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First Read is an analysis of the day's political news, from the NBC News political unit. First Read is updated throughout the day, so check back often.

Chuck Todd, NBC Political Director

Mark Murray, NBC Deputy Political Director

Domenico Montanaro, NBC News Political Reporter



Obama, McCain win Vermont

Posted: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 7:00 PM by Mark Murray

NBC News declares Barack Obama the projected winner in Vermont's Democratic primary.

NBC also declares John McCain the projected winner of the state's GOP contest. McCain will add 17 delegates to his total.

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Hey...is John Kerry a superdelegate? If so, is he going to cast his vote for Clinton??? After all, he is endorsing Obama, who is also quite vocal that superdelegates need to go with who won the primary...didn't Clinton overwhelmingly win Massachusetts?
GO OBAMA FINALLY A PRESIDENT WHO THE PEOPLE CAN TRUST FEMALES DO NOT BELONG IN THE WHITE HOUSE!!!!!!AND I AM FEMALE
If Obama doesn't win Ohio & Texas, he is done.

Clinton 08
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
THE CLINTONS WILL 'STEAL' THE NOMINATION FROM OBAMA.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 SECOND after 7 pm and you say "Obama wins Vermont". How can you possibly say that with no actual voting results? I hope that soon, the voters tell you jokers one thing and vote completely different and you jokers end up burned by the very fire you have no respect for. Wait until the votes come in! You are not respectable journalists, you are papparazzi vultures.
Please stay in the race Hillary, we need to make sure you thoroughly destroy the Democratic party. Nothing will make the GOP happier than Hurricane Hillary tearing through the party state-by-state all the way into Colorado. Then, in one final hoorah, seal the tomb on the Democrats by finding a way to covince the super delegates to coronate your well 'earned' victory. I'm sure all of the bodies you leave in your wake will not keep you up at night - so you'll be well rested for that 3 am phone call.
***** BREAKING NEWS **** HILLARY CLINTON PROJECTED WINNER AND THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER DETAILS.
IF YOUR SO TIRED IN SACRAMENTO, I SUGGEST YOU GO TO BED FOR 8 YEARS.
Breaking News!!!
Bill Clinton Found naked with young intern.

Mccain '08
if clinton or mccain win, im leaving the country!!!
I don't think there has ever been a question that Vermont would go for Obama, but how can a news agency actually say "DECLARES...the PROJECTED winner"?  Just doesn't make sense.
Forget the spin.  There is now a Hillary bias in the media.  Last time I checked the Republicans won TX, OH and FL in the last two Presidential Elections.  How can the media let the Clinton camp get away with saying that she has won the states that the Dems have to win, when the Dems have not won these states in the last two elections.
I'm rather amused by the MSNBC coverage.  It's 6:20 pm in Texas, and polls close at 7.  But MSNBC says they close at 8.
Yes, I want John Kerry and Ted Kennedy to give their super delegate votes with "the will of the people" they represent.
Who are the double talkers here?
GO HILLARY 08
And STOP assuming Indiana will go for Obama because we are a neighboring state... don't think so...
My advise to Hillary is to help the process move forward by steping out. lets look at the numbers logicaly there is not a chance. I'm very proud of her efforts, lets help one an other as democrats not just indivisually...
New national polls just out, Mccain and Clinton in tie for National election.See for yourself,realclearpolls.
This has been done before.  Germany..... a short man made the same promises as we hear today.  Hope was the key word.  That man was Hitler.  Remember history repeats itself!
Again, how can Hillary actually claim a victory in any state when she was ahead double digits in three of the states just two weeks ago?
My advise to Hillary is to help the process move forward by steping out. lets look at the numbers logicaly there is not a chance. I'm very proud of her efforts, lets help one an other as democrats not just indivisually...
Vermont, another African American state that Barack wins.When will the madness stop? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!

Please Hillary, Please Hillary can you please stay in the race, we beg you Hillary, Yall are Pathetic!
is msnbc streaming online tonight? cnn is... ..
go obama!
HEY - OHIO CLOSES IN 5 MINUTES - YOU'RE SO SMART - WHY DON'T YOU CALL IT NOW!

You know, if the Red Sox listened to you jokers when they were down to the Yankees 3-0, they never would have come back. They just would have thrown in the towel.

