Open Thread: Obama Wins North Carolina... nearly Indiana

Impressive (4.00 / 2)

Great day for Obama. Tons of reasons why, good positives for him, etc., that have been said elsewhere.

I also think it's interesting that McCain is still losing around 25% of the vote in the primaries. He's been the presumptive nominee for months, and 1/4 of voters aren't getting behind him?

I didn't vote for Kerry when he was the presumptive nominee, b/c I wasn't excited about him. That lack of Democratic excitement, ultimately, helped doom Kerry, b/c too many Democrats didn't think he could pull it off. I think the same thing is going on in the Republican primaries, now --- and if it becomes clear that Obama is going to win this thing in mid-October, we could see huge levels of depressed Republican turnout, which could be great for down-ballot candidates.

(Fingers-crossed)

Now, a very great man once said that some people rob you with a fountain pen.

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by: Phillip Martin, Progress Texas @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 04:28:52 AM UTC

Get ready to make nice (4.00 / 2)

Clinton (rightfully) isn't calling it quits until she gets some sleep and crunches all the numbers, but it's pretty clear what the answer will be. The superdelegates will weigh in heavily in the next week, leaving Clinton with no chance. Zero. So she's either going to just go through the motions in WV and KT for the sake of her supporters, or quit outright.

Either way, she's going to start treating Obama a lot more nicely that she has been, and vice-versa. We saw that in the speeches, where both were gracious and spoke of unity. About time!!

Personally, I hope she goes through the motions. As long as she's a candidate, she's in a great position to preach unity. As soon as she's an ex-candidate, she becomes a lot less important.  

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by: LSadun @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 04:39:32 AM UTC

yeah, it's over (3.00 / 1)

the look on Bill and Chelsea's face as Hillary gave her speech said it all.  I was at a loud bar amid music and all sorts of other distractions that kept me from hearing her words(to the window...to the wall!), but all you needed to do was see the two of their faces.

I don't really see the point of WV or KT.  I think it could actually backfire if Hillary won them.  Either Obama is going to make her the VP candidate and unify the party, or he's not.  I don't think anything short of that is going to do the trick.  The ball is in his court.  

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by: Kedron Touvell @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 05:56:00 AM UTC

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it's KY (0.00 / 0)

KT is not a state! just my initials.

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by: Karl-Thomas Musselman @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 06:58:36 AM UTC

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sorry (0.00 / 0)

mine too!

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by: Kedron Touvell @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 07:34:54 AM UTC

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VP Choice (0.00 / 0)

My guess is Bill Nelson out of Florida.  

I think bringing Hillary onto the ticket is problematic because you are essentially joining yourself with someone who has spent the last few months telling all of America how unqualified you are and how your only asset is giving speeches.  You and I both know that is the nature of politics, but the Republicans will take all of two seconds to create an ad with snippets of all the negative things she said about Obama.  

I think the compromise here is to attach yourself to a Clinton supporter that gives you a competitive advantage in a state you otherwise wouldn't have.  Rendell and Strickland are options also, but I think they are a little TOO close to Clinton.  And at this point, as much as I like Edwards, he offers the ticket absolutely nothing as Obama has proven he can take North Carolina with or without him.

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by: Casey Walker @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 12:52:28 PM UTC

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Agreed on Nelson (0.00 / 0)

And those who think party unity should justify Clinton on the ticket need to understand that Republicans will dig up their dead mother so they can vote twice against her - I expect even as VP. They aren't quite as motivated in the turnout department against Obama and some Southern Dem to be named later.

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by: m1ek @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 13:03:12 PM UTC

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I'm more worried (0.00 / 0)

about unifying our party than theirs at this point.  I'd rather fight strength against strength than weak against weak, given we have a party ID advantage at this point.

Plus, Republicans love Hillary now:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/...

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by: Kedron Touvell @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 20:29:50 PM UTC

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Very impressive showing for (3.50 / 2)

Obama tonight. I thought Clinton would win Indiana by at least 5 or 6 points.

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by: David Mauro @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 04:52:36 AM UTC

Need your advice on reconciliation (0.00 / 0)

Thanks, David.  So where do we go from here? Obama supporters think it's over and are looking for ways to bridge our differences. But saying "it's over, so come join us" can be pretty insulting to Clinton supporters who believe that it's not over, dammit!

So what should Obama supporters be doing right now to make the state convention, and the fall campaign, as harmonious as possible? Reach out? Wait for the remaining primaries? Wait for cues from Obama and Clinton?  

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by: LSadun @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 15:54:23 PM UTC

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reconcile down the ticket (0.00 / 0)

You know, one thing that both candidates have been terrible at is encouraging their supporters to look down the ticket for party strength. I don't even know the numbers, but the drop-off for downticket voting on March 4th here in Texas was embarrassing!

Both of these candidates have a bully-pulpit to encourage Democrats to get behind people like Rick Noriega in all of these Primary states, but have done none of it. Even without endorsing, they could be bringing people together around the importance of keeping a strong Democratic Congress and growing our State Legislatures.

If Obama and Clinton would just get behind encouraging people to get involved at the local level they could potentially bring a revolution of new local activists, rather than this super majority that care specifically about only one Presidential candidate.  

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by: martib @ Thu May 08, 2008 at 20:56:17 PM UTC

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well... (0.00 / 0)

since David hasn't jumped in yet, I'll say as a Hillary supporter who believes it's time for her to throw in the towel:

1. On both sides, let's end the snarkfest.  I know, it's hard for me, too.  

2. The attacks on Hillary and Bill's legacy really should cease.  Beyond being false, they really don't help when we're trying to enact or restore many of the same policies now.

3. Be patient.  It looks like Hillary wants to end on a high note with victories in WV and KY.  I'd prefer she exit now, but since the race is soon to be over, give her a chance for a face-saving exit.

4. Hillary for VP!!!!  If not, then Dianne Feinstein.  yeah, not going to happen, I know.  Evan Bayh?

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by: Kedron Touvell @ Thu May 08, 2008 at 21:19:58 PM UTC

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I'm happy about this. (0.00 / 0)

I thought Clinton would have won Indiana by 5 and the media called it a tie like they have in the past (even though it still would have been an effective win for Obama and given him more delegates).  I'm glad the media is finally starting to pay some attention to the margins of victory, though I guess with 20,000 votes in a good sized state it's hard not to.

After all the bad press for Obama from Wright, Hillary was in her last best position to win it.  She fell flat.  She was never gonna drop out tonight, it always takes a day or two at least, but I could see her dropping out soon.  I'm not counting on it though.

"I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually."- James A. Baldwin

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by: Timothy @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 07:46:44 AM UTC

I'm happy too (0.00 / 0)

I would be even happier if she withdrew from the race and we moved on to fighting "100 year war in Iraq" McCain.

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by: sonia @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 21:08:39 PM UTC

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It's basically done (5.00 / 1)

I'm a Hillary supporter but it's basically done.  Just a question of when.  Congratulations to Obama and Hillary on two incredible campaigns.

On a side note, Matthew Dowd asks the following: "What do President Bush and Hillary Clinton have in common? Neither had an exit strategy ready."  If only Dowd had asked that earlier, maybe he wouldn't have been running Bush's re-election campaign.

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by: TeamTexas @ Wed May 07, 2008 at 22:04:54 PM UTC

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