Liveblogging the Texas and Ohio Primaries

7:25PM
And it's time for another evening with Chuck Todd's Magical Mathematical Beard. Senator Obama wins Vermont which isn't such a surprise. Polls close in Ohio in t-minus three minutes. Josh Marshall at TPM is reporting that the exits are showing dead even numbers in Texas and Ohio. NOTE: I'm going to liveblog downwards tonight. It's easier to read, no?

7:30PM
MSNBC reports that Ohio is too close to call. See "pain" prediction above. Senator McCain wins Ohio.

7:33PM
A question to get the comments rolling. How is it possible for Senator Clinton gain enough pledged delegates in the remaining primaries to win the nomination?

7:37PM
Another question: How many times will they have to empty Chris Matthews' drool cup?

7:43PM
Karl Rove is on FOX News again. He just said "Democrat Caucus" instead of "Democratic Caucus." Karl Rove is a dick.

7:45PM
Sandusky, Ohio polls will remain open until 9PM. MSNBC exit poll shows Ohio voters believe Senator Clinton has engaged in unfair attacks. The exit also says Clinton wins among women, whites and people who earn less than $50K.

7:50PM
Again with the name business tonight. Tom Brokaw botched Senator Obama's name by confusing it with the evildoer known as... Ben Bernanke. Something like "Barack-- Bernanke." You know what I miss on NBC? Hearing Tom Brokaw pronouncing "Bosnia-Herzegovina."

7:53PM
It's A-holes and Criminals night on the cable news networks. Ken Blackwell on MSNBC. Bill Bennett on CNN. Karl Rove on FOX News. I'm expecting to flip over to Headline News and see a panel including the Hamburglar, OJ Simpson and Nurse Ratched.

7:57PM
MSNBC is showing Senator Clinton ahead in Ohio: 56-42 with 0% reporting. Polls will also remain open in Cuyahoga County because they ran out of ballots.

8:03PM
I'm watching Bill O'Reilly on FOX News right now. You know what he's really good at -- in addition to lying? He's really good at saying things everyone knows, but pretends as if he's just invented it. "You know what I just came up with, Brit? Mustard is better than ketchup on hot dogs. Now I don't mean to opiiiiiinnne, but it's true, Brit. Did you know that? Shut up."

8:08PM
O'Reilly just said: "They (the American people) don't want the news media telling them who to vote for." FOX News doesn't do that sort of thing.

8:09PM
Obama is leading in Texas. 58-41.

8:19PM
Terry McAuliffe on MSNBC bragging about Senator Clinton winning Michigan. Good for him -- that was a tough battle against "Uncommitted" and "Congressman Kucinich." Brag away, Terry!

8:25PM
Senator Clinton is leading Ohio by an insane 30-point margin (62-36) with 0% reporting. That probably won't hold.

8:35PM
Clinton won among white women -- and men -- in Ohio according to MSNBC exit polls.

8:40PM
Mike Huckabee could drop out tomorrow to spend more time with his crazy. And President Bush is expected to endorse Senator McCain tomorrow. Please let there be many more events like that one. What do you suppose the president's nickname for Senator McCain is? My guess: "Grumpy McMayo."

8:45PM
Someone on MSNBC: White women in Ohio responded to Senator Clinton's fear mongering 3AM commercial. Matthews: "We're looking at fear trumping hope."

8:53PM
Rachel Maddow on the 3AM ad: "That is a fear mongering campaign ad." Naturally, Scarborough and Buchanananan thought it was a dandy ad. Olbermann has a desk bell and he's leaning on it now.

8:59PM
CNN's John King with his magic marker fingers says that no precincts have reported from Dallas, Houston and Austin. So take the current Texas results with that in mind.

9:01PM
CNN and MSNBC report: Senator Grumpy McMayo wins the Republican presidential nomination.