Quit jumping the gun and let the process work. Let the votes be counted and then eat the carcass. Of course, that would mean you might have to actually spend the rest of your TV time actually working instead of blabbing ...
OBAMA WILL WIN THOSE STATES AND WILL BE THE NEXT PRESIDENT FOR THE U.S.A.. "Obama for the struggled".
there will be no mistake in texas that obama will win tonight. Let`s look for bright stars in the sky tonight.
For all the Obama supporters, whether you like it or not, the Democratic Party requires the nominee of the party to get 2024 (since the death of Rep. Tom Lantos) delegates or more.  It doesn’t matter how many states a particular candidate has won prior to reaching the 2024 number, or by what percent, or how many states a particular candidate has won in a row.

2024 is the REQUIRED number to secure the Democratic nomination, not 2023 or 1194 (the number of Pledged delegates Obama currently has according to MSNBC).  I’m not counting the Unpledged (Super) delegates since they ARE NOT AWARDED UNTIL THE CONVENTION IN AUGUST.

So far, Obama has 1194 Pledged delegates which means he still needs 830 delegates to secure the nomination.

While Senator Clinton still needs 987 delegates to secure the nomination (157 more than Obama), Obama still needs 830.  Even if Obama was awarded every delegate from Ohio, Texas, Vermont and Rhode Island (370)(which is not going to happen, he would still need 460 delegates to secure the nomination.

Even if Obama received 100% of the delegates moving forward, it would still take him until May 20th with Kentucky to have the 2024 or more delegates required to secure the nomination.  Obama is not going to get 100% of the delegates moving forward.

Even if Obama received 70% of all the remaining delegates in the Primaries and Caucuses, he STILL WOULN’T HAVE THE 2024 DELEGATES REQUIRED TO SECURE THE NOMINATION prior to the convention.

While Hillary Clinton does currently have fewer delegates (157) than Barack Obama, and despite what the Obama supporters think, would like to think, or claim, she is not so far behind that it is mathematically impossible for her to catch up or even get ahead as so many of the Obama supporters keep insisting just because they don’t like Hillary Clinton.

To date, there has not been one person, not one, who has said that it is mathematically impossible at this point for Hillary Clinton to win the nomination, because it is not mathematically impossible.  

Sure there are quite a few people like the Obama supporters that suggest that Hillary Clinton should get out of the race for the good of the Party.  The problem with people who have suggested that Hillary Clinton should get out of the race is that they don’t speak for everyone in the Democratic Party or the ENTIRE country.  They speak for themselves even though they claim that they’re speaking for other people besides themselves using words and phrases like, “everyone I know,” “everyone in the Party,” “everyone in the country,” “all of my friends and family,” and so on.

There are 17 contest left including Ohio, Texas, Vermont and Rhode Island which is 33% of the total Primaries and Caucuses remaining in this process.  One third of all the states in this country, 1/3, have not had a chance to vote or have THEIR VOICES HEARD and Obama supporters want to talk about what’s fair.  EVERYONE in this country should have the right to decide who the nominees for President of the United States are going to be, not just half of the country or two thirds of the country.

Everyone should have the right to decide.  The Primaries and Caucuses don’t end on March 4th or March 31st or April 15th.  The People in Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Indiana, North Carolina, Nebraska, West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon, Montana, South Dakota, Puerto Rico, and Guam have not yet voted and they should have just as much of a right to vote and have a say in who the nominee is going to be, as the people who have already voted and so selfishly think that now that their voices have been heard, the other people in this country don’t or shouldn’t matter.

Obama and his supporters keep preaching about change.  If the kind of change that Obama and his supporters want to see in this country involves some voices in this country being heard (more like the voices that support their position), but not ALL the voices being heard, that’s VERY, VERY SAD!

If you don’t like Hillary Clinton, that’s your right.  If you want to whine and cry about how Obama should be handed the Democratic nomination on a silver platter and not have to WORK for it or EARN EVERY VOTE, that is also your right.

NO ONE, I SAY AGAIN, NO ONE, has the right to prevent registered voters of this country from having the ability to vote and have their voices heard.  

Even if you believe that Barack Obama is the most qualified person to be the next President of the United States, he has to EARN the required number of delegates to secure the nomination (which he has not done) and he has to get the required number of Electors to win the Presidency.  

Having the Democratic nomination and the Presidency handed to anyone on a silver platter just because their supporters want it that way, is not how the process works in our country, maybe in Communist China or some other dictatorship, but not in the United States of America.


