The latest Quinnipiac Poll shows Clinton leading Obama, 51-44%, while the latest Suffolk University Poll has her ahead 52-42%; also note that in this poll "20 percent of these likely Democratic voters said they would vote for John McCain in November if their Democratic choice does not win their party’s nomination."
The director of the poll (do note the name), David Paleologos, had this to say:
"Hillary Clinton’s projected win in Pennsylvania poses some serious problems for the Democratic Party at this point. First, it continues a bitter battle between the Democratic combatants; second, with 20 percent of core Democratic supporters fleeing to McCain, electability in November becomes a quantifiable problem; and third, it begs the question of who in the Democratic Party will become the ultimate peacemaker?"
My guess is that if Clinton actually wins Pennsylvania by 10 points or more, she will call it a major victory and say she defied augury despite the fact that everyone said she would win. She will assert this as proof that she can win in November (and Obama cannot) so she has an obligation to push on and nothing can stop her from going all the way to the convention. And the real agony for her party will start here. And I like this phrase from Drudge: "Controlled excitement is building inside of Clinton’s inner circle as closely guarded internal polling shows the former first lady with an 11-point lead in Pennsylvania!"
with 20 percent of core Democratic supporters fleeing to McCain, I'd say the Republican party has a serious problem itself. At least if you consider the GOP morphing into a second liberal party a problem.
I love the phrase "controlled excitement" - I wonder how many meetings folks had to craft that bit of prose?
The number of ads that Obama is airing is simply amazing. And it's all hours of the day and the night. Obama is overwhelming Pennsylvania with ads, and if despite those ads he's behind Hillary, that bespeaks the underlying weakness of his campaign and message. Hillary has run ads too, but nothing like the frequency and variety of Obama. Not just is Hussein Obama running a vast number of ads, but he's running a great variety thereof. And the theme of just about every one of his ads is class warfare. It's all about the rich out there preying on the poor, but Hussein Obama is going to ride in to save the day.
It's not enough to say it's all grotesque and appalling. The great uniter Hussein Obama is running one of the most divisive and wicked campaigns imaginable, DELIBERATELY pitting American against American.
What a jerk, what a fricken' jerk!
Yes, in one sense it won't really be remarkable...but it has never been remarkable yet!(exclamation points are key!) Obama has won the states that he was supposed to win and Clinton has won the ones she was supposed to win. Clinton was ahead by a larger margin but Obama has been able to use superior money and grassroots to make it closer. I still think that to be honest one would have to ask how Clinton is able to remain ahead not because she shouldn't be due to the demographics...but because at some point demographics shouldn't have mattered as much...at some point the expert consensus that Obama is the inevitable Democratic nominee combined with the widespread realization that the continuance of this charade was hurting the party should have taken hold. If you think that the effect of this particular view has already skewed the result towards Obama then any Clinton win is in fact grounds for controlled excitement in her camp, elation in camp McCain and not unconsiderable doom and gloom among democratic leadership. Without a doubt the democratic leadership is wishing that democrats would act sensibly and think in this manner...look I prefer Clinton, but Obama is fairly close on policy and I think Obama will win the nomination regardless so as a show of solidarity I will vote Obama.
What agony? Put them on the same ticket and make the convention a love-fest. Obvious solution, and if either or both of the two principals lack(s) the maturity to go along with it, they deserve to lose. Get Vernon Jordan to knock their pumpkin heads together.
John Lewis votes Democractic?
5: Professor Morrisey, they "deserve to lose" anyway. Among other things, lack of "maturity" has been perfectly obvious in both Democratic candidates for months now. Nor will this be altered by their willingness or unwillingness to run as a team.
Trust me on this. If they lose individually or collectively you won't hear any complaints from me.