9:03PM
Question from the comments: When you give the time could you say which time zone you are timing from? I'm reporting from eastern Pennsylvania. That would be the Eastern time zone.

9:12PM
While we're killing time waiting for more results: I want to know more from Clinton supporters about this quote:

"I think that I have a lifetime of experience that I will bring to the White House. Senator John McCain has a lifetime of experience that he will bring to the White House. And Senator Obama has a speech he gave in 2002."

How is this helping anyone except Senator McCain?

9:18PM
Mike Huckabee is talking now. Oh jeez -- Mike Huckabee is dropping out tonight. Aww man. I was really hoping to have our Constitution replaced with Leviticus because it's so important that we put adulterers on death row. Seriously, though, Huckabee seems like a really nice guy. It's just a shame that he ran as "Santorum with Jokes."

9:22PM
MSNBC calls Rhode Island for Senator Clinton.

9:30PM
Screen grab from Mike Huckabee's consession speech:

9:33PM
Who thinks Huckabee will be McCain's running mate? Who thinks that talking about Senator McCain choosing a running mate is really bad news for the Democrats who are still turning each other into ground beef?

9:39PM
This is interesting... Howard Fineman says someone high up in the Clinton campaign told him, "Ohio is not enough." His source says that Senator Clinton might want to go on with just an Ohio win, but many others close to the senator do not. "Avoiding a hanging," they say. Zoinks.

9:49PM
Senator McCain and Paris Hilton are on stage now. Here's one of the only nice things I'll say about McCain between now and whenever... It's a terribly long road from a POW camp in Hanoi to the Republican nomination for President of the United States, and it's a remarkable story. I would caution him from selling-out what remains of his integrity in order to attain this gig, though. Also, watch for Cliff Schecter's up-coming book about Senator McCain coming this May (I think). If you don't know who Cliff is, watch this.

10:01PM
Holy frijoles... Listen to this. Obama lawyer Bob Bauer fights Howard Wolfson on a conference call tonight. Wow. See my previous "ground beef" remark.

10:09PM
Carl Bernstein on CNN... A top Clinton strategist told Bernstein: "we have to mess [Obama] up."

10:19PM
Go Rachel Maddow! She's blasting Buchanan right now and I don't blame her. Buchanan claims that Obama's supporters are the "professoriate" types. Maddow: "I don't understand how Missouri is the professoriate. How Missouri and Georgia and Virginia and all of those places! You pigeonhole and stereotype people who are supporting him and it gets ridiculous!" High Pitch Buchanan is filtering everything through an antiquated political meat grinder from 1972 and Rachel Maddow is taking him to school on how things work in 2008.

10:24PM
Olbermann reports... Cuyahoga won't be counted until 4:30AM. Why is Ohio so goddamn screwy? Chuck Todd and His Magical Mathematical Beard reports that none of the cities have reported in Ohio. Only the rural areas have reported, and thus the high margin for Senator Clinton. See above Mr. T video.

10:31PM
Commenter lincat: "I've got a headache." Me too. I really do.

10:43PM
Pain... in Texas:
Obama 711,759 - 49%
Clinton: 711,183 - 49%
23 percent reporting

10:51PM
CNN reporting that Clinton has taken the lead in Texas:
Clinton 739,171- 49%
Obama 731,006 - 49%

10:53PM
John King's ink-spewing fingers suggest that very few results are in from Houston, Dallas and Austin. King says Obama will regain the lead based on those results.

10:55PM
CNN says Senator Clinton wins Ohio.

10:57PM
MSNBC agrees on Ohio.

10:58PM
Andrea Mitchell just sprung up out of a hole in the ground on MSNBC.

11:04PM
Senator Clinton is going to be speaking soon. I wonder how she'll fear monger tonight. Will she invoke you dying or your kids dying or everyone dying should Senator Obama win the White House?

11:08PM
Andrea Mitchell says the Clintons came "back from the dead" in Ohio. This is weird because she was leading in all of the polls, with the exception of a couple of recent ones that were dead even. But okay, back from the dead.

