Obama has used his donations to come from 20 points behind to almost dead even...

[SaveAmerica]

I don't call that 'getting all those donations and not closing the deal'. I've heard Scarborough say that so many times this morning. I call getting so many donations, using them wisely and closing that gap by so much in such a small amount of time CLOSING THE DEAL!!

[liberaldem4ever]

1. Joe Scarborough is a douche bag

God he makes me :puke:

[0007]

5. Scarorough is on the same level as Lieberman and Zell Miller

and below the level of fresh smegma.

[liberaldem4ever]

10. I used to watch Joe's morning show occasionally

He was a little bit Pro-Obama, saying positive things about him at first. Pat Buchanan was the same way. I heard him say nice things about Obama several times on MSNBC and the McLaughlin Group. It was like someone gave both of them a phone call and they completely changed at the same time. Joe and Pat ever since will make a fool out of themselves they way they turn every question about Obama into a diss of him. Pat even giggles when he does it-I think he knows how dumb he sounds. It is hilarious how big a Hillary supporter these two Repubs have suddenly become. :crazy:

[Andy823]

17. I noticed that also.

Seems like once McCain got the nomination from his party, and the started to see that Hillary was not doing so good, they all started in on Obama! They know that in order for McCain to win, they have to come up with the candidate on the democrats side that will help bring out the republican voters, and they all know that will be Hillary. Now many republicans don't like Obama, but they don't like McCain either. A lot of them will not vote, but will stay home in protest of McCain. On the other hand I don't know of "any" republicans that would stay him if the choice is between McCain and Hillary!

I think Obama can, and has, gotten republicans to crossover and vote for him, and they will do so in the GE. Some have also crossed over and voted for Hillary, but they are doing so to try and help their party, and they will not vote for her in a GE, no way, no how!

Pat and Joe are just two of the many republicans that can get on TV and go after Obama, while jacking up Hillary, and they are doing their job. It's pretty obvious to most what is going on, but it's all a dumb political game, probably thought up by the likes of Karl Rove, and of course old Rush Limbaugh! :puke:

[yardwork]

2. I'm a satisfied constituent of Obama's. I sent him money last week, and he put it to good use.

Scarborough can kiss my ass. He should be explaining his dead intern in a court of law anyway. His integrity is highly questionable.

[goclark]

23. Joe is the bottom crawler IMO, how did he have the

pull to get that prime slot on TV.

The president of the company must have helped him "hurt" the intern.

He is one sick, bitter,evil man.

I can't put my finger on it but his "tone" has changed.

He got very angry at Rachael the other day but there is something up.

I hope it is his ratings in the tank.

[yardwork]

25. While we're asking, how did Rove become a "journalist?"

[goclark]

33. Bingo ~ they are stacking the deck against MoveOn

Rove and don't forget Tony Snow.

Now when will any new "journalist" be that strong in the Democratic field.

They would need to hire Rachael and Michael Moore and that ain't gonna happen.

[Shae]

41. maybe it will change to "Morning Rachel" soon.

[goclark]

43. That would be fantastic!

At least they should have someone on our side on the Morning show.

The deck is stacked against us.

[knixphan]

32. hear hear!

[SteppingRazor]

3. Meh. I will say that his narrowing the gap has been impressive. However...

with such a HUGE time between primaries (we all know six weeks might as well be 20 years in political campaigns), a nearly insurmountable monetary advantage going into today's election, and having outspent Sen. Clinton by 3-1 or more, I do worry a bit that he wasn't able to completely turn the tide in his favor.

Of course, he may yet do so -- there's a few significant factors that haven't really been considered. For example, 300,000 Pennsylvanians have either registered to vote for the first time as Democrats or have switched to the Democratic Party this year. Those voters will not get polled in polls of likely voters, and newly registered voters have, in the past, generally broken for Obama. So, regardless of polls that show Clinton enjoying a slight lead, I do think it's possible that Obama could eke out a win, despite the far-more-likely outcome of a 5-10 point victory for Clinton.

In any case, we'll know by tonight!

