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

[Vern58]

What have we learned today?
West Virginia is full of people with a low educational attainment­(hillbilli­es) with the highest per capita white population­(hillbilli­es)who may have problems with race(hillb­illies)and are nervous about anything that might -change- their status as one of the biggest states first to the pork barrell(sen Byrd)
for all you can eat.(hillb­illies)
I know some folks in West Virginia. They are cultured people of a high educational attainment. They are liberal state politicians (many years as leaders in the WVA State Senate). They are voting Obama.
And if you think i am bad with the references to Hillbillies- you should hear them speak in private.

[abby4ever]

Whatever they say in private, I still don't think it's right for you to say these things---though of course you are free to do so. It sounds so patronizing and condescending and...well­, arrogant.

[Amminadab]

Obama supporters are elitists.

They think they know better how other people should be.

[alleykat]

I would like to know why the heck W. V. and Kentucky even bother to vote? It was stated by the media a long time ago that hillary would take those states so why bother? The media and no one else is even paying attention to the election anymore because if people are already predestined to who they will vote for then who cares? Too bad W.V. and Kentucky can't get some "spit" and think for themselves.

Clinton looks like a desperate woman that belongs in the movie "fatal attraction". Her supporters are just as bad!

The S.D. need to come forth and get this crap over with. Make the decision for Hill and Bill!

[Kally]

So she is way ahead in the popular vote and the DNC and MSM say she is not wanted as president. I kinda remember when Gore won the popular vote by over half a million and the Dems messed them selves because he didn't get the nod. Gee I guess it just depends on who you are.

And by the way - what's wrong with white people making their preference known. The MSM had blasted us from day one about obama getting the black vote. I guess if you don't vote for him and vote for Hillary you are a racist. obama got that fact out there early didn't he. He knew he could make this a race war and he sure did.

[mooph]

Irrational numbers and transference.

[Vern58]

Think about it this way
Obama will probably win Oregon,South Dakota and Montana by substantial margins
She will win Kentucky and WVA
I really do not know how she can count on Puerto Rico since they have no Presidential vote
I count 3 to 2

[BeyondTheBull]

Puerto Rico, like Guam, has no vote in the Presidential Election. Each, however, has a voice in the Democratic Party primary process. My recollection is that PR has 55 pledged delegate votes. That's more votes than any of the remaining 5 primary states.

[Inhale2Exhale]

I keep hearing and reading that if Obama loses WVA by a large margin that it could raise some concerns with superdelegates about his ability to win that state in the General Election. WVA is 95% white with over half the population making less than $50,000. So it amazes me that these group of people would rather vote for someone, Clinton, who has nothing in common with them except that she is white and not vote for someone who was raised by a single mother, needed Government assistance, and earned his place in life...som­eone who feels their pain. There is only one thing to say about the voters in WVA, PA, OH, FL and some parts of TX...Neand­erthals!!!­!

Over the past eight years Democrats have lost the elections because a certain segment of America will vote for a particular party instead of voting for their economic standing and future. Now you have that same segment that will vote race instead of voting for the big picture and the future of America. Having said that I'm glad that Obama has a different electoral map that will not emphasize PA,OH, WVA, and FL as must win states in order to win the Presidency. These states are stuck in perpetual ignorance for they will again vote White. It is time to move-on from racist states that refuse to "think" for themselves in this century. It's time to appeal to a Nation what is at stake for the this election.

[Oldtt]

As a Democrat who wants to win back the White House, it makes me flinch to hear diehard supporters of the presumptive nominee write off Pennsylvania, Florida, West Virginia, and Ohio as ignorant racist states. I imagine that goes for California, New York, and Massachusetts as well.

[Vern58]

Look at the exit polls- and what they say about race and Clinton Supporters
a large portion of her supporters- you know the white less than college male vote
have significant problems with race. As an Obama supporter we ran into plenty of this working in Indiana last week.

[sisyphus00]

I'm from Massachusetts and all the press reported was Kerry, Kennedy and Duvall supporting Obama, but what they didn't report was that almost every other pol in Boston was firmly behind Clinton. Plus, the Clinton's tipped well on all those Vineyard vacations. So are you saying CA, NY and MA are going to go Republican because HLC isn't the nominee? That's just silly talk.

