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http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/obama_mccain_wisconsin/2008/02/19/73944.html
Obama's Big Mo Stomps Hillary
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama cruised past a fading Hillary Rodham Clinton in
the Wisconsin primary Tuesday night, gaining the upper hand in a Democratic
presidential race for the ages. It was Obama's ninth straight victory over
the past three weeks, and left the former first lady in desperate need of a
comeback in a race she long commanded as front-runner.
"The change we seek is still months and miles away," Obama told a boisterous
crowd in Houston.
He cut deeply into Clinton's political bedrock in Wisconsin, splitting the
support of white women in Wisconsin almost evenly with the former first lady
and running well among working class voters in the blue collar battleground,
according to polling place interviews.
The economy and trade were key issues in the race, and seven in 10 voters
said international trade has resulted in lost jobs in Wisconsin. Fewer than
one in five said trade has created more jobs than it has lost.
Clinton made no mention of her defeat, and showed no sign of surrender in an
appearance in Youngstown, Ohio.
"Both Senator Obama and I would make history," the former first lady said.
"But only one of us is ready on day one to be commander in chief, ready to
manage our economy, and ready to defeat the Republicans. Only one of us has
spent 35 years being a doer, a fighter and a champion for those who need a
voice."
In a clear sign of their standing in the race, most cable television
networks abruptly cut away from coverage of Clinton's rally when Obama began
to speak in Texas.
Sen. John McCain won the Republican primary with ease, dispatching former
Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and edging closer to the 1,191 delegates he
needs to clinch the GOP nomination at the party convention in St. Paul,
Minn. next summer.
In scarcely veiled criticism of Obama, the Republican nominee-in-waiting
said, "I will fight every moment of every day in this campaign to make sure
that Americans are not deceived by an eloquent but empty call for change."
McCain's nomination has been assured since Super Tuesday three weeks ago, as
first one, then another of his former rivals has dropped out and the party
establishment has closed ranks behind him.
Not so in the Democratic race, where Obama and Clinton campaign seven days a
week, he the strongest black presidential candidate in history, she bidding
to become the first woman to sit in the White House.
Ohio and Texas vote next on March 4 - 370 convention delegates in all - and
even some of Clinton's supporters concede she must win one, and possibly
both, to remain competitive.
Wisconsin independents cast about one-quarter of the ballots in the race
between Obama and Clinton, and roughly 15 percent of the electorate were
first-time voters, the survey at polling places said. Obama has run strongly
among independents in earlier primaries, and among younger voters, and cited
their support as evidence that he would make a stronger general election
candidate in the fall.
With the votes counted in nearly one-quarter of the state's precincts, Obama
was winning 56 percent of the vote, to 43 percent for Clinton.
Wisconsin offered 74 national convention delegates. There were 20 delegates
at stake in caucuses in Hawaii, where Obama spent part of his youth.
Obama's victory allowed him to expand his delegate edge over Clinton.
He had 1,294, and Clinton had 1,218 in The Associated Press count, with most
of Wisconsin's delegates still to be allocated. It takes 2,025 to win the
nomination at the party's national convention in Denver.
Obama began the evening with eight straight primary and caucus victories, a
remarkable run that has propelled him past Clinton in the overall delegate
race and enabled him to chip away at her advantage among elected officials
within the party who will have convention votes as superdelegates.
The Democrats' focus on trade was certain to intensify, with primaries in
Ohio in two weeks and in Pennsylvania on April 22.
Obama's campaign has already distributed mass mailings critical of Clinton
on the issue in Ohio. "Bad trade deals like NAFTA hit Ohio harder than most
states. Only Barack Obama consistently opposed NAFTA," it said.
Obama was in Texas, which has primaries and caucuses on March 4, and Clinton
was in Ohio as the votes were counted in Wisconsin.
Clinton's aides initially signaled she would virtually concede Wisconsin,
and the former first lady spent less time in the state than Obama.
Even so, she ran a television ad that accused her rival of ducking a debate
in the state and added that she had the only health care plan that would
cover all Americans and the only economic plan to stop home foreclosures.
"Maybe he'd prefer to give speeches than have to answer questions" the
commercial said.
Obama countered with an ad of his own, saying his health care plan would
cover more people.
The campaign grew increasingly testy over the weekend, when Clinton's aides
accused Obama of plagiarism for delivering a speech that included words that
had first been uttered by Deval Patrick, the Massachusetts governor and a
friend of Obama.
"I really don't think this is too big of a deal," Obama said, eager to lay
the issue to rest quickly. He said Clinton had used his slogans, too.
Even before the votes were tallied in one state, the campaigners were
looking ahead.
Unlike the Democratic race, McCain was assured of the Republican nomination
and concentrated on turning his primary campaign into a general election
candidacy.
Huckabee parried occasional suggestions - none of them by McCain - that he
quit the race. In a move that was unorthodox if not unprecedented for a
presidential contender, he left the country in recent days to make a paid
speech in the Grand Cayman Islands.
McCain picked up endorsements in the days before the primary from former
President George H.W. Bush and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a
campaign dropout who urged his 280 delegates to swing behind the party's
nominee-to-be.