[SaveAmerica]

7. I hadn't thought of that angle, about the newly registered voters...something

else to consider. I think that's another thing that's bothering me, Joe has said it so many times and we really don't know until tonight.

[yardwork]

11. Three factors to consider.

1. Hillary established a strong base in PA early on, and many of those voters made up their minds some time ago to vote for her. I'm sure that she has a strong network of volunteers, elected officials, and community leaders encouraging their constituents to vote for her. Many of those folks are still supporting Hillary out of loyalty. That doesn't mean that they won't readily support Obama if he is the nominee.

2. I think that there are a small but significant number of folks who plan to vote Republican in the general election who are supporting Hillary in the primary because they think she'll be easier to beat. I think that the Republican Party is encouraging this. There's no need for Republicans to support their own candidate now - McCain is the nominee.

3. I think that Pennsylvania has regions where many voters simply will not vote for a black man if they feel they have any other option. They have another option in the primary. That doesn't mean that, when faced with a choice between crazy-as-a-loon McCain and Obama, they won't vote for Obama in the general. I've seen life-long racists turn the corner when their backs are against the wall. When the only doctor in town is a black woman, I've seen racists take a deep breath and join the enlightened. And never look back.

[SteppingRazor]

14. No. 1's a big factor. The biggest reason Obama racked up that long string of victories...

was that he had boots on the ground in small states -- especially caucus states, where organization is everything -- and Hillary didn't. At least, certainly not to the degree Obama had. But in Penn., it's different. This time, she actually had a dedicated organization from day one, and I think that did a lot to push back as Obama tried to make inroads in the state.

[yardwork]

24. I don't think that Obama ever expected to win PA.

He doesn't need to win PA to win the nomination.

[SteppingRazor]

26. Oh, I don't think he did either.

He just wants to keep it close enough that the delegate math remains nearly insurmountable for Clinton. As long as Obama keeps it in single digits, he should be plenty satisfied -- any net gain in pledged delegates by Clinton will be more than made up for in North Carolina on May 6.

[jackson_dem]

16. Good post and what is lost in "he gained 20 points" is where he was before 3/4

He had pulled to within 4-6 points in the two PA polls before he lost Texas and Ohio. All his money did was bring him basically back to where he was two months ago, only to lose a bit of ground over the final weekend like he did in Ohio and Texas too. Obama is going to lose when he should have won. His supporters are trying to put on a brave face with this "he came from 20 points down" excuse. Frankly he should never have been 15-20 points down. Did Kerry enter crucial states 20 points down late in the process? Dukakis? Bill Clinton? He is the front runner but is not performing like past front runners.

[SteppingRazor]

20. That's a good point, but at the same time...

I don't think you can necessarily say "Did Kerry enter crucial states 20 points down late in the process? Dukakis? Bill Clinton?" as a way of comparison to the 2008 primary. Because, one thing we've all got to admit, this primary has been unlike any other in recent history.

Kerry, Dukakis and Clinton weren't down that far in crucial states late in the primary, but that's because in their races, by the time the late primaries came around, the race was already over.

[jackson_dem]

27. I meant late in their contexts

For instance Wisconsin and March's Super Tuesday would be the 2004 analogues to where we are right now. As to Clinton his race went all the way to June. He won New York, California and almost everything at the end. He wasn't starting 20 points behind in each state to wind up losing New York by "only" 7 points. Dukakis went pretty far as well. Jackson actually surpassed him fairly late in the process. The difference is Jackson did this chiefly on the strength of winning southern states with large black populations. Dukakis was winning everywhere else. Obama's problem is not confined to one region like Dukakis'.

I agree this year has been different but that is not because they are both strong but rather, I believe, because both are flawed candidates.

[Eurobabe]

4. Scab-bro

is a real dimwit.

[NJmaverick]

6. Why vote for the candidate who is awash in a see of red ink?

That's not a very responsible way to run things

[global1]

8. And Even If Hillary Eeks Out A Small Margin Victory - She'll Have A.....

ticker tape parade touting it.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

19. I've been predicting a confetti drop for 6 weeks.

Even if the margin is 1%.