[timeforachangenow]

as a Florida democratic voter....I RESENT THAT!!!

[Amminadab]

Obama has no chance at the presidency if he cannot win at least one of the states you mentioned.

Winning the nomination, but losing the general election..­... seems a foolish tactic to dismiss the important states of Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

[abby4ever]

How is it that nobody has ever got to be President without taking WV, if, as Vern58 says, the state is heaving with hillbillies? Is it possible that they are going to be the Last Word in who gets to be President? Or is Vern58 wrong?

[gwhizz]

More Obama Unity.

If you're not for us, you're against us!

[Freedomscap]

I'm so sick of people saying black folks are racist -- those who say that, don't even know the meaning of the word.

Where is that JZ, who was posting yesterday (I think that's his moniker). He needs to read the article below. You don't see black folks going around vandalizing Hllary's campaign office merely because her skin is white.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/12/AR2008051203014.html?hpid=topnews

[BeyondTheBull]

You should never waste time and effort trying to rationalize with ignorance. They lack the capacity to see the other person's viewpoint, and have no interest in doing so.

[Paul]

Hillary will win in W. Va. With a big enough margin to give Obama some real discomfort.

Hillary will ask why the people in W. Va would rather vote for a candidate that has only a tiny chance of getting the nomination rather than the "presumtive nominee." Carville is already setting the bar so low that Hillary's win tonight will make her look like she is walking on water.

Couple that with a likely win in Kentucky and PR, and Hillary will start talking about going to the convention and fighting to seat the MI and FL delegations - her ego is big enough.

The MSM will eat this stuff up - the more comebacks Hillary has the higher their ratings.

But if Hillary talks about W. Va. "sending them a message" she will be channeling George Wallace and it won't be pretty.

[Vern58]

She will be the voice welcoming back the old "Dixiecrat" party. I remember just what these folks represent and it makes my skin crawl. The Democratic Party has got to say NO to these sort of racist undertones- or we have not learned anything since the Sixties.

[Amminadab]

Michigan and Florida will be seated, so Obama had best figure them into his strategy.

Howard Dean said as much back in December.

[jazkiljok]

Hillary is touting her "70 bucks" McCain- Gas Holiday savings to the local yokels in West Virginia-- the tax rebate wasn't enough to cover the extra cost of gas cause that was meant to buy new playstation games or beer. And the big BAD OIL COMPANIES are going to pay for Hillary's tax-holiday-- where's Bill with his Fairytale comments now? chirp chirp says the smart man from Hope. But let's go deeper into this... if the Oil Companies are bad now.. does that mean they were angel's the past 90 years when gas was cheap? when they lost money? when they invested billions to keep US gas cheap? and now how much more is their stock worth for folks with mutual funds who rely on that for retirement? isn't that suppose to help folks who want to retire? and since OPEC, Russia, Nigeria, Mexico, Venezuela are reaping record profits-- they can do things for their own country's social agenda -- is that EVIL too? Oil profits in mexico also keep immigration down by providing the gov't the wherewithal to create jobs in the gov't sector with big construction projects. But i guess all that matters is that Americans can keep driving their SUVs till some one pries the wheel from their cold dead hands. AND for those of you not paying attention- THIS IS best Hillary can think of.

[verlaine]

WV and KY should be renamed the “Land that Time Forget” or the “States of Denial”. While every metric points to Obama winning the nomination, facts don’t seem to matter to most WV and KY voters. Based on news reports http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/12/obama-in-west-virginia-wh_n_101306.htmll , http://us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto051120081526533438&page=1 , http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/36624.html ) many of these people are voting against Obama because they’re racist or they question his patriotism. These warped, frustrated people have so much hate in their hearts that they’d rather throw their votes away on Hillary than step forward into the 21st century.

[thebeerdoctor]

verlaine, Kentucky is a strange place. I have mixed feelings:
http://thebeerdoctor.newscloud.com/

[BeyondTheBull]

Let's not forget that America was once a slave producing county. People in most states have evolved from that mentality. It's just taking a little longer for WV and KY. Be patient, and give them time.

