Hillary can't win the primary legitimately, but OMG, she can win WV...by 30 pts

updated 1:21 p.m. EDT, Sat May 10, 2008

What might West Virginia's primary mean?

By Bill Schneider
CNN Senior Political Analyst

CHARLESTON, West Virginia (CNN) -- West Virginians will head to the polls Tuesday for the state's Democratic primary between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. But what will the vote there really mean after new delegate totals show Obama with a sizable lead?

Some say it could send a sobering message to Obama's Democratic supporters.

West Virginia is expected to go for Clinton big time -- and the polls show it.

Clinton has a 43-point advantage over Obama, 66 percent to 23 percent, according to a survey from the American Research Group released Friday.

The poll was conducted after Tuesday's primary results and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

"This state is really Hillary Clinton's wheelhouse. It's an older population, socially conservative, blue-collar workers," said Kennie Bass, a political reporter for WCHS in West Virginia.

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A big Clinton win will send a powerful message that there are a lot of Democrats not ready to get on the Obama bandwagon.

link

May 10, 2008, 6:19 pm

Clinton’s Mother’s Day Fund-Raiser

By Katharine Q. Seelye

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The afternoon was a chance for Mrs. Clinton to raise a bit of money _ tickets started at $100 _ and showcase her platform for women and families. “It would be exciting to have the first mother in the White House,” she declared at one point, but most of her 40-minute talk was devoted to her plans for universal health care, making college affordable and investigating the oil companies.

It was not clear if she was trying to telegraph something to Senator Barack Obama, the frontrunner for the nomination, but she made two particularly interesting comments. She seemed to relax her much-criticized call for a vacation from the gas tax, saying she was open to other ways of providing relief for people from high gas prices. And she reaffirmed her view that a health-care plan needs to be universal, describing that as a core Democratic value.

“Our Democratic nominee should stand for universal health care,” she said, raising one of the most salient policy differences between her and Mr. Obama.

The fighting words were left to two members of New York’s congressional delegation — Nita Lowey and Charles Rangel — who introduced her and her daughter, Chelsea.

Referring to superdelegates, Ms. Lowey said: “We must persuade them that Hillary Clinton is the right choice, the rational choice, the smart choice, the choice of the heart and the head.”

Mr. Rangel declared, “We were with Hillary Clinton before, we are with Hillary Clinton now and we will stay with Hillary Clinton until we win.”

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Californians Would Switch Clinton Vote For Obama

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ― California voters would change their February primary vote for Hillary Clinton to a vote for Barack Obama if the vote were held again, according to an exclusive poll commissioned by CBS 5.

While voters in the California Democratic Presidential Primary backed Clinton by a 10-point margin, a new SurveyUSA poll shows that if given the chance to vote again, Californians would choose Barack Obama by a 6-point margin, 49%-43%.

The poll was conducted on May 7 and 8 and has a margin of error of 4%.

On the Republican side, John McCain won by 8 points in the California primary. The new poll says he would win by 35, in a 55%-20% victory over Mitt Romney, if Californians were given the chance to vote again.

A Saturday Night Live Skit Clinton Won't Be Referencing Anytime Soon

May 11, 2008 10:58 AM

During a recent Ohio debate, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., cited an SNL skit mocking media adulation of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., to make the argument that there had been a media double-standard.

Watch HERE.

The problem with citing a comedy show as an authority is that it can come back to haunt you.

Watch Amy Poehler's "Hillary Clinton" talk to the superdelegates HERE.

Obama Expected To Lose Big In Today's West Virginia Primary

By Eric Kleefeld - May 13, 2008, 8:51AM

Although Barack Obama is now widely expected to be the Democratic nominee, the campaign is in for a bit of embarrassment tonight in what is likely to be a very bad showing in the West Virginia primary -- indeed, if the polls are accurate, he'll be lucky to get more than 30%:


Expect the Clinton campaign to use tonight's result as an argument against Obama's electability, and as evidence that Hillary can reach out to rural working-class voters where Obama can't.

To: Interested Parties
From: Clinton Campaign
Date: Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Re: Why West Virginia Matters

With a record turnout expected in today's primary, West Virginia Democrats will make clear who they believe is the strongest candidate to take on Sen. McCain in the Fall.

The Mountain State is used to picking winners. Every nominee has carried the state's primary since 1976, and no Democrat has won the White House without winning West Virginia since 1916.

Democrats carried West Virginia in 1992 and 1996, but lost the state--and the White House--in 2000 and 2004. Hillary has predicted victory against Sen. McCain in West Virginia based on the strength of her economic message.

Given the attempts by our opponent and some in the media to declare this race over, any significant increase in voter turnout, coupled with a decisive Clinton victory, would send a strong message that Democrats remain excited and energized by Hillary's candidacy.

In the face of grim poll numbers, the Obama campaign has attempted to dismiss today's outcome despite the fact that Sen. Obama has outspent us on advertising, has more staff in the state, and more than double the number of offices.

He has also benefited from the support of the most high-profile endorsers in West Virginia--Sen. Jay Rockefeller and Congressman Nick Rahall. By every measure, the Obama campaign has waged an aggressive campaign in the Mountain State.

Despite being the so-called "presumptive nominee" and benefiting from these advantages, Sen. Obama has been unable to close a significant gap in the polls.

Sen. Clinton has already won Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and Michigan. With a win in West Virginia, Sen. Clinton will have once again proven her greater ability to win in the key swing states