AS AN AMERICAN, I MUST SAY I AM TIRED OF THE BUSH'S AND THE CLINTON'S.  THE LAST TWO YEARS BILL WAS IN THE WHITE HOUSE CONSISTED OF HIS FROLLICKING W/ MONICA.  POLITICIANS WERE MORE CONCERNED W/ HIS PERSONAL LIFE THAN THE SAFETY AND LIVELIHOOD OF THE AMERICAN VOTERS.  YES, HILLAR MAY HAVE MORE EXPERIENCE THAN BARACK OBAMA, AND YES, HE HAS ONLY BEEN IN THE SENATE FOR 4 YEARS, BUT OUT OF THE TWO, WHO VOTED FOR THE WAR....I REST MY CASE!  GO OBAMA..AMERICA ISN'T READY FOR CHANGE, AMERICA IS READY FOR A REVOLUTION!
JRS -- Just for the record, Obama has *never* said that superdelegates should go with whoever won the primary in their home district or state.  That is Hillary spin.  Obama's campaign has spoken in favor of superdelegates supporting the overall winner of the primaries and caucuses -- the person who emerges with the most votes and the most delegates.
patty,sd,ca - can you please pass what you are smoking around the message board?

Have you ever learned anything about something we like to call "math"?

Well, unless HRC win's by 80%+ in all 4 of todays primaries, she can NOT win tonight.

Oh by the way, Obama has just won Vermont by 8-10 points.

And for the person that asked how could they predict that win without counting any results, the answer is EXIT POLLING.  When someone has such a huge lead in exit polls in certain districts that are known as the strongest districts for the OTHER candidate, it makes it easy to project the winner.

Check out CNN or FOX News or any major news outlet, and you will learn this tonight.
Let`s keep our focus on Obama and hil all the way to the end.
Can you PLEASE ask Chris Matthews to tone down his Hillary hatred just a little? I am about done with MSNBC....
Woo Hoo! The United states of Obama! Stealing states does not count Hillary - you must win them fair and square! :)and not just the Big states - we are the United States
H I L L A R Y C L I N T O N . C O M
The Hillary coalition did not hold in Vermont....spin, spin spin from MSNBC
Morning Joe, is so pro Hillary!
Memo to the Dems.  If either Barrack or Hillary do not conceed soon, we have no chance to win the general.  Once again the Republicans have outsmarted the Dems by letting us destroy each other.  African-Americans, Older white women.
Go,Barrack! TKO Hillary. Am I the only one who is sick and tired of the "terroristic attacks" on the average American HRC has waged time after time? As a woman I am ashamed of HRC.
"patty,sd,ca - can you please pass what you are smoking around the message board?" -- Matt, Las Vegas, NV

Matt, please pass it to me next
Kareem, Avon, IN

If you don't care whether you get the chance to vote or have your voice heard or not, that's fine for you and you should speak for yourself and ONLY YOURSELF.

YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO SPEAK FOR ANYONE ELSE IN THIS COUNTRY, YOU UNDERSTAND ME.  EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD, NOT JUST PART OF THE COUNTRY OF SOME OF THE PEOPLE.
Hillary, It looks like Barrack will 'bam ya!
What's fair is fair...you are right on! Everybody in here should listen to them...everyone needs to be heard, every vote counted. Oregonians have opinions and are part of this country too!

Democrat '08
Stop the PANIC! The last Democrat president we had, his nomination was NOT decided until JUNE!
There is plenty of time. Time will tell truths, keep the race going.
Go HILLARY!
It appears to me that Hillary is trying to win the Democratic nomination by doing anything she can, just as the current president did when running against Gore in 2000.  Once again Florida's hanging chads will come into play as she tries to eke out a win by a handful of votes.  By the time she finally wins, she'll look just like she is Bush reincarnated, which won't sit well with Democratic voters and will ensure that McCain will do well against her in the presidential election if the above comes to pass.
Whatever happen tonight,Obama will still lead in the delegates count.
It's sad how Clinton is playing the " Must win at all cost" game with all those negative and vicious attacks on Obama.It seems to be working for her now but at the end,GOOD ALWAYS PREVAIL(ON BAD)!!!
I agree with Kim and would like to add that as a woman,I am ashamed of HRC too...


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