Obama Set To Reach Delegate Milestone

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama will reach a significant milestone Tuesday as he marches toward the Democratic nomination for president _ a majority of pledged delegates at stake in all the primaries and caucuses.

Obama will still be short of the overall number of delegates needed to clinch the nomination, unless he were to suddenly receive an avalanche of endorsements from the party and elected officials known as superdelegates. But the Illinois senator's campaign is touting the delegate milestone as a big step in defeating his rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York.

"A clear majority of elected delegates will send an unmistakable message _ the people have spoken, and they are ready for change," Obama campaign manager David Plouffe wrote in a memo to supporters Monday.

"As we near victory in one contest, the next challenge is already heating up," Plouffe wrote. "President Bush and Senator McCain have begun coordinating their attacks on Barack Obama in an effort to extend their failed policies for a third term."

Obama picked up the endorsement of Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia Monday, less than a week after Clinton overwhelmingly won the state's primary. Byrd is the longest serving member of the U.S. Senate.

Obama has led in pledged delegates since he won the first caucuses in Iowa on Jan. 3. The two candidates stayed close through Super Tuesday, when Democrats voted in 22 states and American Samoa. Obama won 13 more delegates than Clinton that day _ out of nearly 1,700 at stake.

Obama built an imposing lead the following two weeks, winning 11 straight contests in states such as Louisiana, Maryland, Washington and Virginia. He led by 161 pledged delegates on Feb. 19, after victories in Wisconsin and Hawaii. The lead has been relatively unchanged ever since as the candidates spent the past three months trading victories.

Obama goes into Tuesday's contests with 1,610.5 pledged delegates won in primaries and caucuses. He needs 17 more to reach a majority of the 3,253 pledged delegates available. Clinton has 1,443.5 pledged delegates, according to the latest tally by The Associated Press.

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Clinton's campaign played down the significance of the milestone, accusing Obama of declaring victory without reaching the required number of overall delegates.

"Premature victory laps and false declarations of victory are unwarranted. Declaring 'mission accomplished' does not make it so," Howard Wolfson, Clinton's communications director, said in a memo to supporters.

Obama has a total of 1,915 delegates overall, including endorsements from superdelegates. Clinton has 1,721, according to the latest AP count.

Obama is a little more than 100 delegates short of the 2,026 needed to clinch the nomination. He cannot make up that ground in the Kentucky and Oregon primaries because of the proportional way in which Democrats award delegates. The two states have a total of 103 delegates at stake Tuesday.

But winning a majority of pledged delegates could help his case with undecided superdelegates, who are free to support whomever they choose at the party's national convention in August. Obama argues that superdelegates should support the candidate who wins the most delegates in the primaries and caucuses. Otherwise, he says, they would be overturning the will of the voters.

Obama, who overtook Clinton in superdelegate endorsements a little more than a week ago, picked up six more Monday. Clinton added none.

Clinton argues that superdelegates should exercise independent judgment.

Her campaign is also trying to change the math by getting the delegates seated from the Michigan and Florida primaries. Clinton won both primaries, but the states had been stripped of their delegates for violating party rules by holding their primaries before Feb. 5.

The Democratic National Committee's rules panel is scheduled to address the issue May 31. If any of the delegates are reinstated, it would increase the number needed to clinch the nomination.

Comments

[Tropiholic]

The Clintons have had enough time to wrap their heads around Hillary's loss. I wish she would just step aside already. Enough is enough.

[abby4ever]

ABC is quoting Hillary as saying that there's "no way this is going to end any time soon." Here's the link:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4891215
Assuming the quote is accurate, I feel sick---for it has to mean she has no intention of getting out June 3. Nor does it sound as if she is just hanging around hoping for VP or some other powerful post. She must be getting ready for a dogfight at the convention---unless someone stops her. Like who?
I feel worn down by Hillary, it's a kind of gift she has---Bill too: wearing people down.

[Rose52]

She'll leave after all the primaries are over.

[Softnsweet]

Rose52 , No she won't

[raw915]

Good Show!

[NYPrius1]

You Say: West Virginia & Kentucky are such embarrassments to our country.
What about New York, CA, NJ, PA?? All Embrassments??
I think Obama will have trouble in the General!!

