle aged man would he have the support he has