[almoguy]

Verlaine please don't paint the whole state of Kentucky with your presumptions of hate based on stereotypes hyped by bullshit movies of the south. FYI, Louisville is a very hip place, with a great music and art scene. There are some great people all across this state. You are showing odeous prejudice of very poor and uneducated people...Y­ou want change then get off your sorry ass and embrace those who you heap your misguided hate on.

[Amminadab]

How many states do Obama supporters want to totally dismiss?

WV, KY, FL, MI, PA, OH.

Seems to be a suicidal stategy.

[hmmmmmer]

Is that the theme song from Deliverance that I hear?

[speakingtruth2power]

It should be obvious to everyone that Barack has to defeat HRC, the GOP and the MSM to win.

[MPeter]

Now would be a good moment for her to concede and exit the stage on a high note. This would save face and help rehabilitate the image of the Clinton clan while reserving some pool of goodwill in the Democratic Party.

[Amminadab]

She will not concede when no nominee has the required number of delegates.

Why should she?

Either Obama can win the nomination or he can't.

His supporters are sure running scared.

I hope his Colorado, Utah, Idaho strategy works for him..... but I don't see how it possibly can.

[speakingtruth2power]

Obama will be announcing more super delegates in his favor today,

than Clinton will be winning regular delegates, from West Virginia.

[LonesomeThunderbolt]

It's interesting to note that West Virginia was among the nine states and the District of Columbia that Michael Dukakis carried in 1988. Just goes to show that West Virginians are capable of looking beyond bogus "cultural" issues, like flag-burning and the pledge of alliegance, that George Bush Sr. was able to foist on 40 other states that year.

[TXfemmom]

Thank you LonesomeTh­underbolt. You are the first intelligent poster on this issue.

I grew up in WV and have family there and I intensely detest and take issue with the characterizations by posters here who support Obama. Do they think that the Democratic Party needs to have Clinton supporters who support her because they liked her husband's policies, and trust her, need to be called racist, undereducated bigots just because they don't support Obama?

Obama says he is this vision of unity, and his Presidency would transcend race, ethnicity, and social class to bring harmony, but his supporters, in many cases on Huffington are saying the most disgusting things about people in WV. Is this not as bad as racism? Why is it acceptable for them to scream RACISM, when most of the people in WV are not concerned about Obama's race, but rather that he is not a known quantity and that they don't think he has articulated the nitty gritty of his proclaimed lofty goals. For most of them, it is more of a life like the old Wendy's commercial "Where's the Beef?" and not he's an African-American man.

These cries of racism against anyone who is a Clinton supporter is badly damaging the party, and it is from the Obama camp. The Democrats will need these people in the fall and they need to stop kicking dirt in their face on trumped up charges of racism.

[JohnTalbutt]

Some of the post insulting people from West Virginia and Kentucky are made by cons posing as supporters of Obama. Certainlly, if I didn't know better and I was from either of those states I would just find out who those folks were for and then I would know who I was against.

But Clinton supporters should not give weight to remarks by these folks or even legitimate Obama supporters greater than Obama's own conduct of his campaign

Most import is not to be motivated by a misplaced desire for revenge and thereby act against their on self interest and the good of the nation.

[Oldtt]

Many Obama supporters actually buy into the notion that opposing Obama's ascent is racist by definition, which is the most unsettling thing about this whole primary process. Little did Joe Biden know that accusations of racism tossed so casually at him last Fall because of his characterization of Obama as a 'new. fresh,clea­n,articula­te' candidate was only the first volley in a deliberate strategy mounted by all 'right-thinking' Democrats to make pariahs out of any primary opponents. Race has been - not so much cleverly - but instinctively manipulated throughout this campaign, which is probably as it had to be. Now that the finish line is near, Obama supporters might try letting up a little if they want or care to unify the party against McCain. However, I think that by now it is reflexive to sling mud at any remaining targets.

[Fireback]

Obama hasn't called these people racists so get your facts straight..­...Moreoev­er, as an obama supporter I can only hope that enough people support obama there to dispell the idea that WVian's are racist.