[demyellowdog]

Get REAL. Can you honestly say that any democrat is going to lose CALIFORNIA?! Or NY? Come on. When you make that argument, it's hard to take anything else you say seriously. PA and NJ, perhaps are more in play. But Obama's strategy is not what Dems have used in past contests. He plans to put other states (like AZ, CO and a host of others) into play. This will balance out his weakness in states like WV and KY. He is looking to put all 50 states in play which, if nothing else will bankrupt McSame as he sturggles to compete in all those markets. Hee hee hee...I can't wait to see this!

[TonyKnuckles]

Is it your opinion that once we have a nominee they will not carry "Blue states" that the other candidates won during the primary season?

Thats an incredibly weak argument and one that doesn't hold any weight whatsoever if you look at past elections or even current polling for matchups of _____ Vs. Sen. McCain in the GE.

[Jinxykb]

This election has gone on for a long time and many people who voted for Hillary on Super Tuesday have come to regret it, just as many of the Super Delegates who jumped in to support her have switched to Obama. I think put to a vote again in NY and CA she would lose. I live in NYC and the buzz has definitely shifted from Hill to all about Obama.

[Softnsweet]

Obama will not have trouble in New York, I can give you guarantee on that one. He will do well in New Jersey and California. He does not need West Virginia with their 5 electorial votes or Kentucky. Now what say you?

[Spooled]

I hope Obama understands that Hillary as a VP will not be tolerable for his supporters.

America wants a clean break away from the Clintons. This way, if the new Attorney General, and 50 new Federal Prosecutors need to move forward with charges of treason, it won't be a problem later.

Its understandable that it is highly desirable for the current group of criminals to get Hillary in as a VP, since she knows all the treasonous details related to the past 20 years.

Obama's appeal is related to a clean break away from Bush and Clinton, and anyone related. Should he appear to capitulate at all to the Clintons or Bush, he will never be elected.

So Barack Obama, hear me speak.

Its either a clean break, or you will be viewed as a puppet. I am looking forward to the day when I see Bill and Hillary hogtied and placed into the back of a squad car.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Obama 48 then.
McCain 08.

Your fault.

Gotta run. Please see more cogent pitch above.

UNITY!

[likeicare]

Let's Barack and Roll!!

[kay]

Iowa Democratic Chairman Scott Brennan plans to announce his endorsement Tuesday.

The State Party chairs are the ones to watch. They do all the actual work, and have to answer to Democrats active at the state level.

I think it's unlikely Clinton can overturn the result with rule changes or procedural maneuvers at the Convention if Obama has the majority of State Party chairs.

[abby4ever]

This is good news, but I wish your 'unlikely' was something different, like 'impossible'. I don't trust Hillary, I never did and I never will. To me, there has to be something more to her strange confidence than juggling the numbers to justify her refusal to get out. Hope I'm wrong.

[oneeyedodin]

Obama is the best of a bad lot (faint praise) so I am hoping he becomes the candidadate and the next POTUS.

If he is elected it surely will be interesting.

[t9chi]

I beleive the Clinton camp has something up their sleeve. I'm just wondeing when it's going to be unveiled.

[Jinxykb]

I think West Virginia is what they had up their sleeve, but it didn't really stick.

[Softnsweet]

t9chi, true!

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Insightful.

[JackND]

Already just this month he's picked up the chairs in KS, WA, ID, NC, MD, NM, and DC.

[finlandstation]

obama and his band of insurgents are not true democrats. they don't care about the party, only their candidate. they are in love with a personality not a set of values or ideas.
in many ways, they remind me of so many mindless george bush supporters in 2004, who couldn't stand to hear anything bad about their anointed leader, their savior. only in the case of obama followers, they feel good about demonizing a fellow democrat and characterizing all of her supporters as racist, uneducated bigots. forget that we think she is far more qualified than obama, all is fair to get him the nomination, even destroying the party in the process.

[whiskeytangofoxtrot451]

Project much?

[dentuso]

Is this a joke? If you were to replace "obama" with "clinton", then continue to paragraph, you'd have much, much more credibility. To submit that Obama has taken the low road?

We've had, mathematically, a nominee for 8 weeks now. To submit that Obama is of the mind that "all is fair to get him the nomination, even desroying the party in the process" is an assertion that comes with sarcasm, I will assume.

[JackND]

I can't believe that he even said that, but I'm glad he did.

[finlandstation]

dented

i know it would be far too much to expect you to know or even care about the actual votes and how delegates are distributed, but the fact is that for every delegate obama has gotten he only had to get 1000 votes, in comparison, hillary has had to get 12,000 votes per delegate. i know you think this is fair, but in most other countries this would be considered election fraud. i know you also believe that alaska is more important than california, or ohio. this is why obama will lose by an historic electoral landslide.