11:14PM
Senator Clinton: "No Democrat has won the White House without winning the Ohio primary." That's because this is the first time in a very long time that Ohio has truly been contested. Usually by the time Ohio rolls around, the nominee has already been decided. But okay. Delusion is good. Chanting now: "Yes she will!" "Commander-in-chief on day one." Slash-burn-slash-burn-clap-clap-point-point-slash-burn.

11:25PM
Is it my television or does her hair look green--- Holy fuck! I was kidding before about the fear mongering, but she's doing it. She's fear mongering again:

"Protecting America is the first and most urgent duty of the president. When there's a crisis and the phone rings at 3AM at the White House, there's no time for speeches or on-the-job training. You have to be ready to make a decision."

Then she proceeded to congratulate Senator McCain. Would someone please tell her that she can't win on delegates and this is only going to help the Republicans? Please?

11:39PM
Senator Obama speaking now, and he congratulates Senator Clinton on Ohio. See what he did there? I'm fairly certain he said "Senator Clinton" and not "Senator McCain." Congratulating someone from your own party ought to be a priority, but okay. Senator Clinton's exclusive kudos to the Republican candidate is awesome too -- I guess helping the Republicans (they of the vast conspiracy) comes from being so goddamn experienced.

11:48PM
From Kane in the comments, the delegate count for tonight thusfar:
Obama 119
Clinton 119
I'm not a math wizard, but that's a net gain of zero delegates for Senator Clinton tonight so far.

12:02AM
I'm done for the night. Thanks to everyone in the comments for the news tips. And being here in Reading, Pennsylvania where, Chris Matthews says, there's only country-western music on the juke boxes, I look forward to hearing Hillary For You And Me on the radio for the next seven goddamn weeks. Good night and help me.

Comments

[belladawna]

hahaha like i said mccain vs. hillary!!! haha
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp=23482000&#23482000

listen and go home and cry!! she's gonna nail PA and wyoming watch. like a broken record i say "watch" haha

what a turn from that ten min. from obama winning texas to her winning texas. what a shock to the obama supporters' system eh? go hillary in a non-cheerleader kind of way! LMAO

[belladawna]

oh and i want to add that the only withdrawing she should be doing is for banking purposes!! haha
also, that comment above bob does not even sound like fear mongering. more like what she's going to do if and if her phone rings at 3am with a "problem". she'll deal with it and not wait until the morning in the OVAL office!! hahahahaha
would be nice to see clinton/obama on the same ticket as well. *chuckles*

[AlphaDoc]

Yes, finally we have an idea of how Senator Clinton might react to a late-night crisis, courtesy of Dana Milbank of the Washington Post:

http://tinyurl.com/yuuncn

>COLUMBUS, Ohio Hillary Clinton's campaign plane was flying above the clouds Tuesday evening en route to a primary-night celebration here when it unexpectedly hit severe turbulence.

Meal carts rolled, beer cans and debris flew across the galley, coffee and meals spilled in laps, and passengers in the aisle dove to the floor to secure themselves. "I need to get back to my seat before I hit the ceiling!" screamed one of the flight attendants.

The pilot finally regained control over the careening craft -- then, a bit late, thought to put on the "fasten seat belt" light.

And the candidate? "Sleeping and buckled," an aide from the forward compartment reported.

So it has been for Senator Clinton. <

Guess maybe she needs that ringin' phone to wake her up.

[plbcm]

The best thing that could happen is that the Clinton/Obama contest go all the way to the Convention. Many in the media, mostly pro Obama backers advocate she withdraw for the sake of party unity. Nonsense. During the period that the contest is unresolved, the democrats will get 90% of the pub. McCain will become a forgotten man. The positions of the dems will be so well thought out and compelling, that they will dominate the agenda for the general election. no matter who the candidate is. The media, particularly all those Obama shills have got to start thinking outside of the box.