Obama's Big Mo Stomps Hillary
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama cruised past a fading Hillary Rodham Clinton in
the Wisconsin primary Tuesday night, gaining the upper hand in a Democratic
presidential race for the ages. It was Obama's ninth straight victory over
the past three weeks, and left the former first lady in desperate need of a
comeback in a race she long commanded as front-runner.
"The change we seek is still months and miles away," Obama told a boisterous
crowd in Houston.
He cut deeply into Clinton's political bedrock in Wisconsin, splitting the
support of white women in Wisconsin almost evenly with the former first lady
and running well among working class voters in the blue collar battleground,
according to polling place interviews.
The economy and trade were key issues in the race, and seven in 10 voters
said international trade has resulted in lost jobs in Wisconsin. Fewer than
one in five said trade has created more jobs than it has lost.
Clinton made no mention of her defeat, and showed no sign of surrender in an
appearance in Youngstown, Ohio.
"Both Senator Obama and I would make history," the former first lady said.
"But only one of us is ready on day one to be commander in chief, ready to
manage our economy, and ready to defeat the Republicans. Only one of us has
spent 35 years being a doer, a fighter and a champion for those who need a
voice."
In a clear sign of their standing in the race, most cable television
networks abruptly cut away from coverage of Clinton's rally when Obama began
to speak in Texas.
Sen. John McCain won the Republican primary with ease, dispatching former
Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and edging closer to the 1,191 delegates he
needs to clinch the GOP nomination at the party convention in St. Paul,
Minn. next summer.
In scarcely veiled criticism of Obama, the Republican nominee-in-waiting
said, "I will fight every moment of every day in this campaign to make sure
that Americans are not deceived by an eloquent but empty call for change."
McCain's nomination has been assured since Super Tuesday three weeks ago, as
first one, then another of his former rivals has dropped out and the party
establishment has closed ranks behind him.
Not so in the Democratic race, where Obama and Clinton campaign seven days a
week, he the strongest black presidential candidate in history, she bidding
to become the first woman to sit in the White House.
Ohio and Texas vote next on March 4 - 370 convention delegates in all - and
even some of Clinton's supporters concede she must win one, and possibly
both, to remain competitive.
Wisconsin independents cast about one-quarter of the ballots in the race
between Obama and Clinton, and roughly 15 percent of the electorate were
first-time voters, the survey at polling places said. Obama has run strongly
among independents in earlier primaries, and among younger voters, and cited
their support as evidence that he would make a stronger general election
candidate in the fall.
With the votes counted in nearly one-quarter of the state's precincts, Obama
was winning 56 percent of the vote, to 43 percent for Clinton.
Wisconsin offered 74 national convention delegates. There were 20 delegates
at stake in caucuses in Hawaii, where Obama spent part of his youth.
Obama's victory allowed him to expand his delegate edge over Clinton.
He had 1,294, and Clinton had 1,218 in The Associated Press count, with most
of Wisconsin's delegates still to be allocated. It takes 2,025 to win the
nomination at the party's national convention in Denver.
Obama began the evening with eight straight primary and caucus victories, a
remarkable run that has propelled him past Clinton in the overall delegate
race and enabled him to chip away at her advantage among elected officials
within the party who will have convention votes as superdelegates.
The Democrats' focus on trade was certain to intensify, with primaries in
Ohio in two weeks and in Pennsylvania on April 22.
Obama's campaign has already distributed mass mailings critical of Clinton
on the issue in Ohio. "Bad trade deals like NAFTA hit Ohio harder than most
states. Only Barack Obama consistently opposed NAFTA," it said.
Obama was in Texas, which has primaries and caucuses on March 4, and Clinton
was in Ohio as the votes were counted in Wisconsin.
Clinton's aides initially signaled she would virtually concede Wisconsin,
and the former first lady spent less time in the state than Obama.
Even so, she ran a television ad that accused her rival of ducking a debate
in the state and added that she had the only health care plan that would
cover all Americans and the only economic plan to stop home foreclosures.
"Maybe he'd prefer to give speeches than have to answer questions" the
commercial said.
Obama countered with an ad of his own, saying his health care plan would
cover more people.
The campaign grew increasingly testy over the weekend, when Clinton's aides
accused Obama of plagiarism for delivering a speech that included words that
had first been uttered by Deval Patrick, the Massachusetts governor and a
friend of Obama.
"I really don't think this is too big of a deal," Obama said, eager to lay
the issue to rest quickly. He said Clinton had used his slogans, too.
Even before the votes were tallied in one state, the campaigners were
looking ahead.
Unlike the Democratic race, McCain was assured of the Republican nomination
and concentrated on turning his primary campaign into a general election
candidacy.
Huckabee parried occasional suggestions - none of them by McCain - that he
quit the race. In a move that was unorthodox if not unprecedented for a
presidential contender, he left the country in recent days to make a paid
speech in the Grand Cayman Islands.
McCain picked up endorsements in the days before the primary from former
President George H.W. Bush and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a
campaign dropout who urged his 280 delegates to swing behind the party's
nominee-to-be.
