Saturday, January 26, 2008

In South Carolina, it's an Obama rout

With 99 percent of the returns in, here are the numbers:

Obama 295,091 - 55 percent
Clinton 141,128 - 27 percent
Edwards 93,552 - 18 percent
Richardson 725
Biden 693
Kucinich 551
Dodd 247
Gravel 240

Obama's speech was very good and better than other speeches he has made so far. While his speeches are good, I have not been impressed by Obama's debate performances. He seems slightly aloof and unsure of himself, often stuttering with the "ahs ..." almost thinking while he is speaking, which is not a good idea. Compare that to Edwards and Clinton, who know their points and make them. Debate performance is a problem for me, especially when it comes to facing off against the Republicans, if he becomes the nominee. However, when he has the TelePrompTer, he can deliver a great speech. And he did so tonight.

There are rumors that the top people in Edwards campaign reached out to the Obama campaign tonight about some sort of deal but were rebuffed. Obama's campaign reportedly told the Edwards people to run their own campaign and that they would deal with him later if they needed to. This came from Howard Fineman on MSNBC so who knows if it is legit or not.
Even if Edwards is thinking about a deal, like the VP slot, I don't know if this would be the best thing for Obama. Edwards would make a great president. He is a powerful person to have on the ticket. But he was unable to help Kerry win a single southern state. At the same time, admittedly, Kerry was a terrible candidate. And Edwards was allegedly handcuffed by Kerry's campaign and not allowed to campaign in the states he wanted to campaign in or with his own message. So, that could be part of the reason why Edwards did not help Kerry.
Obama will really need a governor or someone with some executive experience to balance out the ticket and give voters a reason to feel safe and secure with the hopeful choice. Inspiration alone is not going to do it. Just off the top of my head, maybe someone like former Sen. Bob Graham, who was also a governor and has solid foreign policy credentials, would be a good choice. Or a Mayor Mike Bloomberg-like person, with private sector experience, if he were a Democrat. Maybe Gov. Bill Richardson.
If Edwards asked for the AG's position or something where he could utilize his legal experience to "fight for us," then that should be a deal Obama should take. After Obama's two terms, assuming he was elected and reelected, Edwards could always run again. He would still be relatively young - 62.

Some of the exit polls showed that not only did Obama get more than 80 percent of the black vote, he received 24 percent of the white vote. Edwards received 40 percent of the white vote, the most, so he clearly hurt Clinton's results in the state. White women were split between Clinton and Edwards. More than half of voters under 30 went with Obama. Lastly, 20 percent of black voters said they would be upset if Clinton became the Democratic nominee, a bad sign for the Dems heading towards November especially if she starts winning some of the big Feb. 5 states.

Bubba
If anyone needed another reason not to vote for Hillary Clinton, her husband has given the voters that other reason. This line, caught by Jake Tapper over ABC, is despicable:
"Jesse Jackson won South Carolina in '84 and '88. Jackson ran a good campaign. And Obama ran a good campaign here."
The comment was in response to a question about Obama saying, "[it] took two people to beat him." Obama did not say anything about Jesse Jackson but "black men" were clearly on the former president's mind. Oh man.
I'm not a big fan of Joe Klein. I think it is kind of pompous. Not as bad as Fineman though. However, I agree with this post from South Carolina: ["Tonight in South Carolina"]
"Make no mistake: What happened in South Carolina today was a moral reprimand delivered to Bill and Hillary Clinton by a united Democratic Party--but especially by the African-American segment of that party."
Perfectly stated.

Clinton attacks Edwards
According to The Page, Clinton ran anti-Edwards ads in South Carolina: ["Daughter of a Curtain Salesman Attacks Son of a Millworker"]. There is no proof that these ads hurt Edwards, but one has to wonder. Tonight, Edwards lost to Clinton by almost 50,000 votes. He really needed second place tonight. At the same time, Edwards finished with 18 percent when he was polling at 9 or 10 percent just two weeks ago. Edwards says he will continue. He says he is still raising a great deal of money online. He also has about $30 to 50 million in personal wealth he can draw on if he chooses to. U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., is predicting the race will go to the convention, according to Edwards.

Mittsurfing
This is John McCain's hilarious anti-Mitt ad. Look familiar?


McCain's big endorsements
Yesterday, it was Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla. Today, it is Gov. Charlie Crist, R-Fla. Also today, it was members of the NYPD. It feels like the establishment is starting to get behind McCain. Are they worried about "Multiple Choice" Mitt's chances in the general election? Is this about burying Rudy Giuliani? Only time will tell.

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