[peaceandfreedom]

One third of the deal is done:
1. She "won" Texas, that pinkest of Blue states that would vote for Hitler if he ran as a Dem, and she won the "Diebold" lottery of Ohio--better check those machines, boys.
2. She will overturn the Florida and Michigan prohibition, and add those to her total as well.
3. The undeclared Superdelegates will flock to her banner at the convention, the "comeback" complete, the MSM thrilled by the meme (oh, what papers they will sell)--And the Deal is Done!

[vanessa04]

If the situation were reversed, and it was Obama coming back after a string of losses, would Mr. Cesca be so adamant that he should still leave the race? Or would he, like 3:1 Democrats, think both candidates should go through all the primaries?

Why do I suspect the latter?

[vanessa04]

I don't know why you think Karl Rove needs Hillary's help to defeat Barack Obama. He destroyed Kerry in 2004, and Hillary was nowhere to be found.

Go figure.

The idea that the GOP would NOT raise the same questions in a general is fallacious and wishful thinking. Better to find out NOW if Obama will crumble under pressure, than in NOV.

Or I suppose we could ignore his weaknesses as a candidate, and just hope the GOP does too. Hell of a campaign strategy.

[peaceandfreedom]

Bob, the fix is in my man.

Gee, I love being able to say--I TOLD YOU SO! And I called it yesterday. This has never been in doubt.

One third of the deal is done:

1. She "won" Texas, that pinkest of Blue states that would vote for Hitler if he ran as a Dem, and she won the "Diebold" lottery of Ohio--better check those machines, boys.

2. She will overturn the Florida and Michigan prohibition, and add those to her total as well.

3. The undeclared Superdelegates will flock to her banner at the convention, the "comeback" complete, the MSM thrilled by the meme (oh, what papers they will sell)--And the Deal is Done!

Be ready for 8 more years of War, continuing loss of our rights and further growth of the Presidential Prerogative. This is a woman who would not sign off on the Restoration of our Constitution.

[mbinKS]

Yes, there's a lot of superstition, prejudice, ignorance & fear---enuf to go around and around and around, so much so that Clinton will probably defeat Obama, McCain will defeat Clinton, and it will be another 4 years (or more) of the same damned war-mongering, & fear-selling that America claims to be tired of. The mother-in-law that early-on said "Obama has some muslim in him" is WAY too typical. If Obama is appealing to the college-educated voter, of which I am one, he will lose; there just aren't enuf of us! How can Obama remain optimistic? I don't know; I can't. I dread the thought of another 2 months of this---who knows? Maybe McCain will choose Hillary as a running mate and the fear-selling Republics (like the Democrat Party) can have ONE party that will have us all goose-stepping by Nov.

[neiltheblaze]

I see no earthy reason why Hillary Clinton should pull out of the race simply because it will make life easier for her oppponent. It's only March, people - we've got months before the convention. What people are reacting to is the fact that this has been going on for a year already - but that's simply circumstantial and a feature of *this particular* campaign season. The election is happening in November - like it always does. There is no reason to make way at this point in time - Obama will likely win it - and that's fine with me. Let him win it! He hasn't - yet.

When he collects the requisite number of delegates, we can crown him winner. Until that happens Clinton doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to. And despite all the Chicken Little pronouncements of the Sky Falling from the Democratic firmament by hysterical commentators, everything's going to be fine.

Get a grip! McCain is a sucky candidate - and he's still going to be a sucky candidate in November - and the Democrat - whoever it is - is going to kick his fat septagenarian ass. Relax!

[pinkyboo]

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!! Sanity is a GOOD THING!!!!!

[k8k9]

At the end of your first sentence above, I thought you sounded out-of-touch. But after reading your whole post, I was actually able to take a much needed deep breath about it all. Thanks! But I hope you're right!!!! We're doomed without Obama!

