A pivotal point for Democrats

[babylonsister]

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20080224_A_pivotal_point_for_Democrats.html

A pivotal point for Democrats
Obama looks to close out. Clinton hopes to regain footing March 4.

By Larry Eichel

Inquirer Senior Writer

snip//

For most voters, the choice has never been about issue distinctions, even if Clinton has the more ambitious health plan and Obama has been more consistently opposed to the Iraq war.

Instead, it has been about the personae of the two candidates, Obama's in particular.

Democratic voters are drawn to Obama not just because of his eloquence in making the case for change but also because "they want to live in a country that has transcended race," said Tom Pazzi, a party consultant in Washington who is not working for either candidate.

Compared with that, Clinton comes across as a conventional candidate, amazingly so for someone who would be the first woman in the Oval Office.

There's also the generational factor. "Maybe people don't want another baby boomer, another Clinton or Bush," said Doug Hansmann, a Clinton supporter from Madison, Wis. "The irony is that of the two Clintons and two Bushes, I think she's the best of the bunch."

If Obama has shown a weakness, it is this: He has not won the large states - including New York, California and New Jersey - that are must-wins for Democrats in the general election.

Other than his home state of Illinois, the biggest states in Obama's column are Georgia and Virginia. He gets the opportunity to remedy that shortcoming March 4 in Texas and Ohio.

If he succeeds, he'll have done just about everything a winning candidate needs to do. If he fails, he'll have lost another chance to put an end to the amazing race.

[Doctor_J]

1. THis should surprise no one

It was clear even to an idiot like myself, from the beginning, that Obama would rally masses of disenfrachized commoners, while Clinton would rally the party machinery.

There is one interesting point here. It is true that, as Ed Rendell and others have stated, that some people are not ready to vote for a black. However such people are 99% Republicans. This number will be more than offset by those who, as Pazzi says, "want to live in a country that has transcended race,"

[Stuckinthebush]

2. He'll take the big states in the general

Clinton supporters will support him in the general election (sans a few from DU).

Those states will go Dem with him on the ticket.