[zalinda]

9. Yes, this election goes to the highest bidder! n/t

[SaveAmerica]

12. This election goes to the candidate with the most support.

[zalinda]

36. No, it's going to the people who can afford

to give money. Over 50% of this country can barely afford a roof over their head and food, much less give to a political candidate. And people wonder why poor people don't vote, when there isn't a candidate out there who gives 2 hoots about them or their situation. Nothing will change for poor people in this country, no matter who gets elected.

zalinda

[SaveAmerica]

37. I gave for the first time ever this election season, I'm planting a large garden to offset veg

prices at the grocery store, I have a heart attack every time I put gas in the car (and I'm only going to places that are 100% necessary), I am not buying anything that is unnecessary because of those higher prices that my budget is not used to. The people who are 'buying' this election are very much like me, investing in a solution that we are HOPING will lift us out of this mess. I imagine that if you find a chart of who has given to Obama's campaign you are going to find a lot of lower income people have decided to be a part of this process to give them a better life.

[zalinda]

40. Hope all you want, it won't do shit for me or 50% of this country. n/t

[Ichingcarpenter]

13. Hillary spends $1.10 for every dollar she gets

Obama spends $.75 for every dollar he gets.


Source NY Times:http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/22/us/politics/22donate.html&OQ=_rQ3D1Q26refQ3Dpolitics&OP=572c110dQ2F2Q7CVQ2F2Q20Q3CEpjQ3CQ3Cs42455m25d2442Q7Ep2TQ3CSQ22sQ22Ep244Q20Q3Cq.sVLQ51sQ23S

[jackson_dem]

15. Why was he 20 points behind? He was down 4-6 before he lost Ohio and Texas

What past Dem front runner entered almost every state down 15-20 points?

[Blondbostonian]

21. OK

It's a state with 3rd oldest population and a small African-American population. If you picked a perfect state for Hillary to win, this would be it.

I look forward to you supporting Obama in November.

[jackson_dem]

30. So you are saying Obama can't win without the AA vote being over 20% of the electorate

Thank you--that is why he can win the Dem primaries but is a weak general election candidate when the black vote will be half of what it is in the Dem primaries (10% instead of a 20% average nationally. He is losing the non-black vote by double digits and that will matter in the GE). He can't make up the 9% that disappears automatically because of it.

Demographics did not stop past front runners from closing the deal. Bill Clinton actually clinched the nomination by beating Jerry Brown in Brown's home state!

[Blondbostonian]

34. I said OLD not white

There's a reason why college graduates overwhelmingly support Obama. Try using some critical thinking skills.

Steve

[jackson_dem]

35. You can't read your post? You stated he needs a large (read: over 20%) AA vote

Click to add this author to your Ignore list Tue Apr-22-08 11:17 AM
Response to Reply #15
21. OK

It's a state with 3rd oldest population and a small African-American population. If you picked a perfect state for Hillary to win, this would be it.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

38. He won Texas.

And he was behind 30 pts. in PA.

"What past Dem front runner entered almost every state down 15-20 points?"

What past Dem candidate blew 30 pt. leads? I think it was Joe Lieberman.

[GoesTo11]

18. True, but in a winner-take-all system, "almost even" doesn't count

[sakura]

22. But it's not winner take all.

That's not how delegates are assigned in the democratic party's primary system.

[GoesTo11]

28. Then I guess it was a good investment - according to the rules of the game

[sakura]

29. That's what it's about-- knowing the rules and playing to them.

The general election will be run the same way-- knowing what the rules are, and developing a strategy to maximize return on investment. In case of the fall presidential election, it's not the national popular vote that matters, it's electors, state by state (although in each state, those electors are winner take all). For a candidate, or his or her surrogates, to be making arguments along the lines of "if the popular vote were counted we'd be ahead" is disingenuous. They know the rules, better than most of us. Whether or not the rules are fair is an important question, but one that can't be addressed until after the election.

[Bensthename]

31. .

[zulchzulu]

39. Scarborough would be a great sportscaster for Death Row Boxing

Since his intern died in his office and he had to resign, I think he should actually be in the Clink.

[WA98070]

42. Hilary can't get the money or she'd have spent it too.