[DutchOven]

"We've had, mathematically, a nominee for 8 weeks now."

What convention rule book are you reading? Such "audacity"!

Neither candidate has secured enough delegates to be called the nominee. Mathematically impossible at this point for either to hit that number, with proportional award of delegates for the remaining states. The "tie-breaker" is the vote of the superdelegates. I think you should know this by now.

[demyellowdog]

I don't think we characterize ALL her supporters as racist, uneducated bigots...just, you know...the ones who are *coughFERRAROcough*

[tantip]

I'm an Obama supporter all the way and when this process first started I was for John Edwards because I didn't know anything about Obama and I never heard him speak. When this first started all heard was that Hillary would be the nominee so I wasn't really excited about this primary but then I heard Obama's first speach and I was hooked..

I don't trust Hillary and with good reason, she has been involved in so many scandals over the years and the reason none of them have came out in this primary is because Obama wants to run a different type of campaign but if he wanted to there are a lot of things he could have used against her and I mean a lot.

The Republicans were trying everything they could to make Hillary the nominee because they couldn't wait to use everything they have against her, I read where she has to testify in November in her Fraud trial for lying to the FEC and not reporting a 1.2 Million Dollar contribution she received when she was running for the senate, the Republicans would have a field day with Hillary..

Obama inspires me, he makes me feel excited about this election. He has brought in so many new voters and he will be our nominee and he will be our next President.

[DutchOven]

But, Fin, that's OLD politics.

JFK, FDR, all the rest, that's just the poltics of the past. You need to let go of all that stuff and drink the BHO Kool Aid. Just try it, you'll like it.

[McPander]

There probably needs to be a study of HRC supporters and codependency issues. I would seem that codependent women support for codependent candidates is a political phenomenon.

They could call it the "Its his fault" study.

It could also help to explain her support with "Hard Working Americans, White Americans"

We all know their ranks are full of men who love a good codependent woman.

[jbsouth]

{Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is planning to unveil a “massive” voter registration drive, one that will reach all 50 states and seeks to boost confidence in him as a potential general election candidate.}

Where is Obama is Kentucky..­..........­..........­...no where.

Change.

[on2them]

Supers get yourselves together and endorse...­whoever...­get this thing over with before the party is torn to shreds and there is not even the hope of winning 'pin the tail on the donkey'

[kay]

The DC Democrat are too cowardly. They'll never do it.

It will be the State Party superdelegates, if at all.

[sky2blue]

Noucant: From what I've seen and read, not all Dems in Fl and Mi are mad at him about their states not counting. Their states broke the rules. Clinton knows they broke the rules. That's why she said, and I paraphrase, "We know those primaries won't count."

He didn't slam the auto workers. He said we need to raise gas mileage standards.

Colorado and Wyoming are turning purple.

WV only has 5 delegates.

NH only has 4, and if Kerry had won NH, Fl woudn't have been an issue.

[tantip]

I'm from Michigan and I didn't vote because I was told my vote wouldn't count because Michigan broke the rules and moved their primary date when they knew what could happen when they did, this.

Hillary Clinton wrote a letter to the DNC saying she agreed with them for not seating Mi and Fl delegates because they broke the rules but now that she is behind she is crying about seating the Mi and Fl delegates.

If I would have voted it would have been for Obama and a lot of people here in Michigan didn't vote and I know a lot of my friends didn't vote and they wanted to vote for Obama.

Michigan did come up with a solution of giving Hillary 69 delegates and giving Obama 59 delegates but Hillary said no because she feels Obama shouldn't get delegates from Michigan because his name wasn't on the ballot. She's a liar and she's crooked and if they do seat Mi and Fl I hope they split them 50/50 and then again they might not seat them at all.

[Wingit]

If she is luucky, HRC will have part of the 11PM news cycle to celebrate her KY win. After that Obama will control the news cycle. Everyone will be watching him to see how he reacts to the OR win and if he will roll out another super, super delegate. The Obama campaign machine is a marvel to watch.

[marco34la]

It's going to be so awesome to watch this guy fall hard this fall. Such a egomanic, not to mention
pathological liar. But hey, what goes around comes around. Hope the next chump who thinks about running has at least 1 term as a sentor or governor under his/her belt... and demomstrates some judgment with respect to friendships, advisors and associates.