As far as I am concerned, and mind you this is my own opinion,

1. anyone who willingly waives aside the amalgamation of lies and corruption attributable to the clintons throughout thier political lifespan's, while railiing against Obama's "inexperience"

2. and anyone who supports a candidate who willfully degrades the meaning of fair play by ever changing the rules of the game to suit thier own ends

is exhibiting pathalogical level of entitlemen­t....

whether or not said entitlement is exceptionally white.....­I guess it depends who you ask....

[Paris68]

But apparently they cannot overlook race. In their man-on-the-street interviews this morning on the BBC, nobody hid their views in coded speak about "electability" or whether he's "too different.­" The good folks WV basically said, "I ain't voting for a black guy." Nice. I know it makes sense to have a big tent in politics, but isn't there a path to victory without these hillbillies?

[BeyondTheBull]

Most of the blatant racial comments from West Virginia's person-on-­the-street is not reported in the mainsteam news media. But, racisim is apart of today's America ... an opportunity for enlightenment and change.

[PAposter]

Gotta love those Limbaugh Democrats, talk about dense?!

[wedgie]

She gonna wrack up some massive support from the Rush Limbaugh wing of the Democratic Party.

**

[TXfemmom]

wedgie you are stupid. My mother lives in WV and she was an early supporter of abortion rights, women's rights, civil rights, and a lifelong Democrat who never voted for Bush or any Republican ass.

She supports and likes Hilliary and does not deserve to be referred to as the Rush LImbaugh wing of the party. The MSM and the Obama camp has hoisted all these charges of bigot, racism, unfair crap on Hillary and her supporters, and many of us are tired of it. HIS RACE HAS NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH MY MOTHER'S LACK OF SUPPORT FOR HIM, nor does it have anything to do with mine, other than that I am increasingly angry about being automatically attacked as a racist and bigot for not preferring him. THAT IS PLAYING THE RACE CARD BY OBAMA AND HIS PEOPLE, not the other way around.

The Democratic Party is going to need the vote of West Virginians in the fall, and attacking them and calling them the names I see on here is not in line with what Obama claims to be about, nor is it a way to get the healing within the party, either. NO DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE HAS WON THE PRESIDENCY WITHOUT WINNING WV SINCE SOMETHING LIKE 1906 SO SHUT UP THE MEAN RHETORIC.

[Fireback]

"physician heal thyself'?.­....maybe.

[drayntx]

I would feel insulted too if my mother was being called a racist for some baseless, unfounded reasoning. Since your mother supports women's rights, civil rights and is a lifelong democrat (hillary and barack are the same on these counts), tell us- can barack obama count on her vote in november should he become the democratic nominee?

[jo28]

Your post describes exactly how I feel.
There are many of us who do not get this Obama craze and support Hillary 100%...and yet I'm viewed as a racist because I cannot support what some in the media have described as a dream come true. I think it would be wonderful to have an African American president. I think it would be just as wonderful to have a woman president and when we weigh the two candidates, we choose the woman, not because she is a woman, not because she is not black, but because I honestly believe she will make a wonderful president.

All this racist talk, all the discounting of the votes in W. Virginia, all the disregard for the huge amount of African Americans who voted for him because they are proud, not because he is the better candidate, makes me angry. The angrier I get the more disenfranchised I feel.

The Obama camp needs to realize that there are many like me, who are very disappointed that Hillary is not our candidate and we don't need to be kicked by the posters, by the Obama spokespeople like Ted Kennedy, by the media, but need to find a reason why we should vote for him in November. Otherwise, this very liberal Democrat will, for the first time, stay away from the voting booths, because I am not needed or wanted.

[gwhizz]

Favorited!

[BeyondTheBull]

Maybe they'll give her money so that she can keep her own millions.

[CanadianFriend]

Harsh, but Hillary is the one being harsh and aggressive with someone who should be an ally. Heck, even Sesame Street's 2-headed monster thinks it's time for Hillary to give up the dream:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qCbPgsRhL7w

[BetterDeadthanRedState]

Finally, a small state that matters.

[piul05]

Good one!

[ChiGuy]

Matters in this primary season how exactly?