[SatinPanties]

Thanks for your concise and entertaining yet informative liveblogging Bob!
What a difference...

[SherryIndianapolis]

I am more than disgusted today.
Dirty politics seem to rule the country and no one wants that to change, even just to civility. How about just beating your opponent based on the merits of your argument? Is that really beyond imagination anymore? Are you just too lazy to fight fair and in order? I would have been happy with either candidate at one time (as recent as January), but the more this goes on, the more I am just turned off by the tactics that seem to pass as campaigning in this country and disturbed that more than a few people still respond to such low-life behavior in a race as important as choosing our next President.
You all have at it. I think the American people deserve what they think they want-a 3rd term for George Bush at any cost. But just remember all this mess as your grandkids are deployed to Iraq to beat down Al-Quaeda in 2028......

[micropainter]

Why doesn't someone tell Obama that just because he's slightly ahead on pledged delegates, it doesn't mean he "deserves" to be the nominee--he's got to get to the 2/3 majority? That kind of whining is what Obama supporters were calling "Clinton arrogance" only a few weeks ago. And so what if he's won a bunch of little Red states? Like, McCain won't take those in the general election? Come on, people--get with the program: the real question is who can win in November? Answer: the Democratic candidate who can win the big states over the Republican candidate. Duh.

[Manicsuperstar]

Yo Bob, maybe you can be the one to tell Obama that if he can't beat HRC on the Commander-in-Chief question, he sure as hell can't beat McCain on it. Come June, if his big wins were all the way back in February and she's run the table on this argument ever since, there is no way in hell he is going to get the nomination, nor should he. He can still win this very easily, but he has to cross the Commander-in-Chief threshold in a decisive and meaningful way. He hasn't done it yet, and this past week has raised some real questions about whether he will. He's certainly not going to do it by whining about negative attacks, or having staffers and aids go behind his back to conduct diplomacy with foreign countries. This past week was pure amateur hour at the Obama camp, and Hillary rightfully took advantage of that fact. It looks like Hillary may run a good part of the rest of this campaign as if she were McCain on matters of foreign policy and readiness to be President. If Obama can't overcome her arguments in a decisive way now, then he does not have the right to become our nominee, because he certainly can't overcome those same arguments when posed by McCain. Having said that, however, I believe he probably can overcome them. If this campaign has shown us anything, it's that's he's extremely smart and an incredibly gifted politician. Even though I fiercely support Hillary, I must admit that her campaign has proven much better at coming from behind than at holding onto momentum. This moment is hers, but she really has to prove she can hold onto this thing long-term in order to really take the nomination away from him. It’s still very much his to lose, but make no mistake, regardless of the number of pledged delegates at the convention, if it’s close and she is looking tough and has momentum, and he is looking naive and defensive, the super delegates will go to her.

[CraigMM]

thesimulacra - I think you need to undestand that when HRC supporters talk about being "fair" in the media's coverage what we are talking about is presenting the information in an honest way. If HRC lied about a NAFTA meeting, Bob Cesca would be out there calling her a criminal and part of the "old democratic machine". When Obama lies about a NAFTA meeting, Cesca says it never happened or it's not important at all. If HRC wins Ohio by close to 10 points, Cesca says it is no big deal and Obama trailed by plenty. If Obama wins Ohio, Cesca says it proves HRC can't win the GE. HRC wins California handily, but the story from Cesca isn't about HRC's big win, it is skewed to - Obama came close. You have constantly heard that HRC is going to try to "steal" the election because she cannot get to 2025. The truth is that neither candidate can get to 2025 and Obama will try to "steal" the election as much as HRC, in the sense that both candidates want to win and will try to win. The media/blogosphere taints every piece of information about HRC with negativity and it affects how people view her. It is THIS forcing of his narrative that is tearing the party apart, not HRC. She has been a great candidate and she is winning and has over 10 million supporters, yet Cesca wants you to dismiss her like she's Ron Paul because HE doesn't like her. Cesca should stay out of this and let the Deomcratic party elect the candidate they want and the candidate who earns it with a reasonable amount of scrutiny. Let's see where we end up. HRC may well have the popular vote by the time this is over. This whole thing should be celebrated, but Cesca and friends are trying to paint it in a negative light and it is ALWAYS HRC that is the villain. That is not only ridiculous, it is dangerous. People should be angry at Cesca and friends for forcing their narrative on us and for tearing the party apart. They are creating this negativity and tension and then writing more stories about it.