[boombox]

learn how to breathe with your mouth closed, dude.

[SMP]

Your talking about McCain....­right?????­?


Your opinion shows someone of small mind....good luck with that

[undecidee]

I think that you got the wrong democrat when you mention lies. That would be the Clintonitis that affected Hillary. Next to her Obama is a saint.

[Roose]

Marco, do you realize that you are projecting Clintons' weaknesses on her opponent. Egomaniac, pathological liar: That describes Clinton to a T!

The woman is intent on destroying our changes in November and I for one will never forgive her, will never vote for her again, she can become Senator of West Virginia for all I care!

[BarackMan]

"...pathological liar?" Please explain or stop the nonsense.

Obama '08!

[jbsouth]

Otay......­........bu­t, you can not win the general without the so called "TOOTHLESS" rednecks who are democrats. But, anyway.

[MrRavini]

The so called "Reagan" dems -- toothless or not, racist or not, that's pretty irrelevant -- haven't voted for a democrat since a few took the plunge w/ Clinton -- and remember he didn't win a majority of the overall electorate in 92 (w/ Perot in the race). Worrying about West Virginia and Kentucky "Reaganites" is like worrying that the white southern males haven't voted democrat since the early 60's. I respect all views and opinions on the issues -- I just have a big problem trying to appeal to uncaring, uneducated dimbulbs who will decide this race on abortion, whether or not Obama is a "Muslim", flag pins, gender, ageism, etc. When people don't really know who they're voting for or have even a basic understanding of the issues facing us, then we really can only hope for the best. That people who DO care, and take the time to understand issues, and learn about what the candidates are really about -- those are the ones to go after. I think Obama will have a better chance getting the thoughtful conservative and centrist independent vote than he will appealing to people who have an issue with the color of his skin or his name.

[BigSid]

Go back and watch the footage after Texas and Ohio.

[RButler]

When the uncritical, unquestioning dot com bubble took place in the late 90s, remember 'irrational exuberance', I was uneasy and thought 'this can't be too good'.

When the sub-prime lending fiasco started up a few years ago and condos in Florida were going up in price every day and people were excited about the money to be made, I thought 'this can't be too good'.

When the Obama campaign took off about 6-8 months ago and people were again uncritical and unquestioning about his qualifications or experience, I thought again 'this can't be too good'.

Every day I see people driving SUVs 80 miles an hour apparently to get there before their tank runs dry. So, I''m not impressed with what the crowd does cause they're not too bright but acting as a crowd gives them the sense that they're dong the right thing. Is a crowd of 75,000 to see Obama in Portland 'irrational exuberance'? I don't know but I don't know if it's wisdom either.

[CocteausTwin]

I am so glad to see your depth of wisdom. Seems like your posts rarely demonstrate it.

[marco34la]

Exactly! It's very much like this site. Kids all come here to feel as if they are doing or saying something smart or important when in fact, they're bored, feel bad about themselves and
and simply desire to be more grownup-like and autonomous by entering the political arena. It kind of reminds me of my 6 year old niece who wants to emulate her mother by cooking
with her EZ Bake oven and Snowcone Machine.

[McPander]

I would like to add that both of the examples cited happened under Clinton's watch.

Grass roots vs. Fat Cat Cronyism? which should we choose?

I'm sure HRC can muster up 75,000 supporters, I think the if she started wearing a swastika and grew a little mustache she could broaden her base with "Hard working Americans, White Americans"

Gee...I could work for the Clinton Campaign

[FrictionSoul]

Conflating the Clinton-Greenspan economy with a political campaign crowd who are victims of the Clinton-Greenspan con is simply ridiculous.

[Superfelo]

It is most likely a well-educated and well-informed choice.
People with an education, which are overwhelmingly for Barack Obama,
seem to have a somewhat, well developed sense of judgment, otherwise
they wasted their money getting an education. If so God help us all. Enough said.

[kendra]

Check out Gore Vidal's views on Hillary & Barack. He gave an interview to the BBC yesterday. The HuffPo should reprint this...

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23719143-5013948,00.html

[macbabe]

Your link didn't work, try this one..
interesting article I hadn't read, thanks for posting
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23538559-2703,00.html

[CocteausTwin]

Links containing commas have to be copied and pasted to the address bar. Thought I'd mention it to hellp anyone interested. Thanks to both of you for the links.

[ConnectTheDots]

that's because HuffPo doesn't like commas in urls. Gotta manually copy and paste the whole string into your browser.