Barack Obama won a convincing victory over Hillary Clinton, 56% to 42% in North Carolina yesterday. She beat him in Indiana by just 2%, 51% to 49%, and that victory may be marred by the fact that the margin of victory may well be due to Republicans who voted for her at Rush Limbaugh's urging because he sees her as the weaker nominee against John McCain.Given all the controversy over Rev. Jeremiah Wright the past weeks, Obama came out of May 6 in better shape than many had expected.
In the week where the Kentucky Derby had a tragic end of the horserace, is (or should) the Democratic Primary race be over. Pundits last night were projecting that, like a baseball team in September that is mathematically eliminated, there is no way Clinton can win. Obama got off the ropes last night, did he score a knockout blow? If so, who is going to the mound to get the ball from the Hill?
There are a million sports metaphors, take a shot at blogging your own here. Also, give your opinion on if this race should marathon on?
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Some other election tidbits:
Indiana nuns lacking ID denied at poll by fellow sister
(AP) About 12 Indiana nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place by a fellow bride of Christ because they didn't have state or federal identification bearing a photograph.
Sister Julie McGuire said she was forced to turn away her fellow sisters at Saint Mary's Convent in South Bend, across the street from the University of Notre Dame, because they had been told earlier that they would need such an ID to vote.
The nuns, all in their 80s or 90s, didn't get one but came to the precinct anyway.
"One came down this morning, and she was 98, and she said, 'I don't want to go do that,'" Sister McGuire said. Some showed up with outdated passports. None of them drives.
They weren't given provisional ballots because it would be impossible to get them to a motor vehicle branch and back in the 10-day time frame allotted by the law, Sister McGuire said. "You have to remember that some of these ladies don't walk well. They're in wheelchairs or on walkers or electric carts."
Nonetheless, she said, the convent will make a "very concerted effort" to get proper identification for the nuns in time for the general election. "We're going to take from now until November to get them out and get this done. You can't do this like school kids on a bus," she said. "I wish we could."
Elsewhere across the pivotal state, voting appeared to run smoothly, despite the fears of election experts that the Supreme Court's recent refusal to strike down Indian's controversial photo identification law could cause confusion at the polls.
Indiana's photo ID law is the strictest in the country. The Republican-led effort was designed to combat ballot fraud, said supporters, who also have acknowledged that no case involving someone impersonating a voter at the polls has ever been prosecuted in Indiana.
The state's American Civil Liberties Union sued, calling the law a poll tax that disproportionately affected minorities and elderly voters, those most likely to lack such identification. On April 28, the Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 that the law did not violate the Constitution.
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The 1966 SC case of Harper v. Virgina Board of Elections overturned a Virgina $1.50 poll tax on the grounds that it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
In a 6-to-3 decision, the Court held that making voter affluence an electoral standard violated the Equal Protection Clause. The Court found that wealth or fee-paying had no relation to voting qualifications. The Court also noted that the Equal Protection Clause was not "shackled to the political theory of a particular era" and that notions of what constituted equal treatment under the Clause were subject to change.
http://www.oyez.org/cases/1960-1969/1965/1965_48/
See Voter Fraud or Poll Tax? blog of 4/30 for more. But case your voter here (at no cost) is the Indiana ID law a poll tax? It cost more than $1.50 to get a state ID card or driver's license.
7 comments:
HILLARY'S GOING INTO THE WALL! HILLARY'S GOING INTO THE WALL!
Well the match is pretty much over. Obama came out swinging but got crippled with multiple killing blows to the groin from his own bench with the contender laying on the ground. Billary went in for pin and win but was shocked to see Obama pulling a fastone and managed to smash Billery in the jaw just before Round 15 came to a end. What a match, what a fight and yet McCain meanwhile continues to plan for finishing off the winner of this fight. Why dosent one of them throw in the towel since we all know that the harder they fight the easier it will take for McCain to bash their skulls in.
It's done. It done when she has to lend herself 6.4 million. When she can't fundraise effectively, and according to where I get my news, just lost the superdelegate lead, It's done. McCain v Obama - should be a good one.
I have to disagree with everyone else so far. I don't think that this race is anywhere near over. I was just reading an article in Newsweek talking about how there is one thing to rely on when dealing with the Clinton's - and that's the refusal to give up. Don't get me wrong, Hillary is definitely playing catch-up with Barack, but to rule her out? Watch for a possible comeback is all I can say. She's got a lot of friends in high places and she is going to do anything she can to get that spot...I'm not sure Obama will be as assertive/willing to do what Hillary is prepared to do.
I agree with Jean. Hillary Clinton is going to stay in the race at least until all the primaries are done with. She had a blowout victory in West Virgina, is leading in the Kentucky polls by almost 30 points, and is favored to win Puerto Rico.
Although I admit Clinton's chances of actually becoming the nominee are slim, she will likely play a role in shaping the 2008 Democratic ticket and party platform. At the convention, she may use her clout from these last few victories to make sure part of her policy agenda is implemented. We have to remember, Clinton has the support of nearly half of Democratic voters. By no means does Barack Obama have a mandate. Clinton wants to make this clear so she has some role to play in the next administration, which I discuss below.
What Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and West Virginia have made clear is that the Democratic base is divided. Senior citizens, women, Hispanics, and white blue-collar workers stand steadfast with Clinton, while younger voters, African-Americans, and those with advanced degrees and higher incomes are solidly in Obama's camp. The Democratic party, which traditionally has united all of these groups, is intensely polarized. Regardless of who the candidate will be, key components of the Democratic base will be alienated.
Obama's nomination would lead many conservative Democrats and blue-collar voters (the "Reagan Democrats") to support John McCain
Clinton's nomination would discourage African-Americans and turn off a generation of young voters from politics.
I sincerely believe that the only way the Democrats can win in the fall is through a ticket which brings together both Obama and Clinton. Clinton may now be seeking the Vice Presidency or a position in the cabinet. Inside sources suggest that she isn't too enthusiastic about returning to the Senate, and her chances of becoming the Senate Majority Leader have decreased due to the polarizing nature of the rivalry she has had with fellow Sen. Obama.
Whatever happens, there needs to be reconciliation between Clinton and Obama for success in the fall.
What influence does the John Edwards endorsement of Obama have. Talk about advance media timing. Instead of the MSM playing the Clinton WV blowout, the Edwards endorsement got two media cycles of coverage.
But Obama is basically blowing off Kentucky. Is that a sound strategy?
To use a baseball metaphor, with Obama struggling to finish the deal, is Edwards the Closer that comes in to get the save?
I guess Edwards' endorsement could help Obama with white blue-collar voters, but doubt it will shift the dynamic of the race.
I find it interesting that Edwards didn't endorse Obama before the North Carolina primary, considering North Carolina is his home state. Obama could have used Edwards' support in getting some of the votes that went to Clinton.
Personally, I think he was waiting for Obama to close the deal on May 6, so he didn't choose the losing candidate. Based on interviews with Elizabeth Edwards, I thought the endorsement would go to Clinton, who appeals to much of the same base and has a universal healthcare plan closer to his own.
In my opinion, Obama blowing off Kentucky is a sound strategy. Why campaign somewhere where you are going to lose by a significant margin, especially when you have a seemingly insurmountable lead in the national contest? Campaigning there would also imply that his campaign still thinks Clinton is a viable threat to the nomination, a notion they have been trying to dispel.
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