[dadumdee]

Your post poorly informed and overgeneralizes a lot.

[dwillisno1]

Thank you for your overgeneralized response to his over generalization.

[CraigMM]

Why should Howard Dean step in and ask HRC to step down? Hillary won by over 300,000 votes. Stpo listening to the media about all of the crowds that BO is drawing. HRC is winning importnat states.

Perhaps Obama should step down. He has lost the last 3 primaries, he is folding under his first real scrutiny and threw money away to the tune of outspending HRC 3 to 1. This shows that he cannot run his campaign, so how can he be POTUS? Yes, Obama should step down so the party can unite behind HRC. She has all the momentum.

If this argument is ridiculous, then I hope it sheds some light on how ridiculous the constant drumbeat for HRC to step down has been.

[definitelyNOTmisterRIGHT]

yes, it is ridiculous. no, it sheds no light.

[Chauncey1186]

So... the rest of us live in "unimportant states"? Hell, why don't we all just save ourselves the trouble and let Texas, Ohio and Califonia nominate our candidate? It's this kind of crap that makes folks want to give up and stay home - and the Clintonistas are masters of throwing crap around! Obama may not have won the last three primaries but he WON the first 11. oops - I forgot - those states don't count!

Now I'm not a mathematician but even I can see 3

[stupidme]

Subject in Revolutionary times to General Washington - " General, you were great in fighting those British! No more King George! So, now that we have our independence it looks like we're going to need a King. How about you? You can be .... King George." Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton, etc.

[JeffinIllinois]

I listen to Rachel Maddow quite often and in that light I will say that her comments on MSNBC reflect how in the bag (and the rest of Air America) for Obama she is. This post in and of itself shows the incredible cynicism that typifies Obama supporters. It's almost like they hear Obama talking about hope and change but do not listen. It is also worth noting that this generation doesn't know why they hate Hillary Clinton, but you can tell they've been taught to feel that way. The "3am Fear Ad" ,as it is called, asks a question of an electorate that watched George Bush read My Pet Goat and it wasn't 3am, it was daylight. We are dealing with a world where George Bush has burned bridges and strategically blundered by making more of the world hate us. There is no reason to be fearful, but we still need to ask the question the ad did. I must have been paying attention to Rachel Maddow because the argument I make here sounds like an arugment she would make.....for anyone but Hillary Clinton.

[mcfried]

Hillary has supported Bush with all her senate votes. I'm not sure what your argument is here. When it comes to dealing with Bush, Clinton does whatever he wants. Our issue with Hillary is her dirty smear campaign, ala Bush 2004, and insistance that it's ok to change the rules of elections ala Bush 2000.
Sorry if you think it is ok to unfairly attack the front runner in the race who is in the same party as you, you should be ashamed. I don't think we would hate her if she was play fair and not constantly appealing to the worst in human nature.

[vanessa04]

"Hillary has supported Bush with all her senate votes."

So has Obama. I'm not sure what your argument is here.

Personally, I think it's not ok to unfairly attack a fellow Democrat who stands for the same policy positions that you do. That you fail to see the double standard shows that Obama apparently appeals only to the worst in you.

What you call "dirty smear", I call "hard question". So do millions of us who voted for Hillary. And so does the GOP.

Get used to it. If he can't handle the questions from Hillary, how the hell is he going to handle the